Presented by

 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

Featured Story:

Final Obama Budget- The Good, The Bad and

US Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack met with reporters via teleconference about President Obama's final budget as a sitting President, and pointed to several priorities that he hopes that Congress will seriously consider as they work on agency appropriations for Fiscal Year 2017. Those priorities include an increase in Ag Research spending, an expansion of the Summer Feeding Program, fixing the Fire Budget and giving USDA the authority to expand their presence in Cuba.

At the same time, the administration wants to reduce the level of premium subsidies for crop insurance- cuts that would total $18 Billion Dollars over a ten year period. I participated in that USDA Budget Briefing for reporters on Tuesday- and here are a few keys- taking our headline above backwards-

The Absurd- This was not a part of the Vilsack pitch to reporters- but the $10 per barrel tax on crude oil certainly qualifies as being absurd, according to several key lawmakers- including the Oklahoma Congressional delegation.

Word of the proposed tax was met with a denouncement from U.S. Sen. James Lankford.

"This is not only a higher tax, it is a new type of tax," said the Senator. "Creating yet another type of gas tax would further complicate the tax code and raise prices on consumers."

The Bad- Major Cut in Crop Insurance Funding.

One area that the USDA wants to cut funding in the coming fiscal year comes in the Crop Insurance subsidies. A USDA fact sheet says the budget contains two proposals to reform the crop insurance program: "The first would reduce subsidies for revenue insurance policies that insure the price at the time of harvest. The second would reform prevented planting coverage, including removing optional buy-up coverage. These proposals will modify the structure of the crop insurance program so that it is less costly to the taxpayer, yet still provides a safety net for farmers. Collectively, these proposals are expected to save $18 billion over 10 years," including $1.26 billion in FY 2017 alone, according to the fact sheet.


Both Chairmen of the Agriculture Committees, Senator Pat Roberts and Congressman Mike Conaway, blasted the attack on the Crop Insurance program. Click on the name of each lawmaker to see their complete statements about the proposals from the Administration.

Now, at least one group considers the cuts to Crop Insurance are Good. The Environmental Working Group released a statement- saying the proposed cuts to crop insurance and other expensive farm subsidy programs in the Obama administration's 2017 budget would be good for taxpayers and the environment.  Click or tap here to read more from EWG.


One area that main stream ag groups as well as Conservation interests were upbeat about was the Conservation parts of the Obama Budget- we talk about those positives in Story Two.

NACD Says Obama Budget Has Positive Movement in Conservation Spending

The National Association of Conservation Districts have offered praise for a budget that does not propose to cut conservation spending in the coming fiscal year, in contrast to the last several budget proposals from President Obama that called for Conservation Spending reductions. In particular, the Administration did not propose cuts to the EQIP program- and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack talked about the importance of EQIP in helping achieve the Administration's goals in dealing with Climate Change in his Media Briefing on the USDA Budget on Tuesday- you can hear his comments on EQIP by clicking here.


According to the statement from the NACD, "the President's budget includes positive movement by the administration toward more conservation-minded practices and acknowledges the success of voluntary incentive-based conservation practices coupled with local delivery and technical assistance."


"The President's proposed budget signals strong awareness in the administration that conservation practices are the key to our future as a nation and as a sustainable provider for the world's growing population," said NACD President Lee McDaniel. 


You can read more on our website about conservation efforts included in the President's budget. 

Tuesday Supply Demand Reports Have Little Encouraging News for Wheat, Corn or Soybeans- Tom Leffler Analyzes

The U.S. continues to battle plentiful global wheat supplies and the weakest export sales in more than 40 years. That's according to Market Analyst Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released the latest U.S. ending stocks and the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) reports. Leffler said the latest domestic and global ending stocks reports offered nothing price supportive for wheat, corn or soybeans.


