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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured Story:

NCBA's Colin Woodall Says Beef Industry is Losing Money Every Day Until TPP is Ratified

 

The Trans-Pacific Partnership isn't "Obama Trade" as some presidential candidates have termed it - it's "U.S. Cattle Trade" - says Colin Woodall, vice president of governmental affairs with National Cattlemen's Beef Association.


"We just need to make sure Congress understands that every day they fail to act, it's money out of our pocket as an industry," he says. 


Woodall says TPP is under fire from some legislators because of voter perception. NCBA members recently spoke with their members of Congress during the spring legislative conference and found that several were concerned about voting on TPP before the November election. 


"We had some folks that really didn't know what the benefits were of TPP, and then a lot of them that were just on the fence and probably wouldn't make a decision until after the election because they were concerned that this could be something that would sway their election results," he says. "Typically trade would have received a little bit more of a positive response."

 

Listen to Ron Hays' full interview with Woodall regarding the TPP trade agreement.

The presenting sponsor of our daily email is the Oklahoma Farm Bureau - a grassroots organization that has for its Mission Statement- Improving the Lives of Rural Oklahomans."  Farm Bureau, as the state's largest general farm organization, is active at the State Capitol fighting for the best interests of its members and working with other groups to make certain that the interests of rural Oklahoma are protected. Click here for their website to learn more about the organization and how it can benefit you to be a part of Farm Bureau.

  

Corn Planting Well Ahead of Five Year Average- Wheat Crop Ratings Improve Versus a Week Ago

 

Corn planting surged even further ahead of the five-year average last week according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With 30 percent of total corn acres planted by April 24, progress surpassed the five-year average for this point by 14 percentage points, ten percentage points further ahead of the average than this time one week ago.

Progress surpassed the five-year average by 50 percentage points in Missouri, with Iowa and Minnesota both more than 30 percentage points planted over the five-year average as well. Only Texas lagged behind the five-year average by more than five points.

The southern plains wheat crop improved in condition versus a week ago, with the Texas wheat crop now at 48% good to excellent, up three percentage points from a week ago, the Kansas crop rated at 53% in good to excellent shap- up four percentage points from last week and the Oklahoma wheat crop stands at 59% good to excellent- which is three percentage points better than last week.  


Wheat heading in Kansas is now at 23%, up from the 15% five year average, while Oklahoma is now 57% headed, behind a year ago by six points and ahead of the five year average by five percentage points. In Texas, the wheat is now at 50% in the heading stage, seven points under a year ago and two points behind that five year average.

 

Click here for our overview of the Crop Progress and Condition reports- we have links to the National Crop Progress Report and the state reports for Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas in this story found on OklahomaFarmReport.Com.

 

Farm Lending Activity Remains Robust According to Ag Finance Databook

 

Farm income remained suppressed in the first quarter of 2016, keeping farm lending activity high, according to the Federal Reserve's Agricultural Finance Databook.


Although non-real estate farm loan volumes declined modestly from a year ago, the number of loans originated increased slightly and the volume of loans remained near record highs. Large loans used to finance operating expenses remained the primary driver of demand for non-real estate loans.


Returns at agricultural banks generally remained strong, but delinquency rates on farm loans ticked up and loan repayment rates dipped, as persistently weak profit margins in the farm sector continued to intensify the challenge of maintaining adequate cash flow.

 

 

Read more about about the recent Ag Finance Databook report.

USDA Seeks Wetlands Project Partners in Oklahoma

 

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Oklahoma is seeking eligible conservation partners to assist with wetland protection and improvement on private and Tribal agricultural lands. Nationwide, $15 million is available for the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP).


WREP is one way state and local governments, non-governmental organizations and Tribal governments collaborate with NRCS to increase the number of voluntary conservation projects for targeted, high priority wetland protection, restoration and enhancement. Local and regional WREP partners match federal funding and technical assistance to increase the assistance they can provide to eligible private landowners interested in enrolling their agricultural land into conservation wetland easements. WREP is a special enrollment option under USDA's Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).


Proposals must be submitted to the NRCS state office in Stillwater, Okla. by May 16, 2016. More information is available on the NRCS Agricultural Conservation Easement Program webpage.

 

 

Click here to learn more about qualifying for WREP in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma FFA Convention Kicks Off This Morning in Downtown OKC

 

 

The opening General Session of the 90th Oklahoma FFA Convention begins at 10:00 AM this morning- and the Career Show opens at the same time- thousands of FFA members from all 77 counties will be gathering today and tomorrow for the annual gathering of the Blue and Gold. 

 

There is a special gift that every chapter in Oklahoma will receive as they check in at this year's convention- the brand new autobiography, Making Things Better, Wes Watkins Legacy of Leadership, that details the life of former Congressman Wes Watkins, who served as State FFA President in 1958-59 and who has dedicated his life in serving Oklahoma. 

 

Watkins will be at the Career Show, offering greetings to FFA members- it will be an unique chance for the current members of the organization to interact with one of the great citizens of the state of Oklahoma- Wes Watkins. 

 

A highlight of today's program will be the State Finals in Prepared Public Speaking- it happens after lunch at 1:00 PM.

 

The Oklahoma FFA website has lots more about the state convention- click here to jump there.

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Ed Czerwein Says Beef Cutout Prices Are Lower After Previous Week's Rally

 

On a regular basis, Ed Czerwein of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Market News Office in Amarillo, Texas offers a review of the previous week's boxed beef trade. Here is his report of weekly boxed beef trade for the week ending April 23. 


The daily spot Choice box beef cutout ended the week last Friday at $220.31, which was $4.82 lower compared to the previous Friday. There were 786 loads sold for the week in the daily box beef cutout, which was about 12 percent of the total volume.


The comprehensive or weekly average Choice cutout, which includes all types of sales including the daily spot cutout was $218.22 which was only $.45 lower.


There were 6,524 total loads sold, which was 478 loads higher than the previous week.   The formula sales were at 3,192 loads, which was 39 loads higher than last week and it was about 49 percent of the total loads sold this week. 

 

Listen to Ed Czerwein's full review of last week's boxed beef trade.

Dates to Mark on Your Calendar- Curt Pate on May 11, Right to Farm Fundraiser June 11 and Wheat Field Days Now till Mid May

 

Weather Threat This Afternoon Could Bring Hail, High Winds and More Across the Region

 

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment,  American Farmers & Ranchers, Stillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma AgCredit,  the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association, Pioneer Cellular 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!

 

 

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