The 2017 Wheat Quality Council's Hard Winter Wheat Tour across Kansas wrapped up on May 4, as scouts traveled from Wichita to Manhattan.

The three-day average over the fields that were calculated was 46.1 bushels an acre. While an estimated 7.4 million acres of wheat were planted in the fall, tour participants saw many areas where disease, damage from snow and freeze damage may eliminate those fields. This was accounted for in the final estimates.

The official tour projection for total production numbers of hard red winter wheat to be harvested in Kansas is 281,707,913 bushels. If realized, this would be 185 million bushels less than last year's crop, a forty percent smaller crop. This number is calculated based on the average of estimated predictions from tour participants who gathered information from 469 fields across the state. The number of stops was down significantly from 655 fields during the 2016 tour. This was due primarily to snow cover in the western third of the state, where tour scouts weren't able to take calculations.

Pam Smith with DTN tweeted after the tour numbers were announced "tour scouts took abandonment into consideration to come up with 282 million production or about 40 bushels per acre."  The projected yield of 46.1 bushels per acre that came out of the Crop Tour is for fields that may be harvested- and Smith adds "that production figure is what scouts thought. That puts abandonment guess at about 20%--for now."

To read more, click or tap here.

 

The latest Drought Monitor report from the Oklahoma Mesonet indicates that drought conditions across the state continue to shrink. However, despite lots of wet weather these last few weeks, dryness still persists in east central and southeastern parts of the state.

Gary McManus, Oklahoma State Climatologist, says we started this year with nearly 83 percent of the state in drought. Not since late June of last year have we seen a drought rate as low as this week at 4.26 percent.

With little rain in the forecast for the last few remaining hot spots, don't expect this week's numbers to move any for now.

In the meantime, you can check out the latest Drought Monitor map up on the Mesonet website for yourself, or click here to jump to our website to read McManus' blog on this week's conditions.

The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) produces an annual report that offers an overview of farmers' usage of GM crops, exploring why and how biotechnology is utilized in the field.

This year's brief entitled, Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops, shows that millions of farmers around the world continued to choose GM crop varieties in 2016 because of their environmental and socio-economic benefits and the important role they play in addressing food security.

"The United Nations warns that our food supply must double by 2050 to meet the world's expected population growth to 9 billion people," said Jim Greenwood, President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). "GM crops produce bigger yields on less land and help farmers and growers mitigate the environmental challenges of climate change."

Some of the highlights of the report point out that in 2016, 26 countries in total, including 19 developing and 7 industrial countries, grew biotech crops. Developing countries grew 54 percent of biotech crops, compared to 46 percent for industrial nations. Also, since 1996, biotech crops have generated $167.8 billion in farm income.

Read the full article on our website for more highlights, or check out the complete study brief for yourself, by clicking or tapping here.

The Beef Checkoff has come under attack recently. The organization known as the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America, or R-CALF USA, has long been opposed to the way in which the Checkoff operates. This year, R-CALF has found support from a few others including some members of Congress who have agreed to introduce legislation that would alter how it works, especially in regards to its relationship with its main contractor, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. During a recent fly-in to Washington, DC, I had the chance to speak with NCBA's Colin Woodall about this affront to the cattle industry. He says there is little chance of success for this legislation to pass.


"Fortunately, these bills will go through the House and Senate Ag committees and we have two chairmen that understand the Checkoff," Woodall assured. "So, what we're trying to do is bolster their efforts in order to educate all the new members of Congress and new staffers to let them know, these are not tax payer dollars. These are producer dollars and ultimately it's producers who make the decisions on where that money is being spent."


Woodall insists a voluntary program, as R-CALF would have it, would simply not work. He points out that all producers benefit the same and it was in fact the industry itself that came together to form the Checkoff as it is today, back in 1985. Another piece of legislation originating from this group would prohibit the Checkoff from contracting with any organization that employs lobbyists.


"That's a direct attack on NCBA," Woodall asserted. "But the fact is, the firewall that's in place ensures that no Checkoff dollars are ever used on the policy activities we undertake."


Listen to Woodall and I discuss this attempt to alter the operations of the Beef Checkoff, on yesterday's Beef Buzz - click here.

Also at the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Washington Watch, the fly-in I mentioned earlier, I ran into Roger Johnson, a third-generation family farmer from Turtle Lake, N.D. and president of the National Farmers Union.

It's safe to say, Donald Trump certainly runs the White House much differently compared to his predecessor. We knew a lot of change would come to Washington after this year's election. Most in the ag community have been so relieved to just simply have someone in the Oval Office that is willing to work with them, they often can't get passed the compliments.

However - Johnson, although agreeable to some of the positions taken by President Trump, was somewhat critical of the tactics he's demonstrated so far in trying to improve our position in the global marketplace with many of our trade partners.

"We would agree with the President that focusing on the trade deficit is an important objective and we would even agree that you ought to be renegotiating a bunch of these agreements," Johnson said. "But, we would part company in terms of how you go about doing it. I don't understand the strategy between deeply offending one of your customers before you sit down and renegotiate a deal with them."


He says, had a team of knowledgeable advisors been put in place early on, referring to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Johnson feels circumstances like these could have been averted.

Click here to read more or to listen to my whole conversation with Johnson as he offers some critiques on President Trump's performance during his first 100 days in office. 

Oklahoma State University's Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center is celebrating 20 years of adding value to Oklahoma with a documentary set to air on OETA, May 11 at 7 p.m. with encore presentations airing May 18 at 7:30 p.m. and May 28 at 11:30 a.m.


The documentary, "20 Years of Made in Oklahoma Food Innovation," highlights how FAPC was started, the impact the center has on Oklahoma and the food industry, and three Made in Oklahoma companies FAPC has assisted: Suan's Foods, Ace in the Bowl Salsa and Diane's Signature Products.


"The Food & Agricultural Products Center was launched with a tremendous vision of helping value added food and agricultural companies across the state, but no one had an idea of how it would actually flesh out," said Roy Escoubas, FAPC director.

The son of FAPC's namesake, Rodger Kerr, says the center is a hidden gem in Oklahoma that many people don't realize is here and adds that he is excited for the opportunities FAPC has to help businesses in the food industry grow in the future.

Click here for the whole story behind FAPC and it's upcoming documentary.

 
Weather looks mighty fine for this weekend- but there looks to be more moisture middle of next week- here is the Jed Castles Nine Day Forecast that he tweeted out a bit ago-



Note that the temps are staying right where they need to be to help both the wheat and canola crops finish here in 2017.  Attaboy Jed!!