~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Tuesday March 11, 2008!
A
service of the Southern Plains Farm Show, American Farmers & Ranchers
and the Southern Plains Farm Show.
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-- Attorney General Drew Edmondson Willing to Go After the Cattle
Industry Over Manure in Watersheds...
-- Weekly Crop Weather Updates Begin This Week- Oklahoma Wheat Behind
Normal Development.
-- Fat Lady Ready to Sing As Spring Cattle Run Done Almost As Quick
As It Started...
-- Number One Weed Problem in Oklahoma Cotton- Horseweed!
-- The "Come Home to Oklahoma" Bill Passes State House.
-- Consumers Responding to Economic Crunch by Eating at Home More
Often.
-- Farm Bill Negotiations at Standstill- Tax Issues Now the
Problem.
Howdy Neighbors! Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are proud to have KIS Futures as a sponsor of our daily E-Mail. KIS Futures provides Oklahoma Farmers & Ranchers with futures & options hedging services in the livestock and grain markets- Click here for their "new look" website or call them at 1-800-256-2555. We are also proud to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual
Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update- click
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Attorney General Drew Edmondson Willing to Go After the Cattle Industry Over Manure in Watersheds... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the hearing
continues over whether the state of Oklahoma has the right to end all
application of manure in the Illinois River watershed, Oklahoma Attorney
General Drew Edmondson appears to have no qualms about litigating against
cattle producers as well as poultry companies. In response to some of the
arguments raised by attorneys representing the Poultry industry in the
continuing legal confrontation- arguments that point the finger of
bacterial blame towards the cattle industry- Edmondson told the Northwest
Arkansas Gazette for their Internet edition that "We are willing to go
where the evidence takes us," this in reference to a question of whether
he would be willing to expand his battle against the poultry industry to
other livestock species- most notably cattle.
The Claims of the Oklahoma Attorney General are that the biggest offender of bacterial pollution into the Illinois River is the poultry industry. Meanwhile, it's the contention of the Poultry Industry that there has been no science based study pinpointing that poultry is the big offender- and that there are multiple sources of any pollution that ends up in the Illinois River. On Monday, an expert witness for the Poultry industry told the court that manure from an estimated 200,000 cattle raised in the watershed proved a better environment for bacteria to grow in, instead of the poultry litter that is spread on farm fields as a dust-like material and exposed to sunlight that kills contaminants. The arguments over all things fecal bacteria in the watershed continues, with most of animal agriculture very concerned that the AG, if he has the ruling come his way in Tulsa, puts animal agriculture in deep manure over this battle of how much and where chicken litter can be applied to the land as a nutrient. Mr. Edmondson says the tolerance level is zero- at least in a stream where canoes are floating. He has told the court that he wants an injunction before the "spring rains" or otherwise the bacteria will wash into the Illinois River and potentially cause harm to thousands of people floating down the Illinois. Click here for the latest article posted on the hearing being held in Tulsa. | |
Weekly Crop Weather Updates Begin This Week- Oklahoma Wheat Behind Normal Development. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last week, we
had the summary for the month of February in our crop weather update
series- and this week, we begin the weekly updates that will stretch all
the way to the fall of 2008. As we begin these regular updates, our
moisture situation is far better as a whole than at this point a year ago.
But the improvements over a year ago are not universal. In fact, while
what little moisture we had in 2007 was found in the Panhandle- and this
year there is little to be found.
We stand at 71% adequate to surplus on topsoil moisture versus 49% at this point a year ago. Subsoil moisture supplies have an even wider gap to the good this year versus last- with 69% at adequate to surplus this week versus 39% adequate to surplus a year ago. The Oklahoma wheat crop is a good week to two weeks behind normal development- but is being rated in generally fair to good shape at 69% fair to good. Our neighbors at a different ends of the spectrum- with the Texas wheat crop called 60% poor to very poor- which is probably close to what the Oklahoma Panhandle would be rated- while the Kansas crop is not unlike the ratings for the Oklahoma crop at 72% in the fair to good categories. We have the link to this week's Oklahoma Crop Weather Update for you to check other details offered by the NASS team. Click here for the weekly Crop Weather Update for this week across Oklahoma. | |
Fat Lady Ready to Sing As Spring Cattle Run Done Almost As Quick As It Started... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OSU's Dr.
