Presented by

 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

Featured Story:

Wheat Harvest Quickly Catching up to Five Year Average- Oklahoma Wheat Commission Says We Are Now 25% Complete

 

In the Crop Weather Update issued Monday afternoon- we saw that the five year average for wheat harvest as of the start of this week was 31%- versus the 5% that USDA believed had been harvested at that point.

The Oklahoma Wheat Commission had harvest already ahead by several points of the USDA number by Monday afternoon- and the almost perfect harvest weather this week has allowed the combines to aggressively knock out field after field- with the result that the Wednesday afternoon projection from the Oklahoma Wheat Commission is that we have 25% of the Oklahoma crop now harvested.

They mentioned several areas and how far along they believed we were in those locales- the southwestern area down around Jackson and Tillman Counties is still having some mud issues- and is about 35% complete.

The Hobart area is faring better- and is around 50% done.  Further north- between El Reno and Kingfisher- we may be approaching 70% complete.

Yields are sounding really good- test weights have come down some but still are close to 60 pounds- and the unknown remains protein.

It appears that this could be a crop that falls a little short in protein- and Mark Hodges with Plains Grains says they will be doing some early season testing of the 2016 crop to see how well it can be turned into a loaf of bread.  That will be important information to millers and other end users of the wheat we are harvesting.

One wheat producer that we got an update from on Wednesday was Keith Kisling- Keith writes" "started cutting wheat Tuesday- moisture was 10-13%. Yield was 46 to 66 bushels per acre on farms we have cut.  The grain was dry enough to put some in the bin."

To read the complete Oklahoma Wheat Commission harvest report, click here.

And- from the Oklahoma Wheat Commission Facebook page- here is pic submitted by Kevin Grant of Love County- with his first load of wheat of the year that came in this week:

Pork Quality Assurance Plus Revisions Unveiled at World Pork Expo

Revisions to the voluntary Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA Plus) 3.0 were announced during World Pork Expo in Des Moines. The updated program, effective as of June 8, reflects pork producers' commitment to continuous improvement and more fully incorporates the six We Care ethical principles and the role of caretakers.


New research information has been incorporated to increase the program's effectiveness and to help ensure its validity with customers and consumers. Pork producers maintain a commitment to providing a safe, high-quality product while promoting animal well-being, environmental stewardship and public health.


"PQA Plus demonstrates to our customers our commitment to doing what is right when it comes to raising and caring for pigs and producing pork," said Stephen Summerlin, senior vice president of live operations for Seaboard Foods. "It also lets our employees on our farms, as well as our supplier partners in raising pigs for our pork brands, know that we have high standards and expectations for food safety and animal care."


"PQA Plus has been and still is the heart of our industry's commitment to doing what's right for people, pigs and our planet," said Jan Archer, National Pork Board incoming president and a pork producer from Goldsboro, North Carolina. "This program is the standard that pork producers have endorsed since 1989. Through this program, we earn the credibility from our consumers."


The PQA Plus enhancements include:

- The We Care ethical principles now serve as program chapters.

- The 10 Good Production Practices are now sub-chapters and align with a caretaker's daily flow of responsibilities.

- The site assessment now aligns with the Common Swine Industry Audit.

- Flexibility in the program allows for customization and alignment with an farm's standard operating procedures.

- Online training is divided into 14 individual modules that range from 2 to 14 minutes.

- To help prepare for the implementation of FDA guidance 209 and 213 on Jan. 1, 2017, a new 12-page Responsible Antibiotics Use Guide accompanies the new version of PQA Plus.

Click here for a link to more information on the revised PQA Plus program.

A More Sustainable Ag Will Be A Process Not A Revolution

Society's march toward a more sustainable society isn't just a buzz word according to a panel of speakers at the National Corn Growers Association's 2016 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference in St. Louis this week. It's real, it's happening and progress is being made in farming and the food industry.


According to Betsy Hickman of Field to Market, sustainability is the leading agricultural challenge of the 21st century because feeding, fueling and clothing 9 billion people will take new practices, new data collection and management and stronger connections to consumers.


The US food system is still the envy of the world Hickman said but some people wonder if we are heading down the right path. She says everyone with a stake in the game needs to work together to assure consumers get their questions answered and aren't left wondering.

 

Making sure that everyone's definition of what constitutes sustainability is a great place to start, according to Marty Muenzmaier, of Cargill. For his company it means "doing business in a way that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Read more about this discussion on sustainable farming.

