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Top Agricultural News
FARM BILL FARM BILL FARM BILL-We have a Farm Bill Conference Committee Deal- Still waiting on the Committee to sign off on the report language- but already one person NOT on board- The President- Ed Schafer, his Secretary of Agricultrure, says President Bush will veto this bill. CLICK HERE FOR OUR FARM BILL PAGE FOR THE LATEST UPDATES!
May 9, 2008- The size of the Winter Wheat Crop, based on USDA surveys, will be unveiled at 7:30 AM Central time on this Friday morning- we have an audio preview by clicking here.
This Saturday- May 10- Postal Carriers from across the country are participating in the 6th Annual Letter Carriers Food Drive- you may have received a plastic bag in your mail box and they ask for you to place non-perishable food in those bags and place next to your mail box first thing Saturday morning- One of the sponsors in Oklahoma this year is the Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Women’s Committee- and Ron talked with Mike Spradling of OFB about their involvement- click and listen.
May 8- We spent the day at USDA’s APHIS headquarters in Maryland on Wednesday- and we talked “what if” when it comes to Foot and Mouth Disease in this country. The Beef, Pork and Dairy industries helped sponsor this time with the ag trade media. This workshop is part of an ongoing effort by communicators from these species groups, who have been meeting to advance and coordinate emergency response plans since the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the United Kingdom. Animal health experts from APHIS discussed emergency measures and procedures that will be activated in the event of a serious animal health emergency - such as an outbreak of FMD. We also received a full demonstration of the Emergency Operations Center, and USDA public affairs staff will discuss the role of the media in keeping livestock producers and the general public informed in the event of such an emergency. A big part of the day was a desktop simulation of a case of FMD being discovered in a sow operation somewhere in Iowa- we played "stump the experts" as the Media reps were asked to bring up questions that we might have as the outbreak unfolded and how both the ag trade media would react- as well as how the general media might report the first case of FMD in this country since 1929. One of the folks we got to know yesterday was Dr. Jon Zack who is the Preparedness and Incident Coordinator at APHIS and we encourage you to click here and listen to our conversation with him.
May 8-Two Wheat Tour reports to share with you this morning- The first is from the Oklahoma Wheat Crop Tour estimates that were compiled midday on Wednesday- and our own Ed Richards talks with Mark Hodges of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission about the bigger number than Mark has expected earlier this week- the Oklahoma wheat crop is being predicted at 149 million bushels in 2008- well above the very disappointing 98 million bushels that we actually ended up last year. Click here to listen to Ed and Mark talk about those Oklahoma compiled numbers.
Meanwhile, it was Day Two of the Wheat Quality Council’s wheat tour- and Mike Schulte once again offers some play by play from the part of the tour that he was on yesterday- Click here to listen to Mike’s report. By the way, Ben Hancock, the long time overall leader of the Wheat Quality Tour- says he is absolutely convinced that Kansas is in line to produce an above average wheat crop- based on the conditions seen this week.
May 7- Yesterday was Day One of the Wheat Quality Council Tour that covers most of Kansas and parts of several other Hard red Winter states. Tour teams spread out across central and north central Kansas and saw a lot of really good wheat- with the day’s average yield for this prime area of Kansas production in at 45.4 bushels per acre. Mike Schulte of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission is driving one of the vehicles in this year’s tour- and he files this report from Day One- Click and Listen as Mike reports from Colby, Kansas.
May 6- Word has come that the National Sorghum Checkoff has been approved and collection will begin July first. Here is a fact sheet that will tell you more- click and read
May 6- Howdy Neighbors and Good Morning- I have a Recommendation to you on this Tuesday- Take a look at the Blog being written by Hope Pjesky of Goltry, Oklahoma, who is the middle of a three country Asian study tour. She is a an Eisenhower Fellow and looking at the agriculture of Japan, Malaysia and Thailand- and she is now in Thailand. Here is the link to her BLOG- check it out!
May 4- Howdy Neighbors and Good Morning!- We had the chance to sit down with Mark Hodges of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission this past Friday afternoon and review where we stand on the need for moisture at this stage of the wheat plant’s life- from boot to heading it is more than three tenths of an inch per day! Hodges is concerned that could become the latest limiting factor for many locations across the state. Take a listen to our conversation with Mark Hodges, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission about current wheat crop conditions- click here and listen.
This past week was most interesting in that the battle of Food versus Fuel heated up as ethanol has been blamed a great deal from many directions for its impact on feed prices in this country- and as a result- for food prices. We have an audio overview for you to take a listen to from a news conference last week of folks that are dfeenders of ethanol- one in particular- Bob Dineen of the Renewable Fuels Association- Click here to take a listen.
May 3- 12 NOON- Earlier on this Saturday, we had as our guest on the In The Field TV segment that we do on KWTV News9 the new President of the Oklahoma FFA- Chelsea Clifton from Kingfisher. Hope you had a chance to see it- if you didn’t here is a link for you to take a look at Ron and Chelsea talking about her election to head up the 24,000 member Oklahoma FFA.
May 1- We were in Poteau yesterday at the Eastern Oklahoma Ag Trade Show- had about 500 in attendance for the day long event- and one of the folks we caught up with was Dr. Dave Sparks- OSU Extension Vet who has been working on a series of local meetings discussing agroterrorism. We have our conversation with Dr. Sparks on this subject that you can listen to by clicking here.
We have the the new state Officers of the Oklahoma FFA to tell you about- they include
Chelsea Clifton, President- Kingfisher FFA
Chasity Beasler, Secretary- Wellston FFA
Carly Schnaithman, Reporter- Garber FFA
Stasha Harp, NE Vice President- Kansas FFA
Riley Pagett, NW Vice President- Woodward FFA
Blake Matlock, Central Vice President- Tecumseh FFA
Amy Peel, SE Vice President- Wetumka FFA
Sarah Reasnor, SW Vice President- Elgin FFA
April 30- The Stars were out overnight in downtown Oklahoma City as the Oklahoma FFA announced their 2008 Stars in Ag Production, Agribusiness and Ag Placement- Star Farmer is Stasha Harp of Kansas FFA, Agribusiness is Kane Bryen of Thomas-Fay-Custer FFA and Ag Placement was claimed by Dustin Ratliff of Frontier FFA. Click here to go to our STARS page- and to be able to link to the videos we produced that were used last night on stage at the 82nd annual convention of the Oklahoma FFA!!!
