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Let's
Check the Markets!
Today's First
Look:
mornings
with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash
Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets
Etc.
Okla
Cash Grain:
Futures
Wrap:
Feeder
Cattle Recap:
Slaughter
Cattle Recap:
TCFA
Feedlot Recap:
Our Oklahoma Farm Report
Team!!!!
Ron Hays, Senior Editor and
Writer
Pam Arterburn, Calendar and
Template Manager
Dave Lanning, Markets and
Production
Leslie Smith, Editor and
Contributor | |
Oklahoma's
Latest Farm and Ranch News
Presented
by
Your
Update from Ron Hays of RON
Monday, December 21,
2015 |
Howdy
Neighbors!
Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch
news update.
| |
Featured
Story:
Vilsack
Halts COOL Enforcement for Beef and Pork-
Canadians and Mexicans
Celebrate
After
reporting on the contentious battle over Country
of Origin labeling for meat for years, it's
suddenly over. (I may have withdraws!) On Friday,
the House voted, the Senate voted and the
President signed the Omnibus and COOL for beef and
pork was history. After those votes,
Secretary of Agriculture Tom
Vilsack released a statement confirming
he got the memo- saying "Effective immediately,
USDA is not enforcing the COOL requirements for
muscle cut and ground beef and pork outlined in
the January 2009 and May 2013 final
rules." "USDA will be amending the COOL
regulations as expeditiously as possible to
reflect the repeal of the beef and pork
provisions. In addition, all imported and domestic
meat will continue to be subject to rigorous
inspections by USDA to ensure food
safety." The official reaction from
Canada and Mexico was elation- a joint
statement from the two nations included the
following comments: "We are very pleased
that yesterday the U.S. Congress passed and U.S.
President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that
will repeal COOL for beef and pork, effective
immediately. "We look forward to the
restoration of full access to the U.S. market for
Canadian cattle and hogs and Mexican cattle, as
this will benefit our farmers and our
economies. "This outcome is a result of
close cooperation and collaboration between our
two countries and our many allies within the U.S.
Congress over the past several years. We remain
committed to working with partners in all three
countries to enhance our shared North American
prosperity." The Canadians did remain wary
of those in Congress and those who wanted COOL to
continue despite the WTO ruling- with their
Minister of Trade Chrystia
Freeland saying that she still intends to
obtain formal approval next week from the WTO for
retaliation, even though the tariffs won't be
imposed. Freeland said over the weekend "We
think that it is prudent of us to take the legal
process to its formal, technical
conclusion." Click here to read
more on the Canadian-Mexican reaction to COOL
repeal by the US.
|
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Lots
of React on Omnibus and Tax Bills Passage- Mostly
Thumbs Up from Ag Industry
Groups
Obviously,
the Omnibus/Tax bill that was voted for by the
House and Senate and then signed by President
Obama on Friday was more than just the COOL
Repeal- and goes well beyond just agriculture. And
for agriculture, while it started with COOL- ag
groups that reacted also were very pleased with
Section 179 Depreciation language being made
permanent in the bill. We posted a
multitude of groups and their reaction from the
Friday votes- click on the name of the group to
see their statement that was released: Oklahoma
CattlemenTexas and Southwestern
Cattle RaisersAmerican Farm
BureauNational Corn Growers
AssociationNational Cattlemen's Beef
AsssociationNational Pork Producers
CouncilNational Farmers
UnionOklahoma's Senior Senator,
Jim Inhofe, offered a long list
of things that he saw as being very good coming
out of the huge package- starting with the end of
the export ban on crude oil. He contends
that will be great news for Oklahoma long term. He
also praised the tax reform measures that will
help small business and farmers and ranchers, the
COOL repeal and a lot more. Click here for Senator
Inhofe's full list of things he liked that are
a part of this bill that has been signed into law
by President Obama.
|
December
Cattle on Feed Numbers a Christmas Gift for Cattle
Industry Desperate for Good News
For
the first time in thirty one months, the number of
cattle on feed on the first of December was less
than the on feed number of a year
ago. According to Tom
Leffler of Leffler Commodities, the USDA
December Cattle on Feed report released on Friday
afternoon signaled some positive news for a cattle
market hungry for anything that could help stop
the recent price downturn. As is often the
case- the tell of this month's report can be read
in the placements part of the report. USDA says
"Placements in feedlots during November totaled
1.60 million head, 11 percent below 2014.
