From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 7:27 AM
To: Hays, Ron
Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Wednesday January 19, 2011
A service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and KIS Futures!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- Professor Jeff Scott Explains His Winter Canola Journey to Other Farmers at Canola U
-- Bruce Scherr With Informa Tells Corn Farmers- Don't Apologize for Increased Demand
-- The 2011 Central Oklahoma Wheat Crop- Looking for a Rain
-- House Ag Committee to Hold Forum on Roundup Ready Alfalfa
-- Nominations Sought for the 2011 Oklahoma Ag Hall of Fame Inductee
-- Some Short Takes on the National Scene
-- Our RON Affiliate Salute- K101 in Woodward
-- 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 great 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 this past December's Tulsa Farm Show.. 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 coming April 7-9, 2011 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.


Professor Jeff Scott Explains His Winter Canola Journey to Other Farmers at Canola U
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff Scott is one of the true pioneers in producing winter canola in the southern Great Plains. Scott farms in the Pond Creek community- and here in early 2011 he has 1,500 acres of wheat and 1,500 acres of winter canola. Because of his experience in growing canola, he was selected as one of the "professors" at Canola U, held in Midwest City yesterday.

Scott tells us that this is his 8th year to grow canola- and that he started being willing to grow this crop as a breakeven crop in order to try to break the weed cycle in his no till wheat operation. "It turned into a tremendous cash crop" and Jeff adds that while he knew nothing about canola when he began- the learning curve has allowed him to become more proficient in how to produce this crop.

He points out that one of the benefits of growing canola is that when he follows wheat with canola- his wheat yields have jumped higher- and that wheat is cleaner and higher quality as a result of getting rid of grassy weeds and foreign matter.

Read more about Jeff Scott- but more importantly take a few minutes and listen to our conversation as he tells his canola story- it's a story that can help you think about winter canola and whether it makes sense for your farm operation. Click on the LINK below to jump to our Top Ag Story of the day on our website for our spotlight on Jeff Scott.

Click here to go and listen to Jeff Scott's journey as he has made canola an integral part of his farm operation.


Bruce Scherr With Informa Tells Corn Farmers- Don't Apologize for Increased Demand
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corn farmers who came to St. Louis for the National Corn Growers Association's Priority and Policy Conference this week enjoyed a presentation by Bruce Scherr, CEO of Informa Economics and one of the nation's leading agricultural economics research firms. In his presentations, Scherr reviewed the historical trends in corn prices and looked at how changing global demographics are shifting the agricultural commodity market paradigm.

"What we see in increased corn prices today is the ripple effect of economic expansion," Scherr said. "The expansion of commodity values is not over. It's just beginning."
Noting that commodity prices remained, on average, stagnant for three decades despite significant inflation in the market as a whole, Scherr explained that it is essential to keep current price increases in perspective because prior values were unsustainably low. He also pointed out that, while demand initially surged, increases have leveled off and are now trending to more gradual growth.

In light of increased demand, Scherr pointed out the importance of remembering that the United States has never actually run out of corn despite major demand increases. When needed, farmers boosted production -- by as much as two billion bushels. Currently, corn balance sheets are extremely tight with the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture reports indicating that corn stocks are down 8 percent since December 2009. Despite tighter margins, Scherr reasoned that advances in corn genetics will help limit yield losses in the face of tough growing conditions and can, therefore, enhance consistent production capabilities.

Click here for more of what Bruce Scherr shared with corn producers in St Louis this week- it's an excellent analysis of where our grain markets are here early in 2011.


The 2011 Central Oklahoma Wheat Crop- Looking for a Rain
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Central Oklahoma wheat fields need a good rain. Brad Tipton, Extension Ag Educator in Candian County, tells us that most of the wheat acres in Canadian County had enough moisture back in October to be planted and get up to stand. He believes that if we can get some moisture on the crop that is now in the ground- we may well end up with the a good wheat crop come harvest in 2011.

We also talked about his farmers adding winter canola to their rotation- and he says that in 2010, several had excellent canola crops and were pleased with the harvest results. More acres were planted to canola this past fall- and Tipton believes that even more canola will be added in future years as farmers continue traveling up the learning curve on how to grow the crop.

We caught up with Brad at the Canola U workshop on winter canola production in Midwest City. You can click on the LINK below to jump to our website and that's where you can hear our conversation with one of the top Ag Extension agents in the state.

Click here to go and listen to our conversation with Brad Tipton from Canadian County on wheat and canola in his county.


House Ag Committee to Hold Forum on Roundup Ready Alfalfa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
According to Agri-Pulse, The House Agriculture Committee has jumped into the "coexistence" debate Friday over whether the Agriculture Department should place restrictions on genetically engineered (GE) crops.
The immediate issue is Roundup Ready alfalfa because USDA is expected to announce on Monday, Jan. 24 whether it will allow unrestricted planting of GE alfalfa or impose restrictions which could include geographic limits, harvest timing, seed labeling and/or equipment handling rules.