Derrell Peel tells us that "Feeder cattle marketings in Oklahoma have
increased seasonally the last three weeks but total sales are less than
last year. The eight-market feeder auction total since mid- February is
down nearly 14 percent from the same period in 2007 and it appears that
most of the cattle on dual purpose wheat have been marketed. Dr Jeff
Edwards, OSU Wheat Specialist reports that most of the wheat in the state
was near the first hollow stem stage at the end of this past week. Cool
weather delayed development somewhat but he expects the majority of wheat
varieties to be at first hollow stem in a matter of days. Any remaining
cattle should be removed immediately to avoid damage to a very valuable
wheat grain crop.
"The grain versus gain tradeoff this year clearly indicates that grazing a week past first hollow stem is costly. For example, an 875 pound steer gaining 2 pounds per day would add 14 pounds in a week. With a value of gain of roughly $0.75/lb., this adds $10.50 to the value of the animal. At a stocking rate of 0.6 acres per steer, the value per acre of another week of grazing is $6.30, less than one bushel of wheat at today's wheat prices. However, grazing one week past first hollow stem would likely reduce wheat yields 10 to 30 percent. A 20 percent loss on 40 bushel wheat yield potential is an eight bushel reduction in yield. That represents a loss of more than $80 per acre at current wheat prices and even with somewhat lower wheat prices at harvest would likely mean a revenue loss of $50-70/acre. "Given this value of wheat, not much wheat will be grazed out and there will likely be relatively few heavy feeders marketed during the April-June period. There are some light weight stockers on mixed cool-season pasture or other winter programs that will go on to summer grazing and producers are beginning to buy stockers for summer grazing. Some of these cattle will be marketed by July as early-intensive stockers in areas such as the Osage/Flint Hills region, but the majority will likely be marketed in September and October after season-long grazing. Despite the ominous shadow of grain prices, there is potential for some additional strength in feeder prices in the next 30-45 days as tight supplies of heavy feeder cattle and grazing demand for light weight stockers will support feeder prices across the board." | |
Number One Weed Problem in Oklahoma Cotton- Horseweed! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr. J.C.
Banks, our extension cotton specialist for Oklahoma who is based in Altus,
reports that the next few weeks is the best time to do early season
control of Horseweed for our cotton fields in the state. Dr. Banks says
"Horseweed has become our number one weed control problem in no-till
cotton in Oklahoma. If this plant is not controlled early, it can become
impossible to control with glyphosate during the growing season. Once it
gets above the approximately six inch height, conditions must be perfect
to get good control. It is difficult to get the herbicide into the narrow
drought-stressed leaves during the summer. The best advice is to start
clean and, if any germination occurs during the growing season, to control
it with adequate rates of Roundup while it is still in the rosette stage."
Control right now is not that expensive as you can use 2,4,D to get the job done. Dr. Banks explains that ""The normal burndown treatment prior to cotton planting is with glyphosate, but these treatments have been inconsistent and raise resistance concerns. In order to comply with planting intervals prior to planting cotton, we need to consider application in March, This application should be one pound active 2,4-D or 0.25 pound active dicamba. The plant back intervals are somewhat confusing, but they should be 30 days following the 2,4-D application or at least 21 days following a one inch rainfall for the dicamba. Most dicamba labels also state 'do not apply in regions receiving less than 25 inches of annual rainfall.' Tests indicate that if the application is made to the rosette stage of the horseweed, the 2,4-D was as effective as Banvel. On horseweed that had already bolted, Banvel is more effective, but control can be less than rosette stage application of 2,4-D." "Horseweed (or Marestail) control in no-till or limited tillage cotton
can be summarized as "Get'em while they are small." Best control is when
the horseweed is in the rosette state before it started growing
vertically. Once the plant bolts, control is more difficult and
expensive." Click here for cotton industry information for the southern plains at NTOK's website. | |
The "Come Home to Oklahoma" Bill Passes State House. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's an
intriguing concept for rural development. We're talking about a bill
proposed by Jeff Hickman of Fairview that would exempt new residents
moving in from out of state from state income tax for a five year period.
