From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 6:22 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 April 22, 2011
A service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
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-- Easter Holiday Weekend- and Earth Day
-- Cattle on Feed Numbers Continue to Run Significantly Above a Year Ago
-- Kim Anderson Talking Canola Price Outlook on SUNUP This Weekend
-- The Million Dollar Question- How Much Can a Rain Help Oklahoma's Wheat Crop at This Point in the Season?
-- Great Advocate for Agriculture- Miss America!
-- Noble Hands Out $12,000 in Junior Beef Excellence Program
-- Thinking About the Miracle of Easter
-- 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 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 a longstanding 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.

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


Easter Holiday Weekend- and Earth Day
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This is a special day for millions of people. First, it is Good Friday and Christians around the world know what that means- and we invite you to check out our Easter thoughts further down in the email. But, today is also Earth Day. This year, Earth Day's theme is "A Billion Acts of Green", a people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy. One group that lives that out every day are the pork producers across the nation, who practice environmental service instinctively- every day. Still, producers continue to seek ways to improve their overall sustainability to benefit their animals, their neighbors, their local community and consumers worldwide.

Randy Spronk, a farrow-to-finish pork producer from Edgerton, Minnesota, who serves on the National Pork Board's Environmental Committee, points out that, according to the Environmental Protection Agency - pork production contributes only one-third of one percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, every pound of pork produced in the United States today has a smaller carbon footprint than it used to have 20 years ago. This is due to improved production methods.

As the pork industry plays its part to feed an ever-growing world population, the Pork Checkoff is developing new tools to help producers become more sustainable. A new carbon footprint calculator is in final stages of development that will help producers identify areas on their farms where they can become more efficient and potentially reduce their carbon footprint. This tool is expected to be launched at World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa in June.


Cattle on Feed Numbers Continue to Run Significantly Above a Year Ago
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The Department of Agriculture's Cattle on Feed report, released Thursday, indicates the number of cattle and calves on feed for slaughter in the United States for feedlots with capacity of one-thousand or more head totaled 11.3-million head on April 1, 2011. That is five-percent above the April 1, 2010 number. The inventory included 7.12-million steers and steer calves, up seven percent from the previous year. This group accounted for 63 percent of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.10-million head, up two percent from 2010.

According to USDA, placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.92-million, three percent above 2010. Net placements were 1.87-million head. During March, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 380-thousand; 600-699 pounds were 360-thousand; 700-799 pounds were 588-thousand and 800 pounds and greater were 590-thousand head.

Marketings of fed cattle during March totaled 1.99-million head, four percent above 2010. This is the second highest fed cattle marketings figures for the month of March since the series began in 1996. Other disappearance totaled 52-thousand during March, 13 percent below 2010.

While all categories, On-Feed, Placements and Marketings, showed increases, there seemed to be no surprises from the pre-report estimates. Our own Ed Richards talked with Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities, who offers a complete analysis of the report and what it could mean when trading resumes Monday morning. Click on the LINK below to jump to our Cattle on Feed story- a link to the full report and a chance to hear Tom's analysis.

Click here for more on the Thursday Cattle on Feed Report.


Kim Anderson Talking Canola Price Outlook on SUNUP This Weekend
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With over a hundred thousand acres of canola planted in Oklahoma last fall, farmers are not just growing a rotational crop for wheat, they are also looking at a crop that can make them some money- and OSU Extension Grain Marketing Economist Dr. Kim Anderson says that he sees a stable, strong market for canola, based on demand for oilseed crops domestically and internationally. Anderson told Lyndall Stout for the upcoming SUNUP program that will air this Saturday on OETA that what farmers are really interested in is a crop that can provide a profitable return on their investment- and winter canola seems to fit that bill.

Dr. Anderson also talked briefly about the current wheat market, which he continues to regard as high- and said with all of the uncertainty regarding production, this is a year to not pull the trigger on marketing any more of the crop until harvest. You can see Kim Anderson with Lyndall Stout on this weekend's SUNUP- or you can get the audio version of a sneak peak by clicking on the LINK below.

We also have the full rundown of the entire SUNUP program for this Saturday- go to our story with Kim and see that lineup as well.

Click here for the latest on Canola marketing ideas and a look at the SUNUP lineup for this Saturday


The Million Dollar Question- How Much Can a Rain Help Oklahoma's Wheat Crop at This Point in the Season?
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Mike Schulte, CEO of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, says that there are still unknowns that will be playing out about the 2011 Oklahoma Wheat Crop. One thing that is not an unknown is the fate of most of the wheat that was planted last fall in southwestern Oklahoma. That wheat got little to no rain after planting- and the majority of those fields are being "zeroed out" by crop insurance adjusters. If they have some forage standing, farmers are either baling those fields or have turned cattle out on them to salvage something. Other farmers are praying for a rain this weekend, which might help them get a spring planted crop into the ground.

