From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 7:03 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 Friday December 10, 2010
A service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and Big Iron OnLine Auctions!
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-- Congressman Frank Lucas- Ready to Put An Oklahoma Stamp on the Next Farm Bill
-- Court Documents Show Superior Livestock is Owed Over $19 Million by Eastern Livestock
-- One of the Greatest Threats on Our Planet- Climate Change- So Says Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack
-- Tulsa Farm Show Up and Rolling
-- Senators Chambliss and Roberts Question Role of Dudley Butler in GIPSA Rule
-- Oklahoma Wheat Growers Annual Meeting Set for Saturday
-- Funeral Services Today for a Legend in Oklahoma Conservation
-- 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 welcome Big Iron Unreserved Online Auctions as our newest sponsor of the daily Email. Their next auction is Wednesday, December 15- featuring Low Hour, Farmer Owned Equipment. Click here for their website to learn more about their Online Farm Equipment Auctions.

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 Tulsa Farm Show, which continues today and tomorrow. Click here for the Midwest Farm Show main website to learn more about their lineup of shows around the country, including the Southern Plains Farm Show next April in Oklahoma City.

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.


Congressman Frank Lucas- Ready to Put An Oklahoma Stamp on the Next Farm Bill
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Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas says he is excited about the opportunity that the Republican caucus is giving him by naming him the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee in the 112th Congress. Congressman Lucas has told us in a conversation with him on Thursday afternoon that he understands there will be a lot of challenges ahead of him in the days to come. He expects 2011 to be a year of oversight hearings- to keep tabs on what the Obama Administration regulators are doing to farmers and ranchers- as well as to educate the many new members of Congress that may join the House Ag Committee about the diversity of U.S. Agriculture.

Congressman Lucas adds that 2012 will be his target timeframe to write a new farm bill- knowing there will be less money than in 2008. He says he is open to those who want to get away from direct payments- but that there are more considerations than simply to play to what sounds good on the 6 o'clock news. As he has said before, the Direct Payment is the most compliant element of US Farm Policy to WTO rules- and that is a vital consideration that must be a part of the decision making process.

We have our full ten minute conversation with Congressman Lucas up on our website- both as our top ag story of the morning as well as a Podcast as a part of our Ag Perspectives series. Click on the LINK below and you will jump to that story and a chance to listen to what the Chairman elect has to say about where he wants to take the House Ag Committee in the next two years.

We also have reaction about his election to be the next chairman from the National Association of Conservation Districts- that's also at this same link in the body of the story.

Click here for our conversation with the Chairman Elect of the House Ag Committee, Oklahoma Lawmaker Frank Lucas


Court Documents Show Superior Livestock is Owed Over $19 Million by Eastern Livestock
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DTN is reporting today that Court Documents show that Eastern Livestock defaulted on approximately 500 contracts with Superior Livestock Auction and owes the online and satellite video cattle auction service $19,270,617 on cattle delivered between Oct. 22 and Nov. 13, according to a list of unpaid sales in the court documents.

Superior is just one of many markets and individual producers who have been left standing with no chair available to them after the music stopped for Eastern Livestock this past month. This latest filing has several other folks included- pushing the total tab to over twenty million dollars with these half dozen plaintiffs alone.

DTN also reports that this whole mess with Eastern Livestock and $130 million dollars of bad deals may be a whole lot bigger than first thought. They report that "Eastern Livestock's main bank, Third Fifth Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio, alleges in a separate state court case that Eastern may have had as much as $2.5 billion in fictitious transactions in fiscal 2010 from sales between Eastern Livestock and its affiliates. The bank states the cattle brokerage was not able to produce documents showing that the sales were real. "

Meanwhile, this legal mess may extend to feedlots or others who may have cattle connected in some way to Eastern. The Livestock Marketing Association is saying on their website that LMA "Members are reminded to use caution in dealing with cattle connected with Eastern, and not to accept or move any such cattle without the benefit of legal counsel."


One of the Greatest Threats on Our Planet- Climate Change- So Says Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack
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Calling it "one of the greatest threats facing our planet," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is taking action to meet the challenge of climate change. Speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the Secretary said USDA continues to take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions "by helping farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to be even better conservationists."

"We remain focused on steps to advance clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while growing our economy," said Vilsack. "Farmers, ranchers and forest owners have a great deal to contribute to mitigating climate change, while also ensuring that farms adapt to climate change, and they can benefit by embracing a range of conservation practices."

Vilsack talked of several programs that USDA already has in place regarding carbon sequestration and more. One effort that is planned for 2011 is a project to provide information to landowners who enroll in certain tree planting conservation practices under the Conservation Reserve Program and who voluntarily request an estimate of the amount of carbon stored as a result of these practices.

You can read more of Vilsack's comments- and we have a link for more on the Carbon Project described above- just click here to jump to our story on his Cancun appearance.


