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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured Story:

Oklahoma Angus Breeder John Pfeiffer Elected Chairman of Certified Angus Beef 

 

Cattlemen have experienced a roller coaster ride this year with volatile cattle prices. One factor that is helping moderate these wild price fluctuations has been branded beef programs, like Certified Angus Beef (CAB). The new CAB Board Chairman is John Pfeiffer, an Angus producer from Mulhall, Oklahoma. He said data has shown CAB has returned on average $50 per head back to the producer in added premiums. In this latest cattle market downturn, he said some feedlot cattle would have lost more money without CAB premiums.


With herd expansion taking place across much of the nation, Pfeiffer said the challenge is to continue to breed cattle with the best genetics to produce high quality beef. In the 1970's, the CAB acceptance rate would have been around seven to eight percent. This past year, some months averaged over 30 percent acceptance. Pfeiffer credits the work CAB has done in working with commercial cattle producers to purchase better genetics for improved marbling and carcass weights.



Looking ahead, Pfeiffer wants to see domestic and international demand for CAB to grow. Ever since joining the board four years ago, he has wanted to see CAB sell a billion pounds of product in one year. CAB has to sell 83 billion pounds a month to meet that goal. CAB started the new fiscal year in October by selling 89-billion pounds. Pfeiffer said that billion pound goal is attainable with more cattle numbers in feedlots, so he thinks there is enough high quality beef to hit that target.


We caught up with John and his family last week at the Angus Means Business Convention- we have known John since the days of Class One of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program- we are both Alums of Class One and it's always great to have yet another example of how OALP helps get folks in Oklahoma agriculture ready to serve

 Click or tap here to listen to our full conversation with John.

One other Pfeiffer family note- we also enjoyed talking with John's son- John Pfeiffer- who has just completed his first year as a member of the Oklahoma legislature.  We talked about all of the issues that state lawmakers will be facing when they crank up the new legislative session early in 2016- and it's great to see a young man who really understands what it means to serve involved in our state legislative process- State District 38 has got a dandy.

The presenting sponsor of our daily email is the Oklahoma Farm Bureau - a grassroots organization that has for its Mission Statement- Improving the Lives of Rural Oklahomans."  Farm Bureau, as the state's largest general farm organization, is active at the State Capitol fighting for the best interests of its members and working with other groups to make certain that the interests of rural Oklahoma are protected.

 

AND remember- the 2015 annual Convention of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau kicks off this Friday in downtown Oklahoma City- details are available on their website.  

US Wheat Associates Analysis Shows Each Dollar Invested in Foreign Promotion Returns $45 to Wheat Producers

 

U.S. wheat producers invested an average of $4.9 million in checkoff funds per year to promote their milling wheat overseas between 2010 and 2014, and for every one of those dollars they received up to $45 back in increased net revenue. That is a principal conclusion of a new economic analysis of wheat export promotion released today by U.S. Wheat Associates (USW).


USW commissioned the study with funding from the USDA/Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Market Access Program. Dr. Harry M. Kaiser, the Gellert Family Professor of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell and director of the Cornell Commodity Promotion Research Program (CCPRP), designed and conducted the research using established methods from his 30 years of research experience.


"The study showed that investing in U.S. wheat export promotion had a large and beneficial impact for producers and the economy that far exceeded its cost," Dr. Kaiser said. "The econometric models we used showed that between 2010 and 2014 the total investment in wheat export promotion by farmers and the government increased total annual gross revenue by $2.0 billion to $3.0 billion. So for every $1 farmers and the government invested, the estimated return in gross revenue was between $112 and $179." Dr. Kaiser added that the most likely annual return is about $149 for each dollar spent based on USDA supply elasticity studies.  Click here to read more about the results of this study.

Nation's Corn, Soybean and Sorghum Harvest Almost Complete, Wheat Crop Condition Improving

 

Fall harvest and wheat planting has nearly wrapped up across much of the United States. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the nation's corn harvest was 93 percent complete. That's five points ahead of the five-year average. Soybean harvest was 95 percent complete. Sorghum was 85 percent harvested. That's three points ahead of average. Peanuts were 77 percent harvested. That's 11 points behind average. Cotton harvest was 58 percent complete. That's seven points behind average.


The US wheat crop continues to lag the conditions ratings of a year ago- but did show some improvement this past week. Here is the southern plains- Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas wheat crop conditions all improved from a week ago- because of beneficial moisture.  Oklahoma showed the most improvement from week to week- going from 38% good to excellent in the November first report to 46% good to excellent in the report dated November 8 and released yesterday afternoon.


