Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
From: Ron Hays <ronphays@cox.net>
Date: 3/7/2017 7:01 AM
To: ronphays@cox.net



 
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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!  
 Markets
   
FedCattleExchange.com has a total of 3,413 cattle on their showlist for the Wednesday March 8th sale of finished cattle- details will be available after noon today by clicking here. 
 
 
On Monday at the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Okla City- HIGHER prices for calves and yearlings- click here for the complete report from the USDA Market News folks covering the market.


Today's First Look:
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 futuresclick or tap here for the report posted yesterday afternoon around 3:30 PM.
 
  
Okla Cash Grain:  
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture on Monday, March 6th.
  
  
Futures Wrap:  
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network - analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day.
  
Feeder Cattle Recap:  
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
  
Slaughter Cattle Recap: 
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by the USDA.
  
TCFA Feedlot Recap:  
Finally, here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
  


  
Our Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
  
Ron Hays, Senior Farm Director and Editor

Carson Horn, Associate Farm Director and Editor 
  
Pam Arterburn, Calendar and Template Manager
  
Dave Lanning, Markets and Production

Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News
 
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
   Tuesday, March 7, 2017


Howdy Neighbors! 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 







ToddLambFeatured Story:

Yesterday, Lt. Governor Todd Lamb addressed Oklahoma Farm Bureau members during the organization's Leadership Conference in Downtown Oklahoma City about a few of the major issues being focused on this year during the legislative session. I had the chance to speak with him for a moment after his talk, where he fielded several questions from the audience with concerns about public school funding in the state, among other things.

"It's extremely important, that's just stating the obvious," Lamb said underscoring his shared concern about the financial viability of the state's education system. "There's some real challenges in education but nothing we can't overcome and fix."


However, he adds that to really solve the issue, there will have to be some "rigorous, healthy debate and discussion with all those involved." According to him, at the moment there is no piece of paper with a budget outlined. He says the budget is merely a conversation right now and will have to nailed down as we get closer to the end of the 2017 session. Lamb quipped, though, that there is no money tree growing at the State Capital, alluding to the constraints of the situation.

Learn more about Lt. Governor Todd Lamb's visit with OFB members and listen in on our brief conversation after addressing the group, by clicking or tapping here.

 
Sponsor Spotlight
 
 
It's great to have one of the premiere businesses in the cattle business partner with us in helping bring you our daily Farm and Ranch News Email- National Livestock Credit Corporation.  National Livestock has been around since 1932- and they have worked with livestock producers to help them secure credit and to buy or sell cattle through the National Livestock Commission Company. 

They also own and operate the Southern Oklahoma Livestock Market in Ada, Superior Livestock, which continues to operate independently and have a major stake in OKC West in El Reno. To learn more about how these folks can help you succeed in the cattle business, click here
for their website or call the Oklahoma City office at 1-800-310-0220.     

This week kicks off USDA's stint of reporting on crop progress and conditions in the three-state region of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas.



Despite what the groundhog predicted last month, Spring seems to have arrived early here on the Plains, according to this week's round of reports. Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas all report a continuation of dry warm weather, with only some rainfall. The OCS Mesonet indicates February was one of the warmest on record.


Drought conditions in Oklahoma were rated 73 percent moderate, up 5 points from last week and 29 percent severe, up 2 points from last week. Statewide air temperatures averaged in the low 50's across the state. Topsoil and subsoil moisture conditions were rated mostly adequate to short. The report shows winter wheat jointing reached 6 percent, down 3 points from normal. Rye jointing reached 3 percent, down 9 points from normal. Oats planted reached 65 percent, down 3 points from normal. Oats emerged reached 10 percent, down 4 points from the previous year and down 10 points from normal. For the complete Oklahoma report, click here.


In Kansas, during the last week, temperatures averaged six to ten degrees above normal across most of the state report. Rain and some hail were reported in a few southeastern counties. The majority of the state remained warm and dry, with high winds elevating concerns of wildfires in many areas. For the complete Kansas report, click here.


Meanwhile in Texas, the Northern and western parts of the state were mostly warm and windy. Areas of the Trans-Pecos, the Edwards Plateau and South Central Texas received from trace amounts up to 1.0 inch of precipitation. The Coastal Bend, South Texas, and the Lower Valley reported totals ranging from 1.0 inch to upwards of 3.0 inches of rainfall with isolated reports up to 6.0 inches. There were 6.0 days suitable for fieldwork. For the complete Texas report, click here.