April 29- Yesterday, the President and CEO of Tyson Foods, Dick Bond, vented his concerns over US policy regarding ethanol in this country- he believes that ethanol is a major factor in escalating food costs in this country and around the world- and he says you have not seen anything yet- based on their doubling of feed costs since 2006- Click here to listen to Tyson’s “rant” against ethanol that he offered to Wall Street Analysts on Monday
April 28- Mike Thralls with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission gives us an update on the efforts to secure up to $30 million in repair monies for conservation infrastructure that was damaged in the heavy rains of 2007. Click here to listen.
April 23- We had the chance to talk to the five Commissioners of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission during a break of their meeting held in Oklahoma on Wednesday morning- and here is a Round the Horn audio review at current wheat crop conditions in the state of Oklahoma- Click and listen!
April 22, 2008- Today the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is holding a public “roundtable” on Ag Futures and what impact Index Funds and other big players are impacting the ability for these contracts to really provide producers with price discovery. The two Presidents of the general farm organizations that operate in the US, American Farm Bureau and the National Farmers Union both offered brief opinions about what is going on in today’s ag futures markets. Click here to listen to first Bob Stallman of AFBF followed by Tom Buis of the National Farmers Union.
April 22, 2008- Congratulations to 92 Oklahoma FFA members who have been named as recipients of Scholarships from the National FFA Foundation. Click here for the full list of 92 Winners!
April 21- We talked with Scott Dewald of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association at the end of this past week at the Southern Plains Farm Show- and we chatted with Scott about two subjects- first we got a Legislative update-click to listen as Scott explains that he is very pleased with the move by lawmakers this past week to move a pair of “trespass” bills forward. We also talked with Scott about the good news for the Beef Industry that South Korea will be accepting US beef once again in a matter of a few weeks. Click here to listen to the Korean part of the conversation between Ron and Scott.
April 20, This past Friday we had cattle on feed numbers issued by USDA- and they were “friendly” according to Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities. Click here to listen to his analysis!
April 18- We have a deal with South Korea on Beef!!!! Click here for some of the coverage as of Friday morning of this deal between the US and South Korea. - We also talked with Gregg Doud of the NCBA about what he calls a “Billion Dollar Day for US Cattle Producers”- Click here to listen
Here is a link to a fact sheet released by the USTR’s office on details of the agreement.
April 16- We were on the farm of Richard Tanner near Burlington on Tuesday afternoon- and we talked with OSU Extension Oilseed specialist Mark Boyles about the opportunity with Winter Canola for wheat farmers in the state.Click here to listen to Ron, Mark and the wind as we talked Canola out in the field!
April 15- We are just a couple of days away from the start of the 2008 Southern Plains Farm Show- to be held at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City. Click here to listen to Ron visit with John Sampson about the 2008 event!!
Dr. Jeff Edwards and the folks at OSU have their latest Newsletter out on the Winter Wheat Crop and potential damage from the Monday morning freezing temperatures- click here to read.
It was probably NOT cold enough, long enough for much damage to the 2008 Oklahoma Winter Wheat Crop early Monday morning- here’s a map provided by Mark Hodges of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission he had run by the Mesonet folks out of Norman that shows the number hours we were below 28 degrees- with the areas getting below this level for very long having wheat that was really not yet to the “boot” stage where 28 for two hours could begin to cause damage
April 14- Howdy Neighbors and Good Morning! It’s mighty cold out across some of our wheat fields on this Monday morning- Will we get freeze damage? Here’s what Dr. Jeff Edwards calls the “Gold Standard” when it comes to telling us how cold it must be and for how long at what stage of the wheat plant’s life- click here to read more from this Kansas State Publication authored by several folks- including long time wheat specialist Dr. Jim Shroyer.
As of 4:45 am- we have a couple of Oklahoma Mesonet sites in the wheat belt that are flirting with cold enough temps to really hurt our 2008 wheat crop- El Reno spent about thirty minutes just below 28 degrees around 3:30 this morning while Seiling has been right around the 28 degree mark since 3 am. - Several spot in northeastern Oklahoma are also at this level- Miami and Jay specifically.
April 12, 2008- Last night, we were delighted to be a part of the Oklahoma Culinary Research Alliance dinner demonstration held in the Culinary Arts Facilities on campus of Oklahoma State University-Okmulgee. The first project that this alliance decided to work on was looking at ways to develop menu ideas for the second round of Value Cuts unveiled in the last year by the beef industry- muscles that could provide a great eating experience from the chuck portion of the beef carcass. We talked with Scott Sherrill who was the instructor of the five students that worked on three muscle cuts and came up with some delicious ways for them to be utilized. Click here to listen to Ron and Chef Scott Sherrill discuss the class, the cuts and the results!
Besides the Culinary Arts Center at OSU-Okmulgee, the other partner in the Alliance was the Kerr Food and Ag Products Center at OSU in Stillwater- and Dr. Jake Nelson worked with the Alliance from that end in helping them get their arms around these brand new cuts of beef that are not yet commercially available- click here to listen to Ron and Jake talk about the opportunities for these cuts that may lie ahead.
April 11, 2008- We had the chance to visit with Lori Peterson, who heads up the Lobbying efforts for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau- and she provides us a snapshot of where we stand here as approach the last month of the 2008 State Legislative Session- take a listen as Ron and Lori talk State Legislative Issues.
April 11, 2008- OSU Ag Policy Professor says Congress has earned a failing grade in the current farm bill debate- saying we are looking at a “failed process.” Click here to listen to Ron and Mike talk about the current farm bill debate.
April 10, 2008- The Conference Committee for the Farm Bill has met for the first time and is likely done until next Monday or Tuesday. We have two audio links to offer you- the first is the comments made by by Colin Peterson with an explanation of the “framework” offered by the House members to the Senate- click here to take a listen to Mr. Peterson.
