From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2010 4:57 AM
To: Hays, Ron
Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
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Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Monday July 26, 2010
A service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
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-- July Cattle on Feed Numbers are called Neutral. No surprises in the Inventory Report.
-- Senator Jim Inhofe Joins Senate Ag Leadership in Calling for 120 Day Extension of GIPSA Rules
-- Using FAS and Checkoff Funds Effectively- USMEF Gets High Praise from USDA in Marketing Efforts
-- Beef Quality Assurance Training Sessions Are Set in August and September by Oklahoma Beef Council
-- Colombia Ambassador: U.S.-Colombia FTA Needs to Be Ratified Soon
-- Oklahoma Senators Join Colleagues in Pushing Back at EPA over Dust
-- It really was July 23rd!
-- Let's Check the Markets!

Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update- click here to go to their AFR web site to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America!

It is also great to have as an annual sponsor on our daily email Johnston Enterprises- proud to be serving agriculture across Oklahoma and around the world since 1893. For more on Johnston Enterprises- click here for their brand new website!

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July Cattle on Feed Numbers are called Neutral. No surprises in the Inventory Report.
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No big surprises came out of Friday afternoon's Cattle on Feed and the Semi Annual Cattle Inventory Report released by USDA. Cattle on Feed Numbers are down again this month compared to a year ago, while the national cattle count showed the US Cattle Herd down 1% from one year earlier.

In the Cattle on Feed numbers- Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.1 million head on July 1, 2010. The inventory was 3 percent above July 1, 2009. The inventory included 6.25 million steers and steer calves, up 4 percent from the previous year. This group accounted for 62 percent of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 3.77 million head, up 1 percent from 2009. Placements in feedlots during June totaled 1.63 million, 17 percent above 2009. Net placements were 1.57 million head. During June, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 440,000, 600-699 pounds were 300,000, 700-799 pounds were 408,000, and 800 pounds and greater were 480,000. Marketings of fed cattle during June totaled 2.00 million, slightly above 2009.

In the July first Cattle Inventory Report- All cattle and calves in the United States as of July 1, 2010, totaled 100.8 million head, 1 percent below the 102.0 million on July 1, 2009.
All cows and heifers that have calved, at 40.8 million, were down 1 percent from July 1, 2009.
Beef cows, at 31.7 million, were down 2 percent from July 1, 2009.
Milk cows, at 9.1 million, were down 1 percent from July 1, 2009.

We have more information on the reports on our website- and you can also hear comments about the numbers from Tom Leffler as our colleague Ed Richards visits with him on this past Friday afternoon- right after the release of the reports.

Click here for more on the Cattle on Feed Numbers from USDA as released on Friday afternoon.


Senator Jim Inhofe Joins Senate Ag Leadership in Calling for 120 Day Extension of GIPSA Rules
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Oklahoma's Senior Senator, Jim Inhofe, joined U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)as well as 14 Senate colleagues, in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting a 120-day extension in the public comment period regarding new rules proposed by the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). The Senators said the proposed regulations, which affect enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act, require additional time for stakeholders to adequately analyze all aspects of the proposed rule.

"This proposed rule will have a tremendous impact on Arkansas's rural communities, agriculture industry, and economy as a whole," Sen. Lincoln said. "Therefore, it is only fair that the comment period be extended to allow adequate time for all stakeholders to have an opportunity to review and comment on proposed changes that will directly impact how they do business"

To read more about this call by this bi-partisan group of Senators- click on the LINK below- we have in our webstory the text of the letter regarding the rulemaking period that was sent to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Click here for more information about the call by several Senators to get an extra 120 days for the public to comment on the GIPSA Marketing Rule Overhaul


Using FAS and Checkoff Funds Effectively- USMEF Gets High Praise from USDA in Marketing Efforts
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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) has earned the highest category ranking possible from evaluators at the Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS), which reviews participants in the Cooperators Programs for receipt of USDA Foreign Market Development (FMD) and Market Access Program (MAP) funds.

"USMEF's program and UES (Unified Export Strategy for 2010) were rated as 'highly effective,'" wrote Bonnie Borris, director of the FAS Cooperator Programs Division. "USMEF does an excellent job of adjusting to market conditions and making changes to marketing plans accordingly- Overall, we are very pleased with USMEF's market development operation- Thank you again for your continuing participation in the market development programs and your dedication to the U.S. red meat industry. My staff and I are truly looking forward to working with you over the coming year."

"USMEF welcomes this valuable feedback, especially in an environment that has become increasingly competitive for funding from all sources, including our leading funding source, the USDA," said Philip Seng, USMEF president and CEO. "This is great news for our members, because MAP and FMD funding are key components of the revenue mix that enable USMEF to multiply the value and strength of producers' Checkoff dollars." Seng noted that USMEF anticipates spending just over $18.7 million from the USDA's MAP and FMD programs in the current fiscal year.

