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.

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 held in Oklahoma City, 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.

Along those same lines- Kingfisher FFA has a second national speech star in Ashton Mese in the Extemporaneous Speech Contest. Like Tara, Ashton rolled through two rounds on Wednesday- and will compete in the National Championship Final Four for the Extemp Contest around 9 AM Oklahoma time. Click here for our earlier story on Ashton and her preparation for this national competition in Indy.

Ashton had a curious second round draw, as the judges heard her deliver an excellent speech on how agricultural interests can best combate the junk science that seems to capture the fancy of the public when it comes to agricultural production and our food supply. The panel of eight judges seemed confused over who should ask the next question- and finally ran out of questions a full thirty seconds before the end of the five minute question time frame. That's very rare in a national contest here at the FFA convention- especially in the second round of the major speech contests.

Remember- we will be Tweeting real time results as they happen at these speech contests and in the other events that we are covering at this National FFA Convention- Click here for our Twitter feed- and check on the Blue Green Gazette page of our website on a periodic basis as we add things from Indianapolis- click on the LINK below for the jump to the Blue Green Gazette.

Click here for the Blue Green Gazette and our coverage of the 2010 National FFA Convention.

Later today, 22 Oklahoma FFA members will be competing in the National Proficiency Contest in their program categories. The 22 national finalists is the most of any state in the country- and Oklahoma's roster of Finalists shows a lot of promise to bring home several National winners.

One of those national finalists in the Profiency area is already a National winner- William Maltbie of Burlington has been named one of the ten National Agri Entrepreneurs for the 2010 National Convention. We have his story up on our website- and you can CLICK below and check it out.

Click here for the William Maltbie story from the 2010 National FFA Convention.

According to Steve Foglesong, President of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Secretary Vilsack's refusal leaves his fellow cattle producers asking, "What are they trying to hide? The GIPSA rule will further inject the federal government into the market and could very likely result in financial devastation to a critical part of our country's economy and in thousands of lost jobs at the time when economic growth and job creation are what we need the most. Click here for the full statement from Fogelsong on the NCBA website.

Meanwhile, R-Calf USA is delighted with the Vilsack decision, although they mix the House letter that Vilsack responded to and oppostion to the rule by NCBA together in their statement. "R-CALF USA fully supports the Secretary's decision," said R-CALF USA President/Region VI Director Max Thornsberry. "The call for a new economic analysis by less than a third of the House and NCBA was, pure and simple, an effort to delay - if not completely derail - the long-awaited GIPSA rule. "
Click here to read the rest of the release from last night from R-Calf attacking NCBA and applauding USDA Secretary Vilsack in the process.

Click here for the full text of the letter from Secretary Vilsack to Congressman Frank Lucas (the other 115 lawmakers got a similar letter)

NAWG and U.S. Wheat policy committees will meet, as well as joint committees on biotechnology and trade. The two organizations' planning committees will also hold a joint session, as will the two organizations' Boards. The four days of meetings will be capped off with meetings of the two Boards of Directors and the NAWG Foundation's Board of Directors.

Discussions at NAWG meetings are expected to center around the upcoming 2012 Farm Bill; the industry's work toward the commercialization of biotechnology in wheat; and ongoing concerns about Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation of agricultural operations.
The US Wheat Board Meeting will be chaired by Oklahoma wheat producer Don Schieber, who assumed the Chairmanship of the organization this summer.

Domino's has been the catalyst for the entire Quick Serve Restaurant Pizza Category. Their total cheese usage for January-July this year is 27% ahead of last year. "This [Wisconsin 6 Cheese Pizza] is another example of how working with and through partners is not only driving the partners business but also the category in increased sales for dairy," said Mike Konkle, general manager for Dairy MAX.
"Cheese has an almost universal taste appeal, and, as part of a healthy, well-balanced diet, can help Americans meet calcium recommendations" said Allen. "Cheese is a good or excellent source of calcium and a good source of protein."

Click here for the Dominos website and more on their cheesy promotion now underway.

Secretary of Environment J.D. Strong, Secretary of Agriculture Terry Peach will join Director of the Department of Tourism Hardy Watkins and Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) President Trey Lam along with other agriculture, Tourism and Conservation leaders in kicking off Oklahoma's new ECOpass program, a new partnership between Conservation and Tourism that allows People coming to visit Oklahoma a way to lower the environmental footprint of their trip while rewarding those farmers, ranchers and other landowners who undertake natural resource conservation on their land.

More details are to be released on Monday in a special ceremony on the EcoPass in Watonga.

The sale begins at noon, selling:
47 Angus
5 Brangus
and 6 Hereford bulls Performance data will be provided for each bull.

To qualify for the sale, bulls must complete testing with an index ranking in the top 70% of their contemporary group and pass a breeding soundness exam. The link below will jump you straight to the OBI Bull Test Sale Catalog for today. Some great genetics are available at this year's sale- go and check it out.

Click here for the OBI Sale Catalog for the sale set for 12 noon today

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

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. On Wednesday, Cash cattle prices jumped $5 this week vs. last week to $112 to 112.50!