Presented by

 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

Featured Story:

Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules State Question 777 Stays on the November Ballot 

The supporters of State Question 777 are pleased to put the legal challenge behind them. The Tulsa World quotes Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Tom Buchanan as saying "The legal challenge to State Question 777 was nothing but a last ditch effort by radical in-state and out-of-state groups to silence the voice of Oklahomans," said Tom Buchanan, president of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. "Thanks to the wisdom of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the measure now will be decided by Oklahoma voters, rather than the liberal minority." 

Conditions Look Good as Row Crop Harvests Grow Closer

Advocates Celebrate 11th Anniversary of America's Most Successful Biofuels Program

Eleven years ago yesterday, Monday, August 8, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was signed into law, ushering in a new era of rising energy security, cleaner air and more affordable options at the pump. After more than a decade, the program continues to drive U.S. job creation and startling new innovations in renewable energy, a fact celebrated by the nation's leading biofuel advocates.


"Our government challenged the biofuels industry to produce the world's cleanest, most affordable and sustainable fuel for cars and trucks. We delivered - and America continues to benefit," said Adam Monroe, President, Americas, Novozymes North America Inc. "The RFS is a proven winner: it grows communities with hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs; saves American drivers money and keeps billions of their dollars in the US versus going to the Middle East; and fights climate change by preventing millions of tons of carbon emissions from getting into our air. Let's not roll back a winner; let's let it work to its full potential. We urge the administration to maximize renewable fuel production."


"This is a good opportunity to remind the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the RFS is designed to get stronger over time, delivering a greater share of renewable energy into our fuel mix," said Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy. "The agency has proposed cutting RFS targets for 2017, which would needlessly undermine eleven years of progress toward a cleaner environment and a healthier, more secure America. Ethanol producers, retailers and the current auto fleet are 100 percent capable of providing consumers with a true choice at the pump, and now is certainly not the time to roll back the clock. EPA must get the program back on track and deliver on the promise of new, more affordable options for consumers." 

Click here to read what other biofuel advocates are saying about the benefits of the RFS.

National Cattlemen's Chief Veterinarian Educates and Prepares Producers for Up Coming VFD Rule

With 27 years of private practice experience under her belt along with 11 years managing her family's cow-calf operation and one year spent on Capitol Hill in policy work, Dr. Kathy Simmons, now working as Chief Veterinarian for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), is using her well-rounded knowledge of animal health regulatory issues to help educate and prepare producers for the upcoming Veterinarian Feed Directive (VFD) that will be officially implemented by the Food & Drug Administration on January 1, 2017.


Dr. Simmons explained exactly what VFD is and how it will impact the way producers manage and administer medically important antimicrobial drugs in cattle's feed and water. Essentially, she says it will mean using what most producers already have in place.


"Basically it says you have a veterinarian who has an understanding of your animals, who works with your animals, who is responsible for their care and oversight under veterinarian medical terms," Simmons said, "and keeps records on these animals and also is willing to do follow up and repeat visits."


She clarified that once the VFD rule is implemented at the start of 2017, antibiotics used in feed will require a VFD specific order, made by a veterinarian to a feed supplier and drugs used in water will require a vet's prescription. Dr. Simmons says to ensure the process of obtaining these drugs remains efficient and unobstructed, you will need to have an established veterinarian-client-patient relationship which she encourages everybody to begin doing before the new year.


"Everybody needs to make sure they have a relationship with a licensed veterinarian where their animals are being housed or reside," Simmons said. "What we call a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR), that's been defined on the federal level and FDA has decided they will accept many of the state's Practice Acts definitions for VCPR."


Listen to Dr. Simmons talk more on the basics of the VFD during the latest Beef Buzz.

Getting the Most Out of Your Hay Bales - Dr. Derrell Peel Explains the Correct and Cost Effective Way

Each week, Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, offers his economic analysis of the beef cattle industry. This analysis is a part of the weekly series known as the "Cow Calf Corner" published electronically by Dr. Peel and Dr. Glenn Selk. This week, Dr. Peel explores the challenges and best practices of using round hay bales correctly and cost effectively.


