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!
mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where
the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
Each afternoon we are posting a recap of that day's
markets as analyzed by Justin
Lewis of KIS futures- click
here for the report posted yesterday afternoon around 3:30 PM.
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
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Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News
Presented by
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
Monday, February 15, 2016
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Howdy Neighbors!
Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news
update.
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Featured Story:
Welcome
to President's Day- Looking Ahead- A Busy Week As We Deal with Feral
Hogs, Canola, Soil Health and AFR
It's a State and
Federal Holiday on this third Monday of February- as
we celebrate the birthdays of both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Government offices are closed- there will be no mail delivery and
most banks are closed.
The Stock Market is off today- and so are the Ag Futures
Markets. Auction barns like the Oklahoma National Stockyards
and the Joplin Regional Market are open for their normal Monday
sales- and lots of retailers will be trying to sell you something in
honor of Honest Abe and General George.
Looking ahead- we have a VERY BUSY week ahead. The Oklahoma
Department of Ag will be closing their comments on the Feral Hog Rule
on Wednesday of this week- Here's
a link where you can go back and read and listen to our earlier
interview with Blayne
Arthur where the Agency says that the rule is to
implement the Feral Swine Control Act and (in new proposed language)
"to adopt aggressive measures for the eradication of all feral
swine in the State of Oklahoma." The purpose goes on to state
that "Feral swine pose a health risk to humans, livestock,
companion animals and native wildlife. The Department's goal is to
render the State of Oklahoma free of feral swine."
The ODAFF will be holding a hearing on Wednesday afternoon in their
hearing room- starting at 1 PM.
The Oklahoma
Farm Bureau have already sent their
comments in- they believe that the ODAFF has not gone far enough
in getting rid of this invasive species. John Collison told
us last month that "It's fine for a first step, but let's go
farther. Let's make the whole state a feral hog free zone. That
should be our goal."
In checking with the Oklahoma
Cattlemen's Association and the Oklahoma Pork Council-
they both will be submitting their comments this week to the Ag
Department.
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Other events on tap for this week include the Canola College-
see our story below featuring Dr.
Ron Sholar, the Redlands Community College Soil
Health Field Day and the 111th Annual Meeting of the American
Farmers and Ranchers that starts on Friday in Norman at the
Embassy Suites.
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Animal Ag Groups Tell
House Ag Committee that We Need to be Better Prepared in Case Foot
and Mouth Disease Shows Up
Last
Thursday- the
House Ag Committee held a hearing to examine the
preparedness of the United States in the event of the introduction of
foot and mouth disease (FMD) into the country. Members heard from a
panel of witnesses who shared what steps have been taken and what
still needs to be done to achieve the objective of establishing a
vaccine stockpile deployable within 24 hours of an outbreak.
Witnesses representing both the beef and pork industries contend that
we are not ready if FMD arrives on our shores.
FMD is a highly contagious viral disease that causes illness in cows,
pigs, sheep, goats, deer, and other animals with cloven hooves. The
first goal is to keep FMD out of the United States through monitoring
and surveillance activities. However, if an FMD outbreak were to
occur, several strategies are available for responding to the
outbreak including the use of vaccine. Currently, the amount of
vaccine available at the North American FMD Vaccine Bank is below
what would be required for an outbreak.
Dr, Howard Hill, Immediate Past President of the National Pork
Producers Council, told the Committee that the funding USDA has and
is receiving for the National Veterinary Stockpile (NVS) is
insufficient to provide adequate FMD vaccine stockpiles, which would
slow the deployment of a vaccination strategy. Several funding
options are under consideration and were discussed in
the hearing. You
can go here for more information from the hearing.
Dr. Hill says that the damage that could be done if FMD is discovered
in this country is almost unimaginable. In comments that we featured
on air this morning on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network, Dr. Hill
related the expectations of one livestock market analyst, who
predicts the next morning after FMD has been detected in the US, the
price of hogs would fall by fifty percent- because the global export
market would be completely closed. He adds that there would be
a similar nightmare scenario for beef cattle producers as well- and
that impact would be felt by producers of corn, milo and soybeans as
livestock feed suppliers.
You can hear our comments with Dr. Hill on this morning's report by clicking
or tapping here- and the NPPC news release on his testimony last
week in Washington is available
here.
