Howdy Neighbors!

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

It is also great to have as an annual sponsor on our daily email Johnston Enterprises- proud to be serving agriculture across Oklahoma and around the world since 1893. For more on Johnston Enterprises- click here for their website!
And we are proud to have P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy as our newest regular sponsor of our daily email update. P & K is the premiere John Deere dealer in Oklahoma, with nine locations to serve you, and the P & K team are excited about their new Wind Power program, as they offer Endurance Wind Power wind turbines. Click here for more from the P&K website.

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.

A more sober report comes from the Orlando area- we got this email which reflects so many wheat fields in 2009- "Finished today on the few acres we have. Most of it is making 3 to 10 bushels per acre. Planted too early for this year. Cut one patch of Bullet that made 17 with test weight of 57. Good thing is that we can get ready to start again next year." That last statement kinda says it all for farmers, ranchers and Chicago Cub fans- there's always the next season to look forward to.

We also talked briefly with Clay Pope of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts- who was at News9 in Oklahoma City for a few minutes yesterday- he said they had been cutting in Kingfisher County this week and were making around 20 bushels an acre- and he felt pretty good about that.

Click on our link below- this will take you to our Harvest Updates list of stories for 2009. Among the things we posted yesterday were pictures from Minco as Don Schieber of Kildare was working as a custom cutter in that northern Grady County community. We also have comments from the Oklahoma Wheat Commission and more. As we receive reports today and into the weekend- we will be posting them here- so check back from time to time to see how the 2009 wheat harvest is unfolding.

Click here for our RON Harvest Updates page, as found on WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com

Anderson says that we are about a dollar under the highs from earlier this spring- and he believes that there could be another thirty to fifty cents per bushel down in the short term, if we break through July and December support levels (We are right at the July support level of $6.20 that Dr. Anderson mentions)

His comments were with Clinton Griffiths, host of SUNUP, as seen on OETA Saturday mornings. We have Kim's comments that will be heard and seen on SUNUP tomorrow morning available to you now- click on the link below- AND you will also be able to check the SUNUP lineup for this weekend's show.

Click here to hear Kim Anderson's latest comments on the wheat market and where it may be headed.

DeLauro contends that USDA has not delivered a viable system after spending $145 million for implementation of Animal ID- and she added that until USDA finishes their Listening Sessions and comes up with a workable plan to put Animal ID in place- she sees no reason for any more money going into this program.

It's interesting to note that no House member on that Committee saw fit to rally to the defense of the USDA or the Program as no one offered an amendment to restore some or all of the FY2009 spending on the program. We have Congresswoman DeLauro's comments on NAIS as she addressed the full committee- click on our link below to take a listen.

Click here for Rosa DeLauro's continued move to elimniate funding for the federal Animal ID programs

"This bill is further proof that Washington doesn't 'get' rural America. The Democrats are moving a bill that amounts to the biggest bureaucratic power grab in a generation--and it's directed right at America's heartland. In fact, this bill is a significant part of a hostile agenda-whether it's new energy taxes from cap-and-trade or more unfunded mandates from Washington-aimed squarely at rural America."

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association agrees that the amendments to the measure don't matter all that much. They write in their weekly Capitol Comments Newsletter "The bill was amended at the markup by Senators Baucus, Klobuchar, and Boxer. The amendment is a smoke screen that allegedly takes care of agricultural concerns by exempting prior-converted croplands from federal jurisdiction. Cattle are generally not grazed on prior-converted croplands, so this amendment does nothing to mitigate the potential damage to livestock production from this legislation. The amendment is a diversion from the real issue, which is the removal of the word "navigable" from the definition of waters.
"Under current law, the federal government has jurisdiction over "navigable waters of the United States." However, by removing the word "navigable" from the definition, the CWRA would expand federal regulatory control to unprecedented levels - essentially putting stock tanks, drainage ditches, any puddle or water feature found on family farms and ranches-potentially even ground water-under the regulatory strong-arm of the federal government. "

You can click here and see Senator Inhofe's YouTube on what he calls a major "land grab" by the Feds

Ed writes "More and more people are beginning to understand the complex and important relationship between ground water and surface water. If we permit surface water to be polluted, we also pollute ground water. Cattlemen and farmers need to understand this relationship. It doesn't matter if the water body is "navigable" or not. If it's polluted, it's polluted and so is the groundwater beneath the surface.
"The goal of the Clean Water Act is to restore America's waters so that they are safe for fishing and swimming. That's not the case now and hundreds of acres of lakes and thousands of miles of streams are not safe to swim and fish in. All of Oklahoma's designated scenic rivers are contaminated by bacteria and fail to meet the state's criteria for body contact and recreation. Boating contestants on the Oklahoma River became very ill after a recent event. This was a black eye for our state."

Brocksmith concludes "I'm disappointed in Oklahoma cattlemen for taking this position, a position one might expect from the Dirty Water Lobby. I'm certain many of your readers and members of the agriculture community don't share the cattlemen's views." He also gave us a link for an editorial from a New York newspaper that likes what the bill does and calls for its passage. We are including that link for your consideration.

Click here for a New York editorial touting the benefits of the CRWA

Also this weekend, the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association loads them up and moves them out to Green Country for their 19th annual Summer Ranch Tour. The leave the OCA headquarters on Sunday afternoon and will be touring through Tuesday.

Next week, we have a Wind Energy Informational Meeting planned over in Geary- date on that meeting is June 23rd, with a RSVP requested by Monday.
We have details on all of these events and several more that happen this weekend and next week- click on our calendar link below and check out all of these events- and let us know if there is something that your group is up to that we need to include.

Click here for our calendar page found at WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com

Let me tell you just a word or two about my Dad- and perhaps help you think about your Dad along the way as we prepare to celebrate Fathers Day this Sunday. My Dad was a Vo-Ag teacher and really loved his FFA boys. Some of my earliest memories are of tagging along at the State Fair in the show barn behind those guys and my Dad.

Later, he decided he could not farm and do the Vo-Ag job justice- so we moved about fifty miles as we bought a small farm in Central Kentucky and he taught Junior High Science by day and farmed nights and weekends and summers- and of course, got up very early to feed the hogs before heading to school. He and I went to county and regional and state and even a few national shows together as I grew up- we showed Duroc hogs- and he instilled in me a work ethic and honesty and the need for integrity that has served me well. He did this as we worked together- not by just words but mostly by deeds and the decisions I saw him make- and the sacrifices that he made for me. Later, I think I saw a tear as I packed up and headed west off of the family farm to head to Wichita, Kansas and my first job as a farm broadcaster. He was sad that I had left the farm and Kentucky- but he's been a big fan down through the years and cheered the success I have been fortunate to have had.

He also shared his faith with me. He took his family to church- taught Sunday School- and served quietly but with a confidence that he and God had a relationship that could and would sustain him in good times and bad.

My Dad is still alive and still loves taking a seed, planting it and producing a crop. He does it now in a large garden (especially for someone in their mid 80s) and shows up twice a week for the local farmers market in the town where I grew up. Some of his former students are now his customers- and you can hear the grin on his face when he has had a good day at the market.

I say all of this to just remind you that we are all molded by the people in our lives- and many of us are probably been most influenced by our Daddy. Make sure you let him know that this weekend.

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- Two Pager From The Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on Hard Red Winter Wheat 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.