From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 06:22
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 Monday November 12, 2007!
A service of National Livestock Credit Corporation, American Farmers and Ranchers & Midwest Farm Shows
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-- Mike Spradling Elected as Oklahoma Farm Bureau President for 2007-2009.
-- Delegates Set Policy Direction for Oklahoma Farm Bureau in the Coming Year.
-- Farm Bill- Cotton Talk this past Friday- What About This Week- Will We get Movement?
-- Should You Be Worried About Moldy Hay?
-- Fall Leaf Rust is Out There- But Controlling What is There Is Probably Not Worth the Cost.
-- Unwanted Pesticide Collection Points Open for Business This Week.
-- A Conflicted Cattle Market- Let's Talk to Derrell!

Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. American Farmers and Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company is a regular sponsor of our daily update- click here to go to their NEW AFR web site to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America!!!

We are proud to also welcome National Livestock Credit Corporation as a regular sponsor of our daily email update. National Livestock Credit Corporation works diligently to provide unsurpassed service to their customers in the area of livestock financing. Check out the National Livestock Family of Services website by clicking here. And our email this morning is also a service of Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the Tulsa Farm Show coming up December 6-8, 2007, as well as the Southern Plains Farm Show in Oklahoma City next spring. Check out details of both of these exciting shows at the official website of Midwest Farm Shows by clicking here.

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Mike Spradling Elected as Oklahoma Farm Bureau President for 2007-2009.
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It turned out to be the victory of status quo this past weekend at the 66th annual meeting of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. The candidate who told us earlier in the fall that if you liked the current direction the organization is going in- vote for me- was elected by the delegate body that crowded into the room at the Cox Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City. No details on the vote count was released by the organization, but we were told that 634 delegates had been certified as of that afternoon that were eligible to vote- and they thought that the maximum number of delegates that could have checked in was 795.

Mike Spradling replaced Steve Kouplen on the State Board of the organization back in 1999 after Kouplen was elected President of the organization- and now he follows in his footsteps as the President of Oklahoma Farm Bureau for a two year term. He and his wife Lotsee reflect the key elements of the organization, having been very involved in the Young Farmers and Ranchers Program- he credits our old friend Steve Paris who was a Farm Bureau staffer when Mike was a YF&R member of pushing him and getting him involved in a lot of the activities associated with that group. Mike's wife has been heavily involved with the Farm Bureau Women- and Mike has been long involved- 35 years worth- at the county level in Tulsa County. He is a Pecan and Cattle producer and has allowed their farm/ranch to be a showcase to folks outside agriculture in the Tulsa area for years.
Mike credited his involvement in YF&R as well as being a member of Class One of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program as being two of the key formulative events in days gone by that have helped prepare him for leadership.

Mike Spradling was also re-elected to the State Board by District Nine earlier on Saturday- although he will be replaced on the board by virtue of his successful campaign for President. Two other Board members, Donna VonTungeln from El Reno- District Three and Charles Sloan of Vian- District Six were reelected for three year terms by their respective Districts.
We talked with Mike right after the announcement that he was elected by the delegates and we have that linked below- take a listen.

Click here to listen to Ron visit with Mike Spradling right after the announcement of his victory.


Delegates Set Policy Direction for Oklahoma Farm Bureau in the Coming Year.
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The 2007 Oklahoma Farm Bureau policy debate was wide ranging this past Saturday as delegates decided on everything from the group's stance on current farm policy issues to the official language of the state. Some of the highlights include:

  • English should be the language of all official documents in the state of Oklahoma
  • Lawmakers, when they don't get their work done within the regular scheduled session annually and come back into special session, should serve without pay or per diem.
  • Delegates opposed severing wind rights from surface ownership.
  • Supported using Title Insurance instead of having Abstract Work performed on property transfers.
  • Support a Disaster Title in the current and future farm bills.
  • Support the "responsible use of hormone herbicides in the state of Oklahoma."
  • Encouraged Farm Bureau to work with Seed Companies to add flexibility to wheat seed regulations to help in years like 2007 when many farmers had to violate the law to find wheat seed to plant.
  • Opposed the Consolidation of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.

Delegates also affirmed the current policy book unless a specific policy item was amended or deleted. The issues that have relevance to the national scene will be carried by the state to the American Farm Bureau for consideration by their Resolutions Committee next month leading up to their national meeting of AFBF in New Orleans in early January.


Farm Bill- Cotton Talk this past Friday- What About This Week- Will We get Movement?
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During a shortened Senate session Friday, Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss, the Ranking Republican Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, took to the floor to talk cotton. The Senator responded to some things being said and written about the cotton program that he felt were incorrect. Chambliss pointed out that the cotton program benefits more than just producers. It also benefits processors and ginners, independent merchants and cooperative merchandisers, well, the list goes on. The Senator said - farms and businesses directly involved in the production, distribution and processing of cotton employ more that 230-thousand people and result in direct business revenues of more than 27 billion dollars. Throughout the broader economy, direct and indirect employment surpasses 520- thousand workers with economic activity in excess of 120 billion dollars.

U.S. cotton acreage has decreased 39 percent from 2002 to 2007. But, there is boom elsewhere. During that same period China, India and Brazil have each experienced tremendous increases in cotton production. And as far as the new Senate farm bill is concerned, the target price for cotton is the only target price in the Senate bill that is reduced, thereby saving 150 million over ten years. Chambliss said - we also included a significantly reformed payment limitation provision, resulting in 456 million in savings.

