Thursday evenings during the hard red winter wheat harvest season, Mark Hodges with Plains Grains releases their weekly Wheat Harvest Report. The latest report dated June ninth is out and shows rapid harvest progress this week.


"The 2016 HRW wheat harvest hit high gear in the southern Great Plains this week as more favorable weather conditions for cutting have dominated the past week. However, limited areas of Texas and southwest Oklahoma are still experiencing muddy fields and high humidity restricting cutting in those isolated areas. Texas is now 27% complete with harvest, Oklahoma 28% harvested and Kansas is just now starting to get into full swing with less than 1% harvested.

Test weights are looking really good- reported yields are also impressive- but the jury is out on protein levels.  Click here to read the complete Plains Grains report- we have the PDF to their complete report as a part of our webstory which is our Top Ag Story for this Friday morning.

While the Oklahoma wheat harvest is nearly half-complete, OSU Extension Grain Market Economist Dr. Kim Anderson says just 42 percent of the world's crop will be in the bin come July 1. That number grows over the summer to about 80 percent by the beginning of September.


"So when you get to that 80 percent, that last 20 is very important because it's at the margin," he says. "And it's the one that really determines if the price is going to go up or if the price is going to go down." 


Producers will also be making planting decisions during that timeframe, and Anderson says the price of wheat needs to be near the cost of production or the acres won't get planted.


"The market needs the wheat," he says. "They need acres for 2017, and to get those acres, they're going to have to raise this price a little bit."


When it comes to the recent slightly higher prices, Anderson encourages producers to take advantage.


"A 40 cent price increase, you bet," he says. "I think you've got to sell 10 - 20 percent when you get a little rally. 


"I think that's the way to sell this crop - when you get a price rally, pull the trigger on some wheat."

Click here to listen to Anderson talk more about current wheat prices, and be sure to catch him on SUNUP this Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and Sunday at 6 a.m. on the statewide OETA network of stations.

The Environmental Protection Agency must protect the Renewable Fuel Standard as Congress originally defined it nearly a decade ago, Iowa farmer Randy Caviness told the EPA at a public hearing Thursday. He testified on behalf of Iowa Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau Federation.


"EPA's decision not to follow the intent of Congress in the 2007 RFS is highly disappointing to all of agriculture," said Caviness, who also serves as a member of AFBF Issue's Advisory Committee on Energy. "This decision strikes a blow to conventional ethanol production and dampens the prospects for the further development of advanced biofuels."


Caviness is a firm believer in clean energy, and his farm is proof of it. He has farmed for 28 years without energy-intensive tilling and leads initiatives to install wind turbines in his home county of Adair and neighboring Cass County.


Caviness told EPA that renewable fuels are an American success story and critical to keeping our nation moving forward in reducing dependence on foreign oil and providing well-paying jobs in rural America. EPA's proposal to reduce the RFS would hurt agriculture and rural economies at a time when farmers are already struggling with a down-turned economy.


"Our nation's farmers can grow more bushels of corn and soybeans on fewer acres to feed and fuel the world," Caviness said. "But if these reduced volumes are finalized, this decision will stall growth and progress in renewable fuels as well as the broader agricultural economy."

As producers begin adding females to their herds, Dr. Robert Wells, Noble Foundation livestock consultant, says new technology - and several considerations - could make a big difference in the process.


DNA testing is now available for commercial cows and provides a suite of information for a female, similar to EPDs used in registered cattle.


"We can find out a lot of information that is economically important to that commercial producer to be able to find the right cow for his operation," Wells says.


And when it comes to finding the right fit, Wells says above all, producers need to be looking for a female that best fits in the environment and the management of the specific operation.


"We have to remember that a cow works every day of the year - she's either gestating or gestating and lactating," he says. She never gets a day off."


Wells says other considerations like previous health programs, phenotype and even where the females are bought can be important in making this management decision. 


Listen to Wells talk more about selecting the right females during the latest Beef Buzz. 

The American Soybean Association (ASA) ramped up its call for approval of three outstanding soybean traits by the European Union this week, saying that the tools are a critical part of the industry's ongoing quest to meet sustainability and consumer demand goals, and that continued delays pose serious issues both for farmers and industry.


