Oklahoma's Latest Farm
And Ranch News
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Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update.
- Brazil Suspends Beef Exports to China, Confirming Two Atypical BSE Cases
- Although Beef Demand is High, Dollars are Slow to Trickle Down to Producers
- National Farmers Union Calls on USDA to Support Competition in Meat and Poultry Processing
- Cattle Groups Challenge the Endangered Species Declaration for the Lesser Prairie Chicken
- Nevil Speer's Third-Party Opinion on the Producer-Packer Market Debate
- National Association of Wheat Growers Opposes Changes to Clean Water Act Rule Change
- Livestock Nitrate Toxicity Levels Could Rise as Summer Ends
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Brazil Suspends Beef
Exports to China, Confirming Two Atypical BSE Cases
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Brazil has suspended its beef exports to China, following confirmation of two separate cases of atypical BSE on Saturday.
Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture announced the export control measure on Saturday morning over our Labor Day Holiday weekend. The measure complies with the sanitary protocol between the two countries for the detection of Bovine Spongy Encephalopathy (BSE).
The export ban took effect immediately, a statement issued by the director of Brazil’s Department of Inspection of Products of Animal Origin (DIPOA) said.
It is unclear when Brazilian beef exports to China may resume. When Brazil registered its last atypical case of BSE in 2019, sales to China were suspended for 13 days.
China, along with Hong Kong account for about 60 percent of Brazil’s beef export shipments. July volumes were almost 91,000 metric tons – the second highest monthly figure on record – meaning any prolonged closure could put significant strain on China’s imported beef supply. Prices began to rise in Chinese wholesale meat markets soon after the decision was announced on Saturday morning.
Two older cows tested positive in Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso states.
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The Oklahoma Cotton Council is proud to serve the cotton producers and those who are a part of the cotton industry in Oklahoma- promoting and protecting their interests. In Recent Years- cotton acreage has grown in Oklahoma- and today we are the third largest Cotton State in the US- based on Acres Planted.
The Oklahoma Cotton Council works for the cotton farmer in the areas of research, advocacy and education. Follow the Oklahoma Cotton Council on Facebook.
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Although Beef Demand is High, Dollars are Slow to Trickle Down to Producers
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More than a year ago, the coronavirus pandemic caused huge disruptions in the global economy, many of which are still being dealt with or suffered through today. One of those continuing challenges, that hit Americans in the stomach, was the closure of meat packing plants, causing a bottleneck of live cattle and beef shortages in grocery stores all over the country.
Dustin Aherin, vice president of Rabo AgriFinace, has offered congressional testimony on this ongoing issue. Some believe there is something nefarious is going on in the cattle market, Aherin told Radio Oklahoma’s own Ron Hays he believes the marketplace is doing what it does best: balancing out supply and demand.
“As frustrating and challenging as the beef industry has been for cattle producers over the last couple of years, there really are rational supply and demand factors that have driven this price spread between fed cattle prices and wholesale beef cutout prices,” Aherin said.
He said it is as simple as having more cattle available than there is plant harvesting capacity.
Some argue that packers should expand capacity to solve the issue. Aherin said looking back, the beef packing industry was not a profitable endeavor, that is why the U.S. saw so many plants shut down between 2000 and 2015.
In the last five years, as cattle numbers have grown and packing capacity has stayed flat, Aherin said packers realized they needed to prepare for another slump in cattle numbers. As cattle numbers decline, that slump may be beginning now, he added.
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National Farmers Union Calls on USDA to Support Competition in Meat and Poultry Processing
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Earlier this week, National Farmers Union (NFU) submitted formal comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in response to a request for information on investments and opportunities for meat and poultry processing infrastructure.
In the wake of the July 9, 2021 Executive Order on promoting competition in the American economy, as well as the American Rescue Plan Act, USDA is redoubling its efforts to build a more diversified meat processing sector. The NFU comments note that while the Act includes directives to provide funding for a more diverse marketplace, underlying competition issues will need to be addressed through enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act and antitrust laws.
The comments by Rob Larew, NFU President, reiterated the need to strategically direct federal support towards enhancing resiliency and fostering competition in the meat and poultry processing sector. His statements are as follows:
“This idea has been a top priority for our members for decades. These investments are a critical component of President Biden’s Executive Order on competition and represent an important step forward in achieving a more diverse and secure food supply chain and agricultural economy. When COVID-19 brought disruptions to our livestock markets and food supply, the need for additional, diversified processing capacity became evident to policymakers and the general public.”
