Feedlot Placements Jump Sky High- and Cattle on Feed Stay Above 11 Million Head

The latest USDA Cattle On Feed Report shows the On Feed and Placements numbers a little higher than what the trade had predicted. Marketings were lower than expected.

Overall, the report is seen as negative, but it's possible the markets will look past it this morning, says Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities.

The On Feed number was 102 percent of year-ago levels, the highest June On Feed in the last five years.

The Placement number was at 115 percent, slightly larger than expected. Marketings came in one percent higher than year-ago levels.

The placement number is likely the key number- the trade was expecting a much bigger number than a year ago because last year's May placement number was extremely small- and most were expecting a number of lighter weight cattle in the north were being pushed into feedlots because of poor pasture conditions north of us this spring- dry and hot conditions being the culprit. However, the number was bigger than what the trade was anticipating.   

You can read more about the Cattle On Feed report, access a link to the full report and hear an analysis by Tom Leffler by clicking here.

Food Dialogues Open Communications Between Producers and Consumers 

Being less than two percent of the population, farmers are easily overlooked and frequently left out of the conversation when it comes to discussing the nation's food supply.

To help remedy that problem, the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance promoted efforts to get farmers and customers conversing at a higher level during the second Food Dialogues event held in Los Angeles. USFRA Chairman Bob Stallman said the meaningful conversations held during the Dialogues are critically important.

"I think it's the kind of conversation we need to have. We don't need to be shouting at each other, which has been occurring way too much in society in some of the popular media."

The Food Dialogues grew from a recognition by the leaders and stakeholders of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance that simply producing a good product was no longer good enough.

Click here to read more and learn how you can join the dialogue.

Environmental Working Group Applauds Senators' Efforts to Amend Farm Bill

Even though they weren't very pleased with much of the Senate farm bill, the Environmental Working Group applauded ten senators--including Oklahoma's Dr. Tom Coburn--who proposed amendments designed to advance policies they deemed important.

Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., successfully led efforts to reduce crop insurance premium subsidies for the most profitable farm businesses by 15 percent. The Durbin-Coburn amendment recognizes that unlimited crop insurance subsidies - which have increased from $1.5 billion to $7.4 billion a year - have created an unfair playing field for family farmers.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., successfully led efforts to ensure that farmers who receive crop insurance premium subsidies take steps to protect wetlands, grasslands and water quality. Chambliss' conservation "compliance" amendment is especially important at a time when high crop prices and unlimited insurance subsidies are encouraging farmers to plow up environmentally sensitive lands.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, D-Iowa, successfully led efforts to cap "marketing loan gains" at $75,000 per farmers. But Sens. Jeanne Shaheen D-N.H., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., were not permitted to offer their amendment to cap crop insurance subsidies at $40,000 per farmer - and generate $5.2 billion for deficit reduction. Likewise, Sen. Mark Begich, D-Ark.,was not permitted to offer his amendment to allow U.S. Department of Agriculture to identify the recipients of crop insurance subsidies.

Click here for more of the EWG's list of senators who deserve plaudits for their work on the 2012 Farm Bill.

U.S. Chilled Pork Gets Celebrity Treatment in South Korea

The popularity of celebrity chefs and TV cooking programs isn't unique to the United States. South Korean consumers are glued to their televisions to watch their favorite cooking gurus and learn the latest in trendy cooking techniques and recipes.

To capitalize on the growing craze, USMEF is partnering with celebrity chef Shin Hyo Seob, a judge on the popular Chef King television program, to promote U.S. chilled pork and encourage year-round consumption.

Frozen pork in Korea is typically considered a lower-quality product, so USMEF is working with chef Shin as part of a multiphase campaign to raise the awareness of chilled high-quality U.S. pork, using Shin and other Korean meat industry professionals as spokespersons. Funding for components of the campaign is provided by the USDA Market Access Program, the Pork Checkoff and the Illinois Soybean Association.

