Presented by

 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- House Rules Committee to Consider GMO Labeling Amendment

Featured Story:

 
The American Farmers & Ranchers and their young adult LEAD program hosted a golf tournament Monday- designed to support a yes vote for State Question 777. By the end of the day, a total of 79 golfers participated- and $8,458 was raised to support a Yes on 777 vote. The State President of the AFR, Terry Detrick, was excited about the support- and said AFR is pleased to be one of several Oklahoma ag groups raising money in order to go after that yes vote in the November general election. However, he told me that more money is needed for the campaign that is still ahead.


Detrick and other Ag Leaders have been speaking to a variety of groups that don't have a direct tie to farming and ranching in the state- and the wheat farmer from north central Oklahoma says that once he is able to correct some of the misconceptions being advanced by those who oppose the State Question- most people he has talked to see the reason for a yes vote.

You can click here to hear my full conversation with Terry about his experiences in dealing with the general public regarding State Question 777.

 

Crop Insurance Providing More of a Reliable Farm Safety Net Than Ever- RMA's Brandon Willis 

 

In what might be considered an Op-Ed article, the Administrator of the US Department of Agriculture's Brandon Willis brags on his agency- and the product that they deliver- Crop Insurance. Here is his case that he makes for how Crop Insurance has done under the new farm law in becoming the primary federal farm safety net for many in the farm community.

"A stronger and more diverse federal crop insurance program has provided America's diverse agricultural producers and rural communities with a reliable farm safety net that keeps the economy strong even after severe weather destroys crops. The program, managed by USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA), has expanded options and availability over the past seven years, focusing on improved options for small and diverse farm operations, organic producers, beginning farmers and ranchers, and those struggling with years of repeated drought and providing the protections they need to continue farming.

"For years RMA has painstakingly worked to ensure that crop insurance worked for all farmers growing in all regions.  We are seeing those efforts pay dividends with a very diverse crop insurance program that is meeting the needs of farmers nationwide.

"Crop insurance will continue to provide the nation's producers the assurance they need to keep agriculture strong, and our rural communities working, even in difficult times."

Click here to read more about the efforts of the RMA and the Insurance industry in rolling out a variety of crop insurance products.

Wheat Harvest Done in Southern Plains- Nationally, Corn and Soybeans Looking Great

 
The southern plains wheat harvest is done in the three major HRW wheat states- Oklahoma is 98% harvested, Texas 97% done and Kansas now 91% complete. Good progress was made this past week in both Colorado and Nebraska- now 33% and 38% harvested respectively.

The US Corn Crop continues to be in great shape, with 76% of the crop nationally rated in Good to Excellent condition- one point better than last week. One third of the crop is now in the silking stage or beyond, versus 23% a year ago and the five year average of 26%. Soybeans also are further along in their development compared to a year ago and the five year average. The US Soybean crop is 40% blooming, versus 33% at this point in 2015 and the five year average of 31%. The crop remains in 71% good to excellent condition, a one point improvement over a week ago.


The US Grain Sorghum crop remains at 69% good to excellent compared to the 69% of a week ago- but may actually be slightly better than a week ago with a two point jump in the Excellent category. The three largest Sorghum producing states, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma, all are in overwhelmingly good to excellent shape- Kansas and Oklahoma check in at 75% good to excellent and Texas now at 62% good to excellent.

Click here to read more- and to get to the link for the National Crop Progress report- as well as the links for the State Crop Weather Updates for Oklahoma and the states in our area.

Feeder Cattle Markets- Derrell Peels Calls Them the Crossroads of the Cattle Industry

 

According to OSU Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel, "The job of markets -any market- is to determine what will be produced; how much will be produced; and what resources will be used to produce; all relative to the demand for the product. The cattle industry produces fed cattle ready for slaughter. However this production mostly occurs across separate and widely dispersed sectors of cow-calf, stocker and feedlot production by producers who only interact through market transactions."