The House Agriculture Committee under its new Chair Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) has entered the debate by scheduling an unusual "Public Forum" for Thursday, Jan. 20 "To review the biotechnology product regulatory approval process."
This is a public forum rather than a congressional hearing because the committee is not yet fully organized with all members named. Despite not being able to hold a formal hearing, Lucas apparently wanted to air committee views on coexistence before USDA announces its decision.

Click on the LINK below to read more- we are told by House Ag Committee staff that there will be an internet audio feed available on the House Ag Committee website for this public forum.

Click here for more details on the House Ag Committee Public Forum on Roundup Ready Alfalfa coming Thursday(tomorrow)


Nominations Sought for the 2011 Oklahoma Ag Hall of Fame Inductee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF) is once again looking for nominations for the Governor's Outstanding Achievement Award in Agriculture. This award was created in 1998 and is designed to honor leaders in the agriculture industry who have exemplified personal values, performance and achievement in Oklahoma. The award winner will be inducted into the Oklahoma Agriculture Hall of Fame located at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry.

Previous recipients of the award have exhibited high standards of conduct, leadership, innovation, and accomplishment for agriculture. Individuals recognized in previous years have been from different geographic locations throughout Oklahoma and many times were not widely known outside of their specific agricultural group or commodity. However, each and every Hall of Fame inductee has served their community as a leader and strong agricultural producer and made a significant impact on the lives of others. Recipients will be selected by a selection committee which includes representatives of agricultural commodity organizations as well as the Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture.

Last year, Lew Meibergen became the first agricultural businessman to be named to the Oklahoma Agriculture Hall of Fame. His career as a third generation agricultural businessman highlights the importance of this segment of the farm industry. He was the 13th Hall of Fame inductee. The Picture you can see on our website is of Meibergen surrounded by other previous inductees into the Ag Hall of Fame that were able to attend the 2010 ceremonies. My question to you- can you name all of those winners who are in the picture? Take a look by following the LINK below and then let me know your list- let's see who knows who.

Click here for our webstory on the Ag Hall of Fame Nominations now being open.


Some Short Takes on the National Scene
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
North Dakota Democratic Senator Kent Conrad says he will not seek reelection to the United States Senate in 2012. Senator Conrad has told reporters "there are serious challenges facing our State and nation, like a 14-trillion dollar debt and America's dependence on foreign oil. It is more important I spend my time and energy trying to solve these problems than to be distracted by a campaign for reelection."

This raises the stakes for Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas to get a farm bill moving forward before the end of Senator Conrad's term. Conrad played a major role in the 2008 Farm Bill discussions from a budgetary perspective- he has chosen to remain as Senate Budget Committee Chair and will again be a key rural ally to Lucas in getting funding for the Commodity and Conservation titles of the next farm bill.

USDA Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Jim Miller has tendered his resignation to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. At the same time he has written to colleagues saying - I plan to remain in the public sector and continue to work on agriculture and trade policy issues, albeit in a different venue. It is speculated that he could work for Senator Kent Conrad on Capitol Hill.

The winter Wheat Conference in our nation's capitol continues- we had planned to catch up with Don Schieber on the phone last night- but did not catch the current Chairman of US Wheat Associates where time for an interview was possible. We will be working on getting with him later today to update you on some of the wheat issues being talked about this week in Washington- both with US Wheat as well as the National Association of Wheat Growers.


Our RON Affiliate Salute- K101 in Woodward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over the next few weeks- we are going to be updating our affiliate listing on our website to make sure we have our programming lineup for each affiliate correct. We also want to spotlight all of our stations over the next couple of months in order to let you know where you can hear our daily reports that Ed Richards and I broadcast over the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network.

Today- we start with the most listened to ag radio station in Oklahoma- KWOX- or as it is better known- K101 in Woodward. This regional FM signal is at 101.1 on the dial and they carry a full lineup of our markets and farm news weekdays. Click on the LINK below to jump to our listing of KWOX-K101 as found on our affiliate listing- you can check out their website from there as well as see their coverage area that covers a lot of northwestern Oklahoma.

By the way- we have several relatively new stations on our ag radio network- the newest is KALV AM in Alva. They have made the switch and joined our RON family in just the last few days. We appreciate their interest in our efforts to report on the latest agricultural markets and news. If you live in an area where you are not sure where you can hear our farm and ranch news on the radio- drop me an email- and why not call that local radio station that you listen to and ask them to include Ron on RON (and Ed, too) as a part of their broadcast team!

Click here for more details on our spotlight Radio Oklahoma Ag Network affiliate- K101 in Woodward.


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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 $10.00 per bushel, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $10.50 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:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
phone: 405-473-6144
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forward email

This email was sent to ron.hays@radiooklahoma.net by ron@oklahomafarmreport.com |  

Oklahoma Farm Report | 10700 Whitehall Blvd | Oklahoma City | OK | 73162