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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured Story:

USDA To Offer Certificates for Farm Commodities Pledged to Marketing Loans

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wednesday announced that producers who have crops pledged as collateral for a marketing assistance loan can now purchase a commodity certificate that may be exchanged for the outstanding loan collateral. The authority is provided by the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act, legislation enacted by Congress in December. Commodity certificates are available beginning with the 2015 crop in situations where the applicable marketing assistance loan rate exceeds the exchange rate. Currently, the only eligible commodity is cotton.


USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) routinely provides agricultural producers with marketing assistance loans that provide interim cash flow without having to sell the commodities when market prices are at harvest time lows. The loans allow the producer to store and delay the sale of the commodity until more favorable market conditions emerge, while also providing for a more orderly marketing of commodities throughout the marketing year.


These loans are considered "nonrecourse" because the loan can be redeemed by delivering the commodity pledged as collateral to the government as full payment for the loan upon maturity. Commodity certificates are available to loan holders having outstanding nonrecourse loans for wheat, upland cotton, rice, feed grains, pulse crops (dry peas, lentils, large and small chickpeas), peanuts, wool, soybeans and designated minor oilseeds. These certificates can be purchased at the posted county price (or adjusted world price or national posted price) for the quantity of commodity under loan, and must be immediately exchanged for the collateral, satisfying the loan.  Click or tap here for additional information.


The National Cotton Council (NCC), on behalf of the U.S. cotton industry, strongly commends House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Aderholt (R-AL), House Agriculture Committee Chairman Conaway (R-TX), Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Cochran (R-MS) and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Moran (R-KS) for all of their efforts to ensure this provision was included in the FY16 Agriculture Appropriations bill, providing USDA the authority to again make available marketing certificates for the redemption of loan commodities.  Click or tap here to read more from NCC.

Allendale Inc. Sees Higher Ending Stocks on Upcoming USDA Report 

 

Allendale, Inc. has released their expectations for the USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report due next Tuesday midday at 11:00 CST. Here are the numbers as Allendale sees them for grains and oilseeds:


Corn - No production changes will be made on this report. Lower exports are seen offsetting stronger domestic usage. Our 1.812 billion ending stock estimate would be the largest ending stock since 2005/06. It would be the largest monthly supply/demand estimate since June. We see USDA holding its Brazil and Argentina production unchanged.


Soybeans - No production changes will be made on this report. Lower crush is expected to be recognized by USDA. Our 466 million ending stock estimate is the largest since 2006/07. For the monthly reports, not the actual ending stock, it would be the largest since August. We see USDA holding its Brazil and Argentina production unchanged.


Wheat - Lower exports are seen raising the stock estimate. Allendale sees the US ending stocks for wheat approaching a billion bushels- 954 million bushels to be exact.

 

OSU's Kim Anderson Sees More Upside Potential Than Downside Risk in Current Wheat Market Outlook

 

The wheat market is starting to see some factors that could bring more support to wheat prices in the near future. In this weekend's edition of SUNUP, Oklahoma State University Grain Marketing Specialist Kim Anderson said there are a multitude of positive signals from many of the locations where wheat is produced globally.

For example, there are indications of lower production in India and North Africa with dry conditions, which may cause them to import more wheat. Ukraine planted 20 percent less wheat acres. Russia is looking at potentially some freeze damage to their crop due to cold temperatures and lack of snow cover. Brazil may have to import more wheat with lower production. Europe has some quality issues showing up with some wheat having ergot in it this week. Canada also reported their wheat stocks were lower than expected and the U.S. dollar index dropped about 2.2 percent this week. Anderson said there's a lot of positive signs out there, they are just not together yet to push prices higher.


The high U.S. ending stocks is a negative factor with over 900 million bushels. U.S. hard red winter wheat export sales have been weak, coming in lower than expected. Anderson said there are also projections of record projected world wheat ending stock of 8.5 billion bushels.


In looking at harvest prices, Anderson said the July Kansas City wheat futures contract has been trading mostly from $4.83 - $4.93. With basis, that leaves a forward contract price for harvest delivery around $4.25 - $4.41, which is below the cost of production.


"I think with the price below the cost of production, there's no reason to price your wheat," Anderson said. "I think there's more upside potential than there is downside risk."

 

SUNUP host Dave Deken talks with Dr. Anderson for this weekend's show.  Click or tap here to listen to the full interview and take a look at the SUNUP show lineup for this weekend. 

Randy Blach Says Peaks and Valleys Will Help Cattlemen Regain Focus in 2016

 

The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture cattle inventory report shows an increase of the U.S. beef cowherd population to 30.33 million head. That's an increase of one million head over one year ago. But USDA also reduced the cow number of January 1, 2015 by 400,000 head from 29.7 million head down to 29.3 million head.   USDA showed a million head increase in 2015, but a smaller increase in 2014. CattleFax Chief Executive Officer Randy Blach said getting that number above 30 million head is a step in the right direction.


"I don't think we would have had an industry that would have dropped the number of beef cows much below 31 and a half to 32 million head had it not been for the magnitude of the drought," Blach said.