In a letter to European Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis Tuesday, ASA expressed deep concern with the EU's delayed authorization of three new soybean traits: Monsanto's dicamba-tolerant RR2Xtend and Vistive Gold high oleic traits, as well as Bayer CropScience's isoxaflutole-resistant Balance Bean trait. All three traits received positive opinions from the European Food Safety Authority in May and June of last year, and have awaited approval for five months following an Appeals Committee ruling in January.


"The Commission's lack of action in providing final authorization for these soy events has already caused unnecessary uncertainty, disruption and cost in the agricultural supply chain. Immediate authorization by the European Commission is needed to avoid substantial additional unnecessary costs and possible disruption to the essential supply of feedstocks needed by the EU's livestock, poultry and feed industries, which are more than 70 percent dependent on imports of vegetable protein," the letter stated.


ASA also cited repeated assurances over the course of several months from EU officials that approval of the three traits was imminent as providing a false sense of security for farmers looking to utilize the traits to meet sustainability goals and comply with the food industry's ongoing move away from trans fats in the American marketplace.


"As the threat of resistant weeds continues to move across soybean country, and the specter of increased input costs coupled with a down farm economy looms over so many soybean farmers, we need more options in the marketplace. We are not benefited by new products that are stuck in a malfunctioning approvals pipeline," said ASA President Richard Wilkins, a farmer from Greenwood, Del. "Add to that the ability of high-oleic soy to help answer the growing market for cooking oils free of trans fats, and you see the real value in these three traits.


"The European Commission must abide by the timelines set out in in its own regulations, as well as its obligations under the World Trade Organization, and give these traits the approvals that it has said are forthcoming," Wilkins added.

The National Association of Conservation Districts has entered into an agreement with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, one of the country's leading lawn and garden care brands, to help educate U.S. homeowners on the importance of employing water conservation strategies and reducing nutrient runoff and leaching.


"Local conservation empowers us and our neighbors to make a difference, starting in our own backyards," NACD President Lee McDaniel said following the formal announcement of the collaboration.


"NACD is honored and delighted to join in this unprecedented partnership with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company to promote water quality and water stewardship," he continued. "Through water positive education and outreach, we can teach current and future generations responsible water management that protects the health and vitality of our nation's watersheds and our planet's natural resources."


Through Scotts' Water Positive Landscapes initiative, NACD and a dozen other highly effective conservation organizations will work together to deliver conservation solutions within critical U.S. waterbodies and watersheds, like the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay. NACD will also help determine the direction of Scotts' initiative and provide ongoing feedback to Scotts on consumer outreach.

 
On Saturday morning, our In the Field guest on the News9 Morning News will be Dr. Ron Sholar with the Great Plains Canola Association- we will be talking about 2016 canola harvest that continues- and where the industry stands in getting farmers that have fallen out of love with canola to fall back in love.

Continuing weed problems in wheat and a nice price premium for canola compared to wheat will likely be good starting points in the effort this coming planting window in September-October to get more acres back for the one crop that matches up with a comparable planting/harvest window with winter wheat as a rotational crop option for producers here in the southern plains.

Ron and I will be on News9 around 6:40 AM- and we will post the video later in the weekend on our website if you miss it.

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The June USDA Crop Production numbers are out at 11:00 AM central this morning- we will be paying special attention to how USDA updates what they see as the size of the winter wheat crop based on June first data. 

Since harvest was well behind normal on June first- it is likely that Uncle Sam may not move much on what is expected out of our wheat fields compared to the guesses that were made back in May.

Click here for the calendar at USDA's NASS where you can go in at 11 AM and click on Crop Production on the June 10 box to see the report as released by Feds.  Over at the ERS webpage on the USDA site- they will also be releasing the monthly WASDE numbers at the same time.

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The Apache Auction Market will be holding a special Cow Sale tomorrow at noon- several really nice groups of cows are being offered at that time.

Click here for the Stockman Oklahoma website for more info- and you can also call the market at 1-888-926-9696.
 
ALSO on Saturday- the Kris Black Cream of the Crop Female and Bull sale is happening at the ranch near Crawford, Oklahoma.  Details of that sale can be seen on our website's calendar page- click here for the details.