Weather, Marketing, Political Concerns Weigh Heavily on Wheat Producers' Minds, Mike Schulte Says 

With harvest drawing ever closer, Mike Schulte of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission says Oklahoma producers have a lot on their plates right now. From weather concerns to marketing to federal government budgets and policies, he says there are an awful lot of obstacles to be navigated.

"We do have a lot of concerns because we've been hit hard with a lot of different scenarios out there right now in the field. To begin with, when producers planted, there was no moisture at all in the state. It was dusted in. We got erratic stands from the beginning. In many places the crop didn't even emerge until late December and, in some places up in northwest Oklahoma, the first week of February. So we already know with the emergence coming that late, generally, yield potential is greatly reduced going into a crop season."

He said producers are thankful they have been getting rain recently, but with subsoil moisture at such low levels it will take continued timely rains to keep this crop moving forward. Despite the rains, recent freezing temperatures may prove an insurmountable obstacle for some stands.

Schulte said that marketing efforts with U.S. Wheat are looking positive, with three foreign trade teams scheduled to visit Oklahoma this summer. Trade representatives from Nigeria, Ecuador and Israel will be in Oklahoma beginning in June. He said that OSU will provide a procurement course for the representatives so that they can see how to best utilize the wheat that comes from Oklahoma.

While expanded trade policies may help Oklahoma wheat producers, Schulte says the federal government may not be so helpful. The budget released recently by President Barrack Obama suggests elimination of the Food for Peace program. It would shift from sending U.S. commodities directly to countries in need. The budget calls for allowing up to 45 percent of food aid to be purchased outside the United State. It would also end the practice of selling commodities to fund development assistance, known as monetization.

You can hear my full conversation with Mike Schulte or read more of this story by clicking here.

Ag Producers, Farm Groups Praise Inclusion of Japan in Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks

A wide variety of agricultural producer groups and farm organizations lauded the Obama administration's acceptance of Japan into the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations.

Statements from the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the National Pork Producers Council, and the National Association of Wheat Growers reflect their belief the TPP will increase sales of U.S. farm products abroad. (You can click on each group's name to read more of its statement.)

Bob Stallman, president of AFBF summarized the reaction of the groups saying, "The recent decision by Japan to increase access for U.S. beef shows that Japan can act to improve market access for U.S. agricultural products based on sound science. A comprehensive TPP agreement that includes Japan will strengthen trade relationships, address remaining barriers and improve the competitiveness of the Asia/Pacific market."

The TPP is a regional trade negotiation that includes the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which account for a combined 30 percent of global GDP. Japan already has free trade agreements with seven of the 11 TPP countries: Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

NCBA Submits Comments on Proposed Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling Rule

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) submitted comments last week on the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) proposed amended Mandatory County of Origin Labeling Rule (MCOOL). In comments, NCBA stated that the proposed rule changing MCOOL will not satisfy the World Trade Organization (WTO) or the beef industry's largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, who originally brought the WTO complaint.

"We have long advocated that MCOOL is a marketing tool and while cattlemen and women are proud of the products they produce, a mandatory labeling program does not provide a value to our industry or our customers," said NCBA President Scott George, a cattleman from Cody, Wyo. "We support and see value in voluntary labeling programs like Certified Angus Beef, where there is a genuine effort to distinguish and market the product. The proposed rule will not meet those ends and will only serve to increase the discriminatory treatment of non-U.S. product and will doubtlessly end in retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of our products and significant cost to our members." 

Click here to read more.

FFA Teaches Monica Wilke She Has the 'Right Stuff' for Leadership

The theme of the 2013 Oklahoma FFA Convention to be held April 30th through May 1, 2013 is "FFA, Grow Like That!" There are thousands of former FFA members that serve as role models for current and future FFA students. 

The second in our series of features during April and May of those former FFA members who have distinguished themselves following their FFA experiences is Monica Wilke. Wilke is the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. Wilke is an Oklahoma native and said she was first drawn to FFA for what many people can see from the outside-livestock judging. It was only then, she says, that a different and deeper world opened itself to her.

"Like most children in rural Oklahoma, I was very excited about turning nine years old so that I could purchase my first livestock project and go through the process of showing and grooming that animal for show. That was my initial interest into the FFA.

