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We
invite you to listen to us on great radio stations
across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network
weekdays- if you missed this morning's Farm News - or
you are in an area where you can't hear it- click
here for this morning's Farm news
from Ron Hays on RON.
Let's Check the
Markets!
Today's
First Look:
Ron
on RON Markets as heard on K101
mornings
with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash
Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets
Etc.
Okla
Cash Grain:
Daily
Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported
by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture.
Canola
Prices:
Current
cash price for Canola is $13.05 per bushel at the Northern
Ag elevator in Yukon.
2012
New Crop contracts for Canola are now available
at the same price of $13.05 per
bushel-
delivered to local participating elevators that are
working with PCOM.
Futures
Wrap:
Our
Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio
Oklahoma Network with Ed Richards and Tom Leffler-
analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day.
KCBT
Recap:
Previous Day's Wheat Market Recap-Two
Pager from the Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all
three U.S. Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on
Hard Red Winter Wheat and the why of that day's
market.
Feeder
Cattle Recap:
The
National Daily Feeder & Stocker
Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
Slaughter
Cattle Recap:
The
National Daily Slaughter Cattle
Summary- as prepared by the USDA.
TCFA
Feedlot Recap:
Finally,
here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from
the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
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Oklahoma's
Latest Farm and Ranch News
Your
Update from Ron Hays of RON
Friday,
April 27,
2012 |
Howdy
Neighbors!
Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch
news update.
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Obama
Department of Labor Gives Up Drive to Regulate
Youth Workers Down on the Farm or Ranch
The
white flag of surrender has been held up
by the Obama Administration, after a huge backlash
swept across rural America to the Department of
Labor's decision to crack down on youth 16 or
younger that wanted to work for anyone on a farm
that was not owned by their parents. Even after
the DOL modified their proposal to not include
relatives in their rulemaking efforts, the
criticism continued with storm force against the
foolish plans of those who would restrict the
ability of young people to gain a work ethic that
could propel them into positions of greater
responsibility as they reached their adult
years.
Finally,
the Department of Labor made the decision to cut
their loses and hope to minimize the damage for
President Obama's reelection campaign this fall.
The following statement was released late Thursday
afternoon by the Department and also distributed
by the White House:
"The
Obama administration is firmly committed to
promoting family farmers and respecting the rural
way of life, especially the role that parents and
other family members play in passing those
traditions down through the generations. The Obama
administration is also deeply committed to
listening and responding to what Americans across
the country have to say about proposed rules and
regulations.
"As a result, the
Department of Labor is announcing today the
withdrawal of the proposed rule dealing with
children under the age of 16 who work in
agricultural vocations.
"The decision
to withdraw this rule - including provisions to
define the 'parental exemption' - was made in
response to thousands of comments expressing
concerns about the effect of the proposed rules on
small family-owned farms. To be clear,
this regulation will not be pursued for the
duration of the Obama administration.
"Instead, the Departments of Labor and
Agriculture will work with rural stakeholders -
such as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the
National Farmers Union, the Future Farmers of
America, and 4-H - to develop an educational
program to reduce accidents to young workers and
promote safer agricultural working
practices."
Click here for industry reaction-
obviously very joyful- as well as comments from
Oklahoma 4-H leader Charles Cox
on this stunning 180 degree retreat by the
Administration.
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Featured
Story:
Senate Agriculture
Committee Approves Farm Bill on a Bipartisan
Vote
The
U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition
and Forestry today voted to approve the
Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, a
bipartisan farm bill authored by Committee
Chairwoman Senator Debbie Stabenow and Ranking
Member Senator Pat Roberts. The bill passed out of
committee on a 12-4 vote of members present. (We
have an audio overview of the mark up session
which you can listen to by clicking on the LISTEN
BAR at the bottom of the story.) The bill now goes
to the full Senate for consideration- assuming
Majority Leader Harry Reid will cough .
The
bill reforms food and agricultural policy by
eliminating direct payments and emphasizing the
need to strengthen risk management tools for
farmers, saving billions of dollars. Overall, the
bill will reduce the deficit by $23 billion
dollars by eliminating unnecessary subsidies,
consolidating programs to end duplication, and
cracking down on food assistance abuse. These
reforms allow for the strengthening of key
initiatives that help farmers and small businesses
reach new markets and create American jobs.