The second segment is the motion made by Bob Goodlatte to officially offer the framwork to the Senate Conferees and the response by Senator Tom Harkin- Click here to listen to Goodlatte, the Harkin then Peterson in this conversation.
April 10, 2008- The House Conferees have now been named by House Leadership - and they include Oklahoma Republican Congressman Frank Lucas of the Third District. The First Conference Committee Meeting is set for Thursday morning at 9:15 AM Central Time. Democratic Leaders from both the House and Senate met last night- and the House is now pushing for a six billion dollar over budget baseline deal- that the Senate is rejecting. The Funding Deal is still NOT done. Here is the News Release from the House Ag Committee as issued by the Majority
April 9, 2008- With the wet conditions- we are seeing some early signs of disease in Oklahoma wheat fields- and now is the time to start preparing to spray your wheat fields to preserve your yields here in 2008. Ron talked with Randy Myers of Bayer Crop Science about using fungicides- like the Bayer Crop Science product Stratego- click and take a listen.
April 7, 2008- The latest OSU Newsletter from the Plant and Soil Science Department is out- and it talks about the window for using fungicides is upon us- take a look at the article by Dr. Jeff Edwards by clicking here.
April 3, 2008- The 11th Member of the Oklahoma AG Hall of Fame is Paul Hitch, who was inducted into the Ag Hall just a few days after he had lost his battle with cancer. Hitch comes from one of the legendary families in Oklahoma agriculture- was a leader in the beef industry and one of the early adopters in welcoming the Seaboard plant to Guymon as Hitch Enterprises got into the hog business in a significant way as the pork plant was built. We have some thoughts of Paul Hitch, as told by Chris Hitch to our own Calvin Wright. Click to take a listen.
Oklahoma Farm Bureau is wrapping up their Congressional Action Tour in Washington- and one theme that was emphasized to all who would listen- we gotta have a farm bill NOW. Jimmy Kinder of Walters was one of those delivering that message.
AND- we have comments from Andy Grosetta, President of the NCBA, on the battle we are in the middle of as cattle producers when it comes to facing off versus Animal Rights Activists- we have Q&A with Andy that you can take a listen to.
April 2- We had the chance to sit down at length with Oklahoma’s man on the House Ag Committee, Frank Lucas who reps the Third Congressional District. We talk Farm Bill Frustrations- I think we both need therapy after such a frustrating discussion- you can listen to it clicking here.
U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab said the World Trade Organization's ruling, announced Monday, that a ban by the European Union on imports of U.S. beef from certain hormone-treated cattle remains scientifically unjustified would be a boon to U.S. beef producers — as well as EU consumers. Gregg Doud of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Associatin explains this “lawyer’s special” and where we stand when it comes to beef trade with Europe.
April 1 10:30 AM- More from Washington as we have heard from Tara Smith of the American Farm Bureau Office, who seems optimistic that we could get a farm bill breakthrough at almost any time. She talked to the Oklahoma Farm Bureau this morning and we talked with her right after...Click here to listen to our conversation with Tara Smith.
The OFB Group also heard from Dale Moore, Chief of Staff for pretty much the entire Bush Administration, and after this comments we teamed up with Sam Moore to chat with the Kansas native.
April 1, 2008- As we report from our Nation’s Capitol on this first of April- NO FOOLING- we had the chance to visit with several folks here from the two groups that we are following- Oklahoma Farm Bureau and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. We have our conversation with Mike Spradling of the OFB linked here- click to listen- about the some 75 member of the organization that have come to Washington this spring and the issues they are interested in. We also sat down and talked farm bill with Colin Woodall of the NCBA’s Washington office- who has a less than rosy outlook on the fate of the farm bill negotiations. Click here to listen to our recorded conversation with Colin as the Spring Legislative Conference of the NCBA kicks off.
March 31- USDA says that farmers told them they plan to plant 18% more acres of soybeans this year than last- and 8% fewer acres of corn. They also plan to put 13% fewer acres of cotton into the ground this spring than last year and 4% less acres of grain sorghum. However, Oklahoma farmers, after planting three percent fewer acres of winter wheat last fall than a year earlier, are upping their acreages of soybeans, corn, cotton and milo. A lot fewer acres of corn and more acres of soybeans than expected- we have the national and Oklahoma numbers, as well as comments from Tom Leffler by clicking here!
It’s a subject of increasing concern among those in the grain industry- are we in danger of losing our ability to implement risk management in the futures markets with the Commodity Funds that have entered the picture??? There’s thought piece on that subject that Joe Neal Hampton of the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association has provided us- and you can read it by clicking here.
March 30- The latest Newsletter from the OSU Plant and Soil Sciences Department reports insect problems popping up in some of our winter canola fields- read about that and more by clicking here.
March 28- The Beef Industry Collides Full Speed Ahead with YouTube as the National Beef Ambassadors are sponsoring a video competition that they are calling “More Beef in More Places.” They are looking for creative videos that will show how you enjoy beef- with friends family- in exotic places- whatever and whereever- we have the link for info about the contest which runs through the end of April- Click here and take a look- and CHARGE UP those video camera batteries- you’ve got beef to enjoy!!!
March 27- 4PM- Here’s a conversation that we had this afternoon with the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, Mark Hodges, about the latest on wheat crop conditions in the state of Oklahoma. Click here to listen to Ron and Mark talk potential wheat crop 2008
March 26- The Latest Newsletter from the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Science is out- with a look at greenbug populations and how to determine the need to spray- and more. Click to download and read.
March 21- Cattle on Feed numbers are out from USDA- the report showing 2% bigger on feed numbers as of March first compared to a year ago, Placements up 4% from a year ago and marketings jumped 4 percent from a year ago- the placements numbers were lower than expected and marketings were better than expected. We have some audio comments on the numbers with Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities
HERE IS THE LINK TO OUR START TO FINISH COVERAGE OF THE 2008 OKLAHOMA YOUTH EXPO- MARCH 10-20, 2008 AT THE STATE FAIR PARK IN OKLAHOMA CITY
March 20- It was Conservation Day at the Oklahoma Capitol on Wednesday- and one of those honored was Rick Jeans of Kay County as he was named the District Director of the Year. We talked briefly with Rick about the honor and his work in Conservation!
