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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Monday April 7, 2008!
A
service of National Livestock Credit, KIS Futures and American Farmers
& Ranchers.
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-- AFR's Terry Detrick Headed Back to Washington As April 18th
Deadline Nears...
-- Time Magazine Takes Shots at Corn for Ethanol...
-- AgroTerrorism Meetings Set Across Oklahoma
-- Gregg Doud Talks Chances on Korean Beef Reopening...
-- Fungicide Application Window Wide Open for Oklahoma Winter
Wheat...
-- OBI Bull Sale Average- $2,751.56 per head
-- OALP Graduation This Past Saturday as Class 13 Was told to
"Go!"
-- Let's Check the Markets!
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 regular 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
here to go to their NEW AFR web site to learn more about their efforts
to serve rural America! 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. | |
AFR's Terry Detrick Headed Back to Washington As April 18th Deadline Nears... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ American
Farmers & Ranchers Vice President Terry Detrick, along with AFR Policy
Analyst Francie Tolle are on their way to Washington on this Monday- to
attempt to track the latest twists and turns in the farm bill debate that
has now lingered into April, fully six months after the expiration of the
2002 Farm Law. We now have a temporary extension of certain elements of
the 2002 Law- with that extension to expire a week from this Friday on
April 18.
The latest disagreement that is keeping progress from happening has popped up between House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel of New York and the US Senate. Rangel complains that the various tax credits that are included in the proposed measure are non starters for him if they want him to provide the $10 Billion in additional funding for the farm bill that will pay for the expansion of nutrition programs, specialty crop assistance and conservation efforts above and beyond the 2002 bill. Rangel is referring to some 60 tax breaks the Senate Finance Committee added to the Farm Bill when it marked up a section that later passed the Senate. Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa says some of the tax credits have to be "in there" or the bill dies. One of the issues that is do or die for Grassley is a Biofuels Tax Credit. One major problem that becomes more of a problem with every day that
passes with no agreement is the question of how you implement a new farm
law for the current crop year of 2008. Anything other than a straight
extension of the 2002 Farm Law for this 2008 crop year means having to
retool rules and the software that allows the Farm Service Agency to
compute all the equations to settle up with producers. This was an issue
that was articulated last week by Jimmy Kinder of Walters on the Oklahoma
Farm Bureau Congressional Action Tour- we had comments with Kinder on our
Saturday morning News9 In the Field ag report- and we have it linked below
for those that might have missed it. Click here to see Ron and Jimmy Kinder on this past Saturday's In the Field as seen on KWTV News9! | |
Time Magazine Takes Shots at Corn for Ethanol... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The push for
biofuels in the U.S. and around the world came under fire from TIME in its
April 7 edition with a cover story denouncing, "The CleanEnergy Myth." The
article's bottom line: When it comes to global warming, "biofuels aren't
part of the solution- they're part of the problem."
Biofuels production contributes to global warming because using land to grow fuel leads to destruction of forest, wetlands and grasslands that store enormous amounts of carbon, according to TIME. Much of the article's focus is on the Amazon rain forest, but it suggests that deforestation there is partly related to the drive for ethanol in the U.S. The article describes a chain reaction scenario in which ethanol demand motivates U.S. soybean farmers to switch to corn, Brazilian soybean farmers react by expanding their crop planting into pasture land, and Brazilian cattlemen are then displaced into the Amazon. TIME also reports that diverting food crops from dinner plates to fuel
tanks is inflating world food prices and endangering the hungry. Here's the link to the Time Magazine article on corn to ethanol. | |
AgroTerrorism Meetings Set Across Oklahoma ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two major
state agencies are teaming up to help Oklahoma agricultural producers and
agribusiness operators explore how they can best protect their animals,
farms and investments from the threat of agroterrorism. Beginning April 14
and running through July, the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service and
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry will host an
"Agroterrorism: Can It Happen Here" seminar at various county locations.
Meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. and finish at 8:30 p.m., with special
meetings for first responders taking place from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.,
said Dr. Dave Sparks, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension
veterinarian and food-animal health and quality specialist.
April meeting sites include Ardmore, Wilburton, Hugo, Ada, Ponca City, Woodward and Enid. There are additional meetings planned in May, June and July. We have the complete list on our website on the calendar page- which we have linked below. "There will be discussion on prevention as well as what to do if it happens to you," Sparks said. "Specific location information for each meeting will be available through your local OSU Cooperative Extension county office." There is no cost to attend. Refreshments will be provided thanks to support by Farm Credit Services. | |
Gregg Doud Talks Chances on Korean Beef Reopening... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later this
week, South Koreans have their Legislative Elections- and these elections
will could help solidify the strength of President Lee Myung Bak after his
landslide win back in December.
