Presented by

 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

Featured Story:

House Ag Committee Chairman Mike Conaway Expresses Support for Biotech Labeling Bill 

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) issued the following statement Friday in response to the Senate's recently passed legislation requiring products of biotechnology to be labeled.

"After spending the past week and a half studying the legislation and meeting with agricultural producers, along with a variety of other stakeholders, I have come to the conclusion that the Senate bill is riddled with ambiguity and affords the Secretary a concerning level of discretion. I have sought written assurances from USDA on the more problematic provisions, and I appreciate the efforts of the Department to provide some level of clarity. While I will never fully support federally mandating the disclosure of information that has absolutely nothing to do with nutrition, health, or safety, it is my expectation that this legislation will be considered on the House floor next week, and it is my intention to support this bill."

In addition, agricultural trade groups like Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) are applauding the U.S. Senate for approving the measure and encouraging passage by the U.S. House of Representatives.


"BIO applauds last night's Senate vote to pass the GMO disclosure legislation," said Jim Greenwood, BIO's President and CEO. "We thank Senators Roberts and Stabenow for their leadership and congratulate them, along with other Senate and House leaders, on advancing this much-needed legislative remedy to the GMO disclosure issue."


"But the work isn't finished," added Greenwood. "BIO urges the House of Representatives to take up and pass this bill without further modification next week so that it can be sent to President Obama for his signature before the Congress adjourns for the summer recess."

OSU's Brian Arnall and Marvin Stone Recognized by PrecisionAg Institute

The PrecisionAg Institute has recognized outstanding people, programs and organizations who have devoted their careers to technology designed to improve crop production stewardship, agronomy and efficiency for the past 10 years.


Each of those years, the Institute has presented its PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence to worthy recipients at the Annual InfoAg Conference. The 2016 conference will be in St. Louis, Missouri, Aug. 2-4, where two Oklahoma State University faculty members will be honored.


Brian Arnall, associate professor in OSU's Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, will be recognized at the Educator/Researcher of the Year, while Marvin Stone will posthumously receive the Legacy Award. Stone was a Regents Professor in OSU's Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering for 24 years before he and his wife, Bonnie, died after being struck by a vehicle at the 2015 OSU Homecoming Parade.


Stone was a key member of OSU's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources' interdisciplinary research team that developed the landmark GreenSeeker™ optical sensor system. Adopted worldwide, this groundbreaking technology precisely measures crop needs in real time, allowing a producer to apply only the needed amount of fertilizer or agricultural chemicals, reducing waste of those inputs while potentially improving yields, decreasing nitrogen costs and promoting improved environmental stewardship.

If Stone was a pioneer in the precision agriculture world, Arnall has taken the torch and is continuing down the path of success.


"It's humbling to be nominated by my peers and even more special that Dr. Stone will be receiving the Legacy Award at the same time," Arnall said. "It's because of Dr. Stone and all the other amazing ag engineers and agronomists that I have been blessed to work with that I have been able to be successful."

Among his many accomplishments, Arnall has developed several mobile apps, like the Nutrient Field Guide and Canola Starter Fertilizer Calculator. 

Click here to read more about both the OSU researchers and their accomplishments.

Results Are In - Red Meat Exports Gained Momentum in May According to USMEF

Click here to read more about May U.S. beef, pork and lamb exports and find a link to USMEF's statistics page. 

Dr. Keith Belk Says for the Consumer It's All a Matter of Taste 

The meat market is a competitive place and beef is at times at a disadvantage, being pricier than say chicken or pork. What keeps the consumer coming back for beef time and again though, comes down simply to taste. However, to keep its competitive edge at the grocery store, animal scientist Dr. Keith Belk of Colorado State, asserts that there are several issues producers need to address.


For instance, Dr. Belk explained that the industry is not producing enough marbling or flavor in beef to keep consumers' buying interest.


"We select from marbling score, but in truth, we haven't appeared to have made a lot of genetic progress," Belk said. "We actually produce fewer choice and prime carcasses today than we produced in the 1970s. Any improvements that we've made in marbling score have been merely the consequence of changing hide color in our population."


Dr. Belk believes there are multiple reasons for this lack of progress, mainly that there are not any pricing mechanisms in place that appropriately signal producers on what genetic selections they should be emphasizing. 

Dr. Belk also talks about dealing with the expectations of the Millennials- and how that is changing things in the beef demand arena- you can read more and listen to his comments by clicking here and checking how this latest edition of the Beef Buzz.

Superior Livestock's Annual Week in the Rockies Sale Starts Today

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

Blayne Arthur on the Value of the Show Ring- Developing Leaders for Our Communities, Our States and Our Nation

 

I grew up in a different era- but have discovered in talking with Blayne Arthur- we have in common a start in 4-H and then a transition as we entered High School into FFA.  And we both grew up showing livestock- as many of you have. 

