Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News

Howdy Neighbors! 

In the Supply Demand numbers released yesterday by the USDA- the US Wheat stockpile increased more than expected by the trade while corn and soybean stocks were decreased. Futures markets reacted with pressure on wheat futures, neutral for corn and slightly bullish for soybeans.

Corn stockpiles at the end of the 2013-14 marketing year on Aug. 31 are expected to total 1.792 billion bushels, the USDA said, down from its November forecast of 1.887 billion bushels. Analysts expected stocks of 1.861 billion bushels.    Soybean inventories are expected to total 150 million bushels, the USDA said, which was lower than the government's estimate of 170 million bushels lastmonth. That compares with 154 million bushels forecast by analysts.

Wheat stockpiles will be 575 million bushels at the end of the grain's marketing year on May 31, the USDA said, up from 565 million bushels the agency predicted last month. The estimate surpassed analysts' expectations of 553 million bushels.

The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of corn and wheat and second-largest shipper of soybeans.

The USDA estimated corn exports will total 1.450 billion bushels, up from the 1.400 billion bushels it forecast in November. The higher estimate is based on the pace of sales to date and higher expected global consumption, the USDA said in the report.

The agency expects wheat exports will be 1.100 billion bushels, unchanged from its estimate last month. And the USDA said soybean exports would total 1.475 billion bushels, higher than the 1.450 billion bushels it forecast last month.

You can read more of this story and find a link to the full USDA report by clicking here.

Rich Nelson of Allendale dissects the reports.  Click here for his analysis.

Click here to listen to Justin Lewis of KIS Futures as he discusses how the numbers are moving the futures markets. 

Sponsor Spotlight

We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update. On both the state and national levels, full-time staff members serve as a "watchdog" for family agriculture producers, mutual insurance company members and life company members. Click here to go to their AFR website to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America! 

Midwest Farm Shows is our longest running sponsor of the daily farm and ranch email- And- they are READY to kick off the Tulsa Farm Show in one more day!!!!!!!.  The show opens Thursday morning at 9:00 am and runs through Saturday afternoon.  Click here for the Tulsa Farm Show website  for more details about this tremendous farm show at Tulsa's River Spirit Expo Center. At our Radio Oklahoma Ag Network booth- we will have a special prize giveaway that you can register for- and I am very pleased to announce that our friend and Griffin Colleague Travis Meyer of the News on 6 will be with us Thursday afternoon from 1pm to 2pm- stop by and say hello and you can pick his brain about the weather outlook for this winter.  

In light of a landmark conservation plan developed by the five range states of the lesser prairie-chicken, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed a special rule that would provide regulatory certainty for landowners by exempting from regulation conservation actions and development undertaken in accordance with the plan, should the bird be listed under the Endangered Species Act.

The Service will accept comments for 30 days on the proposed special rule, which would exempt from regulation under the Act any activities that harm or result in take of the prairie-chicken if incidental to carrying out the state-developed range-wide lesser prairie-chicken conservation plan. The proposed special rule would also exempt take incidental to routine agricultural practices on existing cultivated lands and to landowner participation in the Natural Resource Conservation Service's Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative.

"Regardless of whether the lesser prairie-chicken ultimately warrants the protection of the ESA, we can all agree that continued state leadership in management and recovery of this species, as well as a conservation strategy that is compatible with the economic well-being of ranchers and other private landowners, is what is needed here," said Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. "The states' plan, along with this proposed special rule, could provide an unprecedented model for state leadership in conservation of a threatened species."

Click here to read the full story. 

Darrel Good, Agricultural Economist with the University of Illinois, offered his latest Weekly Outlook on Monday afternoon as found on the Farmdoc webiste of the University of Illinois:

Much of the discussion in the corn market, and in crop markets in general, has become focused on the potential for a protracted period of low prices and the likely impact on farm incomes and land values. There even appears to be some competition relative to who can forecast the lowest corn prices for next year and beyond. This is just opposite the situation of a year ago when the drought-reduced U.S. crop invoked forecasts of extreme prices on the high side.

While the corn market sentiment seems to have become very negative for price prospects for an extended period, the futures market is actually offering higher prices for the 2014 crop than for the 2013 crop and even higher prices for the 2015 crop. 

Higher corn prices next year and beyond would have to come from some combination of   reduced foreign production, smaller U.S. crops, or increased demand for corn. Increased demand is not synonymous with an increase in consumption associated with lower prices. Instead, increased demand is defined as the willingness of end users (domestic, foreign, or both) to consume more corn at a given price, or conversely, to pay higher prices for a given level of consumption. The question then, is it realistic to expect any of these conditions to unfold?