March 17- Talking Farm Bill Frustrations with the Vice President of the American Farmers & Ranchers- Terry Detrick, a wheat and cattle producer from Ames, Oklahoma. He’s hopeful that Congress can finally get a deal struck during this Easter recess that we now in the midst of- but you can tell he is not holding his breath. Click here to listen to our conversation with Terry as we wait on the latest farm bill developments to unfold.
March 14- Sad news from the Oklahoma Panhandle- We have received word this morning that Oklahoma's Paul Hitch passed away early this morning at a hospital in Amarillo. Hitch had been battling cancer over this past year. Services are scheduled for Wednesday, March 19 at 2 p.m. at Victory Memorial United Methodist Church at 6th and Roosevelt in Guymon.
Paul had been in line to be the President of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association here in 2008- but stepped down back this past November due to his battle with cancer. He was honored by the cattle industry last month in Reno during the Cattle Industry's Annual Convention- We have the audio from that day in Reno- click here to jump to our Bovine Blog page and the coverage from Reno to listen to that tribute to Paul.
In addition, the Oklahoma Pork Council honored Paul Hitch by inducting him into the Oklahoma Pork Hall of Fame last month during the Oklahoma Pork Congress. He was one of those who embraced the pork industry as it arrived with Seaboard in the Oklahoma Panhandle- and has positioned Hitch Enterprises as a key player in both the beef and pork protein markets.
FARM BILL FARM BILL FARM BILL-President Bush says he will sign the second short term extension- but that is it- after that- he wants a one year extension of the 2002 Farm Law- we have details. CLICK HERE FOR OUR FARM BILL PAGE FOR THE LATEST UPDATES!
The March Edition of the Oklahoma USDA Rural Development Office is now available- we have it linked for you by clicking here.
Oklahoma Youth Show!!!! The first of the Champions have been selected by the judges at the World’s Largest Junior Livestock Show- Those include:
Grand Champion Wether Meat Goat- Tyler Boles Asher FFA (Click on Tyler’s name to listen to Ron talk with him about winning the top prize!)
Reserve Grand Champion Meat Goat- Stasha Harp- Kansas FFA
Champion Doe Kid- Kelsie Romine, Tupelo FFA
Reserve Champion Doe Kid- Garrett Hudgins, Mannford FFA
Supreme CHampion Purebred Gilt- Brooke Nation, Alva FFA (on her Yorkshire)
Reserve Supreme Purebred Gilt- Taylor Thompson, Mangum FFA (Hampshire Champ)
March 13- We are in Guymon this morning as we are covering a special Biofuels Conference being put on by the OSU Ag Research Center in Goodwell. Yesterday, we spent some time in Stillwater before heading this direction- and caught up with Jeff Edwards, State Wheat Specialist- He provides us this latest wheat crop update and a current “to do” list for wheat produccers. Click to listen to our conversation.
Yesterday in Washington, Steve Mendel, the Executive with the Hallmark-Westland Beef Processing in California appeared before a House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee- and was questioned for some two hours over the Downer Cow incident that was secretly taped by the Humane Society of the US. His company will not survive- but he handled himself well under very difficult circumstances. We have his opening statement that he offered to the Committee- click to listen.
12- A couple of links for you on this Wednesday morning- first, we have the Oklahoma Attorney General asking for an injunction against poultry house owners- demanding they stop applying any chicken litter in the Illinois River watershed- that multi day hearing is set to end today- here’s the latest from that court event under way in Tulsa. Meanwhile, the latest OSU Plant and Soil Sciences Department Newsletter is out- singing praise to the benefits of soil testing- click here to download and read that and other articles from the OSU team.
AT the recent Commodity Classic, we enjoyed talking with Clair Heinbuch, the Cereal Crops Product Manager for Bayer Crop Science- and we talked with Clair about Olympus and Olympus Flex and their use this spring in our winter wheat across the southern Great Plains- and looking to the future- we also talked with him about the new product in the Bayer Crop Science pipeline- Huskie. Click here to listen to our conversation with Clair.
March 10- Howdy Neighbors and Good Morning to You. I have one audio conversation and one video segment I want to pass along to you- the audio conversation is with the Vice President of Public Policy for Oklahoma Farm Bureau- Lori Peterson. We talk about the State Legislative session up to this point- and she provides for us some of the things that Farm Bureau likes about the session thus far when it comes to bills moving forward- and also some of the defense that Farm Groups have been dealing with this year. Click here to listen to Ron and Lori talk state legislative developments.
This past Saturday morning- we were pleased to have with us on our In the Field with Ron Hays segment the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Youth Expo, Jeramy Rich. The Youth Expo is the “state finals” of the livestock show season for some 7000 young people all across the state- Click here to watch our TV segment that was broadcast on KWTV News9 on Saturday, March 8, 2008.
March 6- One interview from the NFU meeting in Las Vegas that we still need to share with you is our conversation with John Grunewald with Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma. We talked with John after his presentation as a part of a Risk Management Panel during the 2008 NFU Convention. Click here to listen to Ron and John Grunewald.
The Oklahoma Wheat Commission’s Mark Hodges is very concerned about overall moisture levels for growth and development of the 2008 Hard Red Winter Wheat Crop here in the state. He has provided us with several maps and we want to share three of them with you. This first map shows the percentage of rainfall versus normal for the last thirty days.
The next two maps show Fractional Water Index at 25 cm, and 75 cm respectively, please note once you reach .8 and down on the index, moisture for plant growth becomes limiting (this corresponds to light green to yellow to dark brown). The point is, we still have some very dry areas of the state that also have limited plant development for this time of year. Some dryland areas of the state will produce a very short crop if any (Western Panhandle) with the remainder of the areas that are currently showing a lack of profile moisture “on the bubble”.
The Oklahoma Grain and Stocker Producers sent a delegation to Washington this past week- they met with a wide variety of folks and we have a link to a complete and detailed report of who they met with and what was discussed. Click here to check it out.