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USDA and Partners
to Invest in Large-Scale, Targeted Conservation Projects in Oklahoma
The U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) and partners across
the nation together will invest up to $720 million towards 84
conservation projects across the nation that will help communities
improve water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support
wildlife habitat and protect agricultural viability. Three of these Regional Conservation
Partnership Program (RCPP) projects are coming to
Oklahoma in 2016. RCPP is a program administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS). Projects coming to Oklahoma
are:
· Improving
Working Lands for Monarch Butterflies: This partnership lead by the
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will restore, manage and
conserve wildlife habitat for monarch butterflies on agricultural and
tribal lands. States within the project area are Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin.
NRCS will invest $6 million.
· Innovative
Tribal Conservation and GHG Management: This partnership lead by the
Intertribal Agriculture Council will address the need for
conservation stewardship projects on American Indian lands. States
within the project area are Alaska, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma
and South Dakota. NRCS will invest $1.8 million.
· Native Grazing
Lands Protection in the Plains: By applying conservation easements
and practices on the most intact native grazing lands remaining in
Kansas and Oklahoma, this partnership lead by The Nature Conservancy
will prevent habitat fragmentation and conversion to non-grazing
uses, improve wildlife habitat and reduce the spread of invasive
species. NRCS will invest $3.6 million.
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2016
Kickoff Banquet for the Oklahoma Youth Expo Raises $90,000- Scott
Eisenhauer Named Show Honoree
The annual kickoff banquet for the 101st Oklahoma Youth Expo
was held this past week at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage
Museum. The focus for the banquet one month ahead of the official
opening of the 2016 OYE was to solidify support from key sponsors and
auction off the Chalices that will be given to the top winners in all
four species of the market animal show. Top supporters of the show
bid for the right to purchase the chalices of the Grand Champions,
Reserve Grand Champions and the Bronze Medallion winners- and then
present them to the winners at the Sale of Champions on March 18th at
State Fair Park.
The Grand Champion Chalices were purchased by:
Grand Champion Market Steer- Oklahoma
Farm Bureau, $6500.00
Grand Champion Market Barrow- American
Farmers & Ranchers, $5000.00
Grand Champion Market Lamb- National
Livestock Credit Company, $5000.00
Grand Champion Market Goat- Farm
Credit of Western Oklahoma, $5000.00
The Sirloin Club also announced two special awards they present
annually. The President's Award was given to Ag Youth Magazine,
which is owned and operated by Larry and Mary Peck out of Sentinel.
The President's Award is given to a business or organization that has
gone above and beyond in support of the OYE.
The other award given at the Banquet was the Show Honoree
Designation- and was presented to Scott Eisenhauer of P& K
Equipment.
We talked with Scott after he was named the Show Honoree- and you can
click
here to read more about the banquet and hear our visit with Scott
about being named the Show Honoree and what the OYE means to him.
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Sponsor
Spotlight
Midwest
Farm Shows wants to thank everyone who came to
the 2015 Tulsa Farm Show. The show has grown tremendously over
the past 22 years- and 2015 was the best yet!
Now is the time to
put on your 2016 calendar the date for the 2016 Oklahoma City Farm Show,
coming April 14,
15 and 16, 2016. Contact Ron Bormaster
at (507) 437-7969 for more details about how your business or
organization can be a part of the 2016 Oklahoma City Farm Show!
Click here for more
details about the 2016 Oklahoma City Farm Show- presented by Midwest
Farm Shows.
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Ron Sholar Previews
Canola College and Offers Optimism for 2016 Winter Canola Crop
The Southern Plains canola crop has much more
production potential than a year ago. Great Plains Canola Association
Executive Director Ron
Sholar is optimistic in the future of the 2016 winter
canola crop. The crop had more favorable conditions at planting and
the crop hasn't experienced wild fluctuations in temperatures. With
milder weather, sunny days and good moisture, Sholar said this crop
is still synthesizing, building root reserves and the crop should be
building toward a highly productive crop.
While the crop looks better, there were fewer acres planted in the
fall of 2015. Sholar said the crop hit a speed bump with acres due to
unfavorable weather conditions the previous two growing seasons and
lower canola prices. Like other commodities, he said
the price of canola has dropped by 50 percent. Sholar commends the
farmers that have stuck with the crop. In rotating with wheat, he
said canola makes the following wheat crop more productive in
improving yields, grain quality and offers other rotational benefits
like weed control.
