From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Monday, August 16, 2010 6:47 AM
To: Hays, Ron
Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
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Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Monday August 16, 2010
A service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and KIS Futures!
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-- Jeffrey Reuter of Canadian County Named Cooperator of the Year by Noble Foundation
-- Who Wins If GIPSA Livestock Market Rule Changes Take Effect?- NCBA Says the Trial Lawyers Come Out on Top
-- Democratic Senators Urge GIPSA Marketing Rule Implementation
-- Everything You Wanted to Know About the Cattle Market- For This Week at Least- With Dr. Derrell Peel.
-- Soybean and Peanut Variety Trials Are Worth a Look
-- Study Finds Media May Be Over-Hyping Benefits Of Organic Food, Agriculture
-- Let's Check the Markets!

Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are proud to have KIS Futures as a regular sponsor of our daily email update. KIS Futures provides Oklahoma Farmers & Ranchers with futures & options hedging services in the livestock and grain markets- Click here for the free market quote page they provide us for our website or call them at 1-800-256-2555. When you call them- ask them about their brand new Iphone App which provides futures quotes for your Iphone.

We are also excited to have as one of our sponsors for the daily email Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, with 64 years of progress through producer ownership. Call Brandon Winters at 405-232-7555 for more information on the oilseed crops they handle, including sunflowers and canola- and remember they post closing market prices for canola and sunflowers on the PCOM website- go there by clicking here.

And we salute our longest running email sponsor- Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the springtime Southern Plains Farm Show, as well as the Tulsa Farm Show. Click here for more on the December 2010 Tulsa Farm Show, including information on how you can be an exhibitor.

If you have received this by someone forwarding it to you, you are welcome to subscribe and get this weekday update sent to you directly by clicking here.


Jeffrey Reuter of Canadian County Named Cooperator of the Year by Noble Foundation
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The 2010 Noble Foundation Outstanding Cooperator Award was presented at the 20th Annual Southern Plains Beef Symposium to Jeffrey Reuter of Canadian County. Reutter farms south and west of El Reno, and runs stockers as well as a small cow calf herd on his grass operation.

Reuter says that he used to raise wheat, trying to get both pasture as well as a grain crop. He tells us that it was impossible to really know what your profit or loss was on the dual purpose operation- and that he can more easily figure profit margins for his cattle using an all grass operation.

Reuter says he is amazed that the Noble folks are not overrun with requests to help farmers and ranchers in their trade area out. He says that the comprehensive services they provide are invaluable- and have a great price tag- free.

Click on the LINK below to read more about this honor- and a chance to hear details of this successful farming operation from Jeffrey as we chat in Ardmore on Saturday at the 2010 Southern Plains Beef Symposium.

Click here to meet the 2010 Cooperator of the Year Honoree- Jeffrey Reuter of El Reno.


Who Wins If GIPSA Livestock Market Rule Changes Take Effect?- NCBA Says the Trial Lawyers Come Out on Top
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The noise about the so called "GIPSA" Marketing Rules Changes is getting louder- with the groups that favor prompt adoption of the rules written by USDA officials that are comfortable with litigation to promote market fairness issuing multiple press releases and calling for a large crowd at the upcoming DOJ-USDA Workshop on Competition that will be held in Ft. Collins, Colorado on August 27.
Meanwhile, the groups that believe that the rules written by the USDA go well beyond the intent of Congress as they wrote the 2008 farm law are busy arguing that value added programs could face extinction at worse- and that producers will lose their ability to get a premium for their animals as packers and others along the beef chain refuse to take a chance on paying a premium facing a lawsuit over the "fairness" of that payment.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association has been vocal in their opposition to the Rule- In their BeltWay Beef Blog they write "The truth is, the ones who will be hit hardest are small to medium sized operations. This rule will kill jobs, stifle innovation and ultimately hurt producers and consumers."

The Beef Blogger adds that "This rule takes away the incentive to produce the quality beef products consumers prefer. Cattlemen have responded to consumer demands by finding innovative ways to develop and market premium quality and branded products. These alternative marketing arrangements have allowed cattlemen to get paid for the value they add. Without the contracted supply of cattle that meet the requirements of such programs, these programs will go away or be severely reduced in size and scope. This could have a huge impact on the choices our consumers make."

We had the chance to talk extensively with Colin Woodall of the NCBA about this rule while he was in southern Oklahoma over the weekend. You can hear his comments by clicking on the LINK below and jumping to our Ag Perspectives Podcast with this Washington DC lobbyist that represents cattle producers who are members of the NCBA.

Click here for more on the "anti" side of the GIPSA Marketing Rule Debate with Colin Woodall of NCBA.


Democratic Senators Urge GIPSA Marketing Rule Implementation
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Twenty Democrats and a single Republican Senator (Chuck Grassley of Iowa) have sent a letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, offering support for the work that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has done in how they have interpreted the intent of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill) in implementing significant changes to the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 (P&S Act).

