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Time to Get the Fork Out- Wheat Harvest is About Done in Oklahoma- Wheat Commission Calls it 85% or More Complete

 
The latest Oklahoma Wheat Commission harvest report was released yesterday evening, several hours after the USDA Crop Progress numbers had once again shown a very conservative harvest complete number for the state.  The USDA number is 55% complete- and after that number was released- one of our friends on Twitter called out that number as woefully short- saying "If 45% of the crop is still in the field, where is it going to go?  Storage bins are full with many piles on the ground."

The Wheat Commission is agreeing with that sentiment, as they report that we are now at 85% or more complete with the 2016 Oklahoma Wheat Harvest- adding "In most parts of the state areas were reporting to be 90 to 95% complete with the exception of the Oklahoma Panhandle and parts of Southwest and South Central Oklahoma."

The monsoon like rains in southwestern Oklahoma have caused a lot of stress- Mike Schulte writes "Harvest was hindered once again in parts of Southwest Oklahoma with heavy rains around the Hollis and Mangum area on Friday evening. Some areas in that region received over 4 inches of moisture. Some producers in this region have really had to struggle to fight getting the crop out. As soon as it is dry enough to harvest the rains seem to come again. Test weights in all regions for the most part seem to be holding up on what was reported late in the week last week. Some sprout damage has been reported on lower lying fields with water problems and flooding in Southwest and South Central Oklahoma. In some of those areas the crop will most likely be a complete loss. Overall statewide test weight and quality seems to be very favorable for the most part."

He has a very detailed region by region breakdown of harvest and has percent complete numbers for a number of communities- click or tap here to see the complete report.

USDA Crop Progress: Wheat Harvest and Row Crops Looking Good Across the Country

 

The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture crop progress report rates 15 percent of the national corn crop in excellent condition, 60 percent in good condition, 21 percent fair and only 4 percent percent poor to very poor. National soybean conditions include 12 percent excellent, 61 percent good, 22 percent fair and 5 percent poor to very poor. The national grain sorghum is 8 percent excellent, 62 percent good, 27 percent fair and 3 percent poor. National cotton conditions include 9 percent excellent, 45 percent good, 38 percent fair and 8 percent poor to very poor. For the complete USDA Crop Progress report, click here. 


In the weekly crop progress report from USDA, Oklahoma winter wheat harvested reached 55 percent, up 3 points from the previous year but down 14 points from normal. The Oklahoma wheat crop condition rated 54 percent good and 12 percent excellent condition, 29 percent fair and only 5 percent percent poor to very poor. Canola harvested reached 70 percent, down 2 points from the previous year and down 10 points from normal. Corn silk reached 12 percent, up 8 points from the previous year but down 2 points from normal. Sorghum planted reached 79 percent, up 8 points from the previous year and up 3 points from normal. Soybeans planted reached 71 percent, up 10 points from the previous year and up 1 point from normal. Soybeans emerged reached 50 percent, unchanged from the previous year but down 5 points from normal. Click here for the full Oklahoma report.


Texas winter wheat harvest was in full swing across most of the state. Harvest was temporarily halted in some locations due to rain and wet fields. Fifty-five percent of the state's winter wheat has been harvested. That's a 20-point gain over last week and just 4 points behind the five-year average. Forty-three percent of the wheat crop is rated in the good to excellent condition, with 45 percent of the crop in fair condition and 12 percent in poor to very poor condition. Corn silking was at 41 percent, which is 14 percent lower than the five-year average. Sorghum was 90 percent planted, soybeans were 89 percent and cotton was 94 percent done. Click here for the full Texas report.


The Kansas winter wheat condition rated 1 percent very poor, 7 poor, 30 fair, 50 good, and 12 excellent. Winter wheat coloring was 98 percent, ahead of 89 last year and the five-year average of 91. Harvested was 25 percent, ahead of 6 last year, but near 27 average.Corn condition rated 1 percent very poor, 4 poor, 26 fair, 61 good, and 8 excellent, and silking was 6 percent, ahead of 1 last year, but near 5 percent average. Soybean condition rated 1 percent very poor, 3 poor, 31 fair, 61 good, and 4 excellent. Soybeans planted was 89 percent, well ahead of 68 last year, but near 86 average. Emerged was 70 percent, well ahead of 44 last year, but near 72 average. Sorghum condition rated 0 percent very poor. Click here for the Kansas report.

Darrell Peel Summarizes Dairy Industry's Impact on the Beef Market over Last 20 Years

 

 

 

Mike Conaway Says Stabenow Ideas on GMO Labeling Harmful to Poor Consumers

 

The Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Texas lawmaker Mike Conaway,  is not impressed with the last minute efforts of the Senate Ag Committee leadership regarding a bill that would establish a mandatory GMO labeling plan in the US while preempting state laws like the one in Vermont that is set to go into effect July first, if nothing is done in Washington by Congress before then.

