From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 06:27
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 June 19, 2007!
A service of Midwest Farm Shows
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-- Harvest Lags as Lots of Wheat Fields Remain Soft
-- Topsoil Moisture Maxes Out in Latest Oklahoma Crop Weather Update
-- Too much of a good thing- in this case RAIN- has our 2007 Cotton Crop behind the curve!
-- If you have got a good agricultural added value idea- we have got some cash for you!
-- TODAY is the day here in Washington for the Commodity Title Showdown!
-- Permanent Disaster Aid Not Jelling in House Ag Committee
-- WBBZ is a GREAT choice in North Central Oklahoma for Ron on RON!

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 Lags as Lots of Wheat Fields Remain Soft
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That was the word that stuck in my mind after talking with Mark Hodges last night about harvest conditions that he saw in central sections of Oklahoma on Monday. No harvest activity was seen in central Oklahoma counties- the ground is simply too soft to support the machinery to come in and get the job done.

It's a little better in west central and northwestern counties- where we saw some harvest action and even some fair test weights in some locales. The Panhandle is just getting cranked up- Rick Kochenower reported to us through Mark Hodges that he cut the test plot of Ok Bullet and came up with a dryland yield of 59 bushels per acre and a test weight of 61.5 pounds. Rick says there is wheat as good or better in many locations in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

We have an updated audio report for you this morning on harvest. Click below and go to out website where it is linked for you under the heading Today's Agricultural News.

Click here for the latest on Harvest 2007- and we will try to offer an update later in the day as we have more information!


Topsoil Moisture Maxes Out in Latest Oklahoma Crop Weather Update
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The latest Crop Weather update shows the topsoil moisture ratings at 56% adequate and 40% surplus- not even a single mention of any shortness in our soil moisture profile and it's mid June! The latest round of storms made wheat harvest slow- we still moved from 25% harvested to 41% harvested in the state in the latest week- way behind the 91% done at this point in 2006 and the 66% five year average.

Texas is now 31% harvested for their 2007 wheat crop- well behind the 63% of a year ago and 57% for their five year average. And for Kansas, a year ago, we were approaching half done- this year, they have barely started with 2% now harvested.

Cotton planting moved forward to 91% done as of the weekend- but soybean and sorghum planting did not, with less than half of the expected acreage expected to be planted to soybeans now planted here in the state while we are at just 53% planted on grain sorghum.

Click here for the latest crop weather update for Oklahoma!


Too much of a good thing- in this case RAIN- has our 2007 Cotton Crop behind the curve!
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In the latest Talking Cotton provided by NTOK, Dr. JC Banks, our state cotton specialist with OSU extension based out of Altus, says we are struggling some with too much rain. A rapid increase in moisture can be of concern, the Oklahoma State University Extension cotton specialist says: "I never expected to be discussing too much water, especially since the drought of last summer, but we have some areas that have waterlogged soils and the cotton is not growing as fast as it should. These plants are a dull yellow in appearance, especially in the new growth coming from the top of the plant.

"Water and oxygen are present in soil between the soil particles, and oxygen, as well water, is needed for plant metabolism and growth. Oxygen is a key component of physiological reactions taking place in the plant. When oxygen is limited, these reactions are slow. Root growth is hindered as well as top growth on the plant. At this stage in development, cotton needs rapidly growing plants to explore the soil for nutrients. A waterlogged soil will normally show a deficiency in phosphorus and potassium, even when these nutrients are present in the soil in adequate amounts.

"Roots are not growing fast enough to expose the root hairs to enough nutrients. On clean tilled soils, normally a cultivation or rotary hoeing as soon as it is possible to get into the field will aerate the soil enough to allow the plant to recuperate more rapidly. In no-tilled areas, the soil is normally oxygenated enough due to passages in the soil caused by decaying roots from previous vegetation and earthworm activity. In our area, we can't complain about summer rain because we know it is replenishing soil profile water that will be needed later. For this reason, we are willing to tolerate a reduced growth rate now in favor for a strong finish in August."

For more on the Oklahoma Cotton Scene- check out Okiecotton.org!