Further north- the crop needs a large drink of water as well. With the chances of rain in the forecast for this weekend for the first time in weeks- farmers are hoping their farm will receive a good dose of rain. Schulte says that the question then becomes for the wheat fields that are much shorter than normal and that have already headed- will a rain help those wheat plants fill those heads with kernels?

Click on the LINK below to hear our conversation with Mike Schulte- and you can also tune in to the Saturday morning news as seen on KWTV News9 for the video version of our visit with Mike in the weekly In the Field Segment that we do around 6:40 AM.

Click here for more on the current status of the 2011 Oklahoma Wheat Crop with Mike Schulte of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission


Great Advocate for Agriculture- Miss America!
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Animal-rights activists may have met their match in Nebraska's Teresa Scanlan, crowned Miss America 2011 at 18, the contest's youngest-ever winner.

In a Fox News opinion article on "Why All Americans Have a Stake In the Success of Our Farmers and Ranchers," Miss Scanlan writes that back home in Gering, Nebraska, "This time of year, farmers plant seeds in hopes for Mother Nature's cooperation and a successful harvest. Ranchers help birth the next generation of their herds and hope for fair market prices. And workers at the local sugar plant catch their breath after a busy winter and hope for a bumper crop this fall so they can do it all over again."

The reigning Miss America tells non farmers that "This year's crop has the potential to be the most valuable in U.S. history- so whether we live in New York's Manhattan or Manhattan, Kansas, we should all be rooting for a good growing season." She adds that "Increased U.S. production would also help ease the political instability and tensions aided by food shortages in other parts of the world."

The new Miss America has energized several groups that she has mentioned since becoming Miss America- including the National Farmers Union, US Cattlemen's Association and the The Hand that Feeds America. Our friends at Agri-Pulse have a great picture of Teresa with reps of these groups in front of the Washington, DC restaurant Founding Farmers- plus links to the Op-Ed she did for Fox and the national interview that she did recently with Fox News- click on the LINK below to experience the excitement that Miss America is generating on behalf of farmers and ranchers.

Click here for the Agri-Pulse article on Miss America.


Noble Hands Out $12,000 in Junior Beef Excellence Program
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The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation announced the winners of the 2011 Junior Beef Excellence Program and Live Animal Evaluation during a special awards program last week at the Southern Oklahoma Technology Center in Ardmore.

Fifty-three students entered 60 steers in this year's event, which highlights the carcass merit of steers shown at junior livestock shows in eight southern Oklahoma counties. The top 10 entries were awarded a total of $12,500 as part of the annual contest.

Ben Ivory, Marlow 4-H, entered this year's champion steer. As the 1st place finisher, Ivory earned $2,500 and a custom winner's jacket.

"The Junior Beef Excellence Program strives to reward and encourage production of superior beef cattle. This is all a result of the diligence and hard work that the kids put into their steer project," said Ryan Reuter, Ph.D., Noble Foundation assistant professor. "Participants in the program did a great job, and many of the cattle were superior to the industry average."
Each of the contest steers is individually priced on a grid, meaning they are sold on their own merit instead of on the average. Reuter said the average total price for a contest steer was $1,439.29, which is divided by the average live weight of 1,249 pounds for an equivalent live price of $115.23 per hundred pounds.

Click on the LINK below to see the list of the top winners at this year's Junior Beef Excellence Challenge- the link will take you to the Blue Green Gazette section of our website and the Noble Story is the top of the current featured stories.

Click here for the Blue Green Gazette and the rest of the story on the Noble Jr Beef Excellence Contest


Thinking About the Miracle of Easter
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Author Max Lucado writes, "Computers are legalists, impersonal pragmatists. Push a button and get a response. Learn the system and get a printout. Computers are heartless creatures. Don't expect any compassion from your lap top. They don't call it a hard disk for nothing.

As we think of the event that we commemorate this Sunday- Resurrection Sunday, I am glad that God didn't provide a computerized system of Christian faith for the world. I am also thankful that in His divine wisdom and sovereignty, God provided salvation that is real, touchable, and full of emotion. Aren't you glad that when Jesus died on the cross, through faith, He becomes a personal, living Savior to all who trust Him?

That's the real beauty of Easter- that Jesus Christ, the Victor, has conquered sin and death and lives today as our Savior. No codes to memorize. No data to enter. No buttons to push. Nothing like that. He is a living Savior who, through His resurrection, offers life and light to all who turn to Him in faith. So instead of pushing buttons and staring at meaningless screens, we serve a risen Savior who lives in us and through us.

Easter is about a new opportunity for anyone who is willing to accept it. If you have questions about what this means or why it matters- feel free to drop me an email and we'll visit.

Here's wishing a Happy Easter Weekend to you and yours.


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers and KIS Futures 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 $11.30 per bushel- as of the close of business yesterday, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $11.45 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- A 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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