Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
From: Ron Hays <ronphays@cox.net>
Date: 10/15/2018 6:24 AM
To: ron@ronhays.com



 
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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.
 

  
 
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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.
 
 
   
Today's First Look:
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 futuresclick or tap here for the report posted yesterday afternoon around 3:30 PM.
 
 
Okla Cash Grain:  
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture on Friday, October 12th.
 
  
Futures Wrap:  
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network - analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day.
 
Feeder Cattle Recap:  
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
 
Slaughter Cattle Recap: 
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by the USDA.
 
TCFA Feedlot Recap:  
Finally, here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
 


 
Our Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
 
Ron Hays, Senior Farm Director and Editor
 
Carson Horn, Associate Farm Director and Editor

Pam Arterburn, Calendar and Template Manager
 
Dave Lanning, Markets and Production

Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News

 
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
    Monday,  October 15, 2018

Howdy Neighbors! 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 
OneFeatured Story:
Secretary Sonny Perdue Issues Farm Safety Net and Conservation Payments in Excess of $4.8 Billion - Wheat Growers Grateful


With the 2014 Farm Bill's expiration at the end of last month, many in the ag industry were concerned about how that might impact the funding of certain programs within the legislation that provide farmers and ranchers the certainty they need to keep their businesses operating in tough times. However, this past week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the USDA has taken measures to ensure payment deadlines are met, and to that point has invested more than $4.8 billion in payments, starting this month, to agricultural producers through the Farm Service Agency's Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC), Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Conservation Reserve (CRP) programs.


"Despite a temporary lapse of Farm Bill authorities, farmers and ranchers can rest assured that USDA continues to work within the letter of the law to deliver much needed farm safety net, conservation, disaster recovery, and trade assistance program payments," said Perdue.


This year has proven itself yet another tough year for farmers. PLC payments have already been triggered for 2017 barley, canola, corn, grain sorghum, wheat and other crops. In the next few months payments will be triggered for rice, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, mustard seed, rapeseed, safflower, crambe, and sesame seed. Also, this week, USDA will begin issuing 2018 CRP payments to over 362,000 landowners to support voluntary conservation efforts on private lands.


This announcement by the Secretary was warmly welcomed by industry stakeholders who are relying on these safety net programs. Wheat industry leaders responded to the USDA's responsible action, issuing a statement thanking the Secretary and his department for supporting America's farmers.

 
"The program payments being announced today will provide a needed cushion for farmers during these tough economic conditions in wheat country," said Nation Association of Wheat Growers President and Oklahoma wheat farmer Jimmie Musick. "Mother nature continues to be more and more unpredictable each year, demonstrating vital importance of a viable farm safety net. ARC and PLC are important safety net programs that help enable farmers to farm another year." 


Musick also called on Congress in his statement, urging House and Senate leaders to act as soon as possible in reauthorizing the farm bill to ensure future availability of these safety net programs.


Sponsor Spotlight
 
 
It's great to have the Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards as a sponsor for our daily email. The eight Commission firms at the Stockyards make up the exchange- and they are committed to work hard to get you top dollar when you consign your cattle with them. They will present your cattle to the buyers gathered each Monday or Tuesday at one of the largest stocker and feeder cattle auctions in the world.
 
Click here for a complete list of the Commission firms that make up the Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards- still the best place to sell your cattle- and at the heart of Stockyards City, where you can go around the corner enjoy a great steak and shop for the very best in western wear.

Two 
The Trouble with China - NCBA's Kent Bacus Supports Washington's Game of Hard Ball with Beijing


It has been obvious that China, down through the years, has been a very tough customer to deal with when it come to agricultural exports. In the case of beef, we have only just returned to the Chinese market after being shut out since the Cow That Stole Christmas in 2003 about one year ago. Kent Bacus with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said in a recent conversation that he fully understands what the Trump Administration is trying to accomplish in the trade war it has been waging against China- attempting to force China's leaders to the negotiating table in an effort to even the economic playing field between the two nations. He says the use of tariffs, although not necessarily a pleasant one, has nevertheless delivered results in the past.


"It worked with Korea's threat of withdrawing from our trade agreement. It brought Mexico to the table to renegotiate. It's brought the Canadians to the table," Bacus said. "With China, the US has already targeted about half of the $500 billion worth of goods we import, and China is feeling the pain. So much to the point that they're actually scrambling to find ways to keep their currency from sliding even further."