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For our farmers who have either- always have had cotton on their farms- or those who have more recently have added the fiber crop to their operations- we have a new daily report starting to be heard on several of our Radio Stations- It's Called Cotton Talk- and we appreciate the Oklahoma Cotton Council for their support in making this a reality.
Click on the Button below to listen to our most recent report
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Cattle Groups Challenge the Endangered Species Declaration for the Lesser Prairie Chicken
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Earlier this week, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and state affiliates in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas (the “Livestock Associations”) submitted comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in response to a June 1 proposed rule that would classify a northern population of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (LPC) as threatened and a southern population as endangered. The proposal revives the Service’s previous efforts to list the LPC that was reversed in 2016 by a U.S. district court.
“The Livestock Associations believe the Service has incorrectly asserted that ESA protections are warranted at this time,” observing in the comments, “...the Service asserts that there is sufficient evidence to support the listing...” despite the fact that “...range-wide population estimates are, by all accounts, increasing across the range as a result of coordinated conservation efforts resulting from a centralized voluntary conservation method.” The groups emphasized to the Service that without protection of open space provided by agriculture and livestock operations, conservation efforts would be less successful.
Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association was one of the state groups signing the letter- in a statement- Michael Kelsey told us "The proposed designations of the Lesser Prairie Chicken under the Endangered Species Act represent not only is a disregard for the great conservation work that private land owners have and are doing, but more importantly, it is a significant proposed breach of private property rights. OCA is proud to be part of this strong coalition pushing back on this proposal that ignores the hard work and progress made in conservation and common sense practices by Oklahoma and adjoining state’s landowners."
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We invite you to listen to us on great radio stations across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network weekdays-
if you missed this morning's Farm News - or you are in an area where you can't hear it- click below for this morning's Farm news from Ron Hays and KC Sheperd on RON.
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Sponsor Spotlight
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National also owns and operates other livestock marketing subsidiaries including Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction in Ada, Oklahoma, OKC West Livestock Market in El Reno, Oklahoma, and the nation’s premier livestock video sale, Superior Livestock Auction. National offers customers many services custom made for today’s producer. To learn more, click here for the website or call the Oklahoma City office at 1-800-310-0220.
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Nevil Speer's Third-Party Opinion on the Producer-Packer Market Debate
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A combination of record-high demand at home and abroad for boxed beef, plus a bottleneck of live cattle into processing facilities due to the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. meat packing industry has been dealt a prosperous hand. While packer margins are big, cattle producers do not think they are getting a fair share of the meat pie.
Nevil Speer, director of industry relations at Where Food Comes From, Inc., gave us his opinion on the recurring issue. Where Food Comes From, Inc. is an independent, third-party auditing company recognized and utilized by numerous standard-setting bodies as an accredited verification or certification service provider, according to the website.
“This is not a new topic for our industry,” Speer said. “We have been talking about captive supply and market reform, pretty much for the last 20 to 25 years.”
According to Speer, discussions died down around 2014 and 2015, until a fire at the Tyson Foods’ Holcomb, Kan. beef packing facility in 2019, quickly followed by the global pandemic, sparked the discussions.
“What happened with (the pandemic) is, you got a slow-down of cattle throughput,” Speer said. “Meanwhile, you got an increased demand for boxed beef … so you actually enabled the packer to have leverage on both sides of their transactions, so all of a sudden their margins began to go crazy.”
Speer said there are some folks in the business who believe packers should be sharing the wealth with cattle producers. Despite the business never working that way, the picture gets painted as though it has and should, he added.
He said he thinks the business needs to come together to solve the issue. First, he said producers need to be leery of where they are getting information about this issue.
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NAWG and AFBF Oppose Changes to Clean Water Act Rule Change
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On July 9, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced their intent to initiate a new rulemaking process that replaces the Navigable Waters Protection Rule and announced a request for stakeholder input. Today, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) provided public comment in alignment with its policy resolutions, which supports the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR).
“The Navigable Waters Protection Rule provided farmers with clarity on the waters that would be jurisdictional under the Clean Water Act and included important provisions for farmers, including addressing prior converted cropland,” NAWG CEO, Chandler Goule said. “The NWPR also recognized that important agricultural water features such as farm ponds, and certain irrigation and drainage ditches should not be considered as jurisdictional waters under the Clean Water Act. While we appreciate the opportunity to provide input to the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers, farmers don’t need more uncertainty through yet another regulatory process. NAWG supports maintaining the provisions of the NWPR. We recognize that recent court decisions have complicated this process, but we urge the EPA and Army Corps to maintain important agriculture provisions of the NWPR that provided the clarity that growers have been seeking.”