Round bales have been a popular feed technology in the beef industry for many years. However, there are many challenges to buying (or producing) and using round bales correctly and cost effectively. Round bales are often priced by the bale but the amount of hay in a bale depends on bale size and density. For example, assume a 5x6 round bale (5 feet wide and 6 feet in diameter or height) is priced at $52.50/bale. If the bale weighs 1,500 pounds, the price is equivalent to $70/ton. A comparable 5x5 bale (with equal density) would weigh 1,046 pounds and be priced at $36/bale ($70 ton) and a 4x5 bale (with equal density) would weigh 833 pounds and be priced at $29/bale.

Round bale use inevitably results in storage and feeding losses. Hay loss with round bales varies widely depending on storage and feeding management. Well managed bale storage and feeding might limit losses to ten percent but combined storage and feeding losses frequently range up to 50 percent or higher. Round bales stored outside, uncovered and on the ground and fed in unrolled, exposed bales or in simple open-sided ring feeders will have the biggest losses, easily 30 -50 percent. In contrast, bales stored inside or covered, off the ground and fed unrolled or in cone style feeders can limit losses to 5-15 percent.

Click here to read more about getting the most out of your hay bales with this week's analysis from Dr. Peel.

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

The Woman Behind AgInspirations.com Wants You to 'Speak Up' For Agriculture

Since launching her website AgInspirations.com, it has been the mission of Kim Bremmer to inspire farmers to tell their stories and help connect people to where their food comes from and better represent the success found in agriculture today. About five years ago, Bremmer started volunteering with a group called Common Ground. She described the group as a grassroots movement of all women in agriculture in 17 states with 160 volunteers that works at different consumer events to promote and answer questions about how people's food is raised. She launched her website as a way to speak up and do her part in the telling of agriculture's story after receiving very positive responses from her work.


"The message of agriculture gets told everyday by everyone except those actually growing our food," Bremmer said. "I felt like I needed to do my part, that I needed to speak up on behalf of agriculture."


Bremmer's strategy in spreading the message of agriculture has kept very close in line to her training with Common Ground, working on the grassroots level to engage individually with concerned consumers to gain understanding and address that person's real questions. She says there are always opportunities to start a discussion like this and believes it is the responsibility of not just farmers, but everyone involved in agriculture to strike up conversations and advocate for the industry.


"There's always work to be done," Bremmer said. "Everyone needs to speak up. We need to be there to answer questions."


On average, she explained, people are at least four generations or more removed from the farm. She asserted that it is not the consumers' fault that they do not understand what the industry does or why it does it. She went on to say that consumers are getting their information from biased agendas in the media, misinformation being spread by interest groups and food companies trying to compete with each other. She says this all comes at an expense to consumers' pockets and to the reputations of farmers. She reiterated that the best way to combat this and manage the reputation of agriculture is by engaging in word of mouth and sharing stories.


"Our advantage is that; we own the message that matters," Bremmer said. "We know the story. We understand agriculture. We're the farmers, the ranchers. We have the best story to share, we just need to do it."


Listen by clicking here for our interview with Kim as he explains about advocating on behalf of production agriculture.

You can learn more about Bremmer and her mission to 'speak up' for agriculture by visiting her website at www.aginspirations.com.

Governor Mary Fallin Declares Farmers Market Week in Oklahoma

Many times, Oklahoma agriculture is seen at a glance by motorists passing farms and ranches throughout the state.


One of the countless benefits of farmers markets is they slow life down and they provide consumers and producers an opportunity to meet face to face and develop a greater appreciation one for the other. These individuals may share stories during their visits, but ultimately they share a love for fresh, quality Oklahoma agricultural products. 


Governor Mary Fallin is honoring this very special local treasure of so many communities in our state by declaring the week of August 7 as "Farmers Market Week in Oklahoma."


Governor Fallin stated, "One of the most appealing aspects of farmers markets is fresh produce, often picked that morning or the evening before by the person selling it to you. You can't get more 'local' than that."


Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese said, "To borrow a bumper sticker phrase from another state, 'Buy local, it's thousands of miles fresher.'"

Click here to read more about the vital role farmers markets play in the state and find a link to a farmers market near you.

2016 Oklahoma Wheat Review and Meeting of the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Set for This Friday

The meeting is designed to reflect on the crop, to distinguish what is working well and what industry concerns we need to focus on in the future. 

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