President and CEO of the US Grains Council Tom Sleight took a moment to speak to our own Carson Horn, last week during the opening of the tradeshow at the 2017 Commodity Classic in San Antonio. He told Carson that with the Trump Administration still working to fill vacancies in some key positions of the government, there's several situations in flux that could alter the position of the US in the global market. He says the USGC is doing its part to make sure the new administration understands the impact of trade in the agricultural sector.


"We always like to make sure as we're talking to folks right now, very clearly about the importance of trade to agriculture," Sleight said. "95.7 percent of the world's population lives outside of our borders, and so if you want to be growing business for people that eat food, you need to have international trade."


As Sleight and his team continue to work with the new administration to develop trade priorities, they are also working to develop new opportunities for American producers, to strengthen and add value to the US grain industry. One promising prospect cropping up on the international marketplace - ethanol, says Sleight.


"We're focused on four major markets Japan, Mexico, India and China," Sleight reported. "It's an effort we're doing with Growth Energy, Renewable Fuels Association, the US Grains Council - working together to identify the markets, identify the right strategies for those markets and bringing those markets into being good customers for US ethanol."

For a chance to listen in on Carson's conversation with Sleight during the Commodity Classic to learn more about USGC's involvement in the evolving trade situations in the global markets, click or tap here.

In this week's Cow/Calf Corner newsletter, OSU's Dr. Derrell Peel examines the impact cheap grain is having on stocker cattle prospects.


According to Peel, feedlots are taking advantage of cheap feed grain to pack pounds on cattle, in effect increasing demand in the markets for lighter weight cattle. As it's more cost effective for the feeders to add pounds in the feedyard rather than buy heavyweight cattle, the profit margins of stockers are being squeezed.


"In the complex, multi-sector world of cattle production, this coordination is directed by dynamic market signals driving stocker and feedlot production adjustments in the face of changing feed resource values. Feed grain prices dictate feedlot cost of gain which drives feedlot demand for feeder cattle of various weights. As feedlots determine whether they would rather buy lighter weight animals and add weight in the feedlot or buy more weight from the country, the resulting feeder price relationships across weights will change and provide the corresponding signal for stocker or backgrounding producers. Ultimately, the market is trying to figure out which sector can add weight to feeder cattle most cost effectively.


What's happening now, he says, "is in sharp contrast to much of the past few months when there were strong market signals to add weight in the country and take stockers to heavier weights before marketing. Stocker producers grazing out wheat or looking ahead to summer stocker grazing should carefully evaluate production and marketing plans with respect to purchase weight, enterprise length and sale weight of stocker cattle. Until or unless feed grain prices increase significantly, stocker margins will generally be squeezed; though seasonal opportunities will continue to be offered in the market."

For Dr. Peel's complete analysis of the current economic situation unfolding in the stocker/feeder sector, click here.
 
Sponsor Spotlight
 
 
For nearly a century, Stillwater Milling Company has been providing ranchers with the highest quality feeds made from the highest quality ingredients.  Their full line of A&M Feeds can be delivered to your farm, found at their agri-center stores in Stillwater, Davis, Claremore and Perry or at more than 100 dealers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Texas. 

We appreciate Stillwater Milling's long time support of the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and we encourage you to click here to learn more
 about their products and services.


Livestock Market Economist Dr. Glynn Tonsor has been collaborating with the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion Board to develop new indexes that will capture data driven insights on beef demand in the food service and retail sectors of the industry. He told me, having this refined data is important to the industry, because if you understand demand - you understand the consumer.


"Beef demand itself tells us how the consumer views our product," Tonsor said. "Importantly, we have a lot less information on consumer demand than we do on supply."


Tonsor says that while we have several tools on the supply side, which he agrees are very valuable, there are comparatively a lot less measurements of the demand side. Essentially, the industry is running blind to one side of the business. Having this information would bring a whole new perspective that could help drive marketing strategy in a world with a protein market that is becoming more and more competitive. With more refined demand insights available, different segments of the industry will be able to focus on the information most relevant to their particular interests, and allow for more informed decision making.


"If you're a grocery store, or you don't care as much about what's going on through restaurants and vice versa," he said, "collectively for producers, the net of that is what's important."