Canola requires more management than a cereal crop. Sholar advises
farmers to look at the crop's nutrient needs, as some fields will
require nitrogen this spring. He also encourages farmers to scout
fields frequently for insects, as they will be an issue this year.
I also interviewed Sholar about Canola College
that will be held this Thursday,
February 18th in Enid. If you plan on
attending, online registration is encouraged to ensure there are
materials and meals for everyone that attends. Registration is
available online at canola.okstate.edu. Click
or tap here to listen to the interview. You can also find
more details about Canola College.
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Want
to Have the Latest Energy News Delivered to Your Inbox Daily?
Award winning
broadcast journalist Jerry
Bohnen has spent years learning and understanding how
to cover the energy business here in the southern plains- Click here to
subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.
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Farm Bureau Backs Miss
America 2016 Betty Cantrell's 'Healthy Children, Strong America'
Platform
The American
Farm Bureau Federation and American Farm Bureau
Foundation for Agriculture are pleased to support Miss America 2016 Betty
Cantrell and her platform of "Healthy Children,
Strong America," which encourages children to make healthy
choices and stay physically active
Cantrell, who grew up on a 700-acre farm in Warner Robins, Georgia,
will join Foundation Executive Director Julie Tesch in introducing
the First Peas to the Table Contest. This new national competition
for schools will encourage children in kindergarten through fifth
grade to plant, raise and harvest peas this spring.
The contest - including official guidelines and rules - will be
announced on THIS MORNING at AFBF's Young Farmers & Ranchers
Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Click
or tap here to read more about contest highlights.
And- guess who will be on stage following Miss America on the
YF&R program??? Oklahoma's Kelly
Barnes who will offering a little leadership
inspiration for the 800 or so young farmers and ranchers who are at
their Leadership Conference.
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Beef Has Smaller
Environmental Impact Today, According to Sustainability Expert Dr.
Jude Capper
She's active in the world of social media, known as
the Bovidiva. Dr. Jude Capper
has become a well-known expert on livestock sustainability and she
shares that message on her blog, Twitter and Facebook. She grew up in
England and has spent time working for Cornell University, Washington
State University and has been involved in the cattle industry in
Bozeman, Montana. She's now an independent livestock sustainability
consultant in England. She was in our nation's capital this week to
talk with the National
Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) and the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) on the sustainability of the beef cattle
industry in this country. Capper said the beef industry has a great
story to tell in making significant gains over the last 40 years.
"What those gains mean is that we've improved carcass weight per
animal over that time and we've also cut the total number of days
that any animal needs to come to market," Capper said.
Dr. Capper published her findings in 2009 in showing how much
progress has been made over previous generations. In comparing data
from 1977 to 2007, she said it showed the amount of improvement made
with advances in feeding, breeding, housing and caring for cattle. In
2007, she said it took 12 percent less water, 30 percent less land
and carbon emissions were 16 percent lower per pound of beef. She
said those are really great achievements on behalf of everybody in
the cattle industry.
I featured Dr. Capper on the Beef Buzz. Click
or tap here to listen to today's Beef Buzz..
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OALP Invades Vietnam and
Jed Offers an 80 on the Nine Day Forecast
Class seventeen of the Oklahoma
Ag Leadership Program traveled well over 24 hours to
get there- but have started their International Travel Experience in
Vietnam- first stop was Hanoi:
It's always good to see everyone standing after such a long plane
ride- they were soaking in the culture of Hanoi over the weekend and
are moving on to several farm visits and other looks at Vietnam
agriculture here during the work week.
The international travel is the capstone of the OALP
experience. You can learn more about this year's trip from our
earlier conversation with Dr.
Edmond Bonjour, the Director of the program- click
here to check it out.
**********
Spring time for the week of President's Day??? Yessir- that's
what we seem to be looking at- the problem is not a lot of moisture
is in the mix- and that is starting to be a concern for both our
winter wheat crop and our winter canola crop- as well as our pasture
and rangelands who could use a nice drink of water with the 70s we
are expecting a lot of this week.
Here is the nine day forecast courtesy of Jed Castles
with KWTV, News9:
Come on Jed- work on those rain chances a little harder, PLEASE!
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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
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