Upcoming Seminar in Ardmore to Focus on Veterinary Feed Directive

A new federal regulation that affects livestock producers, veterinarians and the feed industry is set to take full effect on Jan. 1, 2017.


To help prepare all parties impacted by this regulation, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation will host a Veterinary Feed Directive seminar from 1-5 p.m., Thursday, June 16, at the Noble Foundation Kruse Auditorium.


"Implementation of the Veterinary Feed Directive is a significant event in the livestock industry," said Bryan Nichols, livestock consultant. "Producers, veterinarians and livestock feed providers all must be aware of the implications of this regulation before it comes into full effect so the transition can be as seamless as possible."


To help provide understanding into the various facets of the new regulation, the Noble Foundation has put together a group of expert speakers that represents academia, the veterinary community and the feed industry.


Speakers include:
L.D. Barker, D.V.M., veterinarian: Obtaining a Veterinary Feed Directive from Your Veterinarian.

Brian Lubbers, D.V.M., Ph.D., Kansas State University Microbial Surveillance Lab director: Antibiotic Regulations and Resistance in Cattle Production.

Richard Sellers, American Feed Industry Association senior vice president of public policy and education: Veterinary Feed Directive and the Feed Industry.


"This topic has generated a lot of questions," Nichols said. "This is a great opportunity to hear from experts in multiple fields who can answer many of those questions."

Click here for a link to register for the seminar.

Haying, Harvesting Tips To Help Reduce Wildlife Mortality

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

NCBA's Scott Yager Says Proposed SPCC Legislation Could Benefit Producers

Debate over appropriate regulation of on-farm fuel storage continues in Washington, D.C., and Scott Yager, environmental counsel for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, says animal feed ingredients could be added to the mix as well.


Yager says the EPA Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures regulations were originally designed for major oil refineries but over the past several years were expanded to try to include agricultural producers. In 2014, Congress passed a law providing relief for farmers and ranchers from the SPCC regulations.


In June 2015, Yager says "the EPA published a study that raised further concerns that farmers and ranchers would be significantly impacted by the SPCC requirements, specifically by narrowing that farm exemption."


In the past, it has been about regulating on-farm fuel tanks, but Yager says the EPA would like to broaden the regulations to include feed ingredient storage.


"When we're talking about the definition of oil out of SPCC regs, it includes vast lists of different things that you probably wouldn't think as oil," he says. "Diesel fuel - sure, but something like tallow and animal fats that are used in feed probably doesn't rise to the same level as storing oil or diesel on your land.


"But they still fall under these same requirements."


Yager says he and other agricultural organizations are working closely with legislators to enact a reasonable and common sense approach to regulating farmers and ranchers.


"And that's really what we've been trying to go after for a long time, is to protect the small and the medium size guys so they can continue to do what they need to do without having to work under this top-down approach of an EPA SPCC permit," he says.


Listen to Yager talk more about protecting farmers and ranchers from SPCC regulations during the latest Beef Buzz. 

Oklahoma Students to Attend okPORK's Youth Leadership Camp

After reviewing a multitude of applicants statewide, Oklahoma Pork Council (okPORK) officials have selected 12 Oklahoma high school students as 2016 okPORK Youth Leadership Camp participants. The students will spend June 26 - July 1 learning about the pork industry, including production, sales and career opportunities.


The student participants are:
Libby Buckmaster - Porter 4-H Club
Halie Clark - Mangum High School
Brooklyn Evans - Sand Springs High School
Hayes Maher - Mooreland High School
Logan Maher - Mooreland High School
Jaydon Maehs - Morrison High School
Makala Parsons - Luther High School
Tre` Smith - Sand Springs High School
Keylon Stogsdill - Welch High School
Lorri Terry - Blair High School
Matthew Whelan - Bristow High School
Tyler Wilkinson - Cement High School

Also joining the camp is Shane Curry, the agriculture educator at Blair School. 


The camp begins in Stillwater, and includes sessions in Ames, Hennessey, Guymon, Woodward and Oklahoma City. Camp participants will learn all phases of the industry from breeding sows to selling pork chops. Participants will also complete a live animal evaluation and actually harvest and process the hogs they evaluate. They will also spend time in a grocery store in Oklahoma City and visit Platt Culinary College making the week a true farm-to-fork experience. 

Read more at this year's okPORK Youth Leadership Camp.

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