Oklahoma Farm Bureau Leaders Prepare for State Convention 

A resolution calling for a $2.5 million state emergency fund to aid with damage from wildfires and other natural disasters was among more than 100 resolutions passed by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau state resolutions committee Oct. 17-18 in Oklahoma City. The proposal will be voted on during the annual OFB convention Nov. 9-11 in Oklahoma City.

"We've dealt with a series of natural disasters in recent years and this emergency fund would with specifically help with ease the burden in rural areas of Oklahoma," said Mike Spradling, Oklahoma Farm Bureau president.

The committee also passed a resolution supporting a stronger crop insurance program.

"If direct payments are excluded from the next farm bill, there should be more funds available to strengthen the crop insurance program," Spradling said.   "Risk management is extremely important as farmers deal with volatile markets and weather conditions."  Click here to read more. 

Members of the committee also passed the hat during their opening luncheon to fight hunger.  Members contributed enough to provide 1,000 meals Gov. Fallin's third annual Feeding Oklahoma Food and Fund Drive.  You can read more about that by clicking here. 

Crop Insurance for Pasture and Hay Land- Worth a Look for 2013! 

While there currently is no disaster assistance program for livestock feed that is a part of the recently expired 2008 farm law, cattle producers do have risk management available to them in the form of a crop insurance product for their pasture and hay land. The Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Insurance Program (PRF) is a pilot federal crop insurance program that provides insurance protection for perennial forage produced for graz­ing or harvested for hay. The program is administered by the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) and sold through private crop insurance companies.

Dr. Jody Campiche of Oklahoma State University is a big fan of this program- the Ag Economist talked with us about this risk management tool on today's Beef Buzz. She says the time is now to learn about the Pasture, Rangeland and Forage Insurance program as the deadline to sign up for 2013 is November 15th of this year.  

Jody told us as we talked with her yesterday in her office on campus in Stillwater that she is concerned most producers have NO IDEA that this program is available- and that they need to get the details and decide if it makes sense for their ranch. 

The cost of the program is very affordable- especially for simply coverage for pasture (higher for insuring land you are producing hay on) and the indemnities if there is not enough rain in the time period you select can be significant.     

Click here for more on this Crop Insurance program for pasture- and a chance to hear our full conversation with Jody on the PRF program.  With no livestock feed assistance programs now available- this is worth checking into.

CME Group to Acquire Kansas City Board of Trade

CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, and the Kansas City Board of Trade, the leading futures market for hard red winter (HRW) wheat, announced they have signed a definitive agreement under which CME Group will acquire the Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT).

Under the terms of the transaction, CME Group will pay $126M in cash for KCBT. In addition, KCBT will make a special distribution of excess cash to members concurrent with closing. CME Group has committed to maintain a committee made up of KCBT market participants to advise on HRW wheat contract terms and conditions for at least three years, and to maintain the historic KCBT trading floor in Kansas City for a period of at least six months.

"Global agricultural market participants continue to depend on liquid, transparent risk management tools for price discovery in both established and emerging economies," said CME Group Executive Chairman and President Terry Duffy. "Building on two rich legacies, the combination of KCBT Hard Red Winter Wheat products with our deep and liquid CBOT Soft Red Winter Wheat futures and options markets will provide new trading opportunities for market participants around the world - both on the trading floor and on the screen."

Click here to read more.

Former OSU Scientist Advises Consumers to Cut Down on Food Waste

If you've ever tossed leftovers or overripe fruit without considering tomorrow's lunch or creative baking, you're part of the problem, said Brad Morgan, senior food safety and production efficiency specialist with Pfizer Animal Health.

"We throw away 242 pounds of food per person per year," he said.   

That's about 1,400 calories per person per day, and roughly 1.3 billion tons of food per year. Morgan shared these facts at this year's Feeding Quality Forum in Grand Island, Neb., and Amarillo, Texas. Morgan was a long time member of the Oklahoma State University Animal Science faculty and is considered one of the leading meat scientists in the country. (and of course- one of the all time great guys in our agricultural circles)

"We spend about 7% of our disposable income to feed our families," he said. "In Europe they spend anywhere from 13% to 28% of their income. What am I getting at? One, we take food for granted. Two, it's cheap. And three, we always expect it to be there."

You can read more of this article by clicking here.

 

Mineral Program for Cows on Wheat Pasture Prevents Grass Tetany

Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist, writes in this week's Cow-Calf Newsletter that establishing a mineral feeding program is important for cows on wheat pasture.

Many Oklahoma cow calf producers will use wheat pasture as a major source of winter feed for beef cows. If wheat pasture is the predominant feed in the diet of mature beef cows, providing an appropriate "wheat pasture" mineral mix will be helpful in preventing grass tetany at, or after the calving season begins.

Grass tetany, caused by magnesium deficiency, does not seem to be a major problem in Oklahoma although occasional cases are reported. It typically occurs in beef cows during early lactation and is more prevalent in older cows. The reason is thought to be that older cows are less able to mobilize magnesium reserves from the bones than are younger cows. Grass tetany most frequently occurs when cattle are grazing lush immature grasses or small grains pastures and tends to be more prevalent during periods of cloudy weather. Symptoms include incoordination, salivation, excitability (aggressive behavior towards humans) and, in final stages, tetany, convulsions and death.

You can read more of Glenn Selk's advice on a mineral feeding program by clicking here.  

Feedyard Profitability Remains Elusive Into 2013, K-State Economist Says

Without a doubt, 2012 has been a lousy year for making money on feeding cattle. High feed costs are the main reason.

In his latest cattle profit forecast, Kansas State University livestock economist Dr. Glynn Tonsor says he believes there are better times ahead, but the profitability of finishing cattle is well out into the future.

"We have, historically, bad current close-outs. We estimate that the August close-outs, so we now know performance and market information then, were negative $253 for the representative steer. There's only four months since, I think it was, June of '93, when you start comparing, that were worse, one of which was the previous month. So, we kind of have these building negatives. And we have continuing negative forecasts for the next three months."

Dr. Tonsor has a lot more to say about feedyard profitability and joins us on the Beef Buzz.  Click here to go there.

This N That- Cattle on Feed, Star Lake Sells Out and Shorthorn 500 Roars Around the Corner 

Cattle on Feed Numbers will be released by Uncle Sam on Friday afternoon- and the Dow Jones folks have surveyed several cattle market analysts who believe that the placements during September will be well under those of 2011- average pre report guess is 15% less.  Marketings are expected to be 10% under that of last September, while the on feed number is predicted to be 97.8% of October 1, 2011. This report may suggest what we have been hearing from folks like Derrell Peel of OSU and Jim Robb of LMIC for quite some time- the pipeline is simply running out of cattle to place into the nation's feedlots. That report is due out Friday at 2:00 PM central time.  

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This Friday and Saturday will be the final sale at the Star Lake Cattle Ranch in Skiatook. Star Lake is one of the premium Hereford operations in the country. Cattle, embryos, recipients, semen, and equipment will all be sold. Cattle will be sold both days with the majority of the pregnant recipients, embryos, and semen going on the block Friday. Star Lake built a dynasty in the Hereford breed. You'll find more information on the sale and a link to Star Lake Herefords by clicking here.

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