China has naturally responded in kind with its own tariffs levied against US goods. Based on his knowledge of the situation, Bacus is not sure that the White House will ease up on this trade war any time soon, at least not until China seriously considers making some real systemic changes to their state-run economy. In the end though, he believes both countries will eventually come together to repair trade relations and economic ties.


"China has a lot to lose here and they have a lot more to lose," Bacus said. "I think tariffs will be effective to a point and the Administration will continue to use that leverage until China agrees to make some major changes. I think at the end of the day, both countries want to find a mutually beneficial path forward. When that happens is anyone's guess, but we're hoping it's sooner rather than later."


Listen to Bacus and I speak about the trouble with China and his take on the ongoing trade war, on today's Beef Buzz - click here.


The latest Quarterly Rural Economic Review from CoBank's Knowledge Exchange Division indicates that any significant farm price improvements over last year's prices will be limited, particularly with record U.S. yields for many of the major crop commodities adding to available supply levels. Meanwhile, the animal protein and dairy sectors continue to benefit from strong domestic demand and the promise of better access to Mexico and Canada but will need more export market growth to absorb their current pace of output and expansion.


"Agricultural markets are being squeezed as prices remain weak," said Dan Kowalski, vice president of CoBank's Knowledge Exchange Division. "While recently negotiated trade deals show some upside for agriculture, global demand for output from the U.S. agriculture sector is being outpaced by current U.S. production." 


Some of the key findings of the CoBank report reveal that the escalating trade war with China is the leading risk for U.S. agriculture and that retaliatory actions taken by China and other trading partners have raised concerns of long-lasting effects on agricultural supply chains. However, USDA assistance to farmers and ranchers suffering hardship may have a modest impact on farm financial conditions.


For more highlights or to review the full quarterly report, "Rising Output Compressing Agricultural Margins," click over to our website.

 
Work by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and the NRCS continues as the agencies attempt to assess damages caused by recent flooding that occurred throughout Western Oklahoma between October 6th through 9th, 2018. Despite the obvious devastation, it is without doubt the impact could have been exponentially worse without the existing flood control dam infrastructure.


"The flooding we have experienced over the past few weeks has been significant," said OCC Executive Director Trey Lam. "While we do not know the full extent of the damage done by these historic flooding events, we do know our upstream flood control dams have worked as designed and helped save lives and minimize potential damage."


USDA-NRCS estimates that the dams across Western Oklahoma prevented an estimated $10 million in damages over the recent three day storm event. However, USDA-NRCS believes these savings could be even greater. 


"There are currently 330 proposed structures that have been planned and authorized," said USDA-NRCS State Conservationist Gary O'Neill. "But, these structures have not been constructed due to a lack of federal and local funding. Had the additional funding and flood control dams been in place, Oklahoma could have realized an additional $2.4 million dollars in benefits from flood damage prevention."


While OCC is pleased that the flood control dams performed as intended, OCC recognizes the need for additional funding to maintain and repair existing dams and build new ones. Lam points out that during this past legislative session, significant support was given to these programs from state policy leaders. He hopes to see that support and commitment continue to grow in the future.


For more information on the Oklahoma Conservation Commission's network of 2,107 upstream flood control dams, 
click here.
 


Sponsor Spotlight
 
 
It's great to have one of the premiere businesses in the cattle business partner with us in helping bring you our daily Farm and Ranch News Email- National Livestock Credit Corporation.  National Livestock has been around since 1932- and they have worked with livestock producers to help them secure credit and to buy or sell cattle through the National Livestock Commission Company.  

They also own and operate the Southern Oklahoma Livestock Market in Ada, Superior Livestock, which continues to operate independently and have a major stake in OKC West in El Reno. To learn more about how these folks can help you succeed in the cattle business, click here for their website or call the Oklahoma City office at 1-800-310-0220.


A recent article on the foraging aspects of wheat pasture shared by the animal health company, Zoetis, leaned on the knowledge of Ryan Reuter, an Oklahoma State University associate professor and researcher specializing in cattle nutrition and grazing management, who described how stocker operators can use this forage resource in tandem with other tools such as implants, to maximize their cattle's potential gain and profitability during grazing season.