No matter what- these elections need to be out of the way before Lee will be able to move as he has promised in lifting the ban on US beef into the South Korean market. It appears that while South Korean beef producers continue to fight the move, it could prove to be a popular decision among consumers in that country, given the fact that US beef will enter this country much cheaper than locally grown beef. We talk about this frustrating and ongoing battle over beef imports into South Korea with the Chief Economist of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Gregg Doud on today's Beef Buzz. The Beef Buzz is heard daily on great radio stations around the state on the Radio Oklahoma Network- as well as being found on our website on our Beef Buzz page. There are literally months and months worth of previous Beef Buzzes for you to check out on the website- and we have a direct link you can jump to below for today's Beef Buzz with Gregg Doud- talking South Korea. | |
Fungicide Application Window Wide Open for Oklahoma Winter Wheat... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The latest
Newsletter from the Plant and Soil Sciences Department at OSU is out- and
has as it's lead article a look at foliar disease management in winter
wheat in our state.
Dr. Jeff Edwards, State Wheat Specialist, writes that now's time to be gearing up to spray wheat for foliar diseases. "The optimal timing for foliar fungicide application to wheat is rapidly approaching. Record high wheat prices and a crop that has improved dramatically over the past few weeks have many farmers taking a hard look at foliar fungicide application to wheat this year. There are a few central points to always keep in mind regarding foliar fungicide application to wheat. First and foremost, foliar fungicides only protect yield potential that is already there, so it is very important to spray in a timely fashion. Second, thorough coverage of the flag leaf is essential to effective, season long control. Finally, varieties differ in their susceptibility to foliar disease. So, if you have limited spray capacity it is wise to target the most susceptible varieties first." To review the full article and the other information in this latest newsletter-click on the link below. Click here for the latest NewsLetter from the OSU Plant and Soil Sciences Department. | |
OBI Bull Sale Average- $2,751.56 per head ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cattle
producers looking to improve their herd performance invested $352,200 in
search of the perfect sire for their operational needs at the Oklahoma
BEEF Inc. All-Breed Performance-Tested Bull Sale on March 27. A total of
128 bulls entered the auction ring to be sold.
Two Angus bulls tied for top-selling honors in their breed, at $5,000
each. One was consigned by Davidson Angus Farm of Cement and was purchased
by D&D Howard Sheep and Cattle of Mulhall. The other was consigned by
74-51 Cattle Co. of Fairmont and was purchased by Drummond Ranch on the
Osage of Shidler. "OBI has been having bull sales since 1973," said Tim Stidham, OBI test station director. "With 30-plus years of feeding bulls, the dependability of our performance records is unmatched. OBI customers depend on the reliability of these bulls." Performance test results for bulls include: average daily gain; weight per day of age; adjusted 365-day weight; scrotal circumference; ultrasonic data for rib eye area, fat thickness and marbling; hip height; computation of performance ratios; and Expected Progeny Differences as provided by breed associations. | |
OALP Graduation This Past Saturday as Class 13 Was told to "Go!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was the
official end of the almost two year program for Class 13 of the Oklahoma
Ag Leadership Program this past Saturday in Stillwater on campus at
Oklahoma State University. The 30 Class Members gathered for their final
time as a group to share memories with their families and supporters,
receive their graduation certificates and hear from Keynote speaker Lt.
Governor Jari Askins.
Askins told the class that she recalled a sermon title of several years ago that seemed appropriate- "Ready, Set, Go!" The Lt. Governor told the group that the Ready was the willingness to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem- and that included wanting to be a part of professional development programs like the OALP. She added that the "Set" is the actual preparation in activities like the 13 seminars the group was involved in since August of 2006. Finally, the "Go!" is the point that this group of farmers, ranchers, agribusinessmen and government leaders find themselves at- the point of taking the skills you have polished up and putting them into actual service. Lt. Governor Askins has told us before that she believes that her time with Leadership Oklahoma was valuable to her- and she expressed the belief that the two year OALP program has proven valuable to many leaders in the agricultural arena as well. With Class 13 concluded, the push for applicants for Class 14 is on- the details of how to apply, the actual application to download and more is on the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program website. We have a link to it below- and we invite you to check out this very worthwhile program that starts the next two year cycle in the August-September 2008 timeframe. Click here for more from the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Website. | |
Our thanks to American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures and National Livestock Credit for 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. | |
Let's Check the Markets! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Compared to
last week, feeder cattle and calves sold fully 2.00-5.00 lower as bearish
pressure from the surging corn and struggling fed cattle markets took
their toll. We have more details on where we stand with our feeder cattle
marketplace in the National Daily Feeder Cattle Summary linked
below.Meanwhile, the KC and Chicago wheat markets jumped higher on Friday- and that translated into higher cash grain bids in the state- with wheat prices now ranging from $949 to $9.79 around the state- that was as of Friday afternoon. We have the complete report from the Oklahoma Department of Ag also linked below- check out all the market links and let us know if these are of use to you- and what else you might want to see in the days to come. 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: | |
God Bless! You can reach us at the following: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: ron@oklahomafarmreport.com
phone: 405-473-6144
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