Oklahoma's Latest Farm
And Ranch News
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Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
Friday, January 8, 2021
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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update.
- Sydnee Gerken Joins OCA's Staff to Lead Oklahoma Prairie Beef Solutions
- OSU's Kim Anderson explains Why there have Been price Swings in many of the Crops Grown in Oklahoma
- U.S. Drought Monitor Map Show Vast Improvements in Oklahoma and Texas
- Regional Land Values for Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Arkansas Grew in 2020
- Livestock Shows Offer "Eyeball" Evaluation to Compliment Genetic Evaluation
- Ag in the Classroom--Application Deadline Ending on Feb 15th for Grant Proposals
- Conservation Program Benefits the Lesser Prairie Chicken
- Back On My Soapbox- Day Two As We Consider How to Move Forward
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Sydnee Gerken Joins OCA's Staff to Lead Oklahoma Prairie Beef Solutions |
Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) is pleased to announce the addition of Sydnee Gerken to the staff team in Oklahoma City. Sydnee will serve as the Director of Operations for Oklahoma Prairie Beef Solutions, an entity of the OCA. Oklahoma Prairie Beef Solutions (OPBS) was created for the Oklahoma cattle producer by Oklahoma cattle producers with the purpose to reward a premium to cattlemen and women who choose to sell their cull cows into this program. The ground beef product will be sold in Oklahoma retails stores around the state.
“We are excited to have Sydnee on board to lead the efforts of Oklahoma Prairie Beef Solutions,” said Michael Kelsey, OCA Executive Vice President. “Sydnee’s leadership experience, passion for the beef industry and tremendous work ethic is just what this new strategy needs to move forward.” Sydnee graduated from Oklahoma State University this past December. She grew up on her family’s Angus cattle ranch near Cashion, Okla. She is the co-owner and operator of G3 Livestock Enterprises in partnership with her sisters. Sydnee’s knowledge of livestock and work ethic are evident by the honors and positions she has earned during her college years.
A few of these include Oklahoma State University 2020 World Champion Horse Judging Team and 2019 National Champion Livestock Judging Team. Sydnee served as Chairman of the National Junior Angus Association Board of Directors in 2018-19 and as President of the Oklahoma Junior Cattlemen’s Association Board of Directors in 2015-2016. “Oklahoma Prairie Beef Solutions, led by a dedicated board of managers and fully endorsed by the OCA Board of Directors, is set to move forward with providing OCA members and Oklahoma beef consumers a direct relationship through retail ground beef marketing. We have an aggressive strategy to be fully operational by the summer grilling season of 2021,” said Kelsey. Gerken views this opportunity as a way to give back. “Growing up in this community has given me so many opportunities,” said Gerken. “I am excited now to give back some of those opportunities. As a young cattle producer, I have always admired the dedicated work of the OCA staff.
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OSU's Kim Anderson explains Why there have Been price Swings in many of the Crops Grown in Oklahoma. |
Oklahoma State University Extension Grains Market Analyst Dr. Kim Anderson talks about what is going on in the Wheat Markets weekly on SUNUP.
This week Dr. Anderson talks about the jump in grain prices, "You go back early December to today and we've had anywhere from a 16 to 20% increase in prices. You look at wheat, early December $5.00/bushel, they are up to about $5.80 now. Forward contract in early December, $5.25, Its $5.95 cents right now. Corn went from $4.00 to $4.80, forward contract from $3.95 to $4.25. Milo went from $5.60 to $6.45 cents! What a premium for Milo!
The forward contract for Milo is not as good, $4.40 in December and its up to $4.70 now. Soybeans went from $11.10 to $13.25. Forward contract was $9.70 in December, $10.85 now. Relatively good price there. Cotton prices went on the futures from 72 cents up to around 80 cents." To hear more from Dr. Anderson click or tap below.
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U.S. Drought Monitor Map Show Vast Improvements in Oklahoma and Texas |
Widespread precipitation, well above normal, fell across much of the southern U.S. to start the new year, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map. The heavy moisture resulted in large swaths of drought improvement.
In Texas, this week’s winter storm brought 1 to 4 inches of precipitation more than what is normally received in an entire month this time of year.
We saw one to two drought category improvements in all but the far western part of Texas, the Panhandle and southern Texas.
Moderate drought was removed from southeast Oklahoma and Arkansas.
We are definitely starting the year on a wet note for much of the country as 38.41 percent of the country is drought free, a fiver percent improvement from a week ago.
There is some work to be done as one year ago more than 75 percent of the country was drought-free.
Dark shades of Extreme (D3) and Exceptional (D4) drought cover large sections of the western and southwestern U.S.
The northwest and everything from the central U.S. on east is basically in good shape.
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For our farmers who have either- always have had cotton on their farms- or those who have more recently have added the fiber crop to their operations- we have a new daily report starting to be heard on several of our Radio Stations- It's Called Cotton Talk- and we appreciate the Oklahoma Cotton Council for their support in making this a reality.
Click on the Button below to listen to our most recent report
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We invite you to listen to us on great radio stations across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network weekdays-
if you missed this morning's Farm News - or you are in an area where you can't hear it- click below for this morning's Farm news from Ron Hays and KC Sheperd on RON.