"This bill proves that by working across
party lines, we can save taxpayer money and create
smart, cost-effective policies that lay the
foundation for a stronger, more prosperous
economy. I am proud that once again the
Agriculture Committee was able to work together in
a bipartisan way to complete major reforms that
save money and grow our economy, said Debbie
Stabenow, chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture
Committee.
You can read more about this story or
listen to an audio overview of yesterday's markup
session and its outcome by clicking
here.
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Sponsor
Spotlight
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trouble with this link for any reason- click on
the graphic for the Hyatt Place
on the left hand side of this email- that takes
you to their main page- when you check rates, put
in the Corporate ID Box the number 11272- it's
nice discount off their best available rates-
whether it's the upcoming state FFA Convention or
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you will be happy you did.
We are pleased to
have American Farmers & Ranchers
Mutual Insurance Company as a
regular sponsor of our daily update. On both
the state and national levels, full-time staff
members serve as a "watchdog" for family
agriculture producers, mutual insurance company
members and life company members. Click here to go to their AFR
website to learn more about
their efforts to serve rural
America! |
Reaction
Runs the Gamut to Senate Committee's Approval of
2012 Farm Bill Proposal
House
Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank
Lucas commended his Senate counterpart,
Senator Debbie Stabenow, for her committee's quick
work on the mark up. He said that he was
disappointed, however, that the Senate's bill did
not go far enough in establishing a safety net for
all commodities and all regions.
Lucas
was kind compared to his Chair of the General
Commodities Subcommittee of the House Ag
Committee- Mike Conaway of Texas-
his reaction was nothing short of a scathing
rebuke of the Senate's treatment of much of US
crop agriculture-
"The
Senate Agriculture Committee today broke faith
with tradition by passing a Farm Bill that is so
lopsided and discriminatory against certain
producers, regions, and crops that it will take
extraordinary effort to restore the kind of
balance necessary to pass a farm bill.
"In
making the farm bill indefensibly rich for some
while making it ineffective for others, the
legislation will also distort planting decisions;
producers with the option to do so will plant for
the program instead of the market. In
addition, the Senate Farm Bill manages to fail in
the two ways most important to farmers, by missing
opportunities to protect and improve crop
insurance and by failing to provide farmers price
protection in periods of prolonged low
prices.
"Especially
ill-served in the bill are producers of wheat,
cotton, rice, peanuts, and even corn and soybeans
where they farm areas with any production risk.
This bill was specially designed for a crop
or two grown in one region of the country and it
will not become law. Today was a big step backward
in completing a Farm Bill this
year."
Meanwhile,
most industry groups reiterated their support for
crop insurance and for quick action by the Senate
and the House to complete the bill by the end of
September.
To
read the statements for the various groups and
producers, click on the names below.
American Farm Bureau
Federation
Dairy Farmers of
America
Izaak Walton League
National Association of Conservation
Districts
National Corn Growers
Association
National Cotton Council
National Council of Farmers
Cooperatives
National Farmers Union
National 25x'25
Alliance
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USDA
and Arkansas Partners Announce Added Incentives on
Conservation Program for Illinois River Watersheds
USDA
Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Bruce
Nelson announced that USDA's Commodity Credit
Corporation (CCC) and the state of Arkansas
entered into a revised agreement to add additional
incentives to the Conservation Reserve Enhancement
Program (CREP). The Illinois River Watershed CREP,
as it is more commonly known, was created to
reduce nutrient, bacterial and sediment load in
the Illinois River Watersheds.
"USDA is
proud to work with the state of Arkansas to enroll
up to 10,000 acres of eligible cropland and
marginal pastureland to enhance the water quality,
biological diversity and aquatic habitats of the
Illinois River Watersheds," said Nelson.
The additional incentives will benefit
Oklahoma as the Illinois River flows west from
Arkansas into northeast Oklahoma. It then flows
southwest and south through the mountains of
eastern Oklahoma into Tenkiller Ferry
Lake.
Click here to learn more about this
incentive program which will benefit
Oklahoma.
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Dr.
Kim Anderson, grain marketing specialist
for OSU, tells Lyndall Stout on
this weekend's SUNUP that a new report indicates
world wheat production is lower than expected.
While it is just one among several reports which
indicate greater than expected production, he says
it does bear watching.
"If you look at the
major exporters their production was estimated to
be down 6.5 percent. I think that's good for the
United States. Argentina, Australia and the former
Soviet Union were all down about 13 percent, and
the EU 27 were down about five percent. Now it's a
long time before we get into that '12-'13
marketing year and a lot can happen in that time
period."