March 4- Huge news late yesterday in the Beef Business- Number Three JBS-Swift plants to buy out number three National Beef and is talking with Smithfield to buy their Beef Processing Assets to boot-Dick Monfort could only say “WOW”
March 4- Howdy Neighbors and Good Morning- we are back from Las Vegas and the 106th annual meeting of the National Farmers Union where they wrapped up their convention yesterday afternoon. One of the policy debates they had that was fairly heated was the give and take over Animal ID. Oklahoma Vice President of the American Farmers and Ranchers Terry Detrick offered language to the policy of the NFU that would call for the group to support a mandatory Animal ID that would have farmer input and be family farmer sized friendly. Click here to listen to Ron talk with Terry about the debate and outcome.
ALSO on the final day of the NFU- we had the chance to visit with President and CEO of AFR, Ray Wulf, about their recent moves to spread their wings and risk of their insurance company as they have purchased General Fire and Casualty Company, which gives them instant infrastructure into a total of 24 states with various insurance products. We talked with Ray about these moves and you can listen to that conversation by clicking here.
Here’s the latest OSU Plant and Soil Sciences Newsletter- as we continue to check for first Hollow Stem- Click to download the PDF version of the newsletter.
March 3- 12 Noon Vegas Time- Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer spoke to the National Farmers Union Convention here in Las Vegas- it’s the first time I can remember a Republican Secretary of Agriculture making an appearance at a NFU Convention since Clayton Yeutter in 1989 or 1990 when the NFU met in Oklahoma City. Anyway, Schafer took questions- including one on permanent disaster and animal ID- He also had a question on support of renewable fuels coming from something other than cellulosic sources from Terry Detrick of Oklahoma- the Vice President of the American Farmers and Ranchers. Click here and you can listen to their exchange.
Beyond that exchange, Secretary Schafer pledged to help get a farm bill done ASAP- and he was asked about a Permanent Disaster Program- we have an audio overview of the what the Secretary had to say and you can listen to Ron with Ed Schafer by clicking here.
Another topic that Colin Peterson tackled as he answered questions from the audience in Las Vegas at the NFU meeting had to do with the Competition Title. Peterson says that a Packer Ban will NOT be a part of the final bill- but that there could be an effort to include some sort of transparent market reporting bill that would require all transactions of livestock to be posted on a website for anyone to review in a close to real time basis. We have his comments on these livestock elements linked- click and listen.
March 3- We are here in Las Vegas at the National Farmers Union Convention- and Sunday night the convention goers heard from the Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Colin Peterson, who seems convinced that we can get a farm bill done by mid April- that is his new and latest deadline. We have three audio files for you to take a listen to- an audio overview that we have assembled of Peterson’s comments made from Washington via telephone- and reaction from Tom Buis, President of the National Farmers Union- as well as reaction from Ray Wulf, President of the American Farmers and Ranchers. Click on the three names for the audio file for each of these three men.
February 29- Here at Commodity Classic- the National Association of Wheat Growers held their Organization’s News Conference a day later than the other two groups here in Nashville- and we heard from John Thaemert- outgoing President from Kansas. We have a hunk of the audio comments made by John- about the need to get the farm bill done NOW, the need that wheat has in moving to a biotech wheat to keep up with other crops- then back to some specifics about the farm bill- the need to preserve the Direct Payment and the case for Crop Insurance. Click here and take a listen.
February 26- Here is the latest issue from OSU of the their Plant and Soil Sciences Newsletter- Click to take a look.
February 22- Cattle on Feed numbers are out- we are up 2% in on feed numbers and placements were up 6% from a year ago- but still were less than expected- Here’s some audio commentary on the numbers with Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities.
February 20- We have pictures and audio on our special page about the OALP Journey to China!! Click on this paragraph and it will take you to our China Experience!!!
February 15- What Condition is my condition in??? Well, if you are talking Oklahoma wheat, the man to answer that question is Dr. Jeff Edwards of OSU- our state wheat specialist. Click here to listen to our conversation with him this week when we caught him at the Oklahoma No-till Conference.
February 13- NEEDED!!!- Rural Folks to be a part of the regional water planning process in Oklahoma- the western third of the state and the northeastern corner of Oklahoma has districts where more nominations are being solicited- and we need as many aggies involved in this as is possible!!! Click here to read more in the February Newsletter about the Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan.
February 13- The Oklahoma No-Till Conference held this week in Oklahoma City was a HUGE success- with over 275 in attendance- the producers who came got a lot of practical information from not just University and Extension folks- but also from farmers who have been no-tilling for many years. One of those presenters was Jay Franklin of Vinita- click to listen to our conversation with Jay.
Another of the farmers who talked about how No-Till has worked for them has done it in a continuous wheat situation- Click to listen to our visit with Jimmy Kinder of Walters- his place has been fully no-till for nine years.
February 11- Here’s our audio wrapup of Paul Hitch of Guymon receiving double honors this past Friday from the cattle and hog industries- click and take a listen!
February 8- Here are the latest figures for how many dollars have gone to Oklahoma farmers and Ranchers in disaster aid- click to take a look at a chart provided by Jim Reese of FSA.
February 5: Go to our Bovine Blog for coverage from Reno and the 2008 Cattle Industry Convention by clicking here!!!!
February 3- We are sorry to have to report the death of former Secretary of Agriculture Dr. Earl Butz- He was 98. We have linked an excellent story on this life that includes the joke that cost him his spot at the USDA in 1976. Click here to read it.
February 2, 2008- The deadline is Monday February 4 for getting your information back in to the USDA for the 2007 Ag Census- but the Men in Black will not show up on the 5th at your front door if you don’t get it in on time. Will Hundl, Oklahoma State Statistician, says that they will be working with producers who for whatever reason have not been able to get this info to them as of yet. Click here to listen to Ron and Will on the Ag Census “first” deadline.