Click here to read more about how the USMEF mixes checkoff dollars from beef, pork and grain producers with USDA money to promote US meat products internationally.


Beef Quality Assurance Training Sessions Are Set in August and September by Oklahoma Beef Council
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The Oklahoma Beef Council will hold four daytime BQA Cattle Processing Field Days in August and September- each of them starting at 8:30 and wrapping up around 2 PM. Producers will be able to become BQA certified by the end of the session.

The Beef Quality Assurance mission is to maximize consumer confidence and acceptance of beef by focusing the producers' attention on daily production practices that influence the safety, wholesomeness, and quality of beef and beef products through the use of science, research, and educational initiatives.

There will be daytime sessions in four locations- Tulsa, Anadarko, Woodward and McAlester. There will also be four different evening locations for producers that have a day job but still want to be BQA certified. We have details on our website of all of the locations- and the special giveaway that is a part of the daytime sessions from Prefiert Equipment. Click on the LINK below to get more info- you can also call Jeff Jaronek at 405-840-3777 for questions that you might have as well.

Click here for our Calendar Item on the BQA Training Sessions That Start in August.


Colombia Ambassador: U.S.-Colombia FTA Needs to Be Ratified Soon
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U.S. ag exports to Colombia have significantly dropped due to the non-ratified free trade agreement between the U.S. and Colombia. That's according to Carolina Barco - Colombian Ambassador to the United States. Barco says Colombia has a preference to the U.S. as a way to strengthen Colombia's economy - but the lack of a ratified FTA with the U.S. definitely has a cost if it's not carried out. Ag Exports to Colombia in 2008 were near 1.2-billion dollars - but they dropped to roughly 600-million dollars in 2009 - with corn and wheat seeing the biggest losses.

Barco says Colombian exports have tripled since 2002 - going from two FTAs with five countries to currently 11 FTAs with 47 countries. She points out that represents nearly 1.5-billion consumers. Barco says the sooner the U.S. and Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement is ratified - the better.

Click on the LINK below for more on this story and the presentation given by the Ambassador to the summer Board of Directors meeting of the US Grains Council that was held in Boston.

Click here for more on the plea by Colombia Ambassador Bario to ratify the US-Colombia FTA sooner rather than later.


Oklahoma Senators Join Colleagues in Pushing Back at EPA over Dust
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A group of Senators - led by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley - sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson Friday - calling on her to use common sense on future dust regulations and reminding her of the Administration's focus on rural America and the negative impact the regulations could have on Main Street. The Senators say the second draft recently released would establish the most stringent and unparalleled dust regulation in U.S. history if approved. Though they respect the efforts for a clean and healthy environment - the Senators say that shouldn't come at the expense of common sense.

The letter states the EPA's identified levels for particulate matter will be extremely burdensome for farmers and livestock producers to attain. The Senators point out dust is a naturally occurring event - whether its livestock kicking up dust, soybeans being combined on a dry day in the fall or driving a car down the gravel road. Producers could potentially be fined for not meeting the particulate matter standards while still practicing good management practices on their soils - according to the Senators. If the rule is published - they say economic development could slow down and significant costs to farmers and businesses could be imposed. Grassley says he is greatly concerned that this puts the U.S. one step closer to imposing more regulations on farmers.

Both of Oklahoma's Senators- Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, have signed on to this letter. We have more details on their arguments- and the text of the letter below. Click on the LINK below to check it out.


It really was July 23rd!
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Our apologies to one and all for the incorrect date on the email that went out this past Friday morning- it was the right email but had the wrong date header for a date in August- hopefully, no one had an anxiety attack if you noticed that date.

I do want to remind you that anytime you want to drop us a note about your feedback on the email- please send it to ron@oklahomafarmreport.com- you can copy and paste from here and drop it into your email program- or you can click on the email link at the very bottom of the daily email and get in contact with us that way. PLEASE do not simply reply to this email- it goes into some black hole that noone will ever see again.

AND- we need your calendar items and other news tips when you have something that you think folks across Oklahoma need to know more about. You are our eyes and ears across Oklahoma agriculture- and that makes you a vital part of our information pipeline! Thanks for helping- and thanks for being a part of our email family- you are greatly appreciated!


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures and Big Iron Online Auctions 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- FREE!

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


Let's Check the Markets!
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We've had requests to include Canola prices for your convenience here- and we will be doing so on a regular basis. Current cash price for Canola is $7.75 per bushel at the close of trade Friday, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $7.80 per bushel- delivered to local participating elevators that are working with PCOM.

Here are some links we will leave in place on an ongoing basis- Click on the name of the report to go to that link:
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network with Ed Richards and Tom Leffler- analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day-
Ron on RON Markets as heard on K101 mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
Previous Day's Wheat Market Recap- Two Pager From The Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on Hard Red Winter Wheat and the why of that day's market.
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- As Reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture. <
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
Finally, Here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.



God Bless! You can reach us at the following:
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phone: 405-473-6144
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