A year ago, Blach thought the industry could handle those levels as long as demand stayed close to current levels. He said there could be a two to three million head increase in the number of beef cows through this expansion phase. He is comfortable in getting back close to 32 million head, but one unknown is the shaky global environment.


"That will pass too," Blach said. "You know all these markets correct. All markets correct and this is what we are seeing around the world."


In coming out of 2014, life couldn't get any better with record cattle prices. Blach said the market went from euphoria to panic and fear when the cattle market crashed in the second half of 2015. He said hopefully we were reminded that we make money at the point where we buy cattle, not where we sell cattle. 

 

 

I featured Blach on the Beef Buzz as heard on radio stations across the region. Click or tap here to listen to today's Beef Buzz.

 

 

Oklahoma's Brett Morris Promotes Beef Through National Leadership Role of Beef Checkoff

 

Beef is beef. That's a message being carried by Oklahoma beef producer Brett Morris. He is third-generation dairy farmer that runs a dairy, cow/calf and stocker operation, as well as the Washita Fertilizer Company, in partnership with his father. Their diversified farming operation consists of about 1,000 acres of alfalfa, wheat and grassland, 50 registered Holstein cows for milking, 60 beef cows, and 40 head of stocker calves.


"Beef is beef," Morris said. "What people probably don't realize is 20 percent of the beef produced in the United States does comes from dairy. So dairy does have a role in the beef production."


Morris has been active in promoting beef for many years. He joined the Oklahoma Beef Council in 2006, served as a director on the Federation of State Beef Councils and now is serving as Vice Chairman for the Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB). That position is appointed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The individuals are nominated by state groups. He was nominated by the Dairy Farmers of America (DFA).


The CBB is the national board that controls how beef checkoff funding is spent that is collected in each state. The state collects the $1 per head assessment, 50 cents is retained in the state and 50 cents goes to the CBB. The board consists of 100 members nationwide and they are represented by cattle numbers. Oklahoma has five members, Kansas has six and Texas has 14 on the board. The CBB is all about the checkoff, from how the funding is collected and invested. Morris said CBB is audited internally, externally, as well as by USDA, so there are lots of oversight. With his involvement in CBB through the years, Morris said the board members nationwide are very harmonic in how they get along.   


"From what I've seen, the producer needs to be very comfortable about his money is spent, because we are very frugal, we are research based and we're consumer focused," Morris said.

 

You can hear my visit with Brett by clicking or tapping here- and check out our conversation with Brett on Saturday morning- he will be my guest for In the Field as seen on KWTV News9 around 6:40 AM.

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Wheat Grower Organizations "All In" on TPP While Soybean Folks Call It a "No Brainer"

 

The signing of the 12 nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Thursday in New Zealand marks another step toward putting the world's largest free trade agreement into action. National Association of Wheat Growers, U.S. Wheat Associates and the American Soybean Assoication all welcome this step and now call for rapid consideration and eventual ratification of TPP by Congress.


"Wheat growers are "all-in" regarding the promise of the Trans-Pacific Partnership," said NAWG President Brett Blankenship, a wheat farmer from Washtucna, Wa. "Expanding sales and market share are important pillars to help revitalize the wheat industry. Now the ball is in Congress' court and NAWG urges Congress to act quickly."

Read more here from NAWG and USW and their wheat industry perspective of the Pacific Rim trade deal.

Meanwhile-

This N That- Roger Mills County Cattlemen Bull Sale, Congrats to Claud Evans and Women In Ag in Tonkawa 

 

The annual Bull Sale of the Roger Mills County Cattlemen's Association is planned for tomorrow midday in Cheyenne.

For their 38th annual sale, they have over fifty breeding age bulls- both Registered and Commercial. Breeds being represented include Angus, Lim-Flex, Limousin, Composite, Simmental-Angus, Red Angus, Hereford and Balancer.

For details, click here to jump over to our calendar listing where we have the link to their lot by lot listings.

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack appointed OSU Alum Dr. Claud Evans to a 15-member U.S. Department of Agriculture Minority Farmers Advisory Committee.

"This appointment is meaningful to me because it'll give me an opportunity to be of service to a group of people who are sometimes underserved by the federal grants and monies that are available to farmers in general," Dr. Evans said. "It's also unique because it's an honor to have been selected by the Secretary of Agriculture to be a part of this advisory committee he has put together."

Dr. Evans operates the Okfuskee County Veterinary Clinic in Okemah. In addition to formerly serving as a member of the OSU/A&M Board of Regents, he currently is one of Oklahoma's two representatives on the Southern Region Council on Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching.

More details are available here about the appointment and the impact that Dr. Evans has had on agriculture and the OSU Division of Ag

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Winds of Change is the theme of the 2016 Women in Ag Conference that is planned for this coming Thursday in Tonkawa. Their keynoter for 2016 is our friend Lyndall Stout, who is the  Director OSU Ag Communications and SUNUP TV Host.

After Lyndall speaks, they have a multiple breakout sessions planned for attendees to choose from- one in the AM and a second set after lunch.

For details about those breakouts and registration details- click here for our calendar entry on our website OklahomaFarmReport.Com.

AND- we encourage you to check out our calendar from time to time- lots of things are happening and we are adding new events almost daily.  If you have an event that you are involved with that we need to add- just email me and we will get it listed.

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