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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 

-- Rainfall and Fall Like Temps Sliding Into Oklahoma

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WOTUS Opponents Press Supreme Court to Resolve Confusion Over Court Jurisdictions

Organizations seeking to vacate the Environmental Protection Agency's and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' expansive "waters of the U.S." rule are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether the 6th Circuit Court is the appropriate court to hear challenges to the rule. The 6th Circuit earlier dismissed arguments that legal challenges to the rule should be brought first in federal district court and not courts of appeal.


"This petition to the Supreme Court is not related to the merits of our case and we are confident that eventually the 6th Circuit and the Supreme Court will agree that the rule is unlawful," said Ellen Steen, General Counsel of the American Farm Bureau Federation. "The petition was filed because the jurisdiction question is one that repeatedly arises in challenges to Clean Water Act actions. The time is ripe for the Supreme Court to resolve confusion among lower courts as to where jurisdiction lies, so that the American Farm Bureau Federation and others can stop wasting time and resources arguing with the federal government over where to file these important legal challenges."


Federal courts of appeals are divided on how to interpret a provision of the Clean Water Act mandating that certain types of legal challenges be filed directly to courts of appeals. When pressed to decide this question, the 3-judge panel of the 6th Circuit issued three separate opinions with only a single judge concluding that jurisdiction was lawfully in that court, making this question ripe for clarification by the Supreme Court.

Outlook Dim as Wheat Prices Unlikely to Improve Unless Grain Starts Moving

Oklahoma State University Extension Grains Market Analyst Dr. Kim Anderson talks wheat prices with SUNUP's Lyndall Stout this week - and explains what factors are affecting wheat prices and what chances farmers have to make a profit in 2017. 

According to Dr. Anderson, the reason wheat prices remain so low and seem to continue dropping, is simply because we have too much wheat. The problem is compounded he says, by a large corn harvest coming down the pipeline. Anderson says it is becoming a major problem as grain elevators are reporting they no longer have any available space to store other grains coming in.


In order to get the grain moving to potentially help prices recover, Anderson says the price needs to come down low enough to make wheat an attractive commodity for use in livestock feed. He cites that the grain in storage currently, is best suited for feed use. On the other hand, the current crop that has come in, is particularly good for milling albeit low in protein. He says if some high-protein wheat could be acquired to blend with it, that wheat supply could potentially be pushed through the food supply. However, this will prove to be difficult as high-protein wheat is hard to find presently, and with a large corn crop on the way, it will be difficult to convince farmers to feed wheat rather than the corn. 

He says the best bet is to hope for a crop failure in a foreign production area, so our region could export the excess stores. Sadly, Anderson believes farmers will be unable to make a profit as long as prices stay this low and grain stores remain in excess.


Listen to Dr. Anderson's current wheat market analysis, and be sure to catch SUNUP this Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and Sunday at 6 a.m. on OETA-TV.

 Beef and Pork Export Volumes Hit Spike in July While Values End Mixed

U.S. red meat exports posted solid results in July, with volumes for both U.S. beef and pork trending higher than a year ago, according to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Beef export value was down from last July, but pork export value increased significantly.


July beef export volume increased 8 percent from a year ago to 99,341 metric tons (mt) - the second-largest monthly total this year - while export value was $526.7 million, down 5 percent. For January through July, export volume was up 4 percent to 640,888 mt, while value fell 10 percent to $3.44 billion.


Exports accounted for 14 percent of total beef production in July and 11 percent for muscle cuts only - each up about 1 percentage point from a year ago. For January through July, these ratios were 13 percent and 10 percent, respectively, steady with last year. Export value per head of fed slaughter was $263.89 in July, down 5 percent from a year ago, and $251.82 for January through July, down 13 percent. 


Pork exports reached 180,547 mt in July, up 8 percent from a year ago, while export value increased 11 percent to $491.9 million. For January through July, pork export volume increased 3 percent to 1.29 million mt, while value was $3.27 billion - still 2 percent below last year's pace.


Exports accounted for 27.5 percent of total pork production in July and 23 percent for muscle cuts only - an impressive jump from a year ago when these ratios were 23.5 percent and 21 percent, respectively. For the first seven months of the year, exports accounted for 25.5 percent of total pork production and 21.5 percent for muscle cuts - each up slightly from a year ago. Export value per head slaughtered was $56.14 in July - up 19 percent from a year ago. For January through July, per-head value averaged $49.37, down 2 percent. 


Click here to read more from the July U.S. red meat exports report.

NCBA Searching for That Silver Bullet to End Volatility Woes in the Cattle Markets

With all the volatility in the cattle market today, people are starting to question the value of live and feeder cattle contracts, wondering if they are hurting us more than they are helping. Colin Woodall of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's (NCBA) DC office and his team, have been meeting regularly as of late with members of the CME Group to try and salvage the value of the cattle futures contracts for the beef business. 

"There is no one silver bullet," Woodall said. "Matter of fact, the question of what will fix this issue is one that is asked every single day among our officers, our staff and of course the membership - it is why we maintain our working group in order to try and analyze the ideas that people have to fix this, and we've got some ideas that we think can work."

During NCBA's last summer conference this past July in Denver, the group was actually enlarged to ensure all geographical regions were represented. The group was also divided into subgroups to focus on different priorities including things like the recent price volatility in the marketplace, price discovery and what mechanisms we have in place for that, and the task of deciding if specifications of the contracts themselves need changing. Woodall says these actions and others are all in the works right now, and plan to discuss these matters in person at a group meeting projected for October where he is optimistic that some final resolutions may be decided upon.


