Traders Anticipate Bearish Numbers in Friday's USDA Report

Trade analysts are anticipating the US Department of Agriculture will be boosting crop production estimates on Friday. Leading up to report, Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities talked with the Radio Oklahoma Network. In following the Reuters trade estimates which are compiled from a survey of traders, Leffler said overall they are predicting US corn production to come in at 14.506 billion bushels, which is a increase over last month's USDA report by 111 million bushels with a average corn yield of 174.7 bushels per acre. That is an increase of three bushels per acre. Traders are looking for USDA to revise the number of harvested acres. The trade is anticipating an average drop of 681 thousand harvested acres of corn.


Traders are predicting the nation's soybean production will be 3.97 billion bushels, which is a increase of 63 million bushels over last's months USDA report. The trade is predicting an average soybean yield of 47.6 bushels per acre, one bushel greater than September's estimate. The trade is also anticipating the number of harvested soybean acres to drop by 437 thousand acres.


USDA will also release new crop ending stocks. Traders are anticipating ending stocks to increase for corn and wheat, while dropping for soybeans. Leffler said traders are predicting US corn ending stocks to come in at 2.13 billion bushels, up 128 million bushels over the September report. US Wheat Stocks are predicted to come in at 704 million bushels, an increase of six million bushels over last month. Traders anticipate soybean ending stocks to drop by three million bushels to come in at 472 million bushels.


On Friday, USDA will also release the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) Report. Leffler said traders are anticipating global wheat stocks to remain virtually unchanged at 196.38 million metric ton.   Global corn production looks to increase by 2 million ton to slightly above 192 million metric ton and small increase of soybeans at 90.76 million metric tons, an increase 59 thousand metric ton.

Allendale has also made their predictions for Friday's report.  Leffler also offers what's this will mean for the commodity market.  Click here to read or to listen to the interview with Tom Leffler.  

EPA Quietly Extends WOTUS Comment Period Past Election Day

Landowners will have more time to comment on the proposed 'Waters of the US' federal rule. The proposed rule was an attempted by Environmental Protection Agency and US Army Corps of Engineers to provide more clarity over the term navigable waters. On Monday the EPA extended the comment period from October 20th to November 14, 2014.


The government agency previously extended the comment period from 90 days to 180 days. This latest extension will add 25 more days for public comment. In a statement, EPA said it will not finalize the rule until it has fully reviewed the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) peer review of the report on the connectivity of streams and wetlands and finalized the scientific connectivity report.


An EPA spokesman said the report is expected the middle of this month.


The proposal has drawn scrutiny from many agricultural organizations that are concerned that this rule could significantly expand the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act while creating more uncertainty over what will be subject to federal regulation.   


In September the US House of Representatives passed the Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014. Senate action is unlikely however before the end of the year. The White House has threatened to veto the bill.  Click here for more information in how to submit a comment to the Federal Register.

Oklahoma becomes the eighth state in the nation to have an agricultural council established by the animal rights group The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Four individuals have been named to the HSUS Agriculture Council for Oklahoma, including Harlan Hentges, Paul Muegge, Lauren Nitschke and Adam Price.


Hentges has practiced law for more than 20 years, focusing on issues such as air and water pollution, eminent domain, agricultural contracts, regulatory compliance and estate and business planning.


Muegge served in Oklahoma State Senate for 12 years, where he chaired the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee and participated in two national task forces. He farms with one of his sons and supports environmental causes, with a particular interest in monitoring the growth of industrial agriculture. He resides in Tonkawa.


Nitschke and her husband, Gary, run the Circle N, a cow-calf grass-fed cattle operation in Texhoma. As a American Grassfed Association certified cattle operation, they markets calves to the southwest region of Whole Foods Market through the Grassfed Livestock Alliance. The "Nitschke Natural Beef All Pasture-All the Time," label is marketed on-line to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.


Price is the operations manager for the Oklahoma Food Cooperative,where farmers and producers can sell and distribute their products statewide. Price said he would like to see sustainable, humane agricultural practices grow in both the rural and urban environments.
 

Click here to read more about the purpose of the HSUS Agriculture Council of Oklahoma.

Meat Export Volumes Lower in August, Value Remains Strong

For the second consecutive month, August export value for U.S. beef and pork increased year-over-year despite declines in volume. Export value for both products remains on a record pace, according to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).


