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Day one of the 2013 Wheat Quality Council's Hard Red Winter Wheat Crop Tour is in the books- and while the tour scouts have come in with a smaller expected yield versus their estimates of 2012- 43.8 bushels per acre estimated in 2013 versus 53.4 bushels per acre predicted in 2012- a lot of the yields they counted as they drove west will be dependent on ideal weather conditions now until a very late harvest this summer.


One of the crop scouts in 2013 is Debbie Wedel with the Oklahoma Wheat Commission- and she provided us an update on Tuesday evening after the report session in Colby, Kansas. You can hear Debbie's comments by clicking here for our coverage of Day One of the 2013 Tour.

Scouts found some really good wheat in north central Kansas as they left Manhattan on Tuesday morning, with some fields projected to yield in the high 70s and low 80s (Bushels per acre). However, as they traveled towards Colby in northwest Kansas, the soil mositure profile got drier and drier- and projected yields dropped. However, the pictures being posted on Twitter and the yields the scouts were counting suggested that the only way the numbers would work is with cool, wet weather combined with enough sunshine between now and late June- and with farmers being proactive in applying fungicides since the weather would then be positive for the development of leaf and strip rust moving up from the south.


This report- by the way- is a part of our year long WheatWatch 2013- a service of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission- click here for their website to learn more about how they are working hard for the Oklahoma wheat procucer.

Governor Signs Bill Requiring Work for Continuing Food Stamp Assistance 

Governor Mary Fallin signs a bill re-imposing a work requirement for able-bodied food stamp recipients.

House Bill 1909 was authored by House Speaker T.W. Shanon and requires individuals, ages 18 to 50 who are not disabled or raising a child, to perform at least 20 hours of work activities as a condition of receiving food stamps. These work requirements come from the 1996 Welfare Reform Law. Currently, able-bodied individuals do not have to fulfill work requirements due to waivers handed out by the federal government. This bill will prohibit DHS from seeking those work requirement waivers.

"Unfortunately, some believe compassion is measured by how many people you can keep on a government aid program," said Speaker Shannon, R-Lawton. "We must change the paradigm to how many people we can get off government assistance. We must encourage able-bodied people to break their addiction to government subsidies and gain self-sufficiency. Through personal responsibility, hard work and a drive to better one's situation, people can establish their independence and begin down the road of prosperity."  (Click here for more of this story.)

In a statement released yesterday, Congressman Frank Lucas, chairman of the agriculture committee, praised Fallin.

"I commend my home state of Oklahoma in leading the charge to return SNAP beneficiaries to work by no longer seeking to waive the work requirements in SNAP law. I hope other states will follow their lead."  (You can read more of Frank Lucas's comments by clicking here.) 

AFR/OFU Lobbies at State Capitol for Oklahoma's Rural Citizens

American Farmers & Ranchers/Oklahoma Farmers Union (AFR/OFU) hosted its State Capitol Legislative Action Day April 29. Through the event, AFR/OFU strives to connect organization members with their respective legislators.

The event also unites AFR/OFU members from across Oklahoma as they lobby for rural values, family and agricultural legislation. This year's issues included rural and urban water conservation measures, water transfer and storage rights, drought-relief funding and livestock canine protection.

"Rural issues are the heart of what we're about as a company," said AFR/OFU President Terry Detrick. "Without our state's agricultural producers and rural citizens, Oklahoma would be unable to thrive economically and socially."

In addition to lobbying with individual legislators, the AFR/OFU group also met with Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese and Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak. 

Click here to read more.

 

RFA Claims RFS is Single Most Important Economic Value-Added Market for Agriculture

In seventeen pages of comments, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) answered questions put forth in the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Energy and Commerce Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Assessment on Agricultural Sector Impacts.

Bob Dinneen, RFA's President and CEO, reminded the committee, "...it is important to remember that a central objective in developing a vibrant and robust ethanol industry was to increase demand for agricultural products and enhance farm income. Girded by the RFS, ethanol has become the single most important value-added market for American grain farmers, stimulating investment in agricultural technology and enhancing economic opportunities for rural communities across the country. The emergence of the ethanol industry over the past decade has served as an incredibly important economic catalyst, transforming the grain sector from a stagnating, surplus-driven marketplace to one that is vibrant, high-tech, and demand-driven. As a result, the net impacts of the RFS and ethanol production on the agriculture sector have been decidedly positive, and U.S. meat output and retail food prices have not been adversely affected."

You can read the full story on our website by clicking here.

 

Soil pH Plays Critical Role In Optimizing Yields in Winter Canola, Brian Arnall Says

Brian Arnall, assistant professor of precision nutrient management at Oklahoma State University, has been scouting winter canola fields across the state. He recently spoke with me about his findings.

One of the most critical considerations he is looking at this year for successful canola growth is the pH value of the soil.

"Over the years we're finding out, as far as soil goes, soil pH has been a very critical thing. Our wheat breeders have done a fantastic job of breeding aluminum-tolerant wheat varieties and we're able to go into a lower pH and have good production levels. We just don't have those canola varieties and hybrids available. They start losing yield below 5.5 and we can have complete yield loss in the low fours-complete stand loss, period.

"Putting a field to canola will often show you where you have 'hot spots' or low pH spots when the rest of the field might be OK. So, canola is a very good way to spot some of the variability you can have in your field."

You can read more of this story or listen to my conversation with Brian by clicking here.

 

New Study: Teens Fueled by a High-Protein Lean Pork Breakfast Consume Fewer Empty Late-Day Calories

A newly-released study by the University of Missouri reinforces what most farm moms already know: Teens who eat a high-protein lean pork breakfast may consume fewer sugary snacks later in the day.

The recent 12-week study suggests that, for teenagers, eating a protein-rich breakfast that includes lean ham or pork sausage reduces daily hunger, increases daily fullness, improves morning blood sugar control and leads to less late-day snacking, thus reducing calories from fat and sugar. This is especially true for teens who normally skip breakfast all together.

"This new Pork Checkoff-funded study further validates the important role of high-protein lean pork in a balanced diet," says Conley Nelson, National Pork Board president and Algona, Iowa, producer, "Pork producers work hard to provide consumers with healthy, affordable protein choices for the family table. Parents can feel good about including pork as part of the morning meal because it provides healthy fuel to support their teenagers' busy day while reducing the urge to reach for empty-calorie afternoon snacks."

Click here for more.

This N That- FFA VIPs, Crazy Weather and Big Iron

The 87th Annual Convention and Career Show of the Oklahoma FFA Association is underway in downtown Oklahoma City- and Tuesday evening, the organization presented the highest honor they give to adult supporters of FFA in the state to a pair of general farm organization leaders- groups that have long supported FFA in a variety of ways. Terry Detrick of Ames, President of the American Farmers and Ranchers, along with Mike Spradling of Tulsa County, President of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau- both received the Association's VIP Award for 2013.

We talked to Mike and to Terry before the evening session- and you can click here to read more as well as to listen to their comments about this highest honor from the Oklahoma FFA.

We also visited with National Officer Joenelle Futrell from Kentucky- click here to learn more about this beautiful and sharp young lady.

BTW- we will have lots of coverage tomorrow morning from the 2013 Oklahoma FFA Convention- we will spotlight the Stars, new state officers and more.

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