To further capitalize on the average daily gain wheat pasture offers stockers, Dr. Reuter recommends cattlemen leverage an implant program as well as incorporate an 
ionophoreThe key to managing an implant program for cattle on wheat pasture, he says - a season lasting from November through April - is having an implant that can actively release for more than 140 days. 
Dr. Reuter suggests using the 200-day implant Synovex One Grass, which added 22 pounds of gain on average compared to other leading products in recent performance trials.


"Some implants pay out before that season is over. By using long-acting implants, producers can have a longer payout period. Otherwise, you need to consider re-implanting," Dr. Reuter said. "The most cost-effective management program you can do in stockers is making sure cattle have an active implant. The return on investment is bigger than any other management practice we do in stocker cattle."



To learn more about how you can extend your grazing opportunities with long-duration implant options like Synovex One Grassvisit the complete article on our website.


Six Indigo Ag Launches Innovative New Platform Designed to Connect Grain Buyers Direct to Producers

A new company called, Indigo Ag, is rolling out its program for growers to sell their grain- from small quantities to large volumes- directly to buyers who pay a premium for it. David Perry, chief executive officer of the four-year-old company, explained how Indigo plans to make the platform a place where eventually everybody who wants to buy grain goes and everyone who is selling grain goes to facilitate that transaction. With over $2 billion worth of bids already invested, though, he says that is happening quicker than they would have thought. The reason behind this rapid growth, he claims, can be attributed to a unique trait that this model offers customers - a system that can trace grain from its origin all the way to the customer.


"It's a big deal for customers. Identity preservation essentially allows you to do two things. It allows you to specify how you want something grown and know you're getting the grain that way. And, two, it allows you to tell your customers about the source of their food. Customers increasingly are caring more about that."


By contracting with Indigo, producers will now have the ability to command a premium for their grain if certain predetermined standards of quality are met upon delivery. Currently, Perry says some bidders in Marketplace, are willing to pay as much as 50 to 75 cents above market price for wheat with certain qualities.


Learn more about Indigo Ag and Indigo Marketplace's early success, by clicking or tapping here for more information or to listen to an interview shared with us by our broadcasting colleague, Kent Root of the Iowa Agribusiness Network.

SevenDiamond Hats Raise BIG Bucks- Honor Melissa Eisenhauer as Woman of the Year in Okla Ag

It was a record night for the Diamond Hats, a ladies auxiliary organization designed to support the efforts of the Oklahoma Youth Expo. The ladies once again held their major fundraiser of the year, the Diamond Hats Gala on Saturday evening- and announced at the end of the night that they had raised a record large total to go toward their support of the 2019 OYE- a total of $225,000. Over 500 attended the 2018 Gala, held this year at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

In addition to the fundraising efforts- the organization announced a special gift to the Oklahoma FFA and the Oklahoma 4-H. Melissa Eisenhauer serves as the current Diamond Hats President- and explained the gift ahead of a ceremonial check presentation to the youth groups. "Just a few weeks ago the Diamond Hats voted to provide $5,000 to Oklahoma 4-H and FFA for the purpose of providing 4-H and FFA jackets to young people who may not have the means to purchase one."


 
Unknown to Eisenhauer ahead of the evening, the organization later announced that she was their choice to be the 2018 recipient of the Woman of the Year in Oklahoma Agriculture- an award that is traditionally announced at the Gala.

After the presentation- I had the chance to visit with Melissa about the award as well as more about the origins of the Diamond Hats and their support for the OYE- you can read more and you can listen to our conversation by clicking or tapping here. 

By the way- Thank You Diamond Hats for allowing me to be a part of the 2018 Gala- it is an honor to have served once again as your Emcee- lots of fun and is really great to be a small part in the raising of these monies for the 4-H and FFA members that participate in the OYE- the world's largest youth livestock show. 


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K EquipmentLivestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Stillwater Milling Company, National Livestock Credit CorporationOklahoma Beef Council, Oklahoma AgCreditOklahoma Pork Council, 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 also appreciate our Market Links Sponsor - OKC West Livestock! 
 
 
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.   
 

 
God Bless! You can reach us at the following:  
 
phone: 405-473-6144
 

 




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