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Regional Land Values for Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Arkansas Grew in 2020 |
Owning farmland has always been a priority for farmers, but interest in this real asset by investors has grown in the past year.
“Prices for top quality cropland sold at our auctions are up $1,000 per acre or more since before harvest,” said David Whitaker, area sales manager for Farmers National Company. “Demand for good farmland has definitely increased.”
Despite the challenges faced by agriculture and producers in 2020, the farmland market remained stable throughout the year and strengthened in the last quarter. Iowa agriculture especially endured economic challenges with interruptions to livestock deliveries, the derecho storm, lower ethanol demand and a late season drought across much of the state.
“Government payments, crop insurance, low interest rates and rising grain prices sustained farmers’ interest in buying land especially in the fall time frame. Add in the growing number of investors who want to own farmland and you have a strong demand driven land market,” Whitaker said.
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Livestock Shows Offer "Eyeball" Evaluation to Compliment Genetic Evaluation |
Cattle shows are a long-held tradition for cattle producers and their families and one of the reasons is because they provide that all important visual inspection of the animals, which may be lacking in today’s world of enhanced genomics.
On today’s Beef Buzz, we talk with a couple of the folks involved with this week’s inaugural Cattlemen’s Congress where more than 11,000 head of animals are on display through Jan. 17 at the state fairgrounds in Oklahoma City.
Jarold Callahan, president of Express Ranches and a member of the Cattlemen’s Congress board of directors, said this show offers eyeball evaluation while celebrating the genetics of today’s cattle.
A high percentage of cattle are still bought and sold on visual appraisal, Callahan said.
The phenotype is just as important as the genomics, he said.
How cattle look, their conformation and their disposition are all important, he added.
Mark Anderson, executive director of the North American Limousin Foundation, agrees.
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Ag in the Classroom--Application Deadline Ending on Feb 15th for Grant Proposals |
Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is pleased to request grant proposals from educators to expand agricultural literacy in Oklahoma schools. Funding for these grants has been made available through the Oklahoma Pork Council.
NEW: Six Grants will be awarded in the amount of $500 each, and will be awarded in both the fall and the spring. Proposals are funded based upon project merit and the availability of funds. The application deadlines are September 15 and February 15.
Project objectives must promote students' understanding of the food and fiber system and support the use of the Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom program in the overall classroom curriculum. Because the primary purpose for this grant is to encourage use of the Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom program, project proposals must be directly related to Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom lessons and activities. A list of Ag in the Classroom lessons, and the activities to go with the lessons, are required.
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Conservation Program Benefits an Iconic Bird of the Southern Great Plains |
The lesser prairie-chicken and its habitat are making a comeback thanks to a USDA conservation program. The ground-dwelling bird was once abundant in the southern Great Plains, living in parts of Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. But over the past 150 years due to human migration and settlement, the lesser prairie-chicken population has declined by more than 90 percent, and its range has shrunk by over 80 percent.
The main threat facing the lesser prairie-chicken is the loss of habitat needed for survival caused by converting prairie to cropland, livestock overgrazing, oil and gas development, and building roads and power lines.
An Oklahoma State University study recently found that land enrolled in the Farm Service Agency’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) improves and increases lesser prairie-chicken habitat by providing large areas of grasslands and grassland connectivity. The birds were found to rarely move more than 0.3 miles to or from roost sites, and at the county scale, the presence of CRP appears to increase habitat suitability and roost-site accessibility. The study was summarized in a recent Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Insight (PDF, 1.2 MB).
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Back On My Soapbox- Day Two As We Consider How to Move Forward |
Several of our friends who are part of our email family responded to the Top Story in the Thursday email that I wrote about the events on Tuesday thru Thursday of this week in Georgia and in our nation's Capitol.
One truth I have been reminded of- neither side trusts each other- and doing what the late Kika de la Garza, long time Chair of the House Ag Committee, called the art of compromise is getting to be more and more problematic.
A couple of folks offered two thumbs up- and were pleased with the final sentence that spoke of the need to pray for our leaders and for our country. One addendum to that note- I have prayed for President Trump- and I will be praying for President Biden in the days ahead.
One comment was made about my suggestion that we might want to try a block chain concept to ensure that everyone gets one and only one vote- and people not eligible for various reasons would not get a vote. He added that "I'd love to go one step further and include what is known as Ranked Choice Voting in the mix. I suspect if the 2020 elections had all been ranked choice there would have been a great deal less of the nasty rhetoric." I confess I was not aware of that concept so I looked it up and this is what the web says about ranked choice- "Ranked choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting or the single transferable vote, allows voters to rank candidates in order of choice."
And I received three responses that did not like my comments from the same paragraph that spoke of block chain- the one that started with "the point of contention that the election was stolen from President Trump." I acknowledge that this phrase needed to be explained that some in our country believe that and others do not. If you took offense to that statement- I apologize. They also did not like the example that I gave of those in our country who have serious questions about mail in ballots and/or absentee ballots- I mentioned how they are handled in Oklahoma in a way that is transparent and then I added "the idea that in the dead of night- thousands of votes can be thrown into the mix- apparently without oversight- seems wrong." One reader objected to that statement- saying "I believe this is part of the problem in this country. You are spreading the idea that there was voter fraud even though you have no proof of this fraud. This is contributing to voter conspiracy ideas that have been debunked over and over again."
