From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 07:22
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 Wednesday June 13, 2007!
A service of Midwest Farm Shows
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-- Harvest Nears Completion South of US 62- as well as around Kingfisher.
-- EWG unveils their 2007 Farm Benefit Database with lots of fanfare.
-- Congressional District of Frank Lucas is 22nd Nationally in Value of Farm Program Payments.
-- Meat Goat Boot Camp Sold OUT for next week- but another is planned for fall by OSU.
-- Farm Bill Tidbit- Base Acres Could face the Knife in 2007 Farm Bill.
-- From Frosty Troy's Oklahoma Observer- A Dart for Lawmakers over the OSU Regents.
-- Whether your harvesting wheat or cutting hay- K101 is a great companion!

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 recently concluded Southern Plains Farm Show in Oklahoma City, 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.

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.


Harvest Nears Completion South of US 62- as well as around Kingfisher.
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That's the word from Mark Hodges of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission- who says that after all the concern about the quality of the crop in those most southwestern locations- quality ended up being fairly good with test weights coming in at or above 60 pounds- this for the region south of US62. The reports out of Kingfisher are not as encouraging- as test weights and yields have been highly variable. While some fields did well, many were so poor- they were zeroed out by insurance adjusters. We remind you that we have Mark's comments as well as other reports we have been getting that we update through the day on our website that we have linked below- right at the top of the section, Today's Agricultural News.

In southern Caddo County- we received an update Tuesday afternoon from Don Oswald of the Apache Farmers Coop- expressing some of the disappointment of this harvest season. Don tells us that the additional rains of the last few days has further cut into test weights of their wheat. He adds "We hope to average 56. Dockage has been increasing, as weeds are getting worse. Average yields are still estimated to be 15-30 bushels per acre." Don adds that there seems to be very little 60 pound test weight wheat or and/or yields greater than 40 bushels per acre in his trade territory. As to why fields have averaged what they have, Don concludes by saying "What little good wheat there is has no reason for it to be good compared across the fence. Appears PH and even elevations during the freeze the Sunday after Easter could be additional culprits. Protein has been better than expected at 12.2-14.5 percent."

One farmer report from the Goltry area reflects frustration with rains that have kept them too wet to harvest. They have cut a couple of quarters of Jagger wheat that has yielded 16 to 17 bushels per acre with test weights at 52-56 pounds per bushel. These producers have some Endurance still in the field- they think it will be better but need open weather to get it out. LET US HEAR FROM YOU ABOUT YOUR WHEAT HARVEST HERE IN 2007!!!!

Click here for today's audio update of Harvest Progress as found on the front page of our website, WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com


EWG unveils their 2007 Farm Benefit Database with lots of fanfare.
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A big news conference was held yesterday morning at the National Press Club by Ken Cook and the Environmental Working Group- flanked by groups that have the current farm policy structure squarely in their crosshairs- groups like Oxfam, Environmental Defense and hunger group Bread for the World. The EWG was showing off their latest database effort that gives more details than ever before about those that receive farm program payments.

The database is based on the 2003, 2004 and 2005 program crop years- and show that more than 34 Billion dollars were handed out to all kinds of entities and individuals. Nationally, Iowa and Texas were the states that received the most dollars from Uncle Sam in these three years- more than three billion dollars were paid out to producers in both of these states- with Texas getting big cotton subsidies and Iowa mostly corn and soybean subsidies.

When it comes to individual beneficiaries, the most money paid or attributed to any one person goes to the King Ranch of Texas with more than three and half million dollars being paid out over those three years. Interestingly enough, when you look at that ranking, two Oklahomans surface in the top ten- both large cotton producers out of Altus- Mitchell Worrell with $1.57 million dollars of payments (number 7 nationally) and Robert Dan Robbins, Jr- also from Altus- is ninth nationally at $1.493 million. According to an explanation offered by Ken Cook, "A beneficiary is a person or (very occasionally) a farm business that has been attributed a subsidy benefit, with a dollar value, by USDA (not by EWG) through the department's Section 1614 Benefits Tracking Database. Subsidy benefits pass through to these individuals from a farm business that has directly received the subsidy payments. The dollar value of a subsidy benefit is directly proportional to a beneficiary's share of ownership in the farm business that received a subsidy (and the business may or may not own the farm's land or other resources). Beneficiaries may or may not receive the value of their benefits as cash payments."

Click here for the EWG 2007 Farm Subsidy Database


Congressional District of Frank Lucas is 22nd Nationally in Value of Farm Program Payments.
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There are a ton of interesting pieces of information that can be gleaned from the EWG database released yesterday. For example, it shows that the third Congressional District of Nebraska receives the most farm program benefits of any District in the US- that's the seat held by Adrian Smith- and his district has gotten $1.7 billion in farm program payments over the first three years of the 2002 farm bill. (This number does include Conservation monies as well- so CRP is probably an important part of that number)

The second biggest Congressional District in the country- based on farm program payments- is Jerry Moran's Big First District of Kansas- with $1.3 billion in payments. The Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Colin Peterson represents a district that is rated tenth in the country in the number of farm program payment dollars, while Oklahoma's Frank Lucas represents our Third District- and it is number 22 in the number of farm program payments- at $422 million dollars of payments in those three years.

