USDA Announces Ongoing Efforts to Assist Ranchers Impacted by Drought 

As severe drought conditions persist in certain regions throughout the country, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan M. Garcia today announced temporary assistance to livestock producers through FSA's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Under limited conditions, farmers and ranchers affected by drought will be allowed to use certain additional CRP acres for haying or grazing under emergency conditions while maintaining safeguards to the conservation and wildlife benefits provided by CRP. In addition, USDA announced that the reduction to CRP annual rental payments related to emergency haying or grazing will be reduced from 25 percent to 10 percent. Further, the sale of hay will be allowed under certain conditions. These measures take into consideration the quality losses of the hay and will provide needed assistance to livestock producers.

"Beginning today, state FSA offices are authorized, under limited conditions, to expand opportunities for haying and grazing on certain additional lands enrolled in CRP," said Garcia. "This local approach provides both the appropriate flexibility and ability to tailor safeguards specific to regional conditions. States must adhere to specific guidelines to ensure that additional haying and grazing still maintains the important environmental and wildlife benefits of CRP. These safeguards will be determined through consultation with the state conservationist, state fish and wildlife agency and stakeholders that comprise the state technical committee."

CRP is a voluntary program that provides producers annual rental payments on their land in exchange for planting resource-conserving vegetation on cropland to help prevent erosion, provide wildlife habitat and improve the environment. CRP acres enrolled under certain practices can already be used for emergency haying and grazing during natural disasters to provide much-needed feed to livestock. FSA state offices have already opened haying, grazing or both in 432 counties in response to natural disaster this year.

Given the continued multi-year drought in some regions, forage for livestock is already substantially reduced. The action today will allow lands that are not typically eligible for emergency haying and grazing to be used with appropriate protections to maintain the CRP environmental and wildlife benefits. The expanded haying and grazing will only be allowed following the local primary nesting season, which already has passed in many areas. Especially sensitive lands such as stream buffers are generally not eligible.

For more information, please click here.  

Crops Trail Five-Year Averages, but Recent Weather Improves Conditions

The percentage of the nation's corn crop silking and the percentage of soybeans setting pods both continued to trail the five-year averages according to USDA's weekly Crop Progress report Monday. However, the condition of both crops improved slightly from the previous week.

Corn development continued to run behind the average pace, with silking pegged at 86% as of Sunday, Aug. 4, versus the five-year average of 89%. Corn in dough stage, at 18%, also trailed the average of 31%.  Corn conditions improved slightly from the previous week, resulting in a two-point increase.  

As with corn, development of the soybean crop continues to be slower than normal with USDA pegging blooming at 79% as compared to the five-year average of 85%. Thirty-nine percent of the crop is reportedly setting pods compared to the five-year average of 51%.

For the full USDA national crop progress and condition report, click here. 

Rains Across Southern Plains Benefit Row Crop Development

Row crop development across Oklahoma continued after several beneficial rain events over the past few weeks.  Condition ratings for corn, sorghum and soybeans were mostly good, while peanuts were rated mostly good to fair and cotton was rated mostly fair. Corn silking was 90 percent complete by the end of the week, and 47 percent reached the dough stage, 33 points below the five-year average. A fifth of the crop had reached the dent stage, 22 points behind normal. Sorghum heading was 45 percent complete by Sunday, and ten percent was coloring, nine points behind normal. Soybeans blooming were 34 percent complete, 30 points behind the five-year average.  (Click here to read more of the Oklahoma Crop Weather Report.)

Kansas saw cooler than normal temperatures and widespread precipitation last week.  Large portions of central and eastern Kansas received three inches or more of rainfall.  Corn silking was 87 percent, behind 97 last year and 96 average. Corn in dough was 41 percent, behind 70 last year and 53 average. Corn dented was three percent, well behind 46 last year and 18 average. Corn condition rated 11 percent very poor, 18 poor, 33 fair, 32 good, and six excellent.  Sorghum heading was 29 percent, behind 45 last year and 36 average. Condition rated six percent very poor, 13 poor, 38 fair, 40 good, and three excellent.  (You can read the full Kansas report by clicking here.) 

Precipitation was scarce across Texas last week. The Northern High Plains and Trans-Pecos received the most significant rainfall, with isolated areas receiving up to four inches.  Irrigated cotton in the Plains was squaring and setting bolls, and producers sprayed for weeds. Corn and sorghum harvest continued in the Blacklands.  (Click here for more from the Texas report.)

Beef Producers Can Net $10 Per Head Premium with Negative BVD-PI Test 

Research now shows cattle buyers are paying a premium for calves that test negative for being persistently infected (PI) with bovine viral diarrhea (BVD). According to an analysis of Superior Livestock Auction data for more than 350,000 head marketed, BVD-PI-negative calves commanded an average premium of $2.42 per hundredweight.1 For each 600-pound calf, this increases net profit by $10 per head.

"Netting an additional $10 or more on a 600-pound calf that is BVD-PI-negative makes it well worth the investment in testing," says Chris McClure, general manager of Gold Standard Labs. "Veterinarians and producers have long known BVD is the most costly contributor to respiratory disease in cattle, and that BVD-PI cattle - despite being few in number - are the primary source of this highly contagious disease. Now, the marketplace is recognizing the significant economic benefit of documenting the BVD-PI-negative status of cattle."

