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Harvest Keeps Moving North of I-40 While Rain and Flooding Stops Many Locations in the South

 
Rains pushed into Oklahoma over the weekend- and in several counties- we are talking HUGE amounts of rainfall- Justin Rudicel with News9 provided us an excellent graphic of how much we got in several locations- these amounts mean any wheat not out of the field may be seriously damaged- and spring planted crops may be sitting in water in many fields.



Meanwhile- north of the heavy rains of the weekend- harvest kept happening.  Jessica Wilcox in Major County tells us via Facebook that harvest over the week went pretty smoothly. "We have cut wheat that was in the high 60's & wheat in the high 30's. Huge difference in varieties/soil types and what not. We are a little over half way done."

From Mike Shulte with the Oklahoma Wheat Commission- he tells us that "

 

USDA Calls Oklahoma Wheat Crop 115.5 Million Bushels- Nine Percent Bigger Than May Estimate and Seventeen Percent Bigger Than 2015

 

The USDA has jumped the size of the 2016 Oklahoma winter wheat crop by 9.5% in their June report, compared to the data released a month ago. On Friday, the USDA Crop Production report predicted an Oklahoma Wheat Crop that will total 115.5 million bushels, up from the 105.6 million bushels estimated in May. The 2016 crop estimate, if realized, would be 17% larger than the final 2015 production of 98.8 million bushels. 


The agency left their estimate alone about the number of acres that they believe will be harvested for grain this season at 3.3 million acres. The Oklahoma increase comes in a higher bushels per acre estimate of 35 bushels per acre in the June report, versus 33 bushels per acre in the May report. The 2016 crop is on track to be 144% above the historically bad crop of 2014, when only 47.6 million bushels was harvested from Oklahoma wheat fields.


The 115.5 million bushels is much closer to the 120 million bushels predicted in early May by Crop Scouts that gathered at the 2016 Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association Annual Meeting in Oklahoma City. The USDA June estimate allows Oklahoma to break a tie seen in May with the state of Washington as the second largest winter wheat producing state- Oklahoma is now in sole possession of second place, behind Kansas. 


Texas saw a modest bump up in the size of the 2016 crop from May to June, with USDA increasing their wheat crop estimate for the Lone Star State from 84 million bushels to 89.6 million bushels in the June 10th report. The big jump in the hard red winter wheat belt was seen in Kansas, as USDA is predicting an 11.6% increase in the size of Kansas wheat production from May to June- going from 352.6 million bushels up to 393.6 million bushels in this latest report. Kansas wheat farmers are now expected to harvest 48 bushels per acre, versus the May guess of 43 bushels per acre and the 2015 yield of 37 bushels per acre. Kansas farmers are headed to a 22% larger wheat crop this season versus 2015 if the USDA numbers prove accurate.


Nationally, the US Winter Wheat Crop is forecast at 1.51 billion bushels, up 6 percent from the May 1 forecast and up 10 percent from 2015. 


Based on June 1 conditions, the United States yield is forecast at 50.5 bushels per acre, up 2.7 bushel from last month and up 8 bushels from last year. If realized, this will be the highest yield on record for the United States.


Click here for a link to the complete USDA June Crop Production report.

Positive Demand News for Corn and Soybeans in Latest WASDE Report

 

The USDA released both their June Crop Production Report on Friday morning, as well as the monthly WASDE report showing domestic and international supply and demand data. According to Dr. Chad Hart of Iowa State University, the WASDE report contains some very positive demand news for corn and soybeans. The following is a blog he has posted on the Iowa State Extension Website after the report was released on Friday:


"USDA's June updates contained good news on the demand front for corn and soybeans. International demand continues to strengthen, while domestic usage holds steady. With no major changes on the supply side, this implies lower ending stocks and projections of higher prices. Starting with corn, the losses and delays in the South American harvest have opened up some off-season selling opportunities for the U.S. Old crop (2015/16) exports were raised 100 million bushels as a result. Although corn imports were increased slightly, the overall impact for old crop corn is a 95 million drop in ending stocks and a 10 cent increase in the season-average price to $3.70 per bushel. That drop in ending stocks, combined with another increase in new crop (2016/17) exports of 50 million bushels, lowered new crop ending stocks by 145 million bushels. The changes added 15 cents to the new crop corn season-average price estimate, raising it to $3.50 per bushel.


"For soybeans, both old crop domestic and international demand were on the upswing. Crush added 10 million bushels, while exports grew by 20 million bushels. With the 30 million bushel drop in old crop ending stocks, USDA raised its 2015/16 season-average price by 20 cents to $9.05 per bushel. As with corn, the export demand increase extended into the new crop as well, adding another 15 million bushels. That pushed new crop ending stocks below 300 million bushels and lifted the 2016/17 season-average price estimate by 40 cents, to $9.50 per bushel."

