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Welcome to 2016- Hang Onto Your Hat as We Follow These Beginning of the Year Cattle Markets!

 
It's our first email communication with you in the new year- and I am excited about what 2016 may hold.

Today will mark the resumption of our auction markets for stocker and feeder cattle- and this entire week is likely to be one where the markets will jump a good bit higher to catch up with where the livestock futures, the cash cattle trade and the wholesale boxed beef trade has gone since mid December. 

The Texas Cattle Feeders Association is reporting that slaughter cattle prices jumped $11 to $13 this past week- with sales of slaughter steers and slaughter heifers both at $135- this after prices jumped about $6 a hundred the week before.

Wholesale boxed beef moved higher every day last week between Christmas and New Year's and both live cattle and feeder cattle ag futures are trended higher since the last time we had cash trade in our feeder and stocker cattle.

So- it should be an interesting week for our cattle and beef markets.

First up today- the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City, the Tulsa Stockyards and the Joplin Regional Livestock Market.

 

 

January First Merger Creates Largest Ag Financial Cooperative in Oklahoma- Oklahoma AgCredit

 

The state's largest agricultural financial cooperative, Oklahoma AgCredit, has been formed by the merger of Farm Credit of East Central Oklahoma and Chisholm Trail Farm Credit following approval from stockholders of both associations and Farm Credit Administration.

"With the New Year, there is much to celebrate," said Butch McComas, Chief Executive Officer of Oklahoma AgCredit. "Along with the fresh start of Oklahoma AgCredit, the largest and strongest Farm Credit Association in the state, 2016 marks the centennial of the Farm Credit System."

Broken Arrow-based Farm Credit of East Central Oklahoma, which provides loans and leases for agriculture and rural Oklahomans in the eastern half of the state, joined Enid-based Chisholm Trail Farm Credit that serves members in central Oklahoma, effective Jan. 1, 2016. Now named Oklahoma AgCredit, the member-owned cooperative provides agricultural financing in 60 of Oklahoma's 77 counties.

Click here to read more about the merger and the direction that McComas and his team plan to take the new Farm Credit entity in 2016.

Wet December Assures 2015 is Wettest Year Ever for Oklahoma

 

According to Gary McManus, Oklahoma State Climatologist, Mother Nature managed to save some of the worst of 2015's weather for last, ending the year with a powerful winter storm that, while significant for western Oklahoma, was historic for the eastern half of the state. The December 26-28 event prompted blizzard, ice storm and winter storm warnings for western Oklahoma while the eastern half was awash in flood-related emergencies.


McManus writes in his latest Mesonet Ticker (from January 2nd) that "Flooding was the main concern across eastern Oklahoma where 6-12 inches fell over the three day period."

December ended as the wettest on record for the state according to preliminary statistics from the Oklahoma Mesonet. The statewide average precipitation for the month was 5.92 inches, 3.86 inches above normal. The previous record of 4.87 inches was set back in 1984. Those records date back to 1895.

For the entire year- total precipitation came in on a preliminary basis at a statewide average of 53.88 inches. The record prior to 2015 was held by 1957 at 47.88 inches.

The rainfall pushed Oklahoma out of a multi- year drought mid year- saw flash drought jump back in by early fall- but then November-December rains erased all drought again.

Gary's complete look at the weather year- and some early thoughts for 2016 are on our website- click here to learn more.

We Talk with Food Writer, Blogger, Mom AND GMO Proponent Julie Kelly

 
It's good to know that modern production agriculture is not universally hated by folks not directly involved in farming and ranching.  Some days, it feels that way when you get bloodied by the likes of HSUS, Chipotle, Whole Foods and others.

However, there are folks who have looked at the facts and the sound science and are not buying the fear being sold by those who seem to hate technology in food production.

For example- we have been following the tweets of Julie Kelly, who is a cooking instructor, food writer, blogger and a Mom who lives in the Chicago area. And, in 2015, she got passionate about GMOs. She writes in a blog article that recaps the 2015 GMO debate that she started the year not knowing much about GMOs- but as she has learned about the battle over the technology, she has become an "outspoken (and sometimes brash and unapologetic) advocate for genetic engineering while trying to uncover the motives and funders behind the anti-GMO movement."

