Like NCBA- NAWG is pleased.  "Because NAFTA helped make Mexico one of the most important export markets for U.S. wheat, our main priority right now is to do no harm to wheat trade," said David Schemm, president of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and a wheat farmer from Sharon Springs, Kan. "We are happy to see that the objectives call for maintaining existing reciprocal duty-free market access for agricultural goods. Mexican buyers import more of the wheat my neighbors and I grow than any other country and we can't afford to risk interrupting that positive relationship with our customers." Click here for their full statement cheering the objectives offered by Ambassdor Lighthizer.

In the latest crop progress report released Monday, July 17, 2017, the United States Department of Agriculture rated the US corn crop condition at 64 percent good to excellent down 1 from a week ago, unchanged in fair at 25 percent and up 1 at 11 poor to very poor. The US soybean condition is rated 61 percent good to excellent down 1 from a week ago, up 1 at 28 percent fair and steady at 11 percent poor to very poor. For the complete USDA Crop Progress report, click here.


According to the weekly crop progress report from USDA, Oklahoma sorghum headed reached 26 percent, down 2 points from the previous year and down 1 points from normal. Sorghum coloring reached 11 percent, up 9 points from the previous year. Cotton squaring reached 50 percent and up 5 points from normal. Cotton setting bolls reached 17 percent, up 7 points from the previous year. To view the complete Oklahoma Crop Progress and Condition Report, click here.


In Kansas, corn condition rated 2 percent very poor, 8 poor, 31 fair, 48 good, and 11 excellent. Corn silking was 55 percent, behind 61 last year, and near 59 average. Sorghum condition rated 1 percent very poor, 4 poor, 28 fair, 61 good, and 6 excellent. Sorghum emerged was 98 percent. Headed was 5 percent, behind 13 last year, and near 6 average. Pasture and range conditions rated 1 percent very poor, 4 poor, 23 fair, 62 good, and 10 excellent. To view the complete Kansas Crop Progress and Condition Report, click here.


In Texas, producers were plowing wheat residue in areas of the Northern High Plains. Cotton squaring is now 65 percent complete, behind of the previous year by 2 and 3 the average. Cotton's condition in Texas is currently 49 percent good to excellent, 37 fair, and 14 poor to very poor. Corn condition rates 72 percent good to excellent, 25 fair and 3 percent poor to very poor. Sorghum condition in the state is rated 66 percent good to excellent, 26 percent fair and 8 percent poor to very poor. To view the complete Texas Crop Progress and Condition Report, click here.

I had the chance to speak with President and CEO of the US Meat Export Federation, Phil Seng, recently, who says so far, this year US beef exports have been on fire.


"The first five months of this year, we performed very well in our traditional markets: Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Mexico and Canada," he said. "We're up about 12 percent as far as our volume and about 16 percent as far as our value, internationally."


Recently, the value of these markets constitutes about $270 a head for fed steers, a fairly significant export dividend for beef producers. Part of this sustained strength in Asian markets is due to the fact that to some degree, their production bases are declining, while their economies continue to thrive. As a result, consumers in these markets have begun demanding higher valued products from the US.


"All the projections are pointing North; they're going up. We're very excited about the prospects," Seng reported, but confessed his fear of rising competition in Japan's market with Australia, which as a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership stands to benefit from lowered tariff rates. "(Japan) has traditionally been our most reliable, dependable market and we just can't allow the competitor to have that kind of a duty-advantage."


Listen in as I speak with Seng about the outstanding performance of US beef exports this year, and why it is important to begin addressing the potential threat of increased competition in our traditional international market base, on yesterday's Beef Buzz - click here.

The Omaha Branch of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank released its Agriculture Finance Databook, recently, for the 2nd Quarter of 2017.

According to the report findings, lending to farmers performed fairly steady during this quarter, but the potential for risk was still prevalent - and kept credit conditions from growing.

Interest rates, during Q2 have trended up moderately, while at the same time farm income has steadily declined. This has caused banks to take a position of shielding themselves from further risk and have limited their non-real estate lending. Even so, non-real estate loan volume has increased just slightly.

Commercial banks though in the ag sector, seem to be remaining fairly strong, despite declining farmland values.

However, if farm income remains low, agricultural lenders may need to adjust to an environment of persistently sluggish loan growth and heightened risk in their farm loan portfolio.

For a complete summary of the report's highlights or to take a look at the report itself, click or tap here to view it on our website.

The Ag-Econ department at OSU released the latest edition of the Food Demand Survey (FooDS) last week.

The report revealed that over the last month, consumers have adopted more willingness-to-pay for all food products listed on the survey.

While respondents reported they would be willing to pay the most for steaks, overall meat prices for all proteins listed were below year ago levels.

Expenditures on food eaten at home and on food purchased away from home both saw decreases.