As a result, Dr. Peel contends that the function served by feeder cattle markets is very important to the cattle industry- adding "feeder cattle markets are the one and only place in the cattle industry where cow-calf, stocker and feedlot producers all communicate, albeit indirectly through feeder cattle prices, as cow-calf producers sell calves, stocker producers buy stockers and sell feeders and feedlots buy feeder cattle. In order to coordinate cattle markets, feeder cattle prices must simultaneously encourage cow-calf production to ensure available cattle supplies for the industry while reflecting beef demand back from consumers through fed and feeder cattle prices."

Click here to read his complete analysis on how the markets tie together a very complex industry.

Corn Tells EPA to Follow the Law- Soy Says Hit the Easy Button Regarding RFS

 

Both the American Soybean Association and the National Corn Growers Association have unveiled their comments that have been submitted to the EPA regarding the Renewable Fuel Standard- with both groups calling on the Agency to raise the amount of renewable fuel blended into the nation's gas supply in 2017.


In a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, National Corn Growers Association President Chip Bowling writes, "The RFS is doing exactly what it was intended to do. It is successfully driving the adoption of renewable fuel alternatives to petroleum, supporting jobs across the country, and ensuring the United States remains a global leader in developing new renewable energy sources while decreasing GHG emissions here at home."


Meanwhile, the American Soybean Association says the EPA should simply hit the Easy Button with biodiesel.

"Our differences with EPA's proposed volumes are relatively small, but they are important," wrote ASA President Richard Wilkins in the association's comments. "The EPA and the Administration are missing an easy opportunity to help the agriculture and rural economy while at the same time achieving greater greenhouse gas emissions reductions - a high priority for EPA and this Administration."

"While EPA's Proposed Rule does move forward with biomass-based diesel volumes, increasing them from 2.0 to 2.1 billion gallons from 2017 to 2018, we can - and should - do more," added Wilkins. "Given the many benefits that biodiesel provides, we think EPA should enthusiastically support more aggressive, but easily achievable, volume targets for biodiesel. We see no reason why EPA should not, at a minimum, support biomass-based diesel volumes of 2.5 billion gallons for 2018."


Click here for more on the Corn Growers comments- click here for more on the Soybean Association comments.

Want to Have the Latest Energy News Delivered to Your Inbox Daily?

Talking Vet Feed Directives with Dr. Brian Lubbers

 

US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Meets Today and Tomorrow in Denver

 

This afternoon and tomorrow morning- there will be a General Assembly for the stakeholders of the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.

It's a variety of Land Grant and Industry folks who are involved in this gathering- as they review the current strategic plan for the Roundtable and look at what progress is being made on that plan- as well as examining where there is work still to do.

Some of the names on the program in Denver that jump out at us include former Chairlady of the USMEF, Leann Saunders with the group Where Food Comes From, Ben Weinheimer with TCFA, John Butler with the Beef Marketing Group and Dr. Sara Place of Oklahoma State University.

We will be covering the meeting this afternoon- this in advance of our coverage of the Summer Cattle Industry Business Meetings that really crank up Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.

In the meantime- click here for the Roundtable's website and a chance to review their strategic plan they are busy with.

House Rules Committee to Consider GMO Labeling Amendment

Texas Republican Pete Sessions is the Chair- and the third most senior Republican on the Committee is Tom Cole.

The outcome is not certain. According to Agri-Pulse- "There are concerns that House conservatives may turn on the legislation either for philosophical reasons or because House Rules may not allow any amendments to be debated on the floor."

Meanwhile on Monday, more than 1,100 agriculture, food and business organizations and companies representing the entire U.S. food supply chain from farm to fork sent a letter to House leadership calling on them to pass this week the agricultural biotechnology solution that was approved 63-30 by the Senate with broad bipartisan support.

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, Oklahoma Genetics Inc., American Farmers & Ranchers, Stillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma AgCredit,  the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association 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- at NO Charge!

 

 

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  

 

 

God Bless! You can reach us at the following:  

 

 

 

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is Proud to be the Presenting Sponsor of the Ron Hays Daily Farm and Ranch News Email