Woodall says the members of NCBA are telling him that they want and need these tools in place, but they need to work the way in which they were intended.

Listen to Woodall talk more about the recent discussions between the CME/NCBA working group during the latest Beef Buzz.

Despite Grim Attitudes Towards Wheat, Farmers Need a Game Plan in Place

Since the last week of August, Extension Small Grains Specialist Dr. Dave Marburger has heard of planters starting to roll across Oklahoma as farmers looking to establish their fall wheat pastures are eagerly getting their seed in the ground. He said that in terms of production, Oklahoma had a great harvest this year, but with wheat prices what they are and predictions they could be below production costs next year, he says it's hard to get excited about it. Moving forward though, Dr. Marburger says farmers should try to focus on what their objectives are for their wheat crop this year, be it for forage, grain only or dual-purpose, and make decisions based off that.


"It kind of depends on where we're at in the state," Marburger said. "If we're in the north-central region guys are going to stick with that dual-purpose system. In other parts - say the western part of the state - they are going to focus more on the cattle. They're going to focus more on forage and probably not use a dual-purpose system."


While farmers planting a grain-only crop this year have a little more time to think things over, producers looking to get a fall wheat pasture going, need to act fast. Dr. Marburger says to keep your basic agronomics in mind as you prepare to start planting, such as your planting date, seeding rates, seeding depths and of course selecting the right variety mix. To help make an informed decision about the varieties you choose to plant, he suggests visiting OSU Extension's Wheat Variety Test Data website.


Dr. Marburger also says farmers should try to do all they can with the things under their control as best as possible, to give yourself the best chance at a successful crop. He suggests conducting a soil sample test if you haven't in a while. Considering nitrogen-rich strips may also be a way to minimize inputs he says. Also, if using bin run seed this year, he highly recommends the seed be well-cleaned to reduce risk of weeds and disease.


Listen to my full conversation with Dr. Marburger, and be sure to catch our interview during the weekly In the Field segment on KWTV News9 in the Oklahoma City area on Saturday morning at 6:40 a.m.

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Enid Regional Development Alliance Votes to Support Right to Farm

The board of the Enid Regional Development Alliance voted Thursday to support State Question 777 also known as the Right to Farm issue. The vote was intended to show support for the agriculture industry in Northwest Oklahoma and the value added agriculture employers in Enid.


Tom Evans, the ERDA Chairman of the Board, said, "Agriculture is the backbone of our economy in Northwest Oklahoma. The Enid Regional Development Alliance voted to support SQ 777 to show our great ag related employers in NW Oklahoma that we support their efforts to feed and clothe the world."


Enid, Oklahoma is home to Hanor Companies, AdvancePierre Foods, Johnston Seed, Consolidated Grain and Barge, ADM, other agriculture service companies, and thousands of family farms which all contribute greatly to the local economy. ERDA believes passage of SQ 777 will allow agriculture to continue to grow and prosper in the region.


Brent Kisling, the Executive Director for ERDA said, "I am pleased that our board has recognized the importance of agriculture in Northwest Oklahoma and has made a statement supporting their efforts. Enid is certainly a pro-ag community."


The mission of the Enid Regional Development Alliance is to assure the economic prosperity of Enid and the surrounding area.

This N That- Heritage Foundation Plans Push for Farm Subsidy End, McAlester Cow Sale Saturday and AFR Heads for DC

 
The Heritage Foundation is already laying out its case for ending commodity programs and crop insurance policies in the 2018 farm bill.  The group is developing an agenda for the lobbying arm of the organization to implement when farm bill negotiations get going. Heritage contends that most farmers are able to manage risk without taxpayer help. They say the $15 billion annually spent on programs actually promotes riskier farming practices, such as limited crop diversification and farming land prone to flooding and erosion.

Heritage believes that some farmers would lose their land, but they feel the government should not be guaranteeing that all farming operations survive and even flourish. The Foundation wants several programs enacted in the 2014 farm bill to be eliminated, including support programs like Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage. The group also wants to eliminate the dairy insurance program and current U.S. sugar policies to be discontinued as well. They want federal crop insurance to only cover deep yield losses and disasters, and not cover revenue loss.

No surprises here- but it shows that challenges in writing the next farm bill will be huge.

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The McAlester Union Stockyards has a special Stock Cow Sale planned for tomorrow at noon in McAlester. Selling will be over a thousand head of cows, heifers, pairs and bulls.

Click here to see the latest sale listing- and you can call McAlester Stockyards to get more information this sale set for Saturday, September 10th.

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The leadership of the American Farmers and Ranchers are heading to our nation's Capitol the first of this coming week- hooking up with their national organization partner, the National Farmers Union, for a fall Legislative Fly In.

Sam Knipp has produced a podcast previewing the trip- featuring Steve Thompson who runs down what the group will be doing and who they will be talking to while in DC.  Click here to check out Sam and Steve's comments about heading to, as Congressman Frank Lucas has often called it, The Temple of Honesty.


 

Rainfall and Fall Like Temps Sliding Into Oklahoma

Cooler temps are expected for tomorrow and Sunday before we get back into the low 90s next week- and it looks like we have a fair amount of rain as we open the planting window for Winter Canola officially tomorrow- September 10th.

Our old friend Bryce Anderson posted the seven day precipitation map from the NWS this morning on Twitter- and it paints us wet- so had to share- here tis:


After the
Rain is happening as we write this in parts of Oklahoma- and rain chances continue tonight into tomorrow morning- then mild temps tomorrow and Sunday- and we repeat that by Tuesday and Wednesday of this coming week.

For those that want to plant wheat and canola- it appears lack of moisture will not be a problem in this year's planting window.

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