From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 7:12 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 Tuesday May 10, 2011
A service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- Wheat Crop Remains Stuck at 77% Poor to Very Poor
-- Iowa Farmers Put the Peddle to the Metal and Plant the 2011 Corn Crop
-- Spring Cattle Markets Are Being Complicated by Weather Across the Country
-- CanolaTV- How to Know When to Swath Your Canola Crop
-- Cattlemen's Stewardship Review- A Look at the Values and Vision of the US Cattle Industry
-- Beef, Pork industries push for FTA vote
-- Will U.S. Ports Be Ready for Record-Size Cargo Ships?
-- 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 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 brand new website!

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.


Wheat Crop Remains Stuck at 77% Poor to Very Poor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
According to the latest Oklahoma Crop Weather Update- Oklahoma experienced a mixture of weather over the past week. Temperatures were cooler and resulted in a frost advisory being issued for western and central Oklahoma on Monday and Tuesday. Average temperatures were in the sixties with temperatures ranging from 26 to 108 degrees. The recorded temperature of 108 in Altus on Sunday, May 8th, marked a new record in Oklahoma, surpassing the previous record of 107 degrees, recorded on May 2, 1992. Oklahoma received minimal rainfall during the past week with the southeast district receiving the most measurable rainfall at 1.25 inches. A flood warning remained in effect for southeast Oklahoma while minor flooding took place along the Kiamichi River near Antlers. The latter portion of the week brought windy conditions, with wind gusts over 30 mph. Along with windy conditions came fire danger in the western part of the state and the Panhandle. Additionally, the windy conditions coupled with the lack of rainfall in western and southwestern Oklahoma are resulting in exceptionally bad drought conditions. Topsoil and subsoil moisture conditions declined from the previous week and were both rated mostly very short with only two and three percent rated surplus, respectively.

Condition ratings continue to be rated mostly poor to very poor for all small grains. The lack of rainfall and high temperatures in the western part of the State continued to be a problem for wheat producers. Wheat headed reached 93 percent complete, five points ahead of the five-year average and 33 percent of wheat was in the soft dough stage by Sunday. Oklahoma remains at 77% poor to very poor, 19% fair and only 4% of the crop in good shape. The texas wheat crop ratings are similar with 76% of their crop rated poor to very poor, 16% fair and 8% good. Kansas has dipped a little more in the latest ratings- now with 50% of their crop rated poor to very poor, 32% of the crop in fair shape and 17% in good condition. Only 1% of the wheat in Kansas was found worthy of an excellent rating.

The NASS folks are starting to acknowledge canola as a crop of significance- providing a little bit of information about the crop- saying "Canola in the mature stage reached 54 percent complete by Sunday, up 14 points from the previous week."

For the spring planted crops- "Lack of moisture hindered some row crop planting last week. Corn planted reached 89 percent complete and 38 percent of the crop had emerged by Sunday. Sorghum seedbed preparation reached 82 percent complete and 13 percent was planted by week's end. Soybean seedbed preparation was 64 percent complete and 14 percent was planted by Sunday. Peanut seedbeds prepared reached 88 percent complete and 32 percent were planted by week's end, up 26 points from the previous week and ten points ahead of normal. Cotton seedbed preparation was 75 percent complete by Sunday, 13 points behind normal, with 12 percent of the crop planted."

Click here for the complete Oklahoma Crop Weather Update as of Monday afternoon, May 9, 2011


Iowa Farmers Put the Peddle to the Metal and Plant the 2011 Corn Crop
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iowa farmers got their chance and pulled their corn planters into the fields- and stayed there almost non stop last week- the result, 61% of the expected acreage in Iowa for the 2011 corn crop was planted in just the last week. They had just 8% of the crop planted before now and that puts them even now with the five year average of 69%. Minnesota and Illinois farmers also got a lot of corn into the ground as well, but Indiana and Ohio farmers remain stuck in the mud and are at 4% and 2% respectively- far behind normal. Overall, DTN claims the corn planted number of 40% complete as of Monday the 9th of May is somewhat bearish even though it is still well behind the five year average. They say that the traders were thinking only about 31% of the crop was now planted.

Nationally, the Pasture and Range conditions were reported for the first time this year by USDA in their weekly crop progress report (we have it linked at the bottom of this story) and it shows the worse pasture/range conditions in New Mexico and Texas (and western Oklahoma would be right there with them if not hooked to eastern Oklahoma- where pasture conditions have improved. New Mexico shows 79% of the pasture range conditions are poor to very poor, Texas is at 77% and Oklahoma is now at 49% poor to very poor. The best pasture conditions are in the northeast- states like New Jersey and Rhode Island- as well as California out on the west coast- lots of Pacific storms have rolled through and they have a 90% good to excellent rating this week.

Spring wheat planting remains well behind normal and what needs to get done. Minnesota lags the five year average for spring wheat planted by 42 percentage points, North Dakota by 44 percentage points and South Dakota by 26 percentage points.

Click on the LINK below to review the complete national crop progress numbers as released by USDA on Monday afternoon.

Click here for the USDA Crop Progress Report from Monday afternoon.


