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!
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 futures- click
here for the report posted yesterday afternoon around 3:30 PM.
Our
Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
Ron Hays,
Senior Editor and Writer
Pam Arterburn,
Calendar and Template Manager
Dave Lanning,
Markets and Production
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Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News
Presented by
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
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Howdy Neighbors!
Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news
update.
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Featured Story:
Oklahoma Wheat Harvest Edges Forward- Wheat
Commission Now Says State is 68 Percent Complete
On a regular basis, the Oklahoma Wheat Commission is
releasing harvest reports for the 2016 crop. The latest report is
out, as of midday Wednesday, June 15, 2016. The Oklahoma Wheat
Commission is calling the state of Oklahoma to be 68% complete with
harvest as of today.
Executive Director Mike Schulte offers a breakdown
of the state by regions in today's report:
"Wheat harvest has been put on hold in most parts
of Southwest Oklahoma over the past few days with the rains that were
received on Monday. In some parts of this region producers are hoping
they may get back in the field later this afternoon. In other places
from the Frederick, Chattanooga and Walters area it will most likely
be Friday before the ground will allow producers back in the field.
Areas from Lawton east to Chickasha and Maysville it will still be
much longer before combines are back in the fields on the lower lying
areas especially. In many areas of this region flooding has damaged
the crop to the extent it will not be harvested. It is anticipated
that harvest will begin for some producers in the Hinton area this
afternoon and continue to move North, where harvest continues to take
place in the Bison, Enid, Goltry, Cherokee, Burlington and Alva
areas. Producers are also moving full speed ahead in the Ponca City,
Blackwell Regions.
"Rains in far Northwest Oklahoma from Shattuck to
May and into the Panhandle have slowed harvest from progressing,
although some harvest has been taking place in Buffalo. We had some
early reports of dryland wheat being harvested before the rains this
week in Hooker. Around Boise City they are estimating dryland wheat
harvest will really get rolling on Monday, although some cutting is
predicted for this weekend. Harvest in Northeast Oklahoma has been
slowed by the rains this past week up around Afton and Miami with
nothing new reported in that region since Monday.
Southwest, OK
In Southwest Oklahoma yields have been ranging from
the mid 30's to the mid 50's with reports from the Walters and
Chattanooga area up into Altus and Lone Wolf that yields will not be
as high as predicted earlier. Abandonment in the lower lying areas of
this region into Apache, Lawton and Maysville will also be a factor
in bringing total bushel amounts down from Southwest Oklahoma. No reports
or changes on test weights from this region since before the rains.
Depending on the rains and how they fell before Monday test weights
in this area were reported in the ranges of 58 to 59 lbs./bu.
(76.3-77.6 kg/hl), with a lot of the wheat that was harvested prior
to the rains at 60 lbs./bu. (78.9 kg/hl).
Central, OK
In Central Oklahoma harvest continues to progress
almost to the point of completion North of El Reno into Okarche and
Kingfisher. Yields in this region reported to be making in the mid
40's to the mid 50's, with higher yields in the mid 60's reported out
around the Greenfield, Hydro and Hinton areas. Test weights for the
region still being reported at 61 to 62lbs./bu. (80.2-81.5 kg/hl) for
the most part.
North Central, OK
In North Central Oklahoma harvest continues to
progress with some areas facing slower starts the past couple days
because of the higher humidity. Test weights in the region, as of
today, are averaging 60 to 62 lbs./bu. (78.9-81.5 kg/hl) for the most
part. Yields in this region are all over the board from the mid 40's
to the mid 60's, with higher yields in the 70's to 80's on dryland
wheat, if followed by soybean or alfalfa rotations.
Protein reports from all over the state are ranging
anywhere from 9% to 12.5%. Proteins look to be doing better in the
North Central and Panhandle regions of the state.
