Crop Progress Numbers- Wheat Harvest Done (almost) and Corn & Soybeans Looking REALLY Good   

Wheat harvest is largely done across Oklahoma at 94% complete while Kansas is close with 87% done as of the end of the weekend- so says USDA in the latest Crop Progress numbers released on Monday afternoon.  Oklahoma farmers harvested a tenth of the total crop this past week, while Kansas farmers were hard at it over the Fourth of July with almost one third of the crop being combined last week alone.  

To check on the rest of the crops as well as pasture and range conditions across Oklahoma- click here for the latest Oklahoma Crop Weather Update.

For the Kansas Crop Weather Update- click here. 

Nationally- the numbers that really jumped out at me were the condition ratings for corn and soybeans. For corn, a year ago, the crop was struggling with 30% of the US Corn crop rated poor to very poor and 40% in the good to excellent categories.  The latest numbers for July 7th released yesterday  have 68% of the crop rated in good to excellent, while just 8% of the crop is in poor to very poor condition.  Soybean numbers are similar- 67% good to excellent this year versus 40% one year ago.  

Livestock producers have to love the early July status of both crops- as they seem to point to huge corn and soybean crops- and pressure on especially corn prices- which is a clear path to the opportunity for cattle, hog and poultry folks to make a profit in the latter days of 2013 and into 2014 as well.

For the national numbers, click here for the latest USDA Crop Progress report.

Beef Exports Tick Higher- and the Reason is Japan

While there was an expectation earlier in the year that a change in the terms of trade with Japan (age of cattle allowed) would result in increased shipments there, the recent surge in exports has been quite impressive. US beef exports to Japan in May were 24,692 MT, 69% higher than the same period a year ago. Japan is now firmly, once again, the top market for US beef. In May, Japan accounted for about 34% of total US beef exports. May exports to Japan were about the same as the monthly average in 2003, the last year prior to the discovery of BSE. In that year, monthly export volume did not peak until November.  

While exports to Japan have recovered to pre-BSE levels, exports to South Korea, which also used to be a major market for US beef, remain more limited. In May, US beef packers and exporters shipped 6,571 MT of beef to S. Korea, 33% less than a year ago and only half of what was going to that market in 2003. Exports to other markets have been mixed. By far the biggest loss has been the Russian market. Exports to that market have dwindled to almost zero compared to 6,849 MT that was shipped in May 2012.  

We have more on the US Beef and US Pork export story- based on the latest monthly numbers which are the May stats. Click here to learn more.

Pasture and Hay Conditions Are Key to Beef Herd Recovery- Derrell Peel Tells All

The U.S. beef herd is likely getting smaller again in 2013 due to unexpectedly large beef cow slaughter in the first half of the year. The 3.4 percent year-to-date increase in beef cow slaughter masks a more dramatic increase in beef cow culling since mid-March. After decreasing nearly 9 percent in the first ten weeks of the year, beef cow slaughter has averaged over 12 percent above year earlier levels for the last 15 weeks. The rate of beef cow slaughter has slowed the last three weeks, averaging only 2.3 percent above the same period last year, with one week slightly lower than last year. Although beef cow slaughter is expected to drop below year earlier levels in the second half of 2013, it would take a severe decrease for the remainder of the year - certainly averaging more than ten percent below last year - to avoid net beef cow herd liquidation in 2013.


Although forage conditions are better now in many locations, it is the residual effects of drought the last two years combined with the long and severe winter that forced more herd culling so far this year. At the current time, 51 percent of U.S. pastures and ranges are in good or excellent condition, compared to only 25 percent at this time last year. By contrast, this year 25 percent of pastures and ranges were in poor or very poor condition, compared to 43 percent last year. The Drought Monitor indicates that about 28 percent of the U.S. is in D2-D4 drought, slightly less than the 29 percent level one year ago. However, 49 percent of the U.S. currently has no drought at all, compared to 29 percent with no drought this time last year. 

We have more of Derrell Peel's weekly commentary on where our cattle market is and where it is going- click here to jump to our website to read more.

Sorghum Checkoff, USDA-ARS Team Up to Enhance Sorghum Genetics 

The Sorghum Checkoff will fund a five-year, $1.21 million project with the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) station in Lubbock, Texas, that will continue and expand research ARS has conducted on sorghum cold and drought tolerance and the identification of unique sorghum genetics.

The project will seek to continue drought and cold tolerance research, while also working to develop and mark key genes in sorghum, such as Tri-Seed. The effort will be led by Lubbock USDA-ARS Laboratory Director, John Burke, Ph. D.

"Dr. Burke and his team have become leaders in public sorghum research, working intimately with private industry and other public institutions to release game changing genetics to the sorghum industry," said Stewart Weaver, Sorghum Checkoff chairman and sorghum grower from Edmondson, Ark. "This is another great example of how producer dollars are being used to enhance sorghum genetics."

To learn more about the Sorghum checkoff- click here for their website. 

Oklahoma Gardening Website Now Smart Phone Friendly 

Fans of the popular television program Oklahoma Gardening now have access to video segments, recipes and other gardening-related information on the show's new smart-phone friendly website.


Produced by Oklahoma State University's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (DASNR), the 30-minute weekly Oklahoma Gardening show features timely, highly visual stories that provide gardening enthusiasts with information ranging from raised-bed gardening and landscape design, to environmental stewardship and ways to attract butterflies to the garden. The show airs statewide on OETA channels at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and at 3:30 p.m. on Sundays.

"We created the mobile site with our viewers in mind, who are often on the go or in the field," said Oklahoma Gardening host Kim Toscano. "Anyone who has browsed the web on their phone knows it can be frustrating at times. But the new website format makes it much easier to access information."

Learn more about the new website- and the link to it- by clicking here.

This N That- LeeAnna Covington, Superior Week in the Rockies and Midday Oklahoma

LeeAnna Covington has joined the Oklahoma Farm Bureau public policy department as the director of national affairs.  

Covington will work on national agricultural issues, including the farm bill, immigration and estate taxes. She will also be a constant presence at the state Capitol focusing on agriculture and rural issues important to OKFB members. Click here to learn a little more about LeeAnna as she joins John Collison's team on north Lincoln Avenue at the State Headquarters for OFB.

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Week in the Rockies XV continues today and the rest of this week on RFD-TV on both Dish and DirecTV as well as online- 204,000 head of cattle are being offered this week by Superior Video Livestock Auction- today- it's Feeder Steers and Feeder Heifers that are being offered- starting at 8:00 AM CENTRAL time (Superior Sunrise is a half hour before that at 7:30 AM) Click here to learn more about the offerings planned for each day and how you can find the cattle that will fit your operation during Superior's Week in the Rockies event.

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We have had our new daily High Noon show up and running for a couple of weeks now- and if you are in central-northcentral Oklahoma, we invite you to check out Midday Oklahoma from 12:05 pm to 1:00 pm weekdays on KOAG AM at 1640 on the upper end of the dial. We offer the  latest markets, including commentary about the markets daily with Justin Lewis of KIS, farm news, Ag Weather and a lot more. We are also posting the daily show shortly after 1:00 PM as a Podcast on our website- click here to check out yesterday's show.  

It is also being posted on our APP- for your listening convenience.