So- when I read her Facebook post last Thursday about how she views the Show Ring experience- I was drawn in- and felt lots of emotions and had many flash backs from my days with my family in being around the show barn as a preschooler when my dad was a Vo-Ag teacher- and then showing as a 4-Her and then later as a FFA member.  Her comments about the show ring are a masterpiece- it's not short- but I am putting it in my Monday morning email as required reading for you all- to better understand why it is often said that our most important crop is our young people.

With her blessing- we share with you Blayne's posting:

"On this 27th Thursday of # ThankfulThursdays I am thankful for the youth livestock show industry. I believe one of the challenges that we face in the United States today is that not enough people are raised on a farm anymore. Moving everyone to a farm is not a reality, but having young adults exhibit livestock is. The following are the reasons why I think it is imperative to involve youth in livestock shows- if you are looking for brevity or political correctness you might scroll to another post .

"Being around livestock prepares you to be successful in the real world.

"You learn to be tough and dedicated because you have to feed every morning and night year round. When it is 105 degrees and so hot you can't breathe and when it is so cold that your fingers won't move in your gloves but you are still breaking ice for you calves to get a drink.

"You learn to handle obstacles that are thrown your way because you have been bucked off your horse at a World caliber show that was streaming online and ate a mouthful of dirt but climbed back on.

"You develop grace because you were winning your barrow class at state fair but you go across the scales and weigh out by 1 pound. All the hard work goes out the window just like that and you have to walk back through the barn with everyone watching and knowing that some people weren't sad that your hog weighed out.

"You develop empathy because you were working with your goats all summer, multiple times a day but the neighbor's dog got out and literally ate part of your show goat. You got to hold your goat while the local veterinarian euthanized it because it was the best choice for the animal.

"You develop class because everyone said you had the best lamb at the show but you stood third in class and missed the premium auction and still smiled and congratulated the winners.

"You develop a strong faith because you helped bring baby calves, lambs, goats and foals into the world and did everything right and sometimes lost them when mother nature didn't cooperate- you pray for better results next time and forge on.

"You become a friend and a teammate to all those around you in the barn and cheer for others when they succeed and cry with them when the banner doesn't come to their stall.

"You learn to perform at your best under pressure in front of a crowd no matter how early in the morning or how late at night.

"You become mature because sometimes you got the blue ribbon when you really lost that day and sometimes you got the sift pen but you really won.

"You understand that hard work pays off and that there is no free lunch.

"You learn that to be a winner you have to think, work and act like a winner.

"Most folks think that the show ring is only about the banners or the blue ribbons but it is really about developing leaders for our communities, our states and our nations. There are no excuses in the show ring and there are no excuses in life."

This N That- NonRecourse Marketing Assistance Loans and Search Option Now Available!

 
With wheat prices in the tank- a couple of the pieces of the federal farm safety net that has been collecting dust for several years are suddenly back on the radar screen!

Oklahoma State Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese released an "open letter" this past week talking about the Marketing Loan and LDP which are a couple of the things not used in recent years.  Jim writes ""One option rarely used these past 10 years may be USDA/FSA's nonrecourse marketing assistance loans. This nine-month loan gives producers interim financing and allows for wheat to be stored instead of selling when market prices are low. Grain prices and rates vary daily but at the time of this writing, the loan rate is higher than the cash price in much of the state. Marketing Assistance Loans are like all other loans, they have to be paid back. However, you can redeem your loan by forfeiting your commodity. You still have to pay storage, but it does provide a stabilizing force at the bottom of the market. Loan Deficiency Program is also available when prices are below the established loan rate for a particular county, currently around $3.18 across the state."

Dr. Art Barnaby of K-State has also weighed in on the subject- talking about it at the end of this past week on the K-State Radio Network- we are featuring some of his comments on our midday farm news being heard on KGGF Radio (690 AM) in Coffeyville- his comments can be heard at about 11:40 AM this morning.

We have expanded farm and ranch news and markets on KGGF every weekday between 11:30 and Noon and then again between 12:30 and 1 PM.

You can also listen right now to his conversation about the Marketing Loan and Loan Deficiency Payments- click here to hear his thoughts about how to work with these programs that have not been relevant since the early 2000s.

**********

And speaking of old stuff- we now have a way on our website- OklahomaFarmReport.Com to search for previous stories and interviews that we have done- all the way back to 2010.

On the right hand column of each page- you will find something that is called Search OklahomaFarmReport.Com with a small box under that has Google Custom Search in it.  Type what you are looking for- hit the magnifying glass and there's a list of stories from our web site of the relevant articles to your search.

Several folks have asked over the years about old stories about one issue or another- now here is an easy way to do that research whenever the mood hits ya!

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