Kelly explains her journey regarding the GMO issue- some of the postives that have happened in 2015 in the battle over GMOs and in her article mentioned above she makes reference to the misinformation of a year ending op-ed found in the New York Times from a celebrity chef who has made a key part of his reputation the vilifacation of GMOs, Tom Colicchio. She writes "So I find it somewhat amusing that 2015 wraps up with Colicchio's op-ed, which rehashes the same hollow arguments I've heard from the anti-GMO movement all year. No, Tom, GMO crops do not contribute to cancer and they haven't resulted in more use of toxic chemicals; and yes, they do encourage food security and new innovations that can lead to better nutrition-if lobbyists like you would stop spreading misinformation."

We have a fifteen minute interview that we did with Julie over this past weekend on our website- and I would encourage you to go and take a listen.  If you are involved in producing food in any way- it will be worth your time.

Click here for our Julie Kelly webstory- and the audio conversation that I believe you will enjoy listening to.

 

US Beef Producers Encounter International Headwinds in 2015- But Anticipate a Better 2016

 

For a lot of reasons, the beef cattle industry is glad that 2015 is now in the proverbial rearview mirror. Cattle Prices fell during the year for calves, yearlings and market ready cattle- and one of the reasons for the weakness were weak exports for US Beef. Heather Buckmaster with the Oklahoma Beef Council cites several reasons for the pullback in beef exports- both in the value of the product shipped internationally as well as in the actual tonnage.

She told us that a combination of a slowing global economy, particularly in Asia a top export destination for U.S. beef along with a stronger U.S. dollar makes U.S. beef less competitive than beef from Australia or Brazil, two of our largest competitors in the global marketplace. In addition, c commodity prices around the world are under pressure and volatility in the global financial markets spread to the commodity markets over the course of the year- and cattle producers, like others in the agricultural arena, took a hit economically.

The good news for 2016 in the international marketplace is the expectation that US beef exports will grow in the coming year, according to the current forecast from the US Meat Export Federation.

Besides international markets- we also talked about the digital marketing being funded by the Beef Checkoff with Heather.  She was our guest this past Saturday morning on our In the Field segment seen on KWTV News9 in Oklahoma City- and we also did an off camera conversation with her as well.

Click here to see our video Q&A with her- as well as the chance to hear our audio conversation as well about what the beef checkoff was doing in 2015 in promoting beef- and what some of the plans are for 2016.

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Renewable Fuels Advocates Call Out Senators Cruz and Paul As Opponents of the RFS

 

America's Renewable Future (ARF) released its final candidate report card just before the start of the New Year. The report card places each presidential contender into a good or bad category based on their support for the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). ARF will use the report card to let more than 50,000 pledged caucus-goers and Iowans know which candidates will protect the state's economy or which will be job killers. The tactics used will be a combination of grassroots and paid efforts.

Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul stand out as the bad candidates on the report card, while the rest of the candidates on both sides of the aisle are graded as good. The report card designates a "good" candidate as one who has demonstrated support for the RFS and Iowa farmers and a "bad" candidate as one who has stood against Iowa farmers and the RFS.

Click here for more on the report card as it relates to the RFS and the Presidential candidates.

A Big Thanks to Croplan and and a Big Welcome to Oklahoma AgCredit

 

I am amazed and humbled by the longevity when it comes to the support our sponsors give us for this daily email- and as we start a brand new year- I wanted to single out two entities that are among the folks who help pay the bills which enables us to  cover the meetings, write the stories and compile them into what this daily email has become, a daily review of the farm and ranch and agri-news that is important to the agricultural community in our state.

First- I want to say thanks to Winfield Solutions and Croplan for their incredible support over the past three and a half years.  They joined our group of sponsors at a time when interest was rising among Oklahoma wheat farmers about including winter canola as a part of their crop rotation.

We have had a tough couple of years in growing canola- some farmers have rethought their interest in the crop- and Croplan  has decided to use their resources in other ways in our region. They are a great organization- dedicated to working with farmers in our region in several crops- and I want to say thanks for their extended support for this email.

That said- their departure gives us a chance to include a new sponsor on our team- and we are excited to welcome a brand new financial institution that is coming on the scene as of the first of the year- Oklahoma AgCredit.

We will be sharing more about Oklahoma AgCredit in the days ahead- as mentioned in their news release that we included in this email in an earlier story- Oklahoma AgCredit is the result of the merger of Farm Credit of East Central Oklahoma and Chisholm Trail Farm Credit. They have both been great partners for farmers and ranchers they have done business with- and strong supporters of agriculture in our state. 

I know that Oklahoma AgCredit will be all of that and more in the days ahead.

Thanks- and welcome aboard!

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment,  American Farmers & Ranchers, Stillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma AgCredit,  the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association, Pioneer Cellular, Farm Assure 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!

 

 

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