Placements are the lowest for November
since the series began in 1996. Net
placements were 1.53 million
head." Leffler, in talking with Radio
Oklahoma Ag Network's Dave
Lanning, zeroed in on the
Placements. At 89% versus last November, the
number of cattle placed in feedlots was well below
what the pre report estimates were projecting at
95.9%. Leffler adds that both the on feed number
and the marketings number were friendly as
well. Click here to read
more and to be able to hear Tom's rundown of all
of the report's numbers- and we have a link
to the full report in our webstory as
well. |
Ag
Retailers Group Cheer Congressional Stop on OSHA
Efforts
Congress
just put the brakes on the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration's regulatory
overreach. On July 22, OSHA released an
enforcement memorandum rescinding all prior policy
documents, letters of interpretation, and
memoranda related to the retail exemption to
Process Safety Management, a set of procedural,
operational and organizational design standards
intended to prevent the release of highly
hazardous chemicals at manufacturing
facilities. The memo, released without
opportunity for public comment and outside of the
formal rulemaking process, would force virtually
all agricultural retailers that store and sell
anhydrous ammonia to comply with PSM. In
recognition of OSHA's unlawful attempt to revoke
the long-standing retailer exemption from the
costly PSM standard, Congress included a rider to
the appropriations bill passed this past
week. The bill, Consolidated Appropriations
Act of 2016 (H.R. 2029), prohibits OSHA from
enforcing its July 22 memo for fiscal year 2016
until the Census Bureau establishes a new North
American Industry Classification System code for
Farm Supply Retailers. OSHA must also conduct a
formal rulemaking process with public comment
before any guidance change may be
implemented. Daren Coppock with the Ag
Retailers Assoication calls this a huge win for ag
retailers- as these regs, left unchecked, would
cost retailers that you buy ag chemicals from
millions of dollars in additional regulatory cost-
with little to show for it. Click here to read more of
Coppock's thoughts on this part of the Omnibus
that appears to be a positive for
agriculture. |
Sponsor
Spotlight
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
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The
Cattle Price Slide of 2015- Derrell Peel on the
Turning Point
2015
is now in the record books as far as sales of
stocker and feeder cattle are concerned, with
virtually all livestock auction markets now
wrapped up with their sales for this calendar
year. When you look at the numbers, the start of
2015 reflected the record setting prices seen in
the latter parts of 2014- and it was downhill from
there. Five to six hundred pound steer
calves were priced from $2.70 to $3.10 at the
Oklahoma National Stockyards in January 2015- in
the final sale of the year this past week in
Oklahoma City, that weight range was bringing
$1.67 to $1.99, off 34% from the start of the year
to the end of the year. While calf prices seemed
to be trending down throughout the year, yearling
prices were down nine to twelve dollars per
hundred from January to the first of August- and
at that point, yearlings were pushed over the
price cliff and fell 69 to 79 dollars per
hundredweight from early August to the end of
December. Eight weight yearling steers followed
that pattern as well, falling just four to seven
dollars a hundred weight from January to August-
then dropped fifty five to sixty five dollars a
hundred from August to the end of
December. Oklahoma State University
Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel
says that cattle producers who have
stocker cattle that were bought ahead of the drop
off the cliff may see some price recovery in the
new year- but it is unlikely that they will avoid
losing money on those animals. The same, he says,
is true in the feedlot cattle where yearlings were
placed before hard fall in both yearling and
feedlot prices in recent months. Dr. Peel
is featured on this subject in our latest Beef
Buzz- and if you click here you can
hear his comments as well as check the fall in
prices seen for for several weight classes from
the start to the end of 2015- basis the Oklahoma
National
Stockyards. |
Want to
Have the Latest Energy News Delivered to Your
Inbox Daily?
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winning broadcast journalist Jerry
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News.
|
FFA
CEO, Dwight Armstrong, to Retire from National FFA
Organization Midyear 2016
The
National FFA Organization announced this past week
that W. Dwight Armstrong, Ph.D.,
chief executive officer of the National FFA
Organization and the National FFA Foundation, will
retire effective June 30, 2016. Armstrong shared
his plans with the National FFA Board of Directors
and the National FFA Foundation Board of Trustees,
saying the time was right to transition the
leadership of FFA and for him to spend quality
time with his family, friends, volunteer
opportunities and personal
pursuits. Armstrong joined the National FFA
Organization in 2009 as its chief operating
officer and was later named chief executive
officer. In 2014, he was also named chief
executive officer for the National FFA Foundation
and currently serves both organizations in a joint
appointment. National FFA Advisor and Chair
of the National FFA Board of Directors Dr.
Steve A. Brown voiced appreciation for
Armstrong's service and commended him for his
contributions to the organization. "Dr. Armstrong
has provided outstanding executive leadership for
FFA at a critical time in our development," said
Brown. "In addition to being a close advisor and
confidante, Dwight has been a steady, driving
force in helping formulate our strategic direction
and achieving program goals for FFA." Read
more about Dr. Armstrong and the FFA plans for
succession in 2016 by clicking or tapping
here. |
Newly
Revised OSU Beef Cattle Manual a Great Gift for
That Special Cattle Producer of Yours
Mooooove
over, Christmas presents; the greatest gift for
that special cattle producer might just be the
newly revised Oklahoma State University
Beef Cattle Manual. "It's a
comprehensive resource of the latest
research-based information for beef cattle
producers, Extension professionals, veterinarians
and others in the industry, and is especially
important for those participating in the OSU
Master Cattleman Program," said Dave
Lalman, OSU professor of beef cattle
production systems. "The new edition contains a
number of revisions and updated
chapters." Cost is $25 plus shipping
upon request through local OSU Cooperative
Extension county offices, or orders can be placed
online- click here to read
more about the revised manual and how you can
order your very own copy
today. |
|
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Association, Pioneer Cellular,
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and KIS Futures for
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