From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 6:31 AM
To: ron@oklahomafarmreport.com
Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
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Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Tuesday February 9, 2010
A service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and KIS Futures!
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-- Pork Board Shows Some Love for National Animal ID System
-- Credit All This Winter Weather on That Little Boy of the Pacific- El Nino
-- Edmond Bonjour to Become the Sixth Director of the OALP
-- Talking to Number Two- Kathleen Merrigan of USDA Tells Agri- Pulse About the Different Direction She is Trying to Take USDA.
-- Oklahoma Cattle Woman Jumps into the National Officer Ranks
-- Yellow Fail Gains Strength in Response to Support for HSUS
-- Oklahoma Rep to National Peanut Board Sought
-- Let's Check the Markets!

Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. 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.

We are also excited to have as one of our sponsors for the daily email Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, with 64 years of progress through producer ownership. Call Brandon Winters at 405-232-7555 for more information on the oilseed crops they handle, including sunflowers and canola- and remember they post closing market prices for canola and sunflowers on the PCOM website- go there by clicking here.

And we salute our longest running email sponsor- Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the springtime Southern Plains Farm Show, as well as the just concluded Tulsa Farm Show. Click here for more information on the Southern Plains Farm Show, coming up April 15,16 and 17, 2010.

If you have received this by someone forwarding it to you, you are welcome to subscribe and get this weekday update sent to you directly by clicking here.


Pork Board Shows Some Love for National Animal ID System
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The announcement last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) eliminating the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) does not change the objective pursued by the National Pork Board, which is for pork producers to have timely disease surveillance and protection for the U.S. swine herd.

"Premises identification is the cornerstone of animal health and disease surveillance," said Dr. Paul Sundberg, vice president of science and technology at the National Pork Board. "This new direction does not change that fact and the pork industry remains committed to these critical efforts. The pork industry is committed to working collaboratively with USDA and state animal health officials to provide a sound system. Pork producers have demonstrated their confidence in premises identification through their participation and it is important that we maintain this voluntary cooperation."

According to USDA data, the U.S. swine industry already has more than 90-percent of its farms identified through premises identification.

The Checkoff's swine health committee, and the Committee's Animal ID Working Group, had supported the NAIS and incorporated elements of the program as a requirement in the industry's Pork Quality Assurance Plus program. The word from the Pork Board is that they don't plan on backing off that requirement.

Click here for more on the National Pork Board's support for NAIS.


Credit All This Winter Weather on That Little Boy of the Pacific- El Nino
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Travis Meyer is lead Meteorologist for the News on 6, our Griffin Communications TV station for the eastern part of the state, based in Tulsa. Not only does he watch the weather for residents in Green Country, Travis also has a cattle herd- and worries about calving season and the extremely wet conditions we find in most pastures across eastern Oklahoma and over into southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas.

We talked with Travis about the much different winter season we are having this year compared to the last couple of years- and we have posted it as a Podcast on our website- and available on Itunes.

Travis Meyer talks with us about what has turned out to be a strong El Nino pattern in the Pacific- and how it has brought storm after storm across the southern plains. Meyer sees no immediate end in sight- and believes that a cold wet winter will turn into a wetter and stormier than normal spring.

Click on the link below to hear what this cattleman/meteorologist has to say about current weather patterns- and what may lie ahead for springtime.

Click here to listen to our Podcast with Travis Meyer of the News on 6- Talking El Nino.


Edmond Bonjour to Become the Sixth Director of the OALP
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Dr. James Trapp, Associate Director, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service announced Monday afternoon that Edmond L. Bonjour has accepted the offer to become the Director of the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program starting with Class XV. Bonjour's appointment as Program Director becomes effective April 12, 2010. Edmond is a graduate of OALP Class XIII. His wife, Rose, is a member of Class XIV.

Edmond Bonjour has been involved in agriculture his entire life. He was raised on farm in eastern Iowa that produced cattle, hogs, corn, oats, and alfalfa. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and biology, graduating Summa Cum Laude at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa. Bonjour earned a Master of Science in Entomology at Oklahoma State University and has been employed in the OSU Department of Entomology for over 27 years.

Dr. Joe Williams, current Director of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program, is winding down his responsibilties with the OALP as he and Class 14 prepare to leave for their international study experience next week. The Class will examine agriculture, rural life and culture in Spain and Morocco the balance of this month.
Class 14 will have graduation ceremonies in April, and OALP Alums and Supporters will be encouraged to come and be a part of that celebration of the program, salute Dr. Williams for his service to OALP and welcome Edmond as the newest Director of the program.

Click here for more on the OALP Program


Talking to Number Two- Kathleen Merrigan of USDA Tells Agri- Pulse About the Different Direction She is Trying to Take USDA.
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Colleague Stewart Doan had the chance to talk at length with the Deputy Secretary of USDA, Kathleen Merrigan. Ms. Merrigan is exhibit one when it comes to evidence that the Obama Administration has a different view of what USDA should be as an agency, that they want organic concepts given priority over other types of agriculture and that green and local are words to love.