February 1, 2008- Right after the weekend, it will be time for the 2008 Oklahoma Legislative Session to crank up at the state capitol in Oklahoma City. We talked this week with Lori Peterson, Vice President for Public Policy for Oklahoma Farm Bureau- and she gives us her best guess on where we might be headed these next few months as we follow the law making process. Click here to listen to Ron and Lori discuss the 2008 Legislative Session.
Another view of what may be happening at the State House this coming Monday comes from Roy Lee Lindsey, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Pork Council.
January 29- There are several of our Oklahoma farm groups that are promoting a bill that was introduced last spring by Congresswoman Mary Fallin and Congressman Dan Borean on DOT regulations as they relate to farm trucks crossing state lines weighing over 10,001 pounds. Oklahoma Farm Bureau has their National Policy Director Ericka McPherson in Washington looking at ways to take advantage of the recent decision by the American Farm Bureau to make this bill a Priority Issue for the national group. We talked on Tuesday afternoon with President Mike Spradling on the subject and you can listen by clicking here.
January 28, 2008- The State Legislative session for Oklahoma begins in just a few more days- and it appears that the Oklahoma Ag Coalition- a group of ag and rural oriented organizations- is alive and well. They meet for an extended time this past Friday and we talked afterwards with Steve Thompson of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture about some the priorities that seemed to be surfacing out of the meeting. Click and take a listen.
We also had a conversation in recent days with Scott Dewald of OCA about their state legislative priorities- click here to listen to Ron and Scott talk those issues.
January 26- We talked with Clay Pope of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts on Saturday morning for our In the Field Segment seen on KWTV News9 in Oklahoma City. Click here to take a look at our conversation about the Conservation needs during the 2008 State Legislative session.
January 25- Cattle on Feed numbers were released at 2 pm Central time on Friday- Click here to listen to our audio coverage of the cattle on feed numbers.
Here’s a great feature article from the USDA publication “Agricultural Research” on grass research for year round forage that is going on at the Southern Plains Ag Research Station in Woodward, Ok.
January 24- The Latest newsletter of the Oklahoma office of the USDA Rural Development Agency is out- we have it linked here for you.
January 21- The New Korean President seems to be pushing the process of getting the ban on US beef behind us- click here to read an article from the Korea Herald
January 20- Our Saturday installment of In the Field seen on KWTV News9 featured the report from earlier in the week about the technology from Oklahoma State University that was licensed to the startup cellulosic ethanol maker Coskata. We feature comments from Ray Huhnke- the Bio Fuels Team Leader at OSU. Click here to take a look!
January 18- We check the current state of the Oklahoma Wheat Crop with OSU Wheat Specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards- click and listen!
January 15- Great News for OSU Biofuels Research efforts! OSU Ag researchers have licensed technology to a company by the name of Coskata which has just signed a joint venture with General Motors to produce cellulosic ethanol. The microorganism technology provided by OSU is the heart of the process of converting ethanol very efficiently and at a cost of less than a dollar per gallon! Click here for the OSU release on this story- and then click HERE for a story on the Coskata- General Motors deal.
January 13-16!!! We are updating our AFBF Meeting Blog this week from New Orleans, La. and we have posts on there for you to check out- just click here and head to our reports from the Big Easy!
Should you apply a full or a partial dose of fungicide at one time? Dr. Jeff Edwards of OSU has been looking into various research efforts on this wheat production question.- we have what he and Dr. Bob Hunger have come up with by clicking here.
January 11- Crop numbers have been released this morning- we offer some overview- before the report the audio linked is a recap of the numbers for you. Click and listen! Wheat seedings in hard red winter wheat country were actually less than for the 2007 crop- we were down three percent from last year in Oklahoma at 5.7 million acres seeded. Here’s a link of the full USDA Winter Wheat Seedings Report.
MORE AUDIO on the USDA numbers of Friday morning- Here is Larry Glenn who is an associate of Tom Leffler with his take on the report.
January 11- We talk with Francie Tolle of the American Farmers and Ranchers about the Farm Bill Conference negotiations- as well as about their Policy process leading up to the annual meeting of the AFR coming in mid February in Oklahoma City- Click and listen to our conversation!
It’s being passed around to a lot of folks- and I thought you might want to read how Trent Loos sees the Drew Edmondson lawsuit against the poultry industry- Trent has fingered the real culprit- and it doesn’t seem to be those chicken farmers or the companies that they sell to. Click and Read!
January 10- Perhaps a good way to describe the 2008 Oklahoma Winter wheat crop is fragile. Many of our acres are not well developed and could easily end up producing nothing- but if we get trimely moisture and a mild winter- they could produce an “average” crop. Mark Hodges of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission helps us dissect the wheat crop as it now stands (or doesn’t as the case may be) and you can click and listen to that conversation- which also looks at current research efforts at OSU.
January 7, 2008- The National Association of Wheat Growers held a strategic planning session over this past weekend- and a pair of Oklahoma wheat officials were involved. Oklahoma Wheat Grower Executive Director Tim Bartram and OWGA Past President Jeff Krehbiel of Hydro were in Dallas for the sessions- Jeff sits on the NAWG Strategic Planning Committee- and Jeff says that the NAWG has come up with a new Vision Statement to start 2008 with- “Advancing Wheat Through Innovation and Advocacy.” We have an audio overview of what Jeff told us about the meeting- click here to listen!
January 6, 2008- We have a link for you of the Fiscal Year 2007 Oklahoma Outlook- a review of funding this past fiscal year by USDA’s Rural Development Agency in the state. Click to take a look.
January 4- Monsanto released very strong earnings numbers yesterday- and they also unveiled an update on their technology they are working on in the pipeline- here’s an overview they have provided us.
January 3- As we begin the 2008 Presidential Campaign officially this evening in Iowa- we talk with Oklahoma native son Ken Root of WHO Radio in Des Moines about how rural folks are sizing up the candidates- click to take a listen to our conversation with Ken.
December 31- There will be a Memorial Service on Monday afternoon, December 31 at the First Presbyterian Church in Stillwater for both Mr. and Mrs. Haskell Cudd- Mrs. Cudd died on December 20, while Haskell Cudd, age 100, passed away this past Friday. He is the long time Chairman of the Board of Stillwater Milling. Here is a link to the obit found in the Stillwater newspaper over the weekend.