The U.S. ending stocks report came in close to trade expectations. Leffler said the report as a whole was slightly negative, as there were changes in demand. U.S. corn ending stock came in at 1.837 billion bushels. That was 35 million bushels higher than the January report. U.S. corn export sales were lowered by 50 million bushels. Corn use for ethanol was increased by 25 million bushels. U.S. soybean ending stocks came in at 450 million bushels. That was ten million bushels higher than the January estimate. USDA lowered the bean crush in the U.S. by ten million bushels, while export sales were left unchanged. Leffler said there was no good news for the wheat market, as USDA increased ending stocks to 966 million bushels. That was 17 million bushels higher than what the trade expected and 25 million bushels higher than the January estimate. He said this was the highest U.S. ending stocks since the 2009-2010 marketing year. Export sales came in 25 million bushels lower than last month. Leffler said that was the lowest export sales for wheat since the 1971-1972 marketing year.


Negative news also came out of the monthly WASDE report. Leffler said world is looking at record large world wheat ending stocks and world wheat production. World wheat ending stocks were increased by almost seven million metric tons. He said adjustments made by China accounted for about four million tons. Global corn ending stocks were adjusted lower by 130,000 metric ton. Leffler said Argentina's corn production was raised by 1.4 million metric ton and Brazil's corn production was increased by 2.5 million metric ton. World soybean ending stocks were increased by over one million metric tons. He said Brazil's bean crop estimate was left unchanged from the January estimate of 100 million metric tons and Argentina's bean production was increased by 1.5 million metric tons to 58.5 million metric tons.


Leslie Smith interviewed Leffler and discussed both USDA reports. Click or tap here to hear the full interview.


Click here for the U.S. ending stocks report.


Click here for the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate report.
 

USDA Expects Net Farm Income to Fall Modestly in 2016- After Huge Drops in 2014 and  2015 

Farm sector profitability is forecast to decline for the third straight year, despite increased receipts for several commodities. That's according to the Farm Income and Financial Forecasts for 2015 and 2016, released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the farm income forecast showed improvement from recent years.


"Overall, net farm income for all producers is forecast down slightly, three percent, relative to 2015," Vilsack said. "This is an improvement from the double digit declines seen in 2014 and 2015, and it reflects a more competitive trade environment, softening projection for global demand and a continuation of the dip in agricultural commodity prices. While agricultural exports climbed more than 45 percent in value, totaling $911.4 billion over the past five years and besting all previous records in terms of value and volume and acting as an engine for America's farm economy, today's forecast shows how weaker foreign demand can weigh on farm income."


Net cash farm income is forecast at $90.9 billion, down about 2.5 percent from the 2015 forecast levels. Net farm income is forecast to be $54.8 billion in 2016, down three percent. If realized, 2016 net farm income would be the lowest since 2002 and a drop of 56 percent from its recent high of $123.3 billion in 2013.


Cash receipts are forecast to fall $9.6 billion, about 2.5 percent in 2016, led by a $7.9-billion or 4.3 percent drop in animal/animal product receipts and a $1.6-billion (0.9 percent) decline in crop receipts. Nearly all major animal specialties-including dairy, meat animals, and poultry/eggs- are forecast to have lower receipts, as are vegetables/melons and feed crops. While overall cash receipts are declining, receipts for several commodities are expected to increase by at least one percent relative to 2015 forecast levels. Direct government farm program payments are projected to rise $3.3 billion (31.4 percent) to $13.9 billion in 2016 in response to the expected price environment. 


Click here to read more about median income of farm households and the full forecast.

Value and Volume of US Beef Exports Fell in 2015- But USMEF's Phil Seng Says Several Countries Were Bright Spots 

Year-end export numbers for 2015 have been released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). December U.S. beef exports totaled over 94,000 mt, off six percent from a year ago and slightly lower than November. Export value fell 21 percent compared to a year ago. For 2015, beef exports were down 11 percent from a year ago in volume to 1.07 million mt. Export value was $6.3 billion, 12 percent below the 2014 record of $7.14 billion. USMEF President and CEO Phil Seng said there's no question 2015 was a very challenging year for U.S. beef exports. 


One of the bright spots for beef exports was the South Korean market. Seng credits the Korean Free Trade agreement that was put together four years ago. The U.S. now has a duty advantage over its competitors in that market. U.S beef exports to South Korea were up seven percent and that comes at a time with a limited supply of cattle and a strong U.S. dollar.