"Once I got engaged in that, it was kind of like the world opened up for me. I didn't even know about the leadership aspect of FFA or what was called the leadership track. And by that I mean public speaking, proficiency awards, the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. And, so, anything that there was available to do in the FFA once my eyes were opened beyond the livestock arena, I took advantage of.

"I remember my ag instructor telling me I had what it took to be a state officer. I didn't really know what that meant. In fact, I kind of chuckled when he said that to me. But it planted a seed at a young age, at 15 years old, to achieve a goal which is one of the things that is so great about FFA. And I worked toward that goal throughout my high school career and I was privileged enough to be able to serve the FFA association as state secretary."

You can read more or listen to my full interview with Monica Wilke by clicking here.

Bob Hunger Reports Both Stripe and Leaf Rust Have Arrived in Oklahoma Wheat Fields for 2013 

Dr. Bob Hunger, Oklahoma State University Extension Wheat Pathologist says a couple of firsts occurred this week in Oklahoma.

He says Southwest Area Extension Agronomist Mark Gregory reported the first leaf rust in Oklahoma for 2013. It was on Overley near Devol, Okla., which is near the Red River north of Wichita Falls, Texas. The wheat was at GS 10-10.1 (boot to heads just emerging), and was in a field with quite a bit of damage from the freeze. He says that from Mark's description, the prevalence was fairly low as he indicated he had to look around quite a bit to find rust pustules.

With the appearance of foliar diseases, Hunger says that he and Dr. Jeff Edwards have taken the opportunity to update "Foliar Fungicides and Wheat Production in Oklahoma - April, 2013" (OSU Current Report CR-7668). This publication provides answers to many of the common questions typically asked about wheat foliar fungicides and provides a table listing the most common fungicides available to control wheat foliar diseases.

The second first that Hunger reports is the first confirmed sample of wheat streak mosaic in Fuller wheat from southwestern Oklahoma near Sentinel in Washita County.

Click here for more.

Wheat Freeze Damage Provides Opportunity to Rotate to Cotton

Oklahoma producers whose wheat acreages have been damaged considerably by recent late-in-the-season freezing weather are making decisions about how their operations might best recover.

For producers in the state's cotton-growing region, rotating failed wheat acres to cotton may be the answer, said Randy Boman, research director and cotton Extension program leader with Oklahoma State University's Southwest Research and Extension Center in Altus.

"Lint prices are good at this time, but many producers tend to overlook seed income," he said. "Gin-run cottonseed recently has been of high enough value to cover ginning costs, while also returning money back to the grower. In addition, a cotton rotation could enable growers to diversify wheat weed and disease management programs."

You can read more of this story by clicking here.

This N That- Southern Plains Farm Show Coming This Week and Congrats to Bob and Jack 

The 2013 edition of the Southern Plains Farm Show kicks off this coming Thursday- and we are looking forward to saying hello to many of you at this year's show. 

We will have a pair of sign ups during this year's Southern Plains Farm Show- once again- we will be taking registrations for the Priefert Forty Foot Round Pen that will be used by Scott Daily in his twice daily horse training sessions.  You can sign up for your chance to win at either the outdoor horse training arena- or at our Radio Oklahoma Network booth inside the Cox Pavillion. 

We have a second Radio Oklahoma Network drawing- anyone who comes by and shows us that they have downloaded our Oklahoma Farm Report APP on their Smartphone- or allows us to help them download the APP at the Farm Show, will be entered to be in a drawing for a brand new Apple Ipad Mini. You can download the APP right now by going to the links on the left hand side of this email or clicking on the TOP BANNER found on the front page of our website.  We have both Apple and Android versions that are available. 

To learn more about the 2013 Southern Plains Farm Show-click here.  

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Two folks who we admire greatly were honored by OSU this past week- one was Dr. Bob Westerman- who was presented with the Professional Master Agronomist Award by the OSU Plant and Soil Science Department.  Dr. Westerman has been hanging around Stillwater for 37 years- since 1976- and served the University and Oklahoma agriculture in a variety of positions over those many years.

The other gentleman that I wanted to mention this morning is Jack Carson, who received the Agricultural Communications Graduate of Distinction Award from the Ag Communications Department at OSU.  Carson continues as key part of the Communications team at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture- and he keeps close to cattle producers weekly as the state market reporter at the Southern Oklahoma Livestock Market in Ada- Congrats to both Dr. Bob and Jack for well deserved Orange and Black Kudos from OSU.