December 28, 2007- We review 2007 for the Oklahoma Beef Council with Executive Director Heather Buckmaster
December 27, 2007- 4:00 pm- The latest Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report is being called a bear as USDA is calling the total pig count four percent bigger than December 1, 2006. Pigs over 180 pounds came in six percent over a year ago- pointing to ample- perhaps even burdensome supplies of pork in the first few months of the new year. Traders agree that CME futures for Lean Hogs will take a hit on Friday from this report. Here’s one reaction to the numbers that were considered to be negative for price outlook going forward into 2008.
December 27, 2007- The longtime Chief Economist Dr. Keith Collins at the US Department of Agriculture is stepping down at the end of this calendar year- and has a lot of memories about how farm policy has been shaped since he arrived at the Department as a junior employee back in 1977. Another long time USDA employee that is hanging it up at the end of this month- Brenda Curtis- sat down and interviewed Dr. Collins at length about the changing times of farm policy in the late 70s to today- and we have this almost thirty minute interview linked here.
We also have a shorter five minute summary of the Keith Collins interview with Brenda that you can listen to if you click here- it’s about five minutes long.
December 21- It was a real BEAR of a Cattle on Feed Report- as USDA says that we had 12% more cattle placed into feedlots in November than a year ago- a full two percentage points above the highest guess by any of the analysts. AND the report now shows that we have more cattle on feed =- one percent more- than at this point one year ago. Tom Leffler says this report is possibly a market changer of a report- as it shakes up what the expectations were before Friday afternoon- click to listen to Tom’s comments.
December 19- The National Cotton Council is very unhappy with the WTO saying the US has not chopped enough of our cotton subsidy program to suit the international ruling against the US cotton program. Click to read the NCC’s case against the WTO.
December 18- Dr. Jeff Edwards of OSU has just issued his latest Wheat Production Newsletter- updating producers on the need for Nitrogen for this 2008 winter wheat crop that just got a nice drink of water from Mother Nature- Click to load the PDF file of this Newsletter.
The Energy Bill has easily passed the House of Representatives and will be signed into law By President Bush. It includes an aggressive Renewable Fuels Standard that the National Corn Growers believe is good for farmers, the consumer and the environment.
December 10- Informa Economics has released a study that they say shows that there is little impact on food price inflation from increased demand for corn from ethanol. We have an audio wrapup from the news conference from Monday morning that we have linked for you here-AND we have the following link for you to be able to go and review the entire report that Informa has produced.
We also have the audio from Bruce Sherr who heads up Informa Economics on what they studied and the conclusions they have come to- and defense of those conclusions.
December 6- We are very very very dry as we get closer to the official start of winter. Mark Hodges of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission offered us this visual picture of the dryness the winter wheat areas of the state are now dealing with.
Monsanto goes a little greener as they join the Chicago Climate Exchange- and promise to urge farmers to move even more aggressively to No Till farming.
December 3- Click and take a listen to our conversation from this past Friday with Ray Wulf of the American Farmers and Ranchers as we talk farm policy and an update on AFR moving beyond the borders of Oklahoma in their insurance efforts.
Congratulations to those involved with the Benefit Auction in Lawton for Jhett Skaggs- the ten month old son of Brian and Audra Skaggs- Jhett needed a heart transplant- and isn’t it a coincidence that a heart became available for him on Wednesday afternoon as the auction was set to begin- the surgery went well- prayers are needed as Jhett ‘s body tries to reconcile itself to the new organ. AND back to the auction- they raised $105,000 Wednesday evening- truly amazing!!!!!
On the final day of the Oklahoma Ag Expo- we talked with Roger Gribble about the condition of the 2008 Oklahoma Hard Red Winter Wheat Crop- as well as alternatives for farmers in north central and northwestern Oklahoma to continuous wheat.
At the Oklahoma Ag Expo- we talked with Kyle Arthur of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board about the just concluded statewide series of local meetings on water- and the quest to build a statewide water plan goes from here.
We talked with Dr. Kim Anderson in his office at OSU about current wheat market outlook- and what to do when it comes to 2008 marketing decisions.
Paul Hitch has resigned as President Elect of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association- we have some audio comments with Terry Stokes CEO of the NCBA on this announcement that Paul will concentrate his time and energy on beating cancer.
November 20- The latest American Farm Bureau Economic Analysis is out from Dr.Robert Young and his staff- they offer an outlook for fertilizer prices, declare wheat the price maker of 2007 and steady as she goes on current cattle prices. Click here to read the full report.
November 14- We talked this past weekend with Dr. Kim Anderson of OSU on the price outlook for wheat- where we have been in this record setting year for high prices- and what is out there that could set us off again to the races- Click to listen!
The 2008 OSU Wheat Variety Trials are now all planted, according to OSU Wheat Specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards- and we have a complete listing of the some 30 locations planted around the state. Click here to see each of the sites listed with the varieties that are planted in each.
Oklahoma Farm Bureau Elects Mike Spradling of Tulsa County as their President for a two year term. Spradling defeats OFB Vice President Bob Drake for the job. Click here to listen to Ron visit with Mike as he greets wellwishers after the afternoon session in which the election was held.
November 9- USDA has released their latest Crop Production and Grain Stocks Reports- a little surprising on the Wheat carryout numbers to the bearish side of things- a huge corn crop that has crop being grown on the most acres since 1933 and record cotton yields in both Texas and Oklahoma- the Texas cotton crop jumps above 8 million bales! We chatted with Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities about the report and you can click here to listen to tom’s “take” on the USDA figures and where we may be headed with wheat price outlook in the days to come.
Crop Production Numbers as of November First (as reported by USDA 11/09/2007)
Corn 13.2 Billion Bushels( 25% bigger than year ago and a Record sized crop!)
Soybeans 2.59 Billion Bushels (Down 19% from last year’s Record Crop)
Cotton 18.9 Million Bales (Down 13% from 2006 production)
Sorghum 514.7 Million Bushels (85% bigger crop than in 2006!)
