Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update- click here to go to their AFR web site to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America!

It is also great to have as an annual sponsor on our daily email Johnston Enterprises- proud to be serving agriculture across Oklahoma and around the world since 1893. One of the great success stories of the Johnston brand is Wrangler Bermudagrass- the most widely planted true cold-tolerant seeded forage bermudagrass in the United States. For more on Johnston Enterprises- click here for their website that features their grain, ports and seed business!

And we are proud to have P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy as one of our regular sponsors of our daily email update. P & K is the premiere John Deere dealer in Oklahoma, with ten locations to serve you, and the P & K team are excited about their new Wind Power program, as they offer Endurance Wind Power wind turbines. Click here for more from the P&K website.

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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From the Des Moines Register- one analyst they quote speaks of the downside for grains in the middle east and north Africa- "There is massive risk aversion on the market today," said trader Don Roose of US Commodities in West Des Moines. "People are starting to worry about the safety of shipping, and that hits at exports."

In the same article- the volatility of the situation was pointed out- "Grain fundamentals remain strong, but fear trumps fundamentals every time, especially when investors have large profits at risk," analyst Arlan Suderman of Farm Futures Magazine said. Suderman suggested that the bear market may be short-lived.

"A look back at the global recession of 2008-09 finds that worldwide demand for corn and wheat combined, as well as for soybeans, continued to trend higher through the period. There's no reason at this point to think that it will do anything different this time as well," he said.

Mark Martin, who is a grain analyst down under in Australia, believes that the fundamentals will win out- because countries realize that hungry citizens can quickly become angry citizens. Martin says there's a direct correlation between the current instability in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Bahrain and food shortages in the area. "It's interesting to note that each of the countries, North Africa through to the Middle East, have been by far some of the biggest buyers of wheat and grains over the last two or three months," he said.

Click here for a good recap of yesterday's body blow to the markets- courtesy of Arlan Suderman of Farm Futures.

Receiving the award were Representatives Leslie Osborn, Tuttle, and Steve Kouplen, Beggs, and Senator Brian Crain, Tulsa.

We have details of why each lawmaker was selected by the General Farm Organization- and pictures of them receiving their awards from Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Mike Spradling- click on the LINK below to check the pics and the story out.

Click here for more on three lawmakers honored by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau.

Heather tells us that "The anti-animal agriculture activist community is hard at work raising concerns about the impact of beef production on the environment, the treatment of animals in food production, the role of beef in a healthy diet and the safety of the products we produce. They are passionate and vocal and well-funded. But we have a great story to tell. Beef producers work hard every day to be good stewards of the land and their animals in providing safe and nutritious beef for America's dinner tables. We need to be equally passionate and vocal in telling our story. That's what the Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program is about."

There will be a MBA Commencement in late April in Oklahoma City- it caps off what you learn on line when you sign up. Click on the LINK below to read more on this call to all involved in the cattle industry to become engaged in sharing your story of how beef ranchers care for their animals and help feed the world.

Click here to learn more about this latest opportunity to get involved with the Beef MBA Program.

Even though a 20-year old rookie, Trevor Bayne, won the race, Furniture Row racing garnered a lot of spotlight for its sponsors, including the Farm American program. Based on the amount of air time given, and discussion of the team that took place, early estimates suggest America's farmers and ranchers may have received in excess of four - million dollars worth of messaging/advertising inside four short hours.

You can click below to check out the Farm American website- and see what one group is doing to tell consumers more about how their food and fiber is grown in the United States- safely and abundantly.

Click here for the Farm American website.

Commodity Class has grown and now includes four major commodity groups as sponsors- the National Association of Wheat Growers and the National Sorghum Producers are the newer sponsoring organizations as they have joined the American Soybean Association and the National Corn Growers Association in growing this into one of the premiere agricultural events each spring.

National Corn Growers Association President Bart Schott says - with a new farm bill and election year looming, our growers will appreciate hearing about their positions on future farm policy. At the same time, American Soybean Association President Alan Kemper says - I am looking forward to hearing how the Administration and Congress are going to work together to support the President's National Export Initiative goal of doubling exports in the next five years.

We will be covering the events in Tampa next week- with our reports beginning next Wednesday from the 2011 Classic. Click on the LINK below to jump to our calendar listing for this year's Commodity Classic- which will take you on to their official website which details the many different seminars and learning opportunities that grain producers will be offered.

Click here for more on the 2011 Commodity Classic.

Unfortunately, it is not an isolated occurance- Joe Armstrong adds that "I am confident that glyphosate-resistant marestail is common throughout the state."

Glyphosate-resistant marestail should come as little surprise based on the near-exclusive reliance on glyphosate for preplant and in-crop weed control in no-till crop production. The recent problems with herbicide-resistant weeds clearly illustrate the necessity of crop rotation and a diverse weed management program, especially in no-till systems where herbicides are a key part of the production practices.

Joe's article complete with pictures is the top story in the latest Plant and Soil Science Newsletter from the Plant and Soil Science Department in the Division of Agriculture at Oklahoma State University. You can read the full article and also check out several other updates on things like first hollow stem in wheat and more by clicking on the LINK below.

Click here to see thumbnails of the stories in the latest PASS Department Newsletter- as well as the file to download to your computer.

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.