Top counties in the state of Oklahoma- when it comes to farm program payments these three years- include Jackson County, Texas County, Tillman County, Caddo County, Washita County, Grant County, Garfield County, Kiowa County, Kay County and Harmon County. These ten counties received just over fifty percent of the total farm subsidy program payments of the amount that Oklahoma received for these three years. Oklahoma received just over $539 million in farm crop subsidies- add in the Conservation dollars and that climbs to a little over $703 million dollars for those three years.


Meat Goat Boot Camp Sold OUT for next week- but another is planned for fall by OSU.
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It's really "basic training" for owning and raising goats- and the response for this type of an event has been huge. This three-day camp, to be held at the AgriPlex in Ada, Oklahoma on next week will give attendees a chance to learn in small groups and "hands on" settings. Each student will be assigned goats that they will work with and care for throughout the camp. Participants will be able to go home from the camp and apply the skills they have Instructors for the camp will be Extension Specialists from Oklahoma State University and Langston University and County Extension Educators from across Oklahoma.

Husbandry techniques to be learned include tattooing, ear tagging, feet trimming, fence building, trailering, dental aging, and castration, and predator control. Management topics will cover balancing rations, goat selection and breeding, budgeting and record keeping, forages and stocking rates, and hay evaluation. Goat health topics and workshops will cover drugs and vaccines, injections, parasite control, physical examinations, pregnancy testing, birthing, and care of newborns. The camp will end with a visit to a goat processing plant and talks on goat marketing. Throughout the camp the emphasis will be on learning by doing. The camp will include approximately 30 hours of activities in the three days.

The bad news for anyone who might be interested and is not signed up for next week's event is that it is Sold Out- and according to JJ Jones, Southeast Oklahoma Area Ag Economist, a lot of those coming for this boot camp are out of staters- some as far away as New Jersey and Minnesota. In fact, as of early May, they had the camp full with 50 attendees, with another 35 on a waiting list. So, OSU is planning a fall boot camp to help those who could not get in the June training. There is still room for that event- if you hurry. The best people to call are the folks in the Pontotoc County Extension office- 580-332-2153. And there is an Oklahoma Meat Goat site now up and running by the folks at OSU- we have it linked below.

Click here for more on Meat Goat events and resources for folks here in Oklahoma.


Farm Bill Tidbit- Base Acres Could face the Knife in 2007 Farm Bill.
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House Agriculture Committee leaders are considering reducing the percentage of base acres on which farmers receive farm program payments to help lower spending for the 2007 farm bill. And according to House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson - committee members could also vote to shift funds from direct payments to a permanent disaster program or other spending categories.

Peanut farmers could experience the first cut in base acreage. The House Subcommittee on Specialty Crops, Rural Development and Foreign Agriculture has approved a proposal to amend the definition of payment acres for the 2008 through 2012 crops of peanuts as meaning 74 percent of the base acres assigned to a farm. Currently, farmers receive payments on 85 percent of base acres.

Peterson says - this is a product of the negotiations that went on between the opposites in the subcommittee. Peterson admitted - it's fair to say none of them is happy with this, but that's where they ended up. Then he added - that could be where we end up with all the commodities. The Chairman pointed to problems - with wheat, for example. He said if I had extra money, we could fix it, but we don't. The subcommittee that has oversight over the Commodity Title will work on a farm bill draft on this high profile area of farm policy next Tuesday- and we will be in Washington at that time as we accompany a delegation from the Oklahoma Farmers Union/American Farmers and Ranchers.

Click here for the House Ag Committee Farm Bill Page- they do have draft proposals on there now that pertain to Nutrition and Forestry


From Frosty Troy's Oklahoma Observer- A Dart for Lawmakers over the OSU Regents.
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Those of you that know Frosty Troy (or know of him) realize that he leans to the left (I know that might be a slight understatement!) but he is in sync with those who have a problem with the issue of selection criteria for the OSU Board of Regents- and the refusal of the Governor and the Legislature to respect the law and the Constitution regarding the fact that a majority of the Regents are to involved in production agriculture for their livelihood.

Frosty throws a Dart in his most recent Oklahoma Observer: "To the State Senate for continuing to tiptoe around the fact that the sitting OSU regents are serving illegally- Read the Constitution and the subsequent statute. Follow the Constitution and the law or change it."


Whether your harvesting wheat or cutting hay- K101 is a great companion!
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One of the radio stations that we are very proud to have as a partner of ours on the Radio Oklahoma Network is K101, KWOX FM in Woodward. Daily, they deliver great country music as well as the very best in agricultural information throughout the day from the Radio Oklahoma Network.

We have linked below a listing of our programming that is a part of the weekday schedule on K101 and invite you to take a listen at 101.1 on the FM dial throughout the northwestern quarter of the state. Whatever the temperature is, you can be assured it's always 101 for country music and Ron on RON in Red Carpet Country!

Click here for the listing of farm programs heard daily from the Radio Oklahoma Network on K101 out of Woodward!


Our thanks to Midwest Farm Shows for their support of our daily Farm News Update. Go to their website at the link at the top of today's email and make plans to be an exhibitor at either the Tulsa Farm Show this December or the Southern Plains Farm Show next spring!

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



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