Listen to Tonsor explain the need and importance of having these insights available to the industry with Ron Hays, on yesterday's Beef Buzz - click here.
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 to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.

 


The National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization, USDA and Farm Credit announced that Amber Bales of Morrison is among eight general education teachers from around the country selected as winners of the National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award for 2017.


Bales, a third grade teacher at Morrison Elementary in Morrison, was the 2016 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year for the statewide Ag in the Classroom program coordinated by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the Oklahoma State Dept. of Education.


In two decades of devoted teaching she has found many ways to promote agriculture through classroom lessons. Her students have germinated bean seeds to measure the sprouts, sampled purple vegetables and fruits to learn about anti-oxidants, designed an educational booth about buffalo for the county fair, and written agriculture haiku poems.


Her current agricultural focus includes organizing a food drive for the school each year and a separate food drive for a local homeless man. In addition, she started a farmers market in her community and is in charge of watering fruit trees at the school.


The passion Bales feels for agriculture spurred her to attend numerous local and state AITC training sessions and conferences. In 2015, she was one of the Top 3 AITC Teachers of the Year and in 2016 won the highest honor as Teacher of the Year.


"Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is thrilled to have another one of our outstanding educators receive the National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture award," said AITC coordinator Audrey Harmon. "Amber Bales brings agriculture into her classroom, her school, her community and now she will represent Oklahoma agriculture on the stage at the National Ag in the Classroom conference. We have great educators all across Oklahoma using the Ag in the Classroom curriculum and they are all making a difference in the lives of students and spreading the positive message of agriculture."


Continue reading to get the full story on Bales' award and learn about the other teachers being recognized for their efforts and achievements in teaching students about agriculture in the classroom, by clicking or tapping here.
ThousandsAcresThousands of Acres Burned/Burning
 
This week is proving to be the worst outbreak of wildfires thus far in 2017- with thousands of acres in Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma are burning.

In the Texas Panhandle, officials report a 40,000 acre fire in Lipscomb and Ochiltree Counties- both counties that nestle up against Oklahoma's Panhandle and are due west of Woodward. 

In Beaver County, a fire east of Forgan has reportedly burned 10,000 acres in Oklahoma and 40,000 acres in Kansas in Meade and Clark Counties.

Major fires have been reported in Harper and Woodward Counties in our state- News9 Storm Chaser Marty Logan shared this picture this morning with News9.Com as he is counting the miles of fire line in the northwest:



With daylight- emergency management folks and landowners will be able to offer damage assessments- thousands of acres burned, hundreds of cattle killed, lots of folks having to flee the flames and several structures lost with these fires- some of which continue to be out of control.


HappeningsHappening This Week- Farm Bureau Dedicating, No Till Gathering and OYE to Start

 
Later today at noon- the Oklahoma Farm Bureau will be dedicating a special courtyard adjacent to their headquarters building in Oklahoma City right across the street from the state capitol.

Designed by an Oklahoma-based architecture firm, the courtyard will contain 77 pillar sculptures, each one in the shape of one of the state's counties. Each sculpture will also contain soil from the county it represents. There is also an elevation change in the four planting beds which represent four quadrants of Oklahoma per the geography elevation map. The elevation changes start in NW Oklahoma at Black Mesa, the highest point in Oklahoma at 4,975 and ends at the Little River located by the Arkansas border at 289' above sea level.

We'll be there at midday today and have reports for you tomorrow morning here in the email and in realtime on Twitter and Facebook.

**********

Today is the first day of the 2017 Oklahoma No Til Conference- they are kicking off this morning with several speakers looking at wheat production in the state and how No Til can be a successful part of your wheat strategy.

The meeting is at the Grand Casino just west of Shawnee- click here for more details.

**********

It's hard to believe- but it is time for the 2017 edition of the Oklahoma Youth Expo- kicking off mid week- with the three day Gilt Show set to start on Thursday.

We have a day by day schedule on our calendar page at OklahomaFarmReport.Com- click here and take a look and  be watching for our coverage of the OYE, which is powered by ITC, Your Energy Superhighway!


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, American Farmers & Ranchers, Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, AlltechOklahoma Farm BureauStillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma AgCreditthe Oklahoma Cattlemens Association 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:  

 

phone: 405-473-6144
 


 




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