As for this week- today is Veteran's Day and Congress is in recess. Tomorrow, the Senate website shows a judicial nomination to be considered followed by "morning Business" but nothing else at this point. There are no indications that we have a breakthrough at this point between Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell on which amendments will be allowed- the procedural deadlock seems to still be in place. Check on our web site from time to time to see if we have picked up vibes that might suggest movement- we will update our Farm Bill page as needed!

Click here for our Farm Bill page on the website, WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com


Should You Be Worried About Moldy Hay?
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OSU Mama Cow Specialist Dr. Glenn Selk says you have to apply a liberal dose of what some folks call "Cowboy Common Sense" to this timely topic of moldy hay. In his Cow Calf Corner Release from this past Friday, Dr. Selk says "Feeding moldy hay to livestock is a tough decision. All hay contains some mold, but when mold becomes noticeable the decisions become important. Usually, mold makes hay less palatable, which can result in lower intake or in animals refusing to eat the hay. Poor weight gains or loss in body condition may result from the lack of nutrient intake. Many other problems from mold occur because of mycotoxins produced by certain mold fungi. This also is part of the decision problem since not all molds produce mycotoxins and the amount produced by those that do is unpredictable.

"Direct negative affects of moldy hay are difficult to document. Horses may be more sensitive to mold than other livestock. For instance, mold spores often contribute to respiratory and digestive problems like colic or heaves in horses. Cattle apparently are less affected by mold, but certain molds can cause mycotic abortions or aspergillosis. Aspergillosis is an infection caused by the fungus Aspergillus that usually affects the lungs. People, too, can be affected by mold spores which cause a condition called "farmer's lung" where the fungus actually grows in lung tissue. So try to avoid breathing in many of these spores.

"The best course of action often is to minimize feeding moldy hay to more sensitive animals, like horses or pregnant cows. This may require a keen eye or sensitive nose when selecting hay to feed each day. Mixing moldy hay with other feedstuffs can dilute problems sometimes, but be careful that you don't make your animals sick by tricking them into eating bad hay that they normally would refuse. Mold is a difficult problem to deal with. Common sense and good observation often are your best decision aids."


Fall Leaf Rust is Out There- But Controlling What is There Is Probably Not Worth the Cost.
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OSU Specialist Dr. Bob Hunger emails us with a word on some wheat disease problems that have reared up in the last few days. Dr. Hunger reports "Over the last two days I have received phone calls related to fall infection of winter wheat. These reports have been severe leaf rust on Jagger in fields located in Comanche County and around the Custer-Caddo County line. As in the past, the question of the need to try to control these fall infections with leaf rust has been asked.

When looking at leaf rust infected plants, the lower/older leaves will be yellowed and covered with rust pustules, but the youngest 2 or 3 leaves should be green and healthy. As temperatures drop in late October and November, the older rust-infected leaves will die and new infections are greatly slowed and inhibited because of the lower temperatures. As a result, there should be a break in the infection cycle and a significant lowering of the rust incidence as new, healthy leaves continue to be produced. Perhaps a more major concern with fall infection is that with a mild winter and sufficient moisture, the rust will survive through the winter and inoculum will be present in fields to start the disease in the spring. Hence, monitoring of these fields next spring is recommended to see if application of a fungicide to control the rust is indicated."

Dr. Hunger says the bottom line for fall leaf rust is that "controlling leaf rust on wheat in Oklahoma in the fall is of questionable economic return and is not recommended."


Unwanted Pesticide Collection Points Open for Business This Week.
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The next Unwanted Pesticide Disposals are scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, November 13, 2007 8:00 am to 1:00 pm at Estes Inc in Clinton on Highway 183 South ( 3 miles south of I-40 and 1/4 west) and November 15, 2007 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Hooker Equity COOP in Hooker (in Texas County) at 200 E Highway 54. This is for people in production agriculture (farmers, ranchers, greenhouses, and nurseries), certified applicators, and pesticide dealers. Please- no homeowners at this time.

No questions will be asked- all farmers/ranchers and other participants will remain anonymous. This collection will take only pesticides no other hazardous waste will be accepted such as oil, paint, antifreeze etc. All pesticides will be taken no matter the size. There is no cost for the first 2,500 pounds of pesticides brought by a participant. Anything over 2,500 pounds will be charged to the participant at a $1/pound for all pesticides except mercury based pesticides, wherein participants will be charged $2.22/pound for disposal. Clean Harbors will accept payment in the form of check or credit card at the disposal site. No cash will be accepted!

We have the web site linked below that has more information on these collection days this week. You may also call Charles Luper OSU Pesticide Safety Education Program at 405-744-5808 or Sandy Wells Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry at 405-522-5993

Click here for the Unwanted Pesticide Collection Website.


A Conflicted Cattle Market- Let's Talk to Derrell!
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We will be visiting the next couple of days with Dr. Derrell Peel of Oklahoma State University about the cattle market and the current tug of war that exists within the beef pipeline. Currently, both packers and feeders seem to be the losers in the marketplace, as packers have been losing big sums of money for quite some time now- while the feedlot operators have been right on the edge of breakeven- although with prices in the low 90s, most of the closeouts are a little in the red this fall.

We talk today about this part of the cattle market with Dr. Peel on our daily Beef Buzz from the Radio Oklahoma Network. You can hear the Beef Buzz on radio stations around the state and you can also take a listen to many of our Beef Buzz reports that we place on our web site, WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com on the Beef Buzz page.

We also have today's Beef Buzz linked below for you to take a listen to- we will have more on the cattle market the next couple of days with Dr. Peel as well.

Click to listen to Ron and Derrell talk cattle market specifics on today's Beef Buzz!


Our thanks to Midwest Farm Shows, American Farmers and Ranchers Mutual Insurance and National Livestock Credit Corporationfor their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked at the top of the email- check them 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



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