A second reader also was dismayed with the assault on the Capitol (I am, too)- and writes "It was clearly incited by the seditious statements of Donald Trump and unfortunately supported by many members of Congress through their support of Trump’s false claims about the election results."
Another reader- our friend Mason Mungle (we have known each other since we were in Class One of OALP) objected to the fact that I did not specifically condemn President Trump or the people who broke into the Capitol- "Your comments this morning were very inappropriate when a group of thugs, stimulated by trump, destroyed our Nation’s Capital. Over sixty courts, plus the U.S. Supreme Court, said the rule of law was upheld in the election. Mason adds I should retract my comments.
I agree that I did not condemn the President in the editorial of yesterday- and what I will say about that is that the President failed the country in not showing the leadership we deserve in a President in telling the protesters that choose to violate the law and invade the Capitol to stop and get out. But- I will turn to comments from Oklahoma Senator James Lankford in a letter that he has released to all Oklahomans on Thursday about his desire to launch a ten day Commission made up of Senators, Congressmen and Supreme Court Justices that could have reviewed all the allegations and given the States that information to use if they wanted to amend their certification of Electors. Because of the violence- Lankford saw no way to get any traction on the Commission and dropped his opposition to certifying the electors and Lankford says of the comment about fifty (or 60 court cases) "I am well aware that some in our state have said—along with the national media—that more than 50 court cases have already settled this election. The problem with that argument is that clearly they haven’t. Thousands of people still have questions." The Senator's says in his letter that he was not really expecting a change in the fact that Joe Biden will be our next President- but rather he was hoping that we could learn things that might make future elections more transparent as he wanted to see a high level Commission established.
Bottom line- January 6th was a day that should not have happened in the US Capitol- it's my understanding that already- there have been dozens of rioters that have been arrested- and that is how it should be.
BUT remember- those who supported President Trump peacefully filled the National Mall from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial- it's unfair to lump them in with those relatively few who broke the law and wanted to cause anarchy and achieved to some degree just exactly that.
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OKC West is our Market Links Sponsor- they sell cattle three days a week- Cows on Mondays, Stockers on Tuesday and Feeders on Wednesday- Call 405-262-8800 to learn more.
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Today's First Look:
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.
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Wholesale Boxed Beef Prices continue to go higher- Choice Beef was up 54 cents and Select Beef was up 51 cents on Thursday January 7th.
Click on the Button below for the latest report from USDA Market News
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Weekly Cattle Auction Reports
The buttons below allow you to check out the weekly Cattle Auctions in the region that we post on our website and here in our daily email update-
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Each afternoon we are posting a recap of that day's markets as analyzed by Justin Lewis of KIS futures - click below for the latest update on the Livestock and Grain Futures Trade..
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Okla Cash Grain:
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture- The report available after the close of the Futures Trade for that day.
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Our Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
Ron Hays, Senior Farm Director and Editor
KC Sheperd, Associate Farm Director and Editor
Dave Lanning, Markets and Production
Sam Knipp, Farm News Editor
Pam Arterburn, Calendar and Template Manager
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Rural Oklahoma is full of some of the greatest success stories throughout the entire state and is the main reason Oklahoma is on track to become a top 10 state.
The Road to Rural Prosperity will dive into these stories each week, bringing you insight into the great things happening in and to rural Oklahoma. We will bring you stories covering rural life, agriculture, energy, healthcare, tourism, and politics affecting rural America.
The Road to Rural Prosperity is here to tell stories about rural America, for rural America.
Congress has passed a 5,393-page Relief/Spending Omnibus Package- and Host Ron Hays Talks with Ethan Lane, Vice President for Government Affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association about Pandemic Relief- more money in CFAP, Grants for RAMP UP, the establishment of the SALE Act and more. Lane also talks about the announcement by USDA to start the process of moving Gene Editing for animals away from FDA over to USDA, a look at the Climate Team for President-Elect Biden, a return to USDA by Tom Vilsack, and a look into 2021 from a DC Perspective.
Today's Podcast is powered by Banc First, Loyal to Oklahoma, and Loyal to You.
To find out more about our full series of Podcasts on The Road to Rural Prosperity- click or tap here.
To hear this podcast, you can click here or tap below:
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Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, AFR/OFU, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Oklahoma Ag Mediation Program, Great Plains Kubota, Stillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma Cotton Council, National Livestock Credit Corporation, Oklahoma Beef Council, Oklahoma AgCredit, the 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 invite you to check out our website at the link below too that includes an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.
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God Bless!
Reach Out To Us:
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Tim West
President/General Manager
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network
2401 Exchange Avenue,
Suite F
Oklahoma City, OK 73108
405.317.6361
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Ron Hays
Director of Farm Programming
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network
405.473.6144
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