~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Thursday December 24,
2009 A
service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind
Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance
Company!
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-- Winter Weather Arriving Just Ahead of Saint Nick.
-- Next Week- Back to Farm News and a Look Back Over 2009
-- The Season of Hope Full Ness
-- On this Christmas Eve- Here's a Different Way to Consider the
Season- Through the Eyes of Joseph
-- Merry Christmas to You and Yours!
-- Pray for Jeff and Family.
-- 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 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! 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. | |
Winter Weather Arriving Just Ahead of Saint Nick. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It appears
that the toughest of the winter weather- as far as snow goes- will be in
central and southern Oklahoma. The cold and bitter wind chills will be all
over the state as North Pole cold blows in over the region.
Here's the latest Winter Storm Warning as issued by the National
Weather Service in Norman. (issued in the 4 AM hour this morning)
I have the link to our weather page on our website- and from there, you can go to either the News9, News on 6 or National Weather Service websites. Stay updated- and make sure you don't get stranded in these potentially nasty conditions. | |
Next Week- Back to Farm News and a Look Back Over 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Except for
some comments about the weather on this Christmas Eve- we will pass on
hard farm news on this 24th of December. Monday- we'll have more stories
for you as well as our look next week at the top stories of 2009 from an
Oklahoma Agricultural perspective.
We do encourage you to go our website- we will have updated farm news items as we run across them today through the weekend. That will include reaction from our Senators on the passage of the Democratic plan to do a drastic makeover of the US Health Care System. And we have stories from the soybean and beef industries, as well as a reminder of a meeting happening in January being put on the OGSP. Click on the link below for our website's home page- and enjoy a thought or two that we have about Christmas on the 24th of the month. Click here for our website and the latest farm news- even on this Christmas weekend. | |
The Season of Hope Full Ness ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Earlier this
week, I had the chance to be in Blaine County where the conservation
leaders in Oklahoma gathered and were celebrating a water quality success.
Clay Pope, Mike Thralls and Terry Peach (and several others) all offered
up a "hopeful" message that if you give farmers and ranchers a chance,
they want to do the right thing. It was a hopeful media briefing- a story
of something that government was able to assist in- but had not forced
down the throats of those who were involved.
As we were wrapping up the morning- I had the chance to ask Clay Pope about the newest member of his family- and he grinned and pulled his phone out and started showing pictures of his daughter. One of the pictures he was especially excited about was from a Christmas pageant in their church, where his older son and daughter were Mary and Joseph- and the newborn was baby Jesus. He laughed and said he was the proud father of the whole Holy Family. It was also a visual message of hopefulness- as it captured the season so well. This Christmas season has felt different because of the push in
Washington to change the course of this country by the Democratic
leadership. You may agree with them- you may not- but it feels like they
have almost trespassed into a sacred time frame as the Senate votes on
Christmas Eve on the National Healthcare bill that Senator Reid
desperately wants to pass before his coalition is pulled apart.
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On this Christmas Eve- Here's a Different Way to Consider the Season- Through the Eyes of Joseph ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max Lucado has
a way of taking the truths of the season and allowing us to see them in a
different way. What if we were able to go back some 2,000 years ago- and
be a fly on the wall where Joseph of Nazareth was standing- looking up
into the night sky? Here's what Max Lucado says that he might be muttering
as he waits on the birth of a child by his wife, Mary. (From He Still
Moves Stones)
This isn't the way I planned it, God. Not at all. My child being
born in a stable? This isn't the way I thought it would be. A cave with
sheep and donkeys, hay and straw? My wife giving birth with only the stars
to hear her pain? This doesn't seem right. What kind of husband am I? I provide no
midwife to aid my wife. No bed to rest her back. Her pillow is a blanket
from my donkey. My house for her is a shed of hay and straw. Oh my, I did it again. I did it again didn't I, Father? I don't mean to
do that; it's just that I forget. He's not my son. He's yours. | |
Max Lucado goes on to say "I wonder. Did Joseph ever pray such a prayer? Perhaps he did. Perhaps he didn't. "But you probably have. You've stood where Joseph stood. Caught between what God says and what makes sense. You've stared into a sky blackened with doubt. And you've asked what Joseph asked. "You've asked if you're still on the right road. You've asked if you were supposed to turn left when you turned right. And you've asked if there is a plan behind this scheme. Things haven't turned out like you thought they would. "Each of us knows what it's like to search the night for light. Not outside a stable, but perhaps outside an emergency room. On the gravel of a roadside. On the manicured grass of a cemetery. We've asked our questions. We questioned God's plan. And we've wondered why God does what he does. "No, the Bethlehem sky is not the first to hear the pleadings of an
honest heart, nor the last. And perhaps God didn't answer every question
for Joseph. But he answered the most important one. "Are you still with
me, God?" And through the first cries of the God-child the answer came.
"Yes. Yes, Joseph. I'm with you." "But in our wonderings, there is one question we never need to ask.
Does God care? Do we matter to God? Does he still love his
children? | |
Merry Christmas to You and Yours! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some of you
have joined our email family in recent months- and have not been with us
for a Christmas before this year- if you are in that category- I want to
say to you, thanks for your interest in what we do on a daily basis- and
please know that I greatly appreciate you joining up- it's a joy to be
able to serve our business in this way.
For you oldtimers- you know that I will take special times of the year- especially Christmas and Easter- and remind you of what I believe. I do this not to shove it down your throat- but hopefully I do it in a way that it will encourage each of you to think about where you are in life right now- count your blessings and perhaps renew your relationship( or even begin that relationship) with the Creator of all things. It's my hope that you and yours will be able to fully enjoy and
celebrate and incorporate in all that you do the real meaning of the
Christmas season here in 2009- and especially as you go about your life in
the beginnings of 2010. | |
Pray for Jeff and Family. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Karen Krehbiel
continues to update us on Jeff as he remains hospitalized in Oklahoma City
on this December 24th. She writes in her latest update that they continue
to battle a white cell blood count that is almost non existent.
"The count of the neutrafils type of white blood this morning was a disappointing zero. Brittany went with me to the hospital again today. Jeff can only have immediate family visits because his immune system is so very low and any bacteria or germs no matter how mild, could cause a severe infection. As immediate family, we are required to wear gloves, mask and gown every time we enter his room." Karen adds that Jeff has had a tough week emotionally as he was really
wanting to get back home for Christmas Day- and now that will not happen.
Yet, she takes time to comfort us and remind us of the reason for the
season- Jesus Christ and the gift that God gave as He sent His Son to this
earth. | |
Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, AFR and KIS Futures for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites 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! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We've had
requests to include Canola prices for your convenience here- and we will
be doing so on a regular basis. Current cash price for Canola is $7.60 per
bushel, while the 2010 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are
$7.75 per bushel- delivered to local participating elevators that are
working with PCOM.
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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