Click here for the full National Crop Progress report.


Click here for the full Oklahoma report.


Click here for the full Texas report.


Click here for the full Kansas report.

 

USDA Expands Investment in Water Conservation and Improvement in the Ogallala Aquifer

 

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Monday announced USDA will invest $8 million in the Ogallala Aquifer Initiative (OAI) in Fiscal Year 2016 to help farmers and ranchers conserve billions of gallons of water annually while strengthening agricultural operations. The eight-state Ogallala Aquifer has suffered in recent years from increased periods of drought and declining water resources.


"USDA's Ogallala Aquifer Initiative helps landowners build resilience in their farms and ranches and better manage water use in this thirsty region," said Vilsack. "Since 2011, USDA has invested $74 million in helping more than 1,600 agricultural producers conserve water on 341,000 acres through this initiative."


The Ogallala Aquifer is the largest aquifer in the U.S. and includes nearly all of Nebraska and large sections of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. It is the primary water source for the High Plains region. Covering nearly 174,000 square miles, it supports the production of nearly one-fifth of the wheat, corn, cotton and cattle produced in the U.S. and supplies 30 percent of all water used for irrigation in the U.S.

One of the projects that will be focused on by USDA is the Oklahoma Ogallala Aquifer Initiative: This project will help landowners implement conservation practices that decrease water use. It includes an educational component that will educate citizens about water conservation and conservation systems. These systems include converting from irrigated to dryland farming and conservation practices that improve irrigation water management; crop residue and tillage management; nutrient and pesticide management, and grazing systems; and playa wetland restorations.

Water levels in the region are dropping at an unsustainable rate, making targeted conservation even more important. From 2011 to 2013, the aquifer's overall water level dropped by 36.0 million acre-feet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.  Click here to read more about the new focus areas of USDA's Ogallala Aquifer Initiative.

We are proud to have KIS Futures as a regular sponsor of our daily email update. KIS Futures provides Oklahoma farmers & ranchers with futures & options hedging services in the livestock and grain markets- click here for the free market quote page they provide us for our website or call them at 1-800-256-2555- and their iPhone App, which provides all electronic futures quotes is available at the App Store- click here for the KIS Futures App for your iPhone.   

Peel Analyzes World Beef Trade: Exports

 

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, writes in the latest Cow/Calf Corner newsletter.


Among top global beef exporters, the 2016 market situation is quite variable according to the latest USDA World Markets and Trade report for livestock and poultry. India passed Brazil in 2014 to become the number one beef exporter in the world.   India, which exports mostly meat from water buffalo (also known as carabeef) continues to see strong demand from southeast Asia and the halal processing of Indian beef makes the meat popular in Muslim countries. Indian beef exports, which have increased over three-fold in the last six years, are expected to increase again in 2016 keeping India as the top global beef exporting country.


Brazil is expected to regain the number two position in global beef exports in 2016 with an increase in exports from the 2015 level but still below the record level of 2014. Brazil overtook Australia in 2004 as the leading beef exporter, losing that position back to Australia for one year in 2011, before being overtaken by India in 2014 and also by Australia again in 2015. Brazil's weak currency is expected to boost 2016 beef exports but the weak Brazilian economy will limit both beef production and domestic consumption, keeping Brazil as the number two beef exporter in 2016.  Click here to read more about the export outlook for Australia, the United States and other countries.

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Branded Beef Programs Helping Drive Profitability for Beef Cattle Producers- Lance Zimmerman of Cattlefax

 

The Angus breed is the most popular breed of cattle in America and indeed the world. That's according to cattle registrations and other measurements. One of the reasons for the popularity of the breed is their branded beef program, Certified Angus Beef (CAB). CattleFax Market Analyst Lance Zimmerman said it's amazing to see what higher quality programs like CAB have done for the industry. For example, last week the percent choice grading percentage on U.S. slaughter facilities was 68 percent. Zimmerman said these quality levels have not been seen since 1991. In looking at the nation's growing consumer base, he said millennials are eating the highest quality beef in their lifetime.


"As we go forward, the opportunities we're going to continue to see in this industry through the branded segments through the higher quality beef production are going to yield that much more of a return for us going forward," Zimmerman.


I caught up with Zimmerman at the Angus Means Business Convention in Overland Park, Kansas. Click or tap here to listen to today's Beef Buzz.

This N That- Vilsack to Havana, Linda Cline Profiled as a DASNR Champ and USDA Crop Report Day

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