A letter led by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Tim Johnson (D-SD) and signed by an additional nineteen Senators has been sent to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack that calls for a timely process in implementing the proposed revisions to the P&S Act that have been requested by the Administration.
In regard to the proposed rule, the letter states, "The 2008 farm bill specifies that regulations carrying out its provisions relating to the P&S Act are to be issued not later than two years after the date of enactment, which was June 18, 2008", thus further demonstrating the need to take immediate action on the rule process. As mandated within the 2008 Farm Bill, these revisions are vital to ensuring the continued existence of both a fair and transparent marketplace for all livestock producers.

Besides Harkin, Johnson and Grassley, the other Senators signing off on this letter include Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND), Russell D. Feingold (D-WI), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), Roland W. Burris (D-IL), Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA), Jon Tester (D-MT), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Edward E. Kaufman (D-DE), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Max Baucus (D-MT), John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV), Al Franken (D-MN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Mark Udall, (D-CO).

Click here to read the text of the full letter sent to Vilsack, supporting the Obama Administration's Rule Changes.


Everything You Wanted to Know About the Cattle Market- For This Week at Least- With Dr. Derrell Peel.
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The current cash cattle market has held up fairly well in the summer of 2010- and according to OSU Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel believes that the summer lows are in and behind us. Peel sees the potential for upper 90 dollar feedlot trade in the final months of 2010. We had the chance to sit down and talk with Dr. Peel about the cattle markets here in the dog days of summer at the Southern Plains Beef Symposium in Ardmore.

The OSU Livestock Market Economist says that domestic demand for beef continues to be lackluster, while a strong export market for many cuts of beef is helping keep tight supplies of cattle and beef relatively strong from a price point of view.

We also discuss Mexico and what he sees coming out of the decision by the Mexican government to end the anti-dumping duties on some US beef going into the Mexican government. Click on the LINK below to jump to our Ag Perspectives Podcast with Derrell Peel as we talk our way around the cattle market and where we are on current conditions.

Click here for our full conversation with Dr. Derrell Peel of OSU on current cattle market conditions.


Soybean and Peanut Variety Trials Are Worth a Look
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Oklahoma State University Oilseed Specialist Dr. Chad Godsey emails us that the 2010 Soybean and Peanut Variety Trials around the state continue to grow at several locations. Chad invites one and all to please fill free to stop by and visit the plots. In season evaluation of varieties can be a useful tool in selecting next year's varieties.

Soybean Trial Locations can be found in the following communities:

Cherokee
Enid
Fort Cobb
Ottawa and Craig County
Newkirk
Pauls Valley
Stillwater
Webber Falls
Goodwell (contact station for map and location)
Ardmore (Noble Foundation)

Peanut trials are set up in four locations this season- Erick, Hydro, Ft. Cobb and Thackerville.

Click here for more on these plots- including links to maps about how the plots are laid out.


Study Finds Media May Be Over-Hyping Benefits Of Organic Food, Agriculture
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News accounts of organic agriculture and organic food are more likely to be positive than negative and inaccurately claim organic food is safer, according to Kansas State University (KSU) analysis. Doug Powell, an associate professor of food safety, is the co-author of "Coverage of organic agriculture in North American newspapers: Media - linking food safety, the environment, human health and organic agriculture," which was recently published in the British Food Journal. The paper is based on a study Powell conducted from 1999 to 2004 with two colleagues at the University of Guelphin Canada. The team explored how topics of organic food and agriculture were discussed in five North American newspapers.

Using the content analysis technique, the 618 articles collected were analyzed for topic, tone and theme regarding food safety, environmental concerns and human health. The prominent topics of the articles were genetic engineering, pesticides and organic farming, Powell said. The analysis found 41.4% of the articles had a neutral tone toward organic agriculture and food, 36.9% had a positive tone, 15.5% were mixed and 6.1% were negative.

"We concluded that articles about organic production in the selected time period were seldom negative," Powell said. "Organic agriculture was often portrayed in the media as an alternative to allegedly unsafe and environmentally damaging modern agriculture practices. That means organic was being defined by what it isn't, rather than what it is." USDA has repeatedly stated that the organic standard is a verification of production methods and not a food safety claim, Powell added.

Click here for some more details of this article that was recently published in the British Food Journal


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures and Big Iron Online Auctions 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- FREE!

We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.

Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com


Let's Check the Markets!
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We've had requests to include Canola prices for your convenience here- and we will be doing so on a regular basis. Current cash price for Canola is $8.40 per bushel, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $8.60 per bushel- delivered to local participating elevators that are working with PCOM.

Here are some links we will leave in place on an ongoing basis- Click on the name of the report to go to that link:
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network with Ed Richards and Tom Leffler- analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day-
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.
Previous Day's Wheat Market Recap- Two Pager From The Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on Hard Red Winter Wheat and the why of that day's market.
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- As Reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture. <
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
Finally, Here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.



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