Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are excited to have as one of our new 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 about rotating some of your winter wheat acres into winter canola this year- and check out the full story on PCOM on their website by clicking here.

It's also great to have the Farm Credit Associations of Oklahoma with us regularly as an Email Sponsor- Financing Oklahoma is their business! Check out their website which shows their locations statewide by clicking here!
And our email this morning is also a service of Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the annual Tulsa Farm Show held each December, as well as the springtime Southern Plains Farm Show in Oklahoma City. 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.

Lesser amounts of precipitation have fallen from the system in other eastern Oklahoma locations- but Gustav has touched our state in a minor way.

Overall, the month of August turned out to be a very good month of moisture across much of the state- with the exception of north central Oklahoma from around Enid north to the state line. There were six Mesonet stations that received less than an inch of precipitation over the last thirty days, including Burbank, Red Rock, Medford, Breckinridge, Fairview and Lahoma.

The driest part of the state, the Panhandle, did receive four and a half to five inches of rain early in August- but very little to nothing in the last two weeks. There is only one location in the state that has still not hit double digits in the total amount of precipitation for the year- and that dubious distinction goes to Boise City with about nine and a half inches of rain received in 2008 thus far. Based on Mesonet stations that have totals available for 2008- the wettest spot thus far for the year is Jay, with a little more than 53 inches of rain for the year. In most locations, we are several inches under precip totals of 2007 as we hit this first week of September.

Extension Grain Marketing Economist Dr. Kim Anderson of Oklahoma State University says that if the wheat price stays below $8.20 and settles below $8.20 on Wednesday as well, that support level will be gone and that the next support level to the downside is somewhere around $7.50 per bushel.

We have audio comments from Dr. Anderson on our website this morning- as he talks about current support levels, cash prices and the global prospects for wheat- which he says seems to be at expectations or higher, the reason for current price weakness. Click below to jump to that story.

Click here for more with Dr. Kim Anderson of OSU on the wheat price support status.

The past few week of cool and wet weather have continued to improved row crop conditions and may have a positive impact on future yields in some areas. Ninety-three percent of the State's corn had reached the dough stage, up four points from the previous week but six points behind the normal. Forty-five percent of the State's corn had been harvested by week's end. Sorghum headed increased 10 points from the previous week to reach 68 percent complete but was 17 points behind normal. Thirty-nine percent of the sorghum was coloring by the end of the week, an increase of 11 points from the previous week but six points behind normal. A small percentage of the State's sorghum had been harvested. Soybeans blooming increased 10 points from the previous week to reach 90 percent, equal to the five-year average. Seventy-three percent of the soybeans were setting pods, up 12 points from the previous week but two points behind normal. Peanuts setting pods increased five points from the previous week to reach 95 percent complete, four points behind normal. Peanuts had reached maturity in a few areas of the State. Cotton setting bolls reached 98 percent complete, up 10 points from the previous week and two points ahead of normal. Cotton bolls were opening on 11 percent of the State's cotton by week's end.

The weekly update- linked below- indicates that a small percentage of the wheat crop has been seeded by the end of this past week. No actual percentage of planting was offered by this weekly government report.

Click here for the latest Oklahoma Crop Weather Update

The grants will help create businesses, promote cooperatives and provide employment opportunities. The recipients are among the 18 institutions supported under the Second Morrill Act of 1890, a law providing for the establishment of land-grant institutions focusing on agriculture, home economics and the mechanic arts.

Langston University in Langston, Okla., was selected to receive a $100,000 grant to strengthen and develop rural enterprises in seven underserved rural communities in five counties throughout Oklahoma. The university will conduct seminars and workshops focusing on business counseling, technology training, grant writing and loan package preparation in targeted rural communities. Langston will place a special emphasis on creating value-added and renewable energy ventures. This effort is expected to create or save 25 local jobs.

The CCP rate is the amount by which the "target price" of each commodity, specified by the 2002 Farm Bill, exceeds its effective price. The effective price equals the direct payment rate plus the higher of either: (1) the national average market price received by producers during the marketing year; or (2) the national average loan rate for the commodity. The counter-cyclical payment amount equals the CCP rate, times 85 percent of the farm's base acreage, times the farm's CCP yield.

No partial or final 2007-crop counter-cyclical payments were made for wheat, barley, and oats because prices averaged well above levels that would trigger counter- cyclical payments. Final payments for upland cotton, corn, grain sorghum and soybeans will be made after harvest numbers are in.

Under the energy section, the platform states that we "must continue to develop alternative fuels, such as biofuels, especially cellulosic ethanol, and hasten their technological advances to next- generation production" and says that "because alternative fuels are useless if vehicles cannot use them, we must move quickly to flexible fuel vehicles."

The Renewable Fuels Association expressed concern about the Republican platform. RFA President Bob Dinneen called it "inconceivable that the Republican Party would adopt a platform that limits the energy options available to the American people." "Fortunately, many leaders in the Republican Party, including the President of the United States, understand the importance of a strong renewable fuels policy," said Dinneen. "Regardless of the outcome of this year's elections, the American ethanol industry stands ready to continue working with Congress to provide a clean, safe and secure alternative to foreign oil and gasoline."

Jump to our website for information and more on these events- and take a look at all of the other items we are continually adding to the best listing of Oklahoma related farm and ranch and rural events to be found on the internet.

If you don't see an event that you are in charge of- or that you want to have listed- drop us an email. AND- if you have a purebred cattle sale coming up - email us at the address found at the bottom of this email as we would love to tell you about the options for publicizing your auction on our website, as well as Radio Oklahoma Network mentions as well!

Click here for our calendar page on WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com

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

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- One Pager From Country Hedging- looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges 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.