The catch???- they have to buy a home in a location that has been losing
population here in the state of Oklahoma in recent years.
To qualify for the exemption from House Bill 1678, the new resident
would have to purchase or build a single-family home in one of the 48
counties, or 43 cities in the remaining 29 counties, which have lost
population since either the 1940 census or the 1990 census. This timeframe
captures areas of Oklahoma which had significant population losses after
either the Industrial Revolution or the oil bust. "This would be a great tool as we work to bring rural Oklahoma what it
needs more than anything else...people," said Hickman, R-Fairview. "The
increased property and sales tax revenues created as new residents move to
Oklahoma will more than make up for the impact of the exemption. This
positive impact will benefit the entire state and ensure that rural
Oklahoma is part of a thriving state economy rather than a drain." The
incentive could be used to attract professionals from out-of-state such as
physicians to underserved rural areas and could also help address
shortages in areas such as correctional officers at Oklahoma prisons, many
which are located in rural counties. | |
Consumers Responding to Economic Crunch by Eating at Home More Often. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ High energy
costs, the credit crunch, weak housing market and recessionary climate are
changing how and where consumers shop and dine, including more home meals
and an increased concern over the cost of meat, according to the third
annual report titled The Power of Meat - An In-Depth Look at Meat Through
the Shoppers' Eyes. The report, which details the findings of a national
online poll of 1,147 of consumers conducted in November 2007, was released
on Monday at the 2008 Annual Meat Conference, March 9-11, 2008, at the
Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, Nashville, Tenn. The
American Meat Institute (AMI) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI)
published this consumer research.
Supermarkets remain the top outlet for meat, with 90.5 percent of
supermarket shoppers buying their meat there as well. The number of
shoppers buying meat at supercenters dropped from 24.9 percent to 20
percent, while the number buying meat at club stores rose from 2.7 percent
to 5.7 percent. The report notes that energy costs are having an increasing impact on
shoppers' disposable income. "Large numbers of shoppers already have made
changes, ranging from eating out less, purchasing less expensive products
while in the store and even switching primary stores," the report notes.
Meat sales promotions using in-store signage followed by meat
advertisements in direct mail sales flyers or newspapers had the most
influence on the type and quantity of meat purchased. | |
Farm Bill Negotiations at Standstill- Tax Issues Now the Problem. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The chairman
of the House Agriculture Committee said Monday that progress on the farm
bill is being complicated by senators' attempts to turn it into a tax bill
and by the difficulties in writing a permanent disaster program. But
Collin Peterson, D-Minnesota., told the American Soybean Association he
believes enough of a deal will be made by Friday to warrant an extension
of the 2002 farm bill through April 15.
Peterson says he made a mistake allowing one tax provision to be used in the House to help pay for the farm bill above the budget baseline. As a result, the Senate version of the farm bill already contains more than 60 tax provisions, and Peterson said nonagricultural lobbyists have started calling him trying to get provisions added to the bill. We misidentified the Senator who is the Chairman of the Finance Committee yesterday (I got my Northern Senators mixed up)- but the real problem for Peterson now seems to be reeling in Senator Max Baccus of Montana on the mounting number of tax provisions that may be thrown into the farm bill legislation. Beyond the tax add-ons, the other major headache left to be worked out
is whether the permanent disaster aid program will be included or not.
This is the brainchild of several Senators, including Baccus and Budget
Committee Chairman, Kent Conrad. Peterson said he wants to make farmers
pay a fee to participate in the permanent disaster program but that the
senators don't like that idea. But he also said the disaster program fees
would not be so high that the program would be actuarially sound the way
crop insurance is supposed to be. Peterson said he also wants to
incorporate the disaster program with the crop insurance program and
charge more for the catastrophic insurance program and the non-insured
assistance program or even end the catastrophic program because the
premiums are only $200 to $300 per year, while the government's potential
liability is $2 to $3 million. | |
Our thanks to Midwest Farm Shows, American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance and KIS Futuresfor 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. | |
God Bless! You can reach us at the following: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: ron@oklahomafarmreport.com
phone: 405-473-6144
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