November 8- The Senate is expected to vote to override the so called “WRDA” bill- with water projects to worked on by the Army Corps of Engineers. All of the Oklahoma House members voted in favor of the veto override- and Senator Jim Inhofe is pushing the Override- but Senator Tom Coburn tells us that he will vote against it. Here is his answer to us as to what his problems with the bill are.
November 5- We are waiting on the Senate to begin their Farm Bill debate- and to help us look at what the Senate has done up to this point- and what may happen eventually between the House and the Senate- we visit with Oklahoma’s man on the House Ag Committee, Congressman Frank Lucas.
November 2- Chairman of the Senate Ag Committee, Tom Harkin of Iowa, did not like the amendment to the ACR (Average Crop Revenue) program that passed his committee last week. He vowed to get the Pat Roberts amendment stripped out on the Senate floor- but now HOLD THE PHONE- CBO has scored that amendment as saving another $1.1 billion dollars and Harkin now loves it- and wants to dedicate that money away from the Commodity Title and to Nutrition
A George Bush Curveball- Ed Schafer- former Governor of North Dakota tapped to be Secretary of Agriculture for balance of the Bush Presidency.
Here is a link to the audio of the announcement of President Bush naming Ed Schafer as his choice to be the next Secretary of Agriculture.
Here is a link to a Fact Sheet from the White House on who Governor Ed Schafer is.
AS for reaction about Governor Ed Schafer- here are some of the key players:
American Farm Bureau
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
National Farmers Union
October 23- The Texas Cattle Feeders Association meeting has just concluded- and the feeders heard from Dr. Chuck Lambert of USDA on efforts within USDA to reopen several countries for US beef. The news was not good as it relates to South Korea, as Lambert says the South Koreans told the US delegation last week to not come back until after that country’s elections on December 19- it is very unlikely that any protocol agreement can be finalized until sometime in early 2008- at best! Click and listen to our full conversation with Dr. Lambert
The 2008 Winter Wheat Crop Variety trials planted by OSU are mostly in the ground- and many of the plots have emerged. Dr. Jeff Edwards has provided us a map of where the plots are this fall- and you can check that out by clicking here for that map.
We do have a Farm Bill Mark Up Session now scheduled by the Senate Ag Committee- it’s planned for Wednesday morning, October 24. Click here for highlights of the various titles as being developed as the Chairman’s Mark for this week- this takes you to the Senate Ag Committee site- in the middle of the screen, you will see a big green button that says 2007 Farm Bill- click on that to get to the Title overviews.
October 19- From this week’s Oklahoma Biofuels Conference- we heard one of THE buzzwords in the renewable fuels arena many times over- Switchgrass! We talked with one of the real experts on Switchgrass in this part of the country, Dr. Joe Bouton- head of the Forage Improvement efforts at the Noble Foundation in Ardmore.
Chuck Conner declares that South Korea is breaking the promises made by their President over accepting US Beef as latest talks offer ZERO result.
October 5, 2007- The Senate Finance Committee did meet on Thursday and passed a set of ag revenue provisions- in an attempt to free up several billions of dollars spend on the 2007 Farm Bill. The top priority for Senator Max Baucus of Montana is what has been called a Permanent Disaster Program- he found $5.1 billion for it for the five year life of the farm bill. However, Terry Detrick of the American Farmers and Ranchers says that it’s not really Disaster Assistance- but rather a fix for Crop Insurance- we talk about that and the Harkin idea of reducing Direct Payments and you can listen by clicking here.
September 28- Good Golly Miss Molly- Wheat prices are higher again today as we wrap up the month of September. Have we reached the point that we need to forward contract some of the 2008 crop? And what about this 15 cent a pound canola? Should we put some of our weedier fields into this crop for the 2008 harvest and break that weed cycle along the way? Well, Kim Anderson says in answer to those two questions- yes and yes- Listen to our conversation with the good Dr. Andreson by clicking here!
The Window of Opportunity is still open to plant Winter Canola on a portion of your wheat acres in 2007 for 2008 harvest. The numbers don’t lie- you can make money on Winter Canola as a crop and when yout take those acres back to wheat- you will have far superior wheat production potential because of the ability of the canola to help break up the hardpan as well as to break the cycle of weeds and pests. Click here to read a letter going out to wheat producers from Jeff Koscelny of DeKalb with his arguments for you to consider.
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns has resigned- Chuck Conner named as Acting Secretary
Here is the link to the video of the President and Mike Johanns in the Rose Garden Thursday September 20th as Johanns resigns as Secretary of Agriculture.
Chuck Conner is the Acting Secretary of Agriculture- he met informally with reporters on Thursday afternoon and here are some of his thoughts on taking over the Department’s Top Spot.
American Farm Bureau is one of several groups that has issued a statement on Mike Johanns quitting at USDA- Click here to read comments from Bob Stallman
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns has given his blessing to the FSA Office Closing Plan in Oklahoma. A total of five county offices that have been open only some of the time will be closing, with producers in those counties to be served by adjacent counties. Counties that will no longer have FSA offices include Delaware, Haskell, Seminole, Cleveland and Pushmataha- the same group that was originally recommended for closure earlier this year.
We talked on Wednesday Sept. 5 after the markets were closed for the day with OSU Grain Marketing Economist Dr. Kim Anderson about this runaway wheat market- and the bittersweet nature of it for Oklahoma wheat producers who have little if any wheat to sell. Click here to listen.
There was a review of the 2007 Oklahoma Wheat Crop on campus at OSU in Stillwater on Wednesday August 15- Here is Mark Hodges with a review of those findings
LOCATE in 48!!! We talk about the Oklahoma plan to encourage lots of livestock producers to step up and register their premises with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture- Click here to watch Ron and State Secretary of Agriculture Terry Peach visit about Locate in 48 on In the Field with Ron Hays from this past Saturday morning on KWTV, News9 in Oklahoma City.
The Updated Variety trial Information for the 2007 Oklahoma Wheat Crop is out from Oklahoma State University- click here to view the latest version of the report.
A picture of one of the better days for wheat harvest 2007 back in early June- these combines rolling under the wind generators just outside of Weatherford.
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