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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

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Get Out and Vote Tomorrow- Tuesday, June 28th 

In this morning's farm and ranch news on our statewide radio network of stations- we have featured comments from Michael Kelsey of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association about how important it is for rural Oklahomans to really turn out in large numbers and participate in the primary elections set for Tuesday, June 28th. You can click here to take a listen.

Kelsey reminds us that there will be forty new members of state legislature in 2017- and the first vote to start selecting them is Tuesday.  He urges rural Oklahomans to "know the candidates and know who you are voting for and make those selections based on who is aware and favors agriculture. We need a strong agricultural voice at the state capitol...we need to elect folks who understand what food production is all about."

One candidate that many of our readers know has reached out to us- wanting rural folks across the state to get involved and vote on Tuesday- Roland Pederson of Burlington is running for the Senate Seat held by Patrick Anderson of Enid- who is term limited here in 2016 (District 19).  Pederson has two opponents, Dr. Ross Vanhooser and Greg Ingle.  Pederson is a former board member of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and served as State President for a short time before the election of Tom Buchanan of Altus. Pederson tells me that he has the endorsement of both Buchanan as well as the President of the other general farm group in the state- Terry Detrick with American Farmers and Ranchers.

Pederson writes "We need rural representation at the state Capitol and someone who understands it. I believe I am that candidate. Education, roads and bridges, public safety, and access to rural health care will always be issues in rural areas."

You can learn more about Roland's campaign by clicking here.

There are other races that have candidates that have agricultural credentials- some involving incumbents and many others that make up those forty open seats that will result in a tremendous turnover at the State Capitol as the next session of the State Legislature begins next February. If you have not done your homework yet- today is the day to get it done.

Perhaps the best website I have found that has details about all of the candidates in one place is Ballotpedia- here are the direct links for the key contested races for tomorrow's Primary election-

Oklahoma Congressional Races

Oklahoma State Senate Races

Oklahoma State House Races

House Ag Democratic Leader Will Support Roberts-Stabenow GMO Labeling Bill on House Floor  

House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson made the following additional statement Friday after Senate Agriculture Committee leaders announced an agreement on labeling foods containing genetically engineered crops.


"While I prefer the House passed voluntary approach for the labeling of food produced from genetically engineered crops, I will support the Senate GMO labeling bill should it come to a vote in the House and I will encourage my colleagues to join me. It is not a perfect bill but after careful review I believe it is in the best interest of farmers, consumers, and food manufacturers to have clear direction and certainty in this area. I have concluded that any further delay would needlessly prolong the uncertainty created by the Vermont law. It's important to find a balance between label transparency and the safety of these crops."

Please note- At this point- there is no indication when the Senate will consider the Roberts-Stabenow bill- the earliest the House could consider the measure is the week of July 5th- if they receive it from the Senate in a timely fashion.

No Surprises. Period. Derrell Peel Examines Cattle on Feed

Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Derrell Peel sees few if any surprises in the latest USDA Cattle on Feed report, released on Friday afternoon. Dr. Peel says "placements and marketings were both about as expected- the on feed total comes in about two percent up year over year, which was exactly what was expected."


According to USDA- "Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.8 million head on June 1, 2016. The inventory was 2 percent above June 1, 2015. 


"Placements in feedlots during May totaled 1.88 million head, 10 percent above 2015. Net placements were 1.81 million head. During May, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 305,000 head, 600- 699 pounds were 250,000 head, 700- 799 pounds were 479,000 head, and 800 pounds and greater were 850,000 head. Marketings of fed cattle during May totaled 1.79 million head, 5 percent above 2015."


After the report was released, I talked with Peel about the report, who says that this report simply shows the industry is on track to build numbers of cattle this year and likely the next couple of years. 

"On January 1, we had a bigger estimated feed supply and so that says the cattle are coming at us and we're seeing that happen now with these bigger placements month over month and we're going to see that for many more months going forward."

Click here to listen to our conversation and find a link to the complete USDA Cattle on Feed report.

Hogs and Pigs Report Produces BIG Numbers

The USDA Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report released on Friday afternoon confirmed what a lot of industry analysts were expecting- a larger hog herd. According to USDA, the report showed a record June 1 U.S. hog inventory at 68.4 million head for all hogs and pigs, up 1.9% from the previous year. Of the 68.4 million hogs and pigs, 62.4 million were market hogs (up 2%), while 5.98 million were kept for breeding (up 1%).