Conaway was speaking yesterday to the opening of the Reciprocal Meat Conference at Angelo State in San Angelo, Texas- his own backyard.

He calls the GMO Labeling issue an informational issue- not a food safety issue- and an issue that pits the haves versus the have nots. According to Meatinplace, Conaway advocates the House plan for GMO labeling which is a "nationwide voluntary program "that gets the right blend to what consumers want to know about without affecting price." The focus all along should be on what he said are the bottom 20 percent of the population, who spend upwards of one-third of their income on food. "I'm worried about those folks at bottom of food chain. That's about 80 bucks a month. [Mandatory GMO labeling is] not improving the quality of the food, not improving quantity of their food."

Meatingplace says that he added that Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who plans to propose a GMO labeling bill, is "trying to rope-a-dope us" into shepherding a GMO labeling law through both houses of Congress and get the president to sign it to preempt Vermont's law.

On the Senate side- Senate Ag Committee Chair Pat Roberts says they continue to work on a compromise that can pass the Senate yet this week- no while smoke rising from the Senate Side of Capitol Hill as of yet, tho.

 

We are happy to have the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association as a part of our great lineup of email sponsors. They do a tremendous job of representing cattle producers at the state capitol as well as in our nation's capitol. They seek to educate OCA members on the latest production techniques for maximum profitability and to communicate with the public on issues of importance to the beef industry.  Click here for their website to learn more about the OCA.  

 

Dr. L D Barker Says Veterinary Feed Directive Should Have Positive Impact on Profitability

 

Livestock producers who use medications in feed to prevent and treat certain disease conditions will soon be required to work with their veterinarian to create a protocol for those supplements. The USDA mandated veterinary feed directive (VFD) goes into effect January 1, 2017 and Newcastle veterinarian Dr. L D Barker says it will ultimately benefit a producer's bottom line.


"I think this mandate kind of brings around a method that we can work together for their economic advantage as well, and our job is to enhance health and reduce costs," he says. "That's our whole goal as veterinarians is to reach out and do that."


The first step, Barker says, is developing a relationship between the rancher and veterinarian. 


"We need to know about their operation, whether it's at the clinic or at their site or their facility," he says. "We've got to know that and have the ability to go there and understand their whole program - their ins and outs of it - and what's happening there to really help them."


Barker says livestock nutritionists also play a vital role in herd health and profitability.


"If we sit there and we've got a producer, a veterinarian and nutritionist, we've got a three-legged stool and that thing will balance," he says. "But if you kick a leg out from under it, it's not going to work and we're going to have problems and it's going to cost us dearly."


Listen to Dr. Barker talk more about the veterinary feed directive during the latest Beef Buzz.

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Scientists Named to Participate in the Healthy Hive 2020 Initiative

 

Project Apis m. announced Monday the names of scientists and research projects seeking to answer key questions around bee health to receive funding as part of the Healthy Hives 2020 initiative. Healthy Hives 2020 is an initiative of the Bayer Bee Care Program and administered by Project Apis m. with the goal of improving the health of honey bee colonies in the United States by the year 2020.


Projects funded cover critical bee health topics such as bee nutrition, Varroa and disease management, and enhanced management techniques through smart-hive technology. The recipients were selected from a total of 23 research proposals seeking to provide practical and tangible solutions to the key issues affecting the U.S. beekeeping industry. More projects will be funded as the Healthy Hives initiative moves forward. 


"Project Apis m. is dedicated to honey bee health and we are so excited about this initial round of grant recipients," said Danielle Downey, the director of operations for Project Apis m. and Healthy Hives 2020 program manager. "Today's beekeepers are faced with a broad range of issues and are in urgent need of practical solutions to improve the health of their hives. We believe these projects will be critical to helping us enhance the vitality of honey bee colonies, while also improving crop productivity."


In February 2016, Healthy Hives 2020 issued a call for research proposals to address priority areas established by the program. The Healthy Hives 2020 Steering Committee reviewed the nearly two dozen proposals received and selected the seven research projects based on their direct correlation to the objectives set forth by the advisory council.

 

 

Click here to read more about each of the funded projects.

Wholesale Boxed Beef Prices Slip After Fathers Day- Ed Czerwein Explains

 
Father's Day is traditionally an excellent weekend for beef- as lots of Dad's end up either grilling or else standing in line at places like Texas Road House to enjoy a steak.

Ed Czerwein of the USDA Market News Office in Amarillo says that the wholesale boxed beef trade reflected the final push of beef for Father's Day earlier this past week- and then headed down.  He writes in his latest weekly boxed beef report "The daily spot Choice box beef cutout ended the week last Fri at $221.83 which was $5.84 lower compared to previous Friday. Monday and Tuesday prices were very good and topped out above $228 on Tuesday then fell down due primarily to the fact that Father's day products were already delivered."

Read his full report- and listen to his commentary on where we are with the beef pipeline right now by clicking here.

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