Northwest Oklahoma and the Panhandle
In the Northwest and Panhandle regions of the state
harvest was just beginning around the Shattuck and May areas before
the rains on Monday. Some harvesting has been taking place in Buffalo
on wheat that was heavily grazed. Some minor harvest began on dryland
wheat in Hooker, with some early reports on dryland wheat making from
the mid 30's to as high as the mid 60's. An early protein test from
Hooker Equity showed protein to be averaging 12.5%.
Northeast, OK
In Northeast Oklahoma harvest has been slowed by the
rains earlier in the week and has been for the most part at a
standstill. Test weights on the wheat in this region weighing
anywhere from 61 to 62lbs/bu. (80.2-81.5 kg/hl) with yields from this
area reported to be making in the mid 40's to mid 50's. No protein
was reported from this region.
Click
here to find wheat harvest progress percentages
for specific locations around the state.
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Willingness to Pay By
Consumers Slips Lower for Third Straight Month for Steak and Chicken
Breast in OSU Food Demand Survey
Monthly, Dr.
Jason Lusk and his team at Oklahoma State University
in the Ag Economics Department release the Food Demand Survey, the
results from polling consumers nationally on what they are willing to
pay for several different meat items found in the grocery store or
supermarket. Consumers also are asked about concerns they have about
food safety and production practices they have read or heard about.
Dr. Lusk will also ask "ad hoc" questions that differ from
month to month about a variety of subjects.
In
his blog, Jayson Lusk offers the following observations about the
latest survey, released on June 15, 2016:
"In terms of the monthly tracking portion of the survey,
willingness-to-pay (WTP) decreased for all food products in June
compared to May. This is the third month in a row that WTP has fallen
for steak, chicken breast, and chicken wing, and the fourth month in
a row that WTP has fallen for pork chops and deli ham.
"There was a sizable increased in awareness of GMOs in the news
this month, as was also the case for battery cages and beta-agonists.
The largest percent increase in concern was for bird flu and farm
animal welfare. The largest percent decrease in concern was for
cancer and meat consumption, antibiotics, and E. coli.
"Several new ad hoc questions were added this month.
"First, I followed up on some questions I'd previously asked in
response to some research conducted by Marc Bellemare at University
of Minnesota on food safety and farmers markets. In particular,
participants were asked: "Have you or anyone in your household
bought and eaten food from a farmers market in the past two weeks?"
"Approximately 67% of participants stated they have not
purchased food from a farmer's market in the past two weeks. Less
than one third of participants stated they have purchased food from a
farmer's market in the past two weeks. 2.31% of participants stated
they did not know if they have purchased food from a farmer's market
in the past two weeks.
"Here comes the interesting part. The people who shopped or ate
at farmers markets were much more likely (20% vs. 2.5%) to say they
had food poisoning in the past two weeks than people who did not eat
or buy food at a farmers market. I'm surprised the difference is so
large, but the results are perfectly in line with Marc's
research.
"There are other demographic differences as well. People who
shopped or ate at farmers markets were more likely to be male (55.6%
vs. 26%), to be on SNAP - aka food stamps - (24.1% vs. 14.5%), not be
from the Midwest (90% vs. 80%), to have higher incomes ($91,167
vs.$67,607), be younger (39 vs. 20 years of age), and be more liberal
(3.4 vs. 2.9 on a 1 to 5 scale) on average than are people who did
not shop at farmers markets.
Click
here to read Dr. Lusk's full observations and find links to his
blog and the latest survey..
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Sesaco's Jared Johnson
Says It's Not Too Late for Sesame in Oklahoma
For farmers looking for a late season spring crop,
sesame may be the answer. Jared
Johnson, Sesaco field tech representative, says the
spring rains have made this a good year to take advantage of double
crop opportunities.
For those worried that it's getting too late to plant sesame, Johnson
says there's still time.
"We still have up until July 4 in the northern parts of the
state and up until July 20 in the southern parts," he says.
"Don't be afraid to check into sesame this year. With the
conditions like they are, were setting up for a really good
year."
As summer approaches and the days get warmer, Johnson says sesame's
drought and heat tolerance make it a great choice for this part of
the country.
"Sesame is a very drought tolerant crop, and you really can't
get it too hot," he says. "It will take all the heat units
you can throw at it."