NAWG will continue to engage in the process as the Army Corps and EPA move through this process.
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Livestock Nitrate Toxicity Levels Could Rise as Summer Ends
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Livestock producers need to continue to test their pastures for nitrate toxicity levels, even though they may have done so weeks ago and the results showed no reason for concern, said Oklahoma State University Extension experts.
“Oklahoma has experienced a relatively mild summer but now we’re seeing hotter, drier conditions that can lead to nitrate issues in forage plants for areas that receive a sudden rainfall event,” Alex Rocateli, OSU Extension forage systems specialist, said. “Frequent testing is a good risk management tool. Producers should never be guessing about potential toxicity levels in what they feed their livestock.”
Sorghum, sudangrass, haygrazers such as sorghum-sudangrass hybrids, johnsongrass, pearl millet and fescue are some of the forages that have a high potential for accumulating nitrates. Producers also need to be mindful of nitrate-accumulating weeds.
OSU Extension county offices can perform on-site nitrate tests of forage samples for a small fee. Samples also can be sent to the university’s Soil, Water and Forage Analytical Laboratory for a more detailed report.
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OKC West is our Market Links Sponsor- they sell cattle three days a week- Cows on Mondays, Stockers on Tuesday and Feeders on Wednesday- Call 405-262-8800 to learn more.
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Today's First Look:
Ron on RON Markets as heard on K101
mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
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Wholesale Boxed Beef Prices went lower last Friday ahead of the Labor Day holiday- Choice Beef was down $1.50 while Select Beef was 4 cents lower.
Click on the Button below for the latest report from USDA Market News
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Weekly Cattle Auction Reports
The buttons below allow you to check out the weekly Cattle Auctions in the region that we post on our website and here in our daily email update.
Please note that the markets that operate early in the week will be off THIS week for the Labor Day holiday- including the Oklahoma National Stockyards and the Joplin Regional Stockyards. OKC West will not have a cow sale due to the holiday but will have their regular Tuesday/Wednesday sales this week.
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Each afternoon we are posting a recap of that day's markets as analyzed by Justin Lewis of KIS futures - click below for the latest update on the Livestock and Grain Futures Trade..
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Okla Cash Grain:
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture- The report available after the close of the Futures Trade for that day.
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Our Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
Ron Hays, Senior Farm Director and Editor
KC Sheperd, Associate Farm Director and Editor
Dave Lanning, Markets and Production
Pam Arterburn, Calendar and Template Manager
Chelsea Stanfield, Farm News and Email Editor
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Rural Oklahoma is full of some of the greatest success stories throughout the entire state and is the main reason Oklahoma is on track to become a top 10 state.
The Road to Rural Prosperity will dive into these stories each week, bringing you insight into the great things happening in and to rural Oklahoma. We will bring you stories covering rural life, agriculture, energy, healthcare, tourism, and politics affecting rural America.
The Road to Rural Prosperity is here to tell stories about rural America, for rural America.
Along the Road to Rural Prosperity- we feature our latest Ag Perspectives Podcast. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Senior Farm Director Ron Hays recently sat down and talked at length with the head of the Oklahoma State University Wheat Improvement Team, Dr. Brett Carver.
Ron and Brett discuss what happened during the 2021 wheat growing season as it pertains to the OSU bred wheat varieties- and then Dr. Carver launches into what is coming- in both the near term and further down the road from the OSU Wheat Breeding Pipeline.
To find out more about our full series of Podcasts on The Road to Rural Prosperity- click or tap here.
To hear this podcast, you can click here or tap below:
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Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Oklahoma Ag Mediation Program, Great Plains Kubota, Stillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma Cotton Council, National Livestock Credit Corporation, Oklahoma Beef Council, Oklahoma AgCredit, Union Mutual Insurance, the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association, 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!
We invite you to check out our website at the link below too that includes an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.
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God Bless!
Reach Out To Us:
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Tim West
President/General Manager
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network
2401 Exchange Avenue,
Suite F
Oklahoma City, OK 73108
405.317.6361
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Ron Hays
Director of Farm Programming
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network
405.473.6144
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