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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured Story:

Oklahoma Farm Bureau's John Collison Says State Question 777 Offers Protection for Future Farm Generations 

 

The general election is ten months away. Americans will be voting for their selection for President and choosing which party will control both the House and the Senate. That's also when Oklahomans will also have the opportunity to vote on State Question 777, the Right to Farm Amendment. Opposition to the constitutional amendment is starting to come forward. Oklahoma Farm Bureau Vice President of Public Policy John Collison says there is no doubt that this is going to be a tough fight.


"You know it always is," Collison said. "A state question is really hard to do, it really is. If it wasn't, it would happen all the time."


Opponents of State Question 777 are trying to pit small farms against large farms. Collison responded in saying 95 percent of all farms in Oklahoma are family-owned farms, regardless of size. In educating citizens throughout the state, Oklahoma Farm Bureau talks how the "Right to Farm" was put together by Oklahomans, for Oklahomans. Collison said this measure will protect family farms from these outside interest groups.

 

 

I visited with John at the end of this past week- and he provided an update on how the state's largest general farm group sees the debate over State Question 777 going.  You can read more and hear our conversation with him by clicking or tapping here.

 

Winter Storms, Cattle on Feed, and Dr. Peel Says There's More Data to Come 

 

 

"Winter storm Jonas has dumped record snowfall on the east coast causing near total shutdown of several major cities and across a large region. Impacts from deep snow, power outages and coastal flooding will continue for several days. Some winter storms affect beef production and supply; some impact demand; and sometimes winter weather affects both beef supply and demand. Jonas will be primarily a demand impact as the storm was centered east of the major beef production regions in the middle of the country. The storm means less grocery shopping and restaurant visits and likely will interrupt beef supply pipelines for several days to come.


"The January Cattle on Feed report showed January 1 feedlot inventories slightly lower than one year ago. December placements, though larger than expected at 99 percent of last year, were down year over year for the sixth consecutive month. Total placements since July are down 4.3 percent; some 459 thousand head less than a year earlier. This ensures that feedlot supplies will remain limited through the first half of 2016." 

Click or tap here to read more about the cattle on feed report and about the annual Cattle inventory report that comes out on Friday, January 29th.

 

GrowSafe Systems & The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation are teaming up again to host an oversized booth at the 2016 edition of the Cattle Industry Convention in San Diego- the trade show officially opens tomorrow and runs through Friday as cattle producers are arriving from all over the United States.

 

Noble is presenting a series of mini seminars all three days, with several of the folks from Noble as well as from GrowSafe to offer their two cents worth on things going on in the beef business. Hugh Aljoe, Billy Cook and Amy Hays from Noble are among those on the agenda.

 

And- they have several producers that will be a part of their mini sessions as well- for example, OSU student and former National Beef Ambassador Kalyn McKibben will be talking about how she, as a millennial, plans to be involved in the industry. Noble and GrowSafe are telling NCBA convention goers why they need to stop by and listen to Kalyn: "98 percent of ranches are still family owned and operated. If this trend is to continue, we have to know more about how to bring the next generation of operators back to the farm. Baby boomers and Gen Xers can talk about it, but nothing beats hearing from millennials themselves on why they want to come back to the ranch and what it takes to keep them there. McKibben is a millennial returning to the ranch and is ready to start the next generation of 98 percent."

 

Biodiesel Production Rises in 2015 as Consumers Seek Cleaner Fuels

 

US consumers used a record of nearly 2.1 billion gallons of biodiesel in 2015, reducing America's carbon emissions by at least 18.2 million metric tons, according to new EPA data released as the industry kicks off its 2016 Biodiesel Conference and Expo.


Biodiesel industry leaders said the year-end figures demonstrate biodiesel's rising popularity and its continued success as America's first and only EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel to reach commercial-scale production nationwide.


"We're seeing it take hold across the country. Consumers are seeking out cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels and they see biodiesel as a high-performing, cost-competitive alternative to petroleum diesel," said Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), the industry's US trade association. "These numbers also show without question that the Renewable Fuel Standard is delivering significant volumes of Advanced Biofuel to the American people. They prove that the RFS is absolutely working."