Chef Shin is the model in an ad campaign running through the balance of 2012 that shows four different U.S. chilled pork cuts - belly, collar butt, skirt meat and jowls - with comments from chef Shin saying he enjoys using U.S. pork for his dishes because it is chilled and it makes every dish he prepares better.

Read more about USMEF's partnership with Korean chefs to promote chilled U.S. pork.

NFU Urges Follow-Through on DOJ Competition and Agriculture Report

National Farmers Union (NFU) encouraged the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to follow through on its recent pledge to provide "vigorous antitrust enforcement" in the agricultural sector.

DOJ released its findings on competition and agriculture stemming from the joint workshops held by DOJ and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2010. The report included the statement that "(t)he sessions confirmed that a healthy agricultural sector requires competition and, consequently, vigorous antitrust enforcement."

"We are pleased that DOJ has taken some further action as a result of the DOJ-USDA workshops in 2010," said NFU President Roger Johnson. "Competition and fair markets have been long-term priorities for NFU and the proceedings in 2010 offered hope that this administration would reverse the decades of under-enforcement of antitrust laws. Economic studies have shown that the top four beef and pork packers dominate their sectors, so it's clear that oversight is needed to make our markets competitive." 

Click here to read more.

Oklahoma Students Learn to Grow Their Own Vegetables

Micah Anderson believes everyone should eat more fresh vegetables. But, he takes it a step farther by teaching students to actually grow the vegetables they eat.

His position as the Plasticulture Coordinator at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) puts him in contact with thousands of kids who have never planted a seed. He aims to change that by attending events like the recent Apache Tribe Environmental Field Day sponsored by the Apache tribe. The outdoor event gave students a chance to make pots out of newspaper, fill the pots with soil and then plant a melon or pepper seedling. The newspaper pot can be planted directly into the garden to decompose in the soil. With water and sunshine, the seedlings will produce nutritious cantaloupes, honeydew melons, bell peppers or hot peppers for the student gardeners to share with their families.

Anderson's work typically focuses on adults who want to grow vegetables on a commercial basis. ODAFF awards grants to qualifying applicants who intend to market vegetables from gardens at least one-quarter acre in size. The three-year grants provide for Anderson or a contractor to come to the grant recipient's property and create raised soil beds covered with plastic sheeting and equipped with irrigation drip lines laid directly under the plastic. Vegetable seedlings are planted in holes punched through the plastic.  

Read more about this project and how you can apply for a grant by clicking here.

This N That- House Floor Leader Eric Cantor Pulls Delay on House Ag Approps- and Kudos to Clara Wichert Who receives National Ag in the Classroom Honors

Word came Friday afternoon that House Floor Leader Eric Cantor, after convincing the Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Frank Lucas, to delay his markup of the House Ag Committee's version of the 2012 Farm Bill this week because the House Ag Appropriations Bill would be on the floor of the US House at the same time has pulled a switcheroo.  Mr. Cantor has decided to run with the Transportation Spending bill first, ahead of the Ag Spending measure and offered guidance- along with the Appropriations Committee, that it is unlikely that the Ag Approps bill will be considered until after the Fourth of July Holiday Recess.  

A spokesperson for Chairman Lucas tells Politico this past Friday that the Chairman has been assured that the House Ag Spending package will not interfere with the markup in the House Ag Committee that is slated for July 11.   

It sure looks like the Charlie Brown 'show them the football and then yank it away' trick to someone sitting outside the Washington beltway.   You can read more as written by David Rogers by clicking here.  

*********

One of our favorite people is Major County's Clara Wichert, who served for many years as the Chairlady of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Women.  She has stepped down from that post- but still has been involved in a variety of things- including one of her passions, Ag in the Classroom.  

That passion was honored at the National Ag in the Classroom Conference in Colorado last week- as Clara was presented the 2012 Ag Advocate Award.  Presented by the National Grange- the plaque given reads "for Dedication and efforts in the promotion of agriculture literacy and teaching youth about the importance of agriculture."