Click here to read more of Darrel Good's analysis.  

Transparency in the food industry is a growing topic of conversation and, in order to continue to effectively communicate with consumers about the food they grow and raise, the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA®) conducted research to hone in on the topic of food transparency, specifically how important it is to American consumers.

According to the survey, food transparency is very important. Fifty-nine percent of respondents report it is extremely important (rated it as an 8-10 on a 10 point scale) for grocery stores and restaurants to provide information about the way the food they sell is grown and raised. And over 50 percent say they want more information than they are currently getting.

The good news is that farmers and ranchers across the country have the information consumers are asking for. However, it needs to be shared. 

To read more and to find a link to the full USFRA report, please click here.  

As 2013 draws to a close, Michael Kelsey, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, is taking a look at the year gone by and looking toward the future. He will be my guest on this weekend's "In the Field" segment on News 9 at approximately 6:40 AM Saturday morning.  We also did an extensive audio only visit for our website and for use on the statewide radio network- and we covered a lot ground.

Though it is not yet officially winter, cattle producers and their herds have weathered extremely low temperatures and wintry precipitation across the state. So far, Kelsey says, producers are in pretty good shape. He said that good rains last spring resulted in good hay crops so there is plenty of feed, so far, for producers to rely on.

Another issue high on cattle producers' radar screens right now, Kelsey says, is the proposal by the EPA to roll back its Renewable Fuel Standard ethanol volume to 2012 levels. The comment period on the EPA proposal is open until late January and he is encouraging producers to weigh in and make their views known.

With the drought continued to recede in many parts of the state, Kelsey said he is seeing a renewed excitement for increasing the size of Oklahoma's cattle herd. One of the signs of positive movement in this regard is the number of young people coming back to or getting involved in beef production for the first time, Kelsey says.

"I think it's very optimistic. We're starting to hear some of our members say, 'I'm excited about the future. I'm looking forward to what I'm seeing looking forward.'"

You can listen to our full conversation or read more of this story by clicking here. 

The holiday season is upon us and families across Oklahoma are pondering the age old decision to go real or go plastic. Oklahoma Forestry Services says it would like to encourage you to go green this year and purchase a locally grown Christmas tree from one of the many growers in our state.

"There are several reasons to choose a fresh or live tree," said State Forester George Geissler. "They smell wonderful. They can be recycled. You can have the classic family experience of visiting a Christmas tree farm to choose and cut your own."

Whether fresh-cut or live, a real tree benefits the environment instead of harming it, OFS says. During their lifespan, an acre of Christmas trees supplies enough oxygen for 18 people and after the holidays they make excellent habitats for birds and other wildlife. Fake trees are made of non-natural materials so they will not decompose, cannot be recycled into mulch or wildlife habitat, and are transported thousands of miles because they are manufactured outside of the US.

You'll find more of this story and links to the locations of Oklahoma Christmas tree farms by clicking here.

Chairman of the House Ag Committee and the Farm Bill Conference Committee Frank Lucas issued the following statement after the four principals met today to discuss outstanding issues relating to the farm bill.  

"We have made great progress on the farm bill and continue to have productive meetings. There are still some outstanding issues that we are addressing.  I am confident we'll work through them and finish a farm bill in January.  Concurrent with our ongoing discussions this week, I will file legislation to extend the current farm bill through January to allow us to finish our work without the threat that permanent law will be implemented.  Having this option on the table is the responsible thing to do in light of our tight deadline."

After that meeting yesterday of the Big Four- it was reported on the Wall Street Journal website was weather related- "Winter storms kept an employee of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office away from Washington and unable to complete the key cost estimates lawmakers needed to continue their negotiations, chairmen of the House and Senate agriculture committees told reporters Tuesday."

Reuters has reported that Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow will not support any extension of the 2008 Farm Bill. Stabenow told reporters Tuesday that she won't let folks sneak in through the back door like they did last year and continue subsidies that everyone agrees should be eliminated. Stabenow said even a one-month extension through January could allow direct payments to continue for another year. She said that's unacceptable and won't pass the Senate.  Along those lines- AP is reporting that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid won't allow a vote on a farm bill extension- even for a short term one. 

There are several other twists and turns on the Farm Bill story this morning- you can get up to speed on many of them by clicking here for the FarmPolicy farm bill overview for this Wednesday morning.

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