"Biodiesel is still a young industry, but it is becoming a mainstream American fuel that's having a real impact in helping us cut pollution, create jobs and diversify the fuels market."


According to the data, fuel companies reported producing 2.09 billion gallons of biodiesel in 2015, up from about 1.97 billion gallons in 2014.  Click or tap here to read more.

 

CommonGround Grows Grassroots Movement

 

Volunteer women farmers involved in the CommonGround program, along with state and national staff, met in Washington at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to share their experiences with the program and welcome new members last week. Through both general and breakout sessions, the participants worked intensively on the tools that they use to share their personal story and that of modern farming with urban and suburban moms through sessions on social media, public speaking and interview skills.


Through a series of presentations from representatives of affiliated agricultural groups, such as the Center for Food Integrity, attendees explored a wide array of subjects including the most prevalent consumer attitudes toward agriculture and the most effective ways to share their story with a broader audience.


Support for their efforts was reinforced through presentations from National Corn Growers Association Grower Services Action Team Chair Patty Mann and USB Director Nancy Kavazanjian, who also chairs USFRA.


"I came away from the conference with an appreciation for the idea that we need to embrace skepticism in conversations about food and farming with those outside of agriculture," said Mann. "Just listening to concerns and sharing values can assure others that we really do want the same things for our families.

 

 

To read more about the conference, plus CommonGround launched a new video addressing consumer concerns about pesticides titled "Not a Latte." The video, which can be viewed by clicking here.

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10th Annual Plasticulture Conference Set for February 13

 

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry will host its 10th Annual Plasticulture Conference on Sat., Feb. 13 at the Mid America Technology Center in Wayne. The conference provides gardeners with the latest information on the plasticulture growing technique.


This year's theme will be "Advanced Techniques for Plasticulture." Keynote speaker Itzhak Esquira is the Greenhouse and Plasticulture Extension Specialist for the Israeli Plants Board. He teaches greenhouse technology at Tel Hai College and offers agricultural consulting through his company, GreenIT in Tel Aviv, Israel.  Other speakers include Micah Anderson, ODAFF Plasticulture Program Coordinator, OSU Area Extension Horticulturist Dr. Jim Shrefler, Noble Foundation Horticulture Consultant Steve Upson, US Foods Manager Freddy Phillips and Dr. Merritt Taylor of the OSU Agricultural Economics Department.


 Plasticulture is a farming technique that creates raised soil beds covered with plastic sheeting and equipped with irrigation drip lines laid directly under the plastic. Vegetable seedlings are planted in holes punched through the plastic.  Click or tap here to read more about this conference and how to register.  

After a Dramatic End of Year Increase in Choice Boxed Beef Prices, Latest Cutout Values Pull Back

 

 

On Mondays, Ed Czerwein with the USDA Market News Office in Amarillo, Texas, releases his overview of the boxed beef trade for the previous week. We have his latest report for the week ending January 23rd, which continues to track the dramatic up and down in recent days of the choice cut out values. Here are some highlights- the complete report can be read and Ed's comments can be heard by clicking or tapping here.


"The daily spot Choice box beef cutout ended the week last Friday at $224.83  which was $7.64 lower compared to the previous week and $10.33 below the $235 top set Monday thru Thursday of that same week.  This daily spot Choice cutout has jumped over 44 dollars up to that $235 figure in a little less than three weeks.  There were 649 loads sold for the week in the daily box beef cutout which was about 10 % of the total volume.


"While the pullback from $235 is significant, this decline that began on Friday January 15 was a normal seasonal change that usually runs until late in February before a the spring rally in March at the beginning of the grilling season."

 

Back East- It is Still a Mess- House Ag Committee Hearing Becomes a Victim of Jonas

Federal workers in the nation's capital are getting yet another snow day today. After two to three feet of snow in some parts of the Eastern seaboard region, the second day off for Uncle Sam reflects how hard it is to get around the D.C. area in the wake of the weekend blizzard. 

One casualty of Jonas is a hearing that was planned for today. The House Agriculture Committee postponed a hearing planned for this morning on Capitol Hill  with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. No new date has been set.

You can also expect that some reports that normally originate out of USDA will likely be delayed for yet another day.

 

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