Johnson says Sesaco is currently offering double crop contracts to
producers in Oklahoma and north Texas. Contracts are offered on an
acre basis with conveniently located seed dealers and delivery
points.
With current sesame prices at $0.32/lb. for dry land and $0.35/lb.
for irrigated, Johnson says double crop fields average around 600 to
800 lbs. and primary crop fields go up to 1,000 lbs.
"You're looking anywhere from $320 to $200 an acre gross,"
he says. "Sesame is a pretty low-input crop. We try to do
everything we can to keep costs around $80 an acre - that's with
seed, chemical and fertilizer."
To learn more about growing sesame on your farm, contact Johnson at
(405) 531-7840 or jjohnson@sesaco.com
or visit the website at www.sesaco.com.
Listen
to Johnson talk more about the benefits of sesame.
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Cattle Marketing
Decisions Made Easier Thanks to BeefBasis.com
Whether you're buying or selling stocker cattle, www.beefbasis.com is a valuable
tool to help calculate the potential return on your animals. Kansas
State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Glynn Tonsor
says it's a good resource to pull feeder cattle futures market
information into management decisions.
Tonsor uses an example of a 550 lb. steer sold on Sept. 14 in Salina,
Kan. is projected to bring $156/cwt.
"That is basically reflecting the September feeder cattle
contract was trading $144/cwt and beefbasis.com was projecting a
basis of positive 12 bucks," he says. "So the math is basis
plus futures gives you the cash price."
Stocker operators can use beefbasis.com to make purchasing decisions.
Using the same example, Tonsor now looks at putting 200 lbs. on the
steer and selling him in mid-March or waiting to buy the steer in
October, putting on the 200 lbs. and selling him in April.
He says in the first scenario, the value of gain is projected to be
$54/cwt based on the futures market, but in the second scenario,
value of gain is projected to be $72/cwt.
"Those are both projections on what you pay in October and what
you get in April, but I'm trying to give some credence to the fact
that if you're a stocker operator, there's some clear signals to
wait," Tonsor says. "It also kind of tells me there may be some
incentives in the market to pull down those September prices relative
to October and November as we get closer to that because the
September ones are at a premium."
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Dairy Farmers Turning to
Genetics to Improve Profit Margins
Tough
conditions in the dairy industry are prompting U.S. dairy farmers to
rely increasingly on genetics to improve their profit margins,
according to a new research report from CoBank.
Milk prices are down 40 percent from their highs in late 2014, and
lower slaughter prices have also hurt the industry. As a result, many
American dairy farms are currently operating at or below break-even
margins.
"Producers
are left with two ways to bolster margins - increase milk
productivity or obtain higher premiums for bull calf sales,"
said Trevor Amen,
animal protein economist with CoBank and author of the report.
"Recent advances in genetics make both of these possible, and at
a much more affordable cost than in years past."
Farmers have a number of genetic tools at their disposal including
sexed semen, genomic testing, in vitro fertilization, estrus
synchronization techniques and management software technology. In
addition, some dairy producers are crossbreeding dairy cows with
proven beef sires to add value to the bull calf crop, enabling the
capture of market premiums in the beef market.
"These strategies can provide much-needed advantages for
dairies," Amen said.
Amen notes that while genetic advancements and breeding programs can
offer dairy producers distinct advantages, breeding programs should
be customized for each farm, and may not work for all dairy
producers.
"The objective should be to continue to improve production
efficiencies and add value to both the dairy and beef cattle supply
chains," concludes Amen.
Until recently the effects of falling milk prices were somewhat muted
by record high cattle prices, Amen said. Record-high beef cattle
prices boosted dairy producer's margins by as much as one-third in
mid-2015 through the sale of cull cows and bull calves. Now, calf and
cull cow sales are responsible for less than 10 percent of margins.
Click
here for a link to a video synopsis of the report,
"Dairies Use Genetics to Manage Through Beef Price
Decline."