Click here to read more of this story.

 

Peel, LMIC Say Estimated Mid-Year U.S. Cattle Inventory Down

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, and James Robb and Katelyn McCullock of the Livestock Marketing Information Center write in the latest Cow-Calf newsletter:

The status of cattle inventories in the U.S. is unknown at this time. USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service cancelled the report mid-year report, so there are no official July 1 survey-based estimates of cattle inventories by class, 2013 calf crop, or total Cattle on Feed available. At the recent annual meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC), members from around the country were polled as to their expectations for the beef cow herd and beef replacement heifer situation in their region. Nationally and by region, the group was unanimous that the beef cow herd is down so far this year, with the U.S. assessments ranging from less than one percent to over two percent. The majority of the group indicated that the beef cow herd was likely down between one and two percent as of July 1. Assessments on beef replacement heifers was more variable with some limited view that modest heifer retention was occurring in some areas with a majority feeling that no significant heifer retention was occurring yet or that some heifers earlier retained for breeding had been diverted into feeder supplies.

Beef cow slaughter was down 3.1 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2013. Beef cow slaughter has fallen sharply in the past three weeks and is likely to be down for most of the remainder of the year. The number of heifers on feed usually decreases between January and July and was down this year but dropped less than normal indicating that some animals previously identified as replacements likely entered feedlots in the first six months of this year. Heifer slaughter is down year to date but has been above year ago levels in the last four weeks, indicating the larger number of heifers finishing in feedlots. Heifer retention may well pick up in the last half of the year. Still, the combined effects of higher beef cow slaughter and decreased heifers entering the herd likely means that the beef cow herd will be down year-over-year on January 1, 2014.

You can read more by clicking here.

 

USDA Celebrates National Farmers Market Week, August 4-10

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Saturday celebrated National Farmers Market Week with a kick-off event at the Columbia Heights Farmers Market in Washington, D.C.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that 8,144 farmers markets are now listed in USDA's National Farmers Market Directory, up from about 5,000 in 2008. The Directory, voluntarily updated by farmers market managers, state departments of agriculture, marketing associations, and others, is published online at farmersmarkets.usda.gov. This year, the Directory has been upgraded to include a new Application Programming Interface (API) that improves customer access to farmers market data.

"Farmers markets are an important public face for agriculture and a critical part of our nation's food system," said Secretary Tom Vilsack. "They provide benefits not only to the farmers looking for important income opportunities, but also help fill a growing consumer demand for fresh, healthy foods. In recent years, USDA has stepped up efforts to support local and regional marketing opportunities for producers, including a modernized Farmer's Market Directory to help connect farmers, consumers, communities, and businesses around the country."

You can read more of this story and find links to the USDA's Farmer's Market Directory by clicking here.

 

Listen, Watch, Read and Even Tweet Along With Us

Periodically- we like to remind you of the many different ways you can keep up with us as we cover the world of agriculture with an Oklahoma perspective.  

First and foremost-LISTEN- i am still a radio guy- got bit by the radio bug when I was a teenager and never got over it.  The Radio Oklahoma Ag Network has 46 radio stations that carry our programming on a daily basis- and we are very proud to be associated with them all- we are pleased to mention our newest pair of radio affiliates in the Sallisaw-Ft. Smith area- KYHN-AM at 1650 on the AM dial and KXMX-FM at 105.1 on the FM dial have joined RON in delivering farm news and markets daily for this eastern Oklahoma community.

In addition- we remind you that we have extensive programming on daily to be heard on AM1640- KOAG- click here for their coverage map.  We are especially pleased with how our new long form program, Midday Oklahoma- has been received to date by folks in the KOAG listening territory- it can be heard daily from 12:05 pm til 1 pm- Oklahoma farm and ranch news, markets, calendar, ag weather, beef news and more.  

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We obviously work for a company (Griffin Communications) that is a major player in Oklahoma when it comes to TV- that's where WATCH comes into play- and we are proud to be a small part of the TV scene with Griffin- seen each weekday morning at 5:10 AM on News9 in Oklahoma City and then at 5:22 AM on the News on 6 in Tulsa.  These reports are Skype reports and are a look at a top story of the day.

You can also watch us on Saturday mornings for our interview segment as seen on News9, KWTV at about 6:40 AM- it's called In the Field.

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Since you get this email- you understand the part about READing us on a daily basis.  We have this email that goes out to over 3,500 email addresses weekdays- and often links you back to where you can READ more- on our website at www.OklahomaFarmReport.com. 

In addition, you can now read us using our APP for either Apple or Android- the link to our App is on the left hand column of this email- click on the word Apple or Android to check out how to download our APP onto your smartphone.  Within each story- we have the ability to add audio, video and even a web link to fully round out the easiest way to check out out updates from RON.

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Finally- a word about perhaps my favorite social media platform- Twitter.  We Tweet as Ron_on_RON and offer updates anytime a new farm news story is posted- and then also do special postings as a mini blog and running commentary of meetings we attend and cover.  For example- we are heading to Denver  for the Summer Cattle Industry Conference.  We will be tweeting about the sessions we cover- the people we meet and interview and offer other insights that we hear in the hallways.  Following our Tweets is almost like being there- without having to take your shoes off to satisfy TSA at the airport!