August beef exports overcame a 3 percent decline in volume to 102,456 metric tons (mt) to set a new monthly value record of $655.2 million - up 16 percent from a year ago. For January through August, beef exports were up 3 percent in volume (790,208 mt) and 13 percent in value ($4.55 billion) compared to the same period last year.


Pork export volume was down 6 percent year-over-year in August to 162,992 mt - due in part to market access issues in Russia and the China/Hong Kong region - but export value still achieved a 6 percent increase to $529.9 million. For the first eight months of the year, pork export volume was up 6 percent to 1.48 million mt while value increased 15 percent to $4.53 billion.  

Click here to read more on how beef export value races to new records and how the Russian import ban impact August pork exports.

Are Persistently Infected Cattle in Your Herd?

Gant Mourer, Oklahoma Beef Value Enhancement Specialist & Barry Whitworth, DVM, Oklahoma State University Area Extension Veterinarian, writes in the latest Cow-Calf Newsletter.


Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a contributor (along with others) to what is known as "shipping fever" complex or bovine respiratory disease (BRD). However, some animals will be persistently infected (PI) as a fetus with BVDV and will carry BVDV their entire life. These are the animals that are particularly harmful to cattle herds as they may show no clinical signs of the disease at all and yet shed the virus continuously to surrounding animals. Infected calves transmit the virus through secretions such as feces, nasal discharge, tears, saliva, urine, milk and semen. BVDV may also be transmitted during examination or palpation of the reproductive tract when gloves or sleeves are not changed between animals. Needles can transfer the virus from animal to animal as well. The virus can also survive several days in cool environments and be transferred from tools such as nose tongs, halters, and other tools if not properly sanitized.


Prevention of BVD involves the implementation of a well-defined biosecurity plan developed by you and your veterinarian and possibly testing of calves with an accredited laboratory. Removing all PI calves and cows after testing may be the first step. Also, testing outside animals or purchasing cattle that have been verified as PI-BVDV negative prior to entry into the herd will aid in preventing of the disease. A strong vaccination plan will also help prevent BVDV; it will not treat an animal that is already infected but will aid in prevention and will give some protection if cattle come in contact with other cattle via a fence line or other methods. 

Click here to read more on how BVDV has a significant impact on the beef industry. 

Pork Checkoff Celebrates Hispanic Traditions with Celebrity Chef Lorena Garcia

The flavor and versatility of pork makes it a favorite staple among Hispanic homes. To celebrate the love Latinos have for pork, the Pork Checkoff has launched a Hispanic marketing campaign that includes a partnership with celebrity chef Lorena Garcia.


Garcia, one of the country's most popular Latina chefs, has a passion for creating juicy and delicious recipes in the kitchen. She also enjoys creating pork-inspired recipes with a unique Latin touch.


"I am thrilled to share my culture and love of pork through these new recipes that families may enjoy in everyday meals," said Garcia, who is well known for numerous TV series such as Top Chef Masters. "I believe in keeping it simple but interesting."

 
The Pork Checkoff also has launched PorkTeInspira.com, a new Spanish-language website with corresponding social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Click here to learn more about the website and for pork-inspired video recipes from Chef Garcia.  

It's Wednesday- and that means the Big Iron folks will be busy closing out this week's auction items- all 405 of them- starting at 10 AM central time.                  

Click Here for the complete rundown of what is being sold on this no reserve online sale this week.

If you'd like more information on buying and selling with Big Iron, call District Manager Mike Wolfe at 580-320-2718 and he can give you the full scoop.  You can also reach Mike via email by clicking or tapping here. 

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When the promises were made by our weather folks about Odile- we had high hopes- and expectations.  Well, the talk is there again about another Pacific Storm System- this one by the name of Simon- and Simon Says Oklahoma is gonna get wet.  

Our weather folks are weighing in about wetness ahead as well. The National Weather Service office in Amarillo has an excellent graphic showing a possible track for Simon- and it may take a lot of the moisture into the northern parts of Oklahoma- 

Meanwhile, the NWS office in Norman sees significant rains across the eastern three fourths of Oklahoma- and some chance in those western most counties as well(this map does not show Eastern Oklahoma- but Travis Meyer with the News on 6 says one to two inches of rain is possible in eastern portions of the state:

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We have been working hard on our calendar for the last quarter of 2014- and we have a lot of events posted up there- all of the Farm bill Conferences by date and location are there- the upcoming Auctions of the School Land Leases and a whole lot more.

Click or tap here to jump over to our calendar on our OklahomaFarmReport.Com website- and study up!!!