 

 

Click here for a link to the complete WASDE report.

Strong 2016 Canola Crop Could Be Just the Ticket to Encourage More Acres Across the State

 

Canola harvest is nearly completed across the state, and Dr. Ron Sholar, executive director of the Great Plains Canola Association, says it's the best crop since 2012. Although the winter was fairly dry, spring rains saved the crop, and he says he's seeing 35 to 45 bushel yields and even some in the 50s. In addition, the oil is good quality, which means a lot of producers will not be discounted.


"What we're hearing this year is we're right where we need to be," he says. "Obviously oil content is an issue a bit for us here in the south compared to the north, but good quality this year."


Sholar says canola prices have historically been highest "right off the combine." Recent $6 to $7 cash prices leave a $3 spread between canola and wheat, which is leaving some producers wishing they had a few more acres to harvest.


"We always say in the industry you need $2 to pay for those extra production costs for canola, so $3 makes it an even better deal."," he says. "I know a lot of our growers who have canola are saying 'I wish had planted more,' and I know former growers who are saying 'I wish I had planted some.'"


Moving forward, Sholar is optimistic about canola in Oklahoma. Canada has decreased the amount of canola acres planted, which leaves more opportunity for U.S. farmers to pick up the slack. 


Sholar says that while several new crops have failed to take off in Oklahoma, canola is an exception because it grows during the state's best environmental conditions and it's a complimentary crop to wheat. In fact, he says producers often see a 15 to 25 percent yield gain for wheat following canola.


"We've said so many times we're not in competition with wheat," Sholar says. "We want to work with the wheat industry because a strong wheat industry will make a strong canola industry and vice versa."


Listen to Dr. Sholar talk more about canola's potential in Oklahoma.

U.S. Grains Council Promotes Manure Recycling To China's Growing Livestock Industry

 

As China's livestock industry continues to grow and modernize quickly, manure management is becoming a critical obstacle to growth. To help these important end-users of coarse grains and co-products, the U.S. Grains Council's (USGC's) Beijing office recently sponsored a symposium on the scientific principles for manure recycling.


"Many livestock producers in China do return treated manure to the soil in some fashion," said USGC Director in China Bryan Lohmar. "And none that we have met thus far ever tests the manure they spread to determine the nutrient content before using it as fertilizer. In fact, despite our work on this issue during the past two years, we have yet to find a laboratory that will test untreated manure slurry."


The workshop included presentations by Lohmar; Dr. Richard Gates from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who consults for the Council; representatives from China's Ministry of Environmental Protection; and a panel of representatives from the swine and dairy industries moderated by a policy researcher from China's Ministry of Agriculture.


"Without testing, there is no way to know whether you are putting on enough or too much for the crop, nor whether there is excess that can run off into freshwater systems," Gates said during his presentation.


Not only does the lack of testing prevent livestock producers from understanding the value of their manure, but most livestock producers do not have estimates of their crop nutrient demand. This further complicates the task of optimizing manure value and preventing nutrient runoff.

 

Click here to read more about efforts to help China's livestock industry recycle manure.

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Protect Your Investment - K-State's Chris Reinhardt Talks About Providing Shade for Your Bulls

 

As summer temperatures begin to rise, heat stress becomes a concern for cattle producers. Chris Reinhardt, Kansas State University feedlot extension specialist, says a combination of heat, humidity, solar radiation and a lack of wind can make a tremendous amount of heat load on cattle. Bulls can especially suffer from heat stress, resulting in long-term consequences in fertility, reduced performance and overall health.


To minimize exposure, Reinhardt suggests providing ample shade for animals, preferably near the bunk.


"I've worked with several producers and they've got shade a long way from the bunk, and if cattle have to get heated up to go eat feed, they may just choose to skip a meal or two" he says. "So if we can put shade close to the bunk, cattle will snack all throughout the day."


When it comes to shade design, Reinhardt says it really depends on the specific producer, but he does recommend spending a bit more in the beginning to avoid headaches down the road.


"If we spend a little more upfront, it will require less maintenance long term, it will last longer, it will stand up to some severe weather, things of that nature," he says. "You can build very affordable shades, which provide essentially the same shade benefit, using shade cloth and some other materials; unfortunately, they're not as robust and will not stand up to some of our severe weather."


Listen to Reinhardt talk more about the importance of shade this summer during the latest Beef Buzz. 

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