He says a good harvest in India
could exert downward pressure on
prices.
"India's harvest will be done about
the time ours gets started. They're having another
record wheat crop. There are some reports that say
that they will export wheat and they should have
that wheat in export position as we have ours in
an export position and that will create some
competition and maybe some potential lower prices
for us."
You can listen to more of Dr.
Anderson's market analysis and see what else
will be on SUNUP this weekend by clicking
here.
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Noble
Foundation Professor Says Flush of Cool-Season
Grasses Offers Challenges, Possibilities
Warmer
than normal temperatures and above average
rainfall are good for agricultural producers, but
not necessarily great for their bermudagrass
pastures.
The additional rain and
increased temperatures following last year's
drought have resulted in a flush of cool-season
annual grasses, such as ryegrass, growing in
bermudagrass pastures that are key for livestock
production.
This heavy growth of
cool-season annual grasses will out-compete
bermudagrass in the spring for moisture, sunlight
and nutrients, according to James Rogers, Ph.D.,
assistant professor. This spring spurt of annual
grasses creates a delay in spring growth and yield
reduction of bermudagrass stands still recovering
from last year's drought.
"This forage
abundance has been a blessing, but overabundance
is causing many producers to worry about the
effect it will have on emerging bermudagrass,"
Rogers said. "However, there are a couple of
management options to properly deal with this
forage abundance."
You can read James Rogers'
suggestions for managing bermudagrass given our
warmer and wetter weather conditions by clicking
here.
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USDA
continues to do basic detective work on the
California dairy cow reported as being positive
for BSE- or what has been called Mad Cow Disease-
earlier this week. On today's Beef Buzz, we
hear from the Chief Veterinary Officer of the
USDA- Dr. John Clifford- about
the search for what are called Cohorts and
Offspring.
On
Thursday evening, USDA issued these latest facts
on the case:
"On April 24, USDA confirmed
the nation's 4th case of Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) in an animal that was sampled
for the disease at a rendering facility in central
California. This animal was never presented for
slaughter for human consumption, so at no time
presented a risk to the food supply, or to human
health in the United States. As the
epidemiological investigation has progressed, USDA
has continued to communicate findings in a timely
and transparent manner.
"As a result of
USDA's ongoing epidemiological investigation, more
information about the history and age of the
animal is now available.
"The animal in
question was 10 years and 7 months
old and came from a dairy farm in Tulare
County, Calif. The animal was humanely euthanized
after it developed lameness and became recumbent.
The animal's carcass will be
destroyed.
"USDA is continuing its
epidemiological investigation and will provide
additional information as it is available."
Click here to read more and to listen
to our conversation on today's Beef Buzz with
John Clifford- EXCELLENT info on how they are
searching for the past in this Dairy Cow's life-
and some comments on how easy it may or may not be
given the state of disease traceback- animal ID in
this country. It will be worth your
five minutes to take a listen to Dr.
Clifford if you are in the beef cattle business-
there is a direct impact on your ability to make a
living in this
industry!!!!
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This
and That- Auctions- In The Field-
Welcome!!!
We have several
seedstock auctions to check out that are happening
today through next Saturday that we currently
reminding you of- including the Express Ranches Grass Time Sale
this afternoon in Yukon- tomorrow's Cole Sand Creek Ranch's Sale in
Okemah and next weekend's female sales- Hall Coyote Hills ranch in
Chattanooga and B&E Cattle in
Duncan. Besides these excellent cattle
auctions- there are a lot of other events on our
calendar- click here for our calendar page
to see what is going on of importance to
you.
Our guest on In the Field this weekend
will be Courtney Maye, current
state President of the Oklahoma FFA- we will be
talking about this weekend's state
Interscholastics competition in Stillwater- this
coming week's State Convention in downtown
Oklahoma City- and we'll get her reaction to the
Department of Labor's decision to back off Youth
Labor Rule Changes. See yours truly and
Courtney Saturday morning around 6:40 AM on KWTV,
News9. Click here for the Oklahoma FFA
Convention website- and if you have an
smartphone- you may want to download their "APP"
for the 2012 State
Convention.
Finally- we
say welcome to several new folks to our daily
email- those who signed up for our drawing at the
Southern Plains Farm Show are getting this
morning's email- hope you like it- if you prefer
not to receive the email- just go to the bottom of
the update and click on the unsubscribe button.
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God Bless!
You can reach us at the following:
phone: 405-473-6144
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