If you have got a good agricultural added value idea- we have got some cash for you!
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The Oklahoma Agricultural Enhancement and Diversification program is looking for people full of ideas but who are perhaps a little short on cash. Deadline for applications for loans and grants for the next quarter is July 2, and state agriculture officials are urging producers to take advantage of the program. "This is the best program in the state for helping farmers and ranchers diversify their operations or develop creative marketing opportunities," said Jason Harvey, marketing coordinator for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry. "Since its inception in 2000, the OAED program has helped build the state's rural economy through diversified agriculture, value- added ventures and marketing opportunities."

Over the years a wide variety of projects including frozen pizza dough manufacturing, agritourism ventures and feasibility studies for other potential processing and manufacturing projects have been made possible through the program. Agricultural diversification grants of up to $5,000 are available as well as interest-free loans in three categories: Cooperative Marketing Loans, Marketing and Utilization Loans, and Basic and Applied Research Loans.

For more information contact Harvey at (405) 522- 5563. The mailing address is Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, 2800 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105. AND- we have the link to the application on the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture web site linked below. The name of the form you are looking for is the Oklahoma Agriculture Enhancement and Diversification Evaluation Form. Check it out!

Click here for more on the Value Added Grant Program from the ODAFF!


TODAY is the day here in Washington for the Commodity Title Showdown!
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We are here in Washington with a group of leaders from the Oklahoma Farmers Union/American Farmers and Ranchers- the group being led by President Ray Wulf, who tells us what a great time to be in Washington as the farm bill starts to really come together- or not!

Tom Buis is President of the National Farmers Union and he briefed the Oklahoma farmers over dinner last night about a situation that seems to change from hour to hour. In fact, members of the House Ag Committee were caucusing last night as we talked to Buis- so things probably have changed a few more times since the conversation we had with him that is linked below.

Buis believes that it is a good idea that Colin Peterson has decided to bring the Ron Kind proposal, the so called Citibank proposal(a national buy-out of commodity payments similar to what happened with tobacco and peanuts) as well as the USDA farm bill proposal- bringing all of the commodity title segments of these proposals forward out of the shadows and will look at them within the subcommittee process. We are hearing that at the end of the day, though, that we may well come full circle and come back around to Subcommittee members saying, you know what, we kinda like what was done in 2002- let's keep it. With a few minor tweaks, that could be the recommended Farm Bill Commodity Title that will be carried forward to the full Committee next week- MAYBE.

Click here to listen to Ron and Tom Buis talk Commodity Title


Permanent Disaster Aid Not Jelling in House Ag Committee
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Everybody wants it- but nobody has figured out how to pay for it. Tom Buis of NFU telling the Oklahoma group here in Washington that at this point, Permanent Disaster Aid does not have a home within the farm bill. Buis tells us that this is a top priority for the NFU- and Ray Wulf of the OFU agrees- saying that he really wants to see this issue be included as a part of the 2007 farm bill when all the dust settles.

We talked with Ray about the why of coming to Washington to visit with members of Congress and officials from USDA- about OFU/AFR views on the farm bill as well as the whole issue of the name itself.

You can listen to our conversation with Ray Wulf by clicking below- it does include a strong word about the need to get Disaster Aid away from being Ad Hoc to Permanent.

Click here to listen to Ron and Ray from Washington


WBBZ is a GREAT choice in North Central Oklahoma for Ron on RON!
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We are very pleased to have as one of our key radio affiliates in Kay County, WBBZ AM 1230 out of Ponca City. They carry a full load of our daily programs hosted by Ron Hays and Ed Richards- and we invite you to give them a try.

We have linked below a web page that gives you a listing of the times that WBBZ is carrying our farm and ranch updates from the Radio Oklahoma Network. We also encourage you to look at the logo of the Radio Oklahoma Network at the top of that page- you can click on it and be taken a map that gives you choices of which of our listing of stations that you wish to see. Click on the ag list of stations and you will see dots show up all over the state of Oklahoma. Click on those dots and it will tell you more information about radio stations that carry our programs!

Feel free to drop me an email to get specific times that these other stations carry our radio reports. And if you have comments about our radio reports, our daily email as well as our web site, we would love to get that feedback from you as well. Whether its on the radio on great radio stations, in cyberspace, on your blackberry with our email or on KWTV News9, our goal is simple- provide you with the latest farm and ranch news that will help you prosper in the business of agriculture!!!

Click here for that web page with more on our programs heard daily on WBBZ in Ponca City!


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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