U.S. beef exports also showed support from the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. Seng said exports in 2015 to the NAFTA neighbors were slightly lower, but still showed consistency from year to year. He was thankful there's nothing else impeding exports, because these two countries account for about 40 percent of the nation's beef exports. In December, repeal of the nation's mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) was signed into law by President Obama. That kept the U.S. from $1.01 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods in retaliation. Seng said repeal of COOL also helped the relationship between the three countries and will help build trust longer term.


I caught up with him at the recent Cattle Industry Convention in San Diego. Click or tap here to listen to this Beef Buzz. Earlier, we had posted our full conversation with Seng as a part of our coverage from San Diego- it's available here.

Want to Have the Latest Energy News Delivered to Your Inbox Daily?

Ethanol Exports Surge in December; DDGS Exports Set New Annual Record

U.S. ethanol exports finished the year on a high note, with 81.7 million gallons (mg) of product shipping out to both emerging and longtime markets. Canada was the top destination in December, receiving 21.3 mg. Oman (13.4 mg), China (10.6 mg), the Philippines (8.8 mg), and the Netherlands (8.8 mg) were other leading importers of U.S. ethanol. December ethanol exports were up 39% over November, reaching their highest monthly level since March. As documented in a new statistical report released by the Renewable Fuels Association last week, U.S. ethanol exports totaled 836 mg in 2015-identical to the 2014 final tally. The RFA report provides details on top export destinations, shifts in the marketplace, ethanol import volumes, the value of exports, and other key data regarding U.S. ethanol trade in 2015.


Denatured fuel ethanol exports totaled 50.3 mg in December, the highest monthly total of the year and up 57% from November. At 19.3 mg, Canada was once again the leading importer of denatured product. Meanwhile, Oman imported sizeable volumes (13.4 mg) of denatured fuel ethanol for just the third time on record. Relative newcomer China (10.6 mg), the Netherlands (4.3 mg), and Peru (2.6 mg) were other top spots for denatured fuel ethanol exports. December exports of undenatured fuel ethanol tallied at 28.6 mg, up 18% from November. The Philippines (8.8 mg), Brazil (6.4 mg), the Netherlands (4.5 mg), Belgium-Luxembourg (2.6 mg), and Mexico (2.2 mg) were the top five markets for undenatured product in December. Exports of denatured and undenatured ethanol for non-fuel, non-beverage purposes were 2.8 mg, with Canada receiving 2.0 mg.


U.S. fuel ethanol imports fell to 9.4 mg in December, less than half of the November import volume. Total imports of fuel ethanol finished the year at 93.2 mg, up slightly from 2014. More than 99% of December imports originated in Brazil, with the remaining imports coming from Germany.  Click or tap here to read about the exports of U.S. distillers dried grains.

This N That -Fire Danger at Critical Point, Big Iron Wednesday and Poultry Star Power- Von Miller  

Fire Danger is really high this week- much of Oklahoma has a lot of dry "ready to burn" grass and rangeland- and rising temps and strong winds add up to a dangerous situation across much of western Oklahoma.

Here's the map from the Oklahoma Mesonet as of early this morning- not a pretty sight.

Click here for details from the National Weather Service on what they are calling critical fire danger in the counties affected.

Before becoming a national champion with the Broncos over the weekend and before his professional career in football, Broncos linebacker Von Miller majored in poultry science at Texas A&M University. Now, Miller Farms, his backyard operations with a small chicken coop, along with roughly 3,000 square feet of backyard space and 40 to 50 chickens, represents his "humble beginnings" as a farmer.

The story was originally reported by Yahoo Sports last year and started circulating the internet again this week following the Broncos Super Bowl win over the Panthers. Miller said he dreams of retiring to be a chicken farmer, but on a much larger scale. Following his career, Miller says he wants to expand when he's done playing football, adding he'd like to build relationships with chicken farmers across the world.

One of several stories on Miller and his days at TAMU can be read by jumping here.

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment,  American Farmers & Ranchers, Stillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma AgCredit,  the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association, Pioneer Cellular, Farm Assure and  KIS Futures for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites out and let these folks know you appreciate the support of this daily email, as their sponsorship helps us keep this arriving in your inbox on a regular basis- at NO Charge!

We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.   

 Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com  

God Bless! You can reach us at the following:  

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is Proud to be the Presenting Sponsor of the Ron Hays Daily Farm and Ranch News Email