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Nationally- No
WOTUS in 16, GMO Labeling and FSA Loan Woes
A federal court order shows arguments on the merits of a lawsuit
against the Waters of the U.S. rule will likely be scheduled beyond
February of next year. A court order this week from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati appears to keep the stay
in place blocking the rule through that time. The federal court
blocked the rule when implemented last August and numerous legal
challenges to the law were consolidated by the three-judge panel
earlier this year. The petitioners in the case, including agriculture
interest groups, states and other industries, will be required to
file briefs on the merits by September 30th, 2016. The Environmental
Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers are required to
respond by November, 30th of this year.
The implementation
of WOTUS won't happen in 2016.
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The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee continues to negotiate a legislative deal on GMO
labeling before the Vermont law goes into effect next
month. Committee Chairman Pat
Roberts says negotiations are ongoing this week with
the committee's ranking member Debbie
Stabenow, according to Politico. However, as the
negotiations continue, two sets of groups remain dug in on each side
of on-package language versus QR codes.
The Coalition for Safe Affordable Food initially supported only
voluntary labeling, but is now open to a legislative deal that would
make GMO disclosure mandatory if other disclosure methods, like QR
codes, 1-800 numbers and websites, could be used. The Center for Food
Safety, the Organic Consumers Association, Food Democracy Now and
other advocacy groups are standing firm that on-package language, as
will be required in Vermont.
**********
For the second year in a row, USDA's
Farm Service Agency says its $2.65-billion operating
loan program will likely run out of funds before the end of the
fiscal year. USDA
officials say the funds will likely run dry by the end of June,
around three months before next year's program starts on October
first. Cash-strapped farmers and cautious banks have turned to the
program amid the global grains downturn.
These FSA loan guarantees and direct loans are typically considered
loans of last resort, but an increasing number of agriculture lenders
have turned to the program. The recent rebound in crop prices has not
cooled demand. USDA data shows that at the end of May, applications
for operating loans were up 23 percent and funding obligation had
climbed 19 percent. USDA officials and banking experts estimate the
backlog of applications could total as much as $650 million by
October.
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Carson Horn Joins the
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Family as Associate Director of Farm
Programming
It's official! We have rescued this native Okie from Little Rock
and brought him home to join our team here at RON. Carson Horn did
a great job the last few years at the Arkansas Cattlemen's
Association- redesigning their magazine,growing their trade show at
their annual convention and more- and we are proud that we have been
able to bring his talents and smile back to Oklahoma.
Carson is from Yukon- an Ag Communications Grad from Oklahoma State
and was active in FFA growing up, a leader in the OSU Ag Student
Council and the President of the OSU Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity his
Senior year in Stillwater.
He picked up national honors earlier this year from the National
Cattlemen's Beef Association for his efforts in Public Relations and
Communications for Arkansas Cattlemen- and I believe he will do a
bang up job in the days ahead in all the ways we try to get farm and
ranch information out to the ag community across the state and
region.
Click
here for our news release on Carson joining us- and be looking
for his smiling face at meetings around the state in the weeks and
months ahead.
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Your Homework- Learn More
About the Vet Feed Directive Coming 1/1/17
In recognition that some of you may be heading to Ardmore this
afternoon for their seminar on the Veterinary Feed Directive issue- details
are here- I wanted to share a great article to read about the VFD
and how cattle producers and others in the livestock business can get
their arms around this change in the way we do things as of January
first of 2017.
The new antibiotics use guidelines will be fully enacted by January
1, 2017, but cattle farmers, ranchers and feedyard managers have
already begun implementing these changes, many of them going above
and beyond what is required by law, working with veterinary health
professionals, regulatory officials and the general public to ensure
healthy animals and safe beef.
Brandi Buzzard
has written this piece for the website FactsAboutBeef.Com and you can
learn her Five Fast Facts about the New FDA Antibiotics Guidelines by
clicking
or tapping here.
BTW- we will be
in Ardmore for this Seminar- learning from this great
set of speakers- we'll be getting interviews to share details with
you in the days ahead.
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