Spring Cattle Markets Are Being Complicated by Weather Across the Country
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The already complicated cattle market picture is even more cloudy as a result of a variety of weather impacts at the current time. According to OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel, the impacts run the gamut from supply impacts to demand impacts to input market impacts.

Dr. Peel adds that domestic beef demand has likely been impacted by the cold, wet weather this spring. Certainly there has been a lack of good outdoor grilling conditions in much of the country so far this spring. On the other hand, in drought stricken areas, burn bans have restricted outdoor activities and cooking. The upcoming Memorial Day weekend will be critical in determining if beef demand will show a more typical seasonal pattern.

Cool, wet conditions continue to hamper crop planting in much of the country and add to uncertainty over feed grain supplies. Each day of planting delay from this point on is likely to have noticeable impacts on corn yields. There seems to be little likelihood of any relief from high feed prices. Forage conditions range from ample moisture for pasture growth to areas that are too wet to harvest hay to the increasingly severe drought conditions in parts of the Southern Plains.

Click here to read the rest of the analysis on the cattle market as we begin the week with OSU Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel


CanolaTV- How to Know When to Swath Your Canola Crop
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our newest edition of Canola TV is out- and it spotlights Heath Sanders of PCOM talking with Ron Hays about knowing when your canola is ready to be swathed. Swathing is one of three methods that Oklahoma winter canola producers can use to harvest their crop- and it appears to be perhaps the most popular option.

Click on the LINK below to jump to our Canola TV story where you can see our visit with Heath Sanders about how to determine if a field is ready to be swathed- as well as a discussion about how long you wait to actually harvest the crop once you make the pass and swath it.

At this same LINK- we also have the list released by OSU and the Great Plains Canola Association in regards to who is out there and available to help harvest the 2011 canola crop.

Click here for the latest edition of Canola TV- talking Swathing the 2011 crop


Cattlemen's Stewardship Review- A Look at the Values and Vision of the US Cattle Industry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The US beef industry is one of the great success stories in the US- and a study just released points out several of the reasons why. The report is called the "Cattlemen's Stewardship Review: Connecting Our Vision and Values," which in a sense is the beef industry's corporate responsibility report. Funded by the beef checkoff, it is a first-of-its-kind inside look at cattlemen's influence on the nation's communities, the economy, public health and the environment.

According to the Explore Beef website, the report is "In essence, it's the first-of-its-kind look at the values and vision of America's cattlemen and how they responsibly raise good food and healthy animals, while protecting the environment and building strong communities-all with the end of goal of providing the safest, highest-quality, most consumer-friendly beef in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner in order to feed people around the world."

We talked with Heather Buckmaster of the Oklahoma Beef Council about this new study- as well as a series of BQA workshops planned for this month called Aging Cows 101. You can watch our TV segment with Heather from this past weekend- or take a listen to the audio conversation offers a little more detail about these subjects and more with the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Beef Council.

Click here for more on the Cattlemen's Stewardship Review- and more with Heather Buckmaster of the OBC


Beef, Pork industries push for FTA vote
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Oklahoma Pork Council joined with 38 other state pork groups and the National Pork Producers Council in sending a letter to congressional leaders urging FTA approval. NPPC President Doug Wolf says these nations in question- South Korea, Columbia and Panama- are crucial markets for U.S. agricultural products and he says his industry stands to gain sales with implementation of the FTAs. Further, he says, the trade agreements will create thousands of pork industry jobs. The letter points out that these potential gains could become losses as the U.S. relinquishes export sales to nations that have already implemented FTAs with the three nations in question.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association have also sent their own letters- not just to Congress- but to the Obama Administration as well- urging the Federal Government to "get er done." NCBA President Bill Donald said the United States cannot afford to wait any longer to implement the trade pacts.

"Each day that goes by without implementing these agreements is another day we risk losing American jobs by losing market share to other countries. With 96 percent of the world's consumers living outside of the United States, future growth of the U.S. economy depends upon our ability to produce and sell products competitively in the global marketplace," said Donald. "Economic globalization is not simply a matter of ideological or political preference; it is a fundamental reality that will determine whether America remains an economic superpower or a secondary economic force."


Will U.S. Ports Be Ready for Record-Size Cargo Ships?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The pending expansion of the Panama Canal holds significant implications for U.S. soybean farmers, who depend on U.S. ports to export their harvested beans around the world, said Phil Bradshaw, a United Soybean Board (USB) past chairman and soybean farmer from Griggsville, Ill.

Bradshaw delivered the remarks during a ceremony held to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) and the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), which manages a $5.25 billion expansion of the canal that could likely send record-size ships to U.S. ports starting in 2014.

"Only a handful of U.S. ports can now handle the big ships that could start coming our way," Bradshaw said. "And that holds major implications for U.S. soybean farmers because most of our beans leave through southern U.S. ports. We want U.S. farmers to be able to benefit from the expanded canal, but we have a lot of questions about how the expansion will affect U.S. soybean farmers."

To answer those questions, the checkoff funded research to measure the impact the expansion will have on the U.S. soybean industry, Bradshaw said. USB expects to release the results in August 2011.

Click here to explore the Panama Canal website and catch up on what their expansion efforts look like.


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures and Oklahoma Mineral Buyers 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 $10.97 per bushel- as of the close of trade Wednesday, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $11.07 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