Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. Our email this morning is a service of Midwest Farm Shows, featuring the Southern Plains Farm Show in Oklahoma City April 19-21, 2007, as well as the Tulsa Farm Show held each December. Check out details of both of these exciting shows at the official website of Midwest Farm Shows by clicking here.

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That will include eastern counties who have been slighted on some of the most recent rains that have rolled across Oklahoma. The rain is definitely setting up both our wheat as well as pastures and grasslands for a much better spring than we endured in 2006.

He says the goal is to fully reopen markets to US beef- and he named South Korea and Japan as two countries that will continue to feel heat fromt he Bush Administration on a push for full acceptance of US beef.

The President also stopped by to tout the need for Trade Promotion Authority to be extended- and to thank the NCBA for their strong support for a permanent repeal of the Death Tax. We have assembled an audio wrap of some of the key thoughts of the President from his Cattle Encounter of yesterday- and it is linked below.

Click here to hear Ron's audio wrap on President Bush's speech to NCBA.

While the suit focuses on the Illinois River watershed, the attorneys working for the AG's office have also questioned at least one farmer not in that watershed- and demanded hundreds of documents from him. As for the folks living in that watershed- those same attorneys are asking for everything but the kitchen sink- and actually they may send somebody in to get water samples from that before 2009 rolls around.

One of the farmers that have faced this intense scrutiny is Bev Saunders of Colcord. She tells us that she spent days lining up the hundreds of documents that were demanded- and that did not include the fine tooth comb examination of her records housed at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture. We talked with Bev about the current status of the litigation from her perspective at Ag Day in Oklahoma City- and we have linked that conversation for you to listen to below.

Listen to Ron talk with Bev Saunders- Contract Poultry Grower of Colcord, Oklahoma.

We have details of the collection on our Calendar of our web site, www.OklahomaFarmReport.Com or you can go to the link below for more information as well. This opportunity for farmers and others who have left over dabs of chemicals in their barns or other storage locations the chance to safely dispose of them for free.

These collections are being coordinated by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and OSU Extension, and being underwritten in part by the Oklahoma Agribusiness Retailers Association.

Click here for more information on the upcoming Pesticide Collection Days in Durant and Miami!

The National Association of Wheat Growers were one of the groups talking to Congress- continuing their push for a higher target price for wheat and a larger Direct Payment as they want to tweak those numbers and keep the current structure intact. Their President, John Thaemert called the 2002 Farm Law a failure when it came to providing a safety net for wheat farmers.

Speaking before the House Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, Thaemert told Members that the 2002 Farm Bill has not worked well for wheat growers, who have received no benefits from the loan deficiency payment and minute benefits from the counter-cyclical payment over the term of the 2002 Bill. Thaemert also gave details of NAWG’s 2007 Farm Bill proposal for wheat – an increase in the wheat direct payment to $1.19 and an increase in the wheat target price to $5.29. The NAWG Board of Directors adopted this proposal after extensive examination of historical input costs and what affordable levels of crop insurance typically can cover.

Click here for NAWG's testimony from yesterday.

We are heading in just a little while to Norman, where the Oklahoma Dietetic Association is meeting and one of the most respected meat scientists in the world will be speaking, Dr. Gary Smith of Colorado State- sponsored by the Oklahoma Beef Council. Dr. Smith will be talking about food safety with the group close to midday today.

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