In his weekly Open Mic, Doan talks with Merrigan about a variety of issues- Merrigan tells about USDA's decision to scrap the National Animal Identification System, the Obama Administration's 2011 budget priorities for Rural America, and USDA's top policy successes in 2009.

She also shares her view on government regulation of agriculture and her vision for the 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative.
Click on the link below to jump to the front page of the Agri-Pulse website- look on the right hand column where you will see a place to click to play the Open Mic interview.

Click here to go to the Agri-Pulse website to be able to hear the conversation with Kathleen Merrigan- the number two person at USDA.


Oklahoma Cattle Woman Jumps into the National Officer Ranks
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Tammi Didlot of Moore is the new Vice President of the ANCW, which stands for the American National CattleWomen. The group is a voice for women who support and promote the beef industry. She will be serving with ladies from Alabama and Texas.

Leading the ANCW in the coming year is Lana Slaten of Culman, Alabama. Slaten has chosen the theme "Bridging the Gap" as she represents CattleWomen involved in the beef industry across the nation. "I believe the American National CattleWomen are a vital link in "bridging the gap" to the consumer with science-based information about our product, beef, and understanding our way of life on the farms and ranches in America," said Slaten. We play a significant role in "putting a face" on the producer and the reality that we are also consumers of the food we produce.

The President Elect of the ANCW for 2010 is Jill Ginn of Granbury, Texas. Didlot is also serving as an officer in the Oklahoma Cattlewomen, this year as first Vice President. She has been a strong supporter and worker in two of the major Cattle Women projects, the Beef Cook- Off and the Beef Ambassador Program.
Oklahoma will have two ladies serving on the national board of the ANCW. Besides Didlot, D'dee Haynes will serve as the Region IV Director. She is a past President of the Oklahoma Cattlewomen.


Yellow Fail Gains Strength in Response to Support for HSUS
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Farmers and ranchers are up in arms over the announcement of a few days back from Wine maker Yellow Tail that they were giving $100,000 to the Humane Society of the US. People in animal agriculture consider the HSUS as an enemy to their way of life, taking Wayne Pacelle and several of his top executives in the well funded activist organization at their word that they want to eliminate animal agriculture in the United States.

So, when Yellow Tail made the donation to HSUS, farmers and ranchers have been pushing back. They have organized a social media boycott, using YouTube, twitter and Facebook. A Public Relations Professor at Kent State University offers a summary of what is going on from the PR point of view- our story that we have linked below has the link to that Blog posting from Bill Sledzik.
Included in the Blog is a You Tube video from rancher Troy Hadrick of South Dakota- he takes a bottle of Yellow Tail, walks out in front of his Angus cattle in the snow- and explains he won't support a company that is strongly supporting a group like HSUS- then proceeds to pour the contents of the bottle out on the ground.

Other social media is being used in the campaign against Yellow Tail by farmers, ranchers and hunters. There is a Facebook page that has been set up called Yellow Fail- it has over 1,600 fans in a matter of a few days- and one Oklahoma ranch lady wrote on the "wall" of this page "nothing goes better with a juicy steak than wine- but it won't be Yellow Tail at my house."
Click on the link below for more on this story- and if you have a Facebook account- you can search for and easily find the Yellow Fail Fan Page.

Click here for more on the Yellow Fail Boycott of yellow tail Wine.


Oklahoma Rep to National Peanut Board Sought
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The Oklahoma Peanut Commission (OPC) is seeking eligible peanut producers who are interested in serving on the National Peanut Board (NPB). The OPC will hold a nominations election to select a member and alternate to the NPB during the Oklahoma Peanut Expo on March 5 at noon at the Quartz Mountain Resort near Lone Wolf. All eligible producers are encouraged to participate.

John Clay of Carnegie is the current Oklahoma NPB member and Gayle White of Frederick serves as the alternate. The term for the current Oklahoma board member and alternate expires December 31, 2009. USDA requires two nominees from each state for each position of member and alternate. The NPB will submit Oklahomas slate of nominees to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, who makes the appointments.

The Oklahoma Peanut Commission has been promoting, by education and research, the greater use of Oklahoma grown peanuts since 1965. For more information on the nomination meeting, contact the OPC at 405-275-5994 or via email at okpeanut@sbcglobal.net .

Click here for more on the search for Oklahoma peanut producers to serve on the National Peanut Board.


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, AFR and KIS Futures for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites out and let these folks know you appreciate the support of this daily email, as their sponsorship helps us keep this arriving in your inbox on a regular basis!

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


Let's Check the Markets!
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We've had requests to include Canola prices for your convenience here- and we will be doing so on a regular basis. Current cash price for Canola is $7.50 per bushel, while the 2010 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $7.65 per bushel- delivered to local participating elevators that are working with PCOM.

Here are some links we will leave in place on an ongoing basis- Click on the name of the report to go to that link:
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network with Ed Richards and Tom Leffler- analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day-
Ron on RON Markets as heard on K101 mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
Previous Day's Wheat Market Recap- Two Pager From The Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on Hard Red Winter Wheat and the why of that day's market.
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- As Reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture. <
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
Finally, Here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.



God Bless! You can reach us at the following:
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phone: 405-473-6144
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