Tulsa Farm Show Up and Rolling
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The 2010 Tulsa Farm Show will kick off it's second day this morning at 9 AM- and a big part of the day's events will be the Livestock Handling Skills Competition. Ten FFA Teams from across the state will compete for scholarship money- and we will have details of the winners by Friday evening on our website- click here for our Blue Green Gazette section as that is where the information will be posted. We will also have pictures of the top teams as well linked from the Blue Green Gazette on Flickr this weekend.

This totally indoor event is packed into more than 350,000 square feet of the Quik Trip Center at Expo Square in Tulsa- your admission and parking are free and besides the chance to see hundreds of exhibitors with the latest goods and services- you can also catch Craig Cameron twice today and twice on Saturday with his gentle horse training. There will also be livestock handling equipment demos twice today and twice on Saturday.

Click on the link below for the full schedule. We will be at the show all day today and Ed Richards of our broadcast team will be there to help greet you tomorrow at the Radio Oklahoma Network booth. We have a couple of gift cards for your to sign up for- plus you can pick up an extra copy of the RON Value Book.

Click here for the list of activities going on at the 2010 Tulsa Farm Show


Senators Chambliss and Roberts Question Role of Dudley Butler in GIPSA Rule
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During the Senate Ag Committee confirmation hearing on Thursday for USDA General Counsel-nominee Ramona Romero, who is currently corporate counsel to DuPont, GOP farm-state senators took aim at the administrator of USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, Dudley Butler, over his involvement in the writing of new sweeping changes in how we market livestock in the US- the rule that is called the GIPSA Rule. USDA is currently reviewing the more than 66,000 comments that poured in for and against the implementation of this proposal from the agency that Butler heads.

Both Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Pat Roberts of Kansas used the confirmation hearing to raise concerns about Butler. Click on the LINK below for an audio report with colleague Stewart Doan on what was said and what the lawmakers would like to USDA do in regards to Butler and the GIPSA Rule.

Click here for the audio overview of the Thursday hearing for Ramona Romero- and how the GIPSA Rule was brought front and center by the GOP


Oklahoma Wheat Growers Annual Meeting Set for Saturday
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The Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association (OWGA) Board of Directors would like to invite all Oklahoma Wheat Producers to the Annual Wheat Growers Convention on December 11, 2010 at the Express Event Center 8512 NW Expressway Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Coffee and donuts will be served at 9:30 am and the program will start at 10:00 am. A free steak dinner will be served at lunch.

Two key political leaders will address the group- Governor Elect Mary Fallin will speak just before lunch and the new Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Frank Lucas, will be joining the group and speaking to them around 2 PM tomorrow afternoon. In addition, OSU President Burns Hargis is the lunchtime speaker.

An outstanding lineup of industry and extension speakers are also on the agenda- as well as time set aside for working on policy for the organization. Click on the LINK below for our calendar listing for the 2010 Oklahoma Wheat Growers annual meeting.

Click here for more details about the 2010 Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association meeting.


Funeral Services Today for a Legend in Oklahoma Conservation
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Our condolences go today to Darryl Dominick, former NRCS State Conservationist, who has lost his father this week. Max Dominick passed away at the age of 75 and services are later today in Stillwater. Mike Thralls of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission writes in an email to us about the importance of Max in the conversation efforts of Oklahoma- "Max Dominick was a pioneer on at least two counts; obtaining an engineering degree from Oklahoma State University at a time when Native Americans were not considered by some as viable engineering candidates and then becoming a significant member of the Soil Conservation Service, later NRCS, engineering team that designed and built Oklahoma's infrastructure of upstream flood control dams."

In the obituary published in the Stillwater paper- here's the paragraph that speaks of his involvement in the conservation efforts of our state- "Max "made a difference" in life by working as an Area Engineer in Muskogee and then moved to Wewoka as a Project Engineer constructing upstream flood control structures. He then was transferred to Sallisaw and was responsible for the construction of many structures that provide flood control and municipal water for towns in eastern Oklahoma, to this day. He was transferred to Okmulgee, in 1970, and was the project engineer for the eastern half of the state. He worked on the Okmulgee Creek clean-up and was the engineer on Dripping Springs Lake. In 1978, he became a Construction Engineer for the SCS State Office in Stillwater where he eventually had statewide responsibilities for upstream flood control construction. He worked on over 200 of the 2,100 structures in Oklahoma. Max also served as a concrete instructor for over 12 years at the SCS Ft. Worth Technical Center. Max retired in 1990 with 35 years of public service and received many awards for his work throughout his distinguished career."

Click on the LINK below for the full Obit from the Stillwater paper.

Click here for the obituary for longtime Conservationist Max Dominick


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 $9.45 per bushel, while the 2010 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $10.10 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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