Meanwhile, consumers plan to buy less chicken and pork and more beef compared to last month. Plans to eat out increased compared to last month as well.

Several ad hoc questions were included in this month's survey also, this time relating to consumers' knowledge of nut varieties.

In summary, most respondents could correctly identify a variety of nuts both in and out of their shells. And, for the most part, many of the nuts are rarely eaten over the course of a year, if at all.

For more highlights or to see the complete results of the July edition of the FooDS survey conducted at OSU, click or tap here.

I had the opportunity to speak with National Cattlemen's Beef Association CEO Kendal Frazier during my trip to Denver last week, attending the NCBA's Summer Business Conference. He took me through many of the exciting developments that have happened for the beef industry, in just the past six months since President Donald Trump took office. He says, in large part, the success stories that have come about in the first half of 2017 are thanks to having an administration in the White House that is willing to work with the industry, unlike the previous administration.

"We feel really good about some of the appointments that been made in the key government agencies that we interact with, EPA, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture," Frazier said. "We feel like there are good people now heading up those agencies and feel like philosophically, we agree a lot with what they want to do."

Overall, Frazier says the industry is in "pretty good shape." But one aspect in particular, trade, has outperformed everyone's expectations and even surprised a lot of folks. Striking a deal with China as quickly as we did, after 13 years of US beef products being barred from their marketplace, was enough to celebrate. But he says total export volume this year continues to grow. He says once China's market has been developed and matured, they will continue to grow to the benefit of US Cattlemen even more. But acknowledges that patience is of virtue.

"We understand that we're going to have to develop (China's) market and that it'll be a slow process to do that," he said.

But while markets are being developed in China and elsewhere overseas, Frazier assures that the NCBA is focused on nurturing our domestic markets here at home, too. This fall, he says, a new campaign will be launched to strengthen consumer trust, build awareness and promote beef in the American marketplace.

"We feel like this campaign that we're going to launch this fall is going to really put us on the offense," Frazier said. "So, stay tuned for that campaign. We think it's going to be really exciting."

Click or tap here to jump to our website, for further reading or to listen to my entire conversation with Frazier.

It just so happens that the 'National Day of the Cowboy' will coincide with the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association's 65th Annual Convention and Trade Show, this year. OCA members are honoring the spirit of that day, building their convention's central theme around the special day.

OCA President Charlie Swanson, of Roosevelt, Okla. is inviting all ranching families in Oklahoma to attend, and enjoy the full agenda of events, which commences this Friday in Norman, Oklahoma at the Embassy Suites. He told me in a recent interview that this year will feature several changes, included a new two-day format and an expanded trade show with vendors for all your preferred brands that supply your ranching operation.

Attendees will have the chance to participate in OCA policy development, continuing education courses and the celebration of the past year's achievements by the collective association and outstanding peers, during the annual awards banquet that will be hosted Saturday, concluding the event.

Swanson, will retire as OCA President and pass the gavel on to his successor, during the banquet as well.

You can hear my full conversation with Swanson as we talk about all that this event has to offer, plus some of the highlights that stick out in his mind, of his term as OCA President, by clicking or tapping here.

In this week's edition of the Cow/Calf Corner newsletter, OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel, revisits his article from the previous week, delving into Part II of his examination of the US beef industry's changing landscape. This week, he focuses on the role of exports in the industry's evolution.

"U.S. beef exports have varied in the quantity of exports and the mix of countries receiving U.S. beef over many years. The latest trade data for May shows total beef exports up 6.8 percent compared to one year ago with January through May total beef exports up 17.1 percent for the year to date. May beef exports were down to Canada, Mexico and South Korea while exports were strongly higher year over year to Japan and Hong Kong. Year to date beef exports are up year over year to all major U.S. beef export destinations. This follows annual growth of 12.6 percent in total beef exports in 2016 which included increased year over year exports to Japan, South Korea and Mexico along with Taiwan and Vietnam. 2016 exports to Canada and Hong Kong were down year over year.



"Continued growth in beef exports to Japan has helped the country to once again be the largest U.S. beef export market since 2013. Prior to the first U.S. case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in 2003, Japan routinely represented one third to nearly one half of total U.S. beef exports. 2016 beef exports to Japan were 29 percent smaller than the 2003 total. However, total U.S. beef exports recovered and surpassed the 2003 export total in 2011 due to the increasing role of other markets post-BSE along with regrowth in Japan.



"South Korea is currently the second largest U.S. be export market, a position that it had achieved prior to BSE in 2003. Like Japan, South Korea was largely out of the U.S. market post-BSE and recovered second place status only in 2016. South Korea has shown robust growth the past couple of years and was the only major beef export market to increase in 2015, during the record high U.S. prices."

To continue reading Peel's analysis of the US beef trade, click over to our website.