The March-May 2016 pig crop, at 30.3 million head, was up 3% from 2015. This is the largest March-May pig crop since 1971. Sows farrowed during this period totaled 2.90 million head (up 1%), representing 48% of the breeding herd. For the March-May period, the average pigs saved per litter reached another record high at 10.48.


Joseph Kerns, president of Kerns & Associates, says one concern with this quarterly report is the disappearing sows. It is somewhat of a mystery. Kerns says, "Not only did the sows lost in the March report, in particular from the state of Iowa, did not show back up, but we lost 10,000 more! I find that very hard to digest." 


Iowa is the top sow state in the country, as well as the top total hog inventory state - while Oklahoma continues to be a top five breeding animal state, with 470,000 sows reported in Oklahoma as of June first - that's up seven percent from a year ago, but is off 10,000 head compared to the March first report of this year. With many of the baby pigs born in Oklahoma shipped soon after birth to the corn belt to be fed out- the state is the ninth largest total hog inventory state, with 2.15 million head residing in Oklahoma as of June first. That's down four percent from a year ago.

Listen to a full analysis of the report featuring comments from both Kerns and University of Missouri professor emeritus Dr. Ron Plain.

Midwest Farm Shows is our longest running sponsor of the daily email- and they say thanks to all of you who participated in their 2016 Oklahoma City Farm Show.  

Up next will be the Tulsa Farm Show in December 2016- the dates are December 8th, 9th and 10th.  Now is the ideal time to contact Ron Bormaster at 507-437-7969 and book space at the 2016 Tulsa Farm Show.  To learn more about the Tulsa Farm Show, click here.  

NFU's Roger Johnson Weighs in on RFS- Tells EPA to Obey the Law

Click here to listen to Johnson talk more about the Renewable Fuel Standard and find a link to comment on the RFS.

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Senators Write Letter to EPA- Also Telling Them to Do What Congress Has Directed Regarding the RFS

A bipartisan group of 39 Senators sent a letter Friday urging the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that the final blending targets under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2017 will promote growth in the U.S. biofuels sector and capitalize on economic opportunity instead of driving investment overseas. Emily Skor, Growth Energy CEO, issued the following statement:


"The letter is unequivocal in outlining the need to keep our progress in biofuels production intact and in urging EPA to issue a final rule putting the RFS program back on track with blending targets that match Congress' intended levels.


"We must not turn back the clock on the progress we have made, and commend these Senators for protecting America's security and economy through the RFS. The EPA must return stability to this policy to ensure that we keep America moving forward. The RFS decreases our dependence on foreign oil, improves our environment by reducing harmful emissions and displacing toxic chemicals found in gasoline, and gives American consumers a choice of a less expensive, higher performing fuel. 


"The RFS is our nation's most successful energy policy. We stand united with this group of bipartisan Senators in sending a message to EPA that our support for this policy is unwavering, and that EPA must set the final RVO volumes to 15 billion gallons as Congress intended."

Click here to find a link to the full letter.

NCBA Works to Keep Meat on the Menu for U.S. Military

A recent attempt to introduce "meatless Mondays" into the diets of active servicemen and women has been thwarted, but Colin Woodall, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, says animal rights groups like the Humane Society of the United States are continuing to push their vegan campaign at the Capitol.


"It's a concern because this a program that's based on a political agenda and not on any fact or science," he says.


Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., recently introduced an amendment to the 2017 Defense Department appropriations bill to prevent a "meatless Mondays" campaign from ever being applied to U.S. military installations.


Woodall says NCBA is hoping to have the same type of success in the Senate.


"We are currently working with the senate to try to find an amendment strategy similar to what we saw in the house," he says. "The timing on that is a little less clear then where we were with the house right now, but there is a lot of motivation to try to this." 


Updates in dietary guidelines continue to include beef as a healthy protein option, and Woodall says it's important consumers understand that there's science-based research backing those recommendations.


"I think one of the things we need to do is every time a 'meatless Mondays' campaign comes up, that we take full advantage of it to show the nutritional benefits of beef in the diet and also make sure people understand that we're just talking about the consumer having choice," he says. "We're not forcing them to eat beef every single day - that's not the request. What we're trying to do is just make sure that they can make a choice based upon all the real information out there and not the made up information that we see from campaigns such as 'meatless Mondays.'"



Listen to Woodall talk more about efforts to overcome campaigns like "meatless Mondays" during the latest Beef Buzz.

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