Producer sentiment regarding the outlook for the farm economy
has been reported at its highest level since January 2017 according to the latest reading of Perdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

Measured at 139 (100 being neutral) for the month of July, this reading is not only the highest level since the first of the year, it's also the second highest on record, since the barometer's first reading in October 2015.

The barometer's two sub-indices also were higher in July, with the Index of Current Conditions rising from 132 in June to 142 in July, and the Index of Future Expectations climbing from 131 in June to 138 in July.

Higher prices have seemed to have boosted producer confidence and according to the survey, producers expect to continue to see higher prices for key commodities in the near future.

Compared to 2016, this summer seems to be fostering much more optimism than in the rural economy than last year at this time.

For more highlights on the Ag Economy Barometer's July report, or to view the complete report, click or tap here.

The agriculture community has had a long-standing belief that the Endangered Species Act is flawed, or at least at times mismanaged by those in a skewed pursuit of environmental stewardship.

That notion manifested itself this week, with a ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the listing of the gray wolf in the Western Great Lakes Region, which is home to roughly 4,000 wolves that regularly prey on ranchers' cattle in the area.

Ethan Lane, executive director of the Public Lands Council and NCBA federal lands, yesterday released a statement in response to the court's decision, frankly saying that the ruling was a perfect example of why the Endangered Species Act needs to be modernized.

"It is abundantly clear that the population in the region is recovered and thriving," Lane stated. "Rather than celebrating the successful recovery of this species, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin will continue to be held hostage to the whims of radical environmental activists." Click or tap here, to view Lane's complete remarks on the matter.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall weighed in as well, after the court announced its verdict, calling on Congress to address the injustice at hand.

"Congress needs to take action to reform the broken and outdated Endangered Species Act<" Duvall asserted. "There's no question the wolf packs have recovered. We only wish we could say the same of farms and ranches within their reach."

Read Duvall's complete comments from a statement released yesterday, by clicking here.

Consultants at the Noble Research Institute recently published an article that considers the economic advantages of planting cover crops for beef cattle producers.

Cover crops are typically associated with conservation programs, targeted at improving the quality and health of soil. But Noble's Dr. Myriah Johnson and Jeff Goodwin, suggest that one benefit offered by planting a cover crop, that is rarely acknowledged, is its use as a forage to graze livestock. They describe two scenarios in which a producers could stand to benefit.

"At the Noble Research Institute, we see cover crops filling two predominate forage production gaps here in the Southern Great Plains. The first is for a summer cover crop to be used for grazing in conjunction with wheat between harvesting and planting. The second is for a cool-season cover crop to be interseeded into a warm-season pasture, providing early spring season forage for cattle."

Assuming for the best-case scenario, Johnson and Goodwin, have developed an equation that shows a profit can be squeezed from running cattle on a cover crop that's been planted behind a wheat crop over the summer. But, whether you do make a profit or not, they suggest you still are left with residual benefits.

"Even if we do make a profit, we will also have gained in other soil health areas. If we just breakeven or the cattle don't gain, we haven't had a total loss. Typically, there may be a summer weed control pass on fallow wheat ground that we have avoided while also building soil health. Other advantages may be changing the timeframe in which you market your cattle. Cows might also be grazed on cover crops with their calves. Some anecdotal evidence points toward calves gaining around 3 pounds per head per day on their mother's side while on summer cover crops, as well as easier weaning by just pulling the cows."

Over the next few years, Johnson and Goodwin insist they will work to fill the gaps in the research and help further discern the true economic impacts of using cover crops.

Click over to our website to read the complete article, and to better understand the math that supports the theory presented by researchers Johnson and Goodwin.

 

A new report, released by the environmental activist group Mighty Earth, identifies the companies they believe responsible for the widespread manure and fertilizer pollution contaminating water from the Heartland down the Mississippi River and the rivers that flow into it and end up in the Gulf of Mexico.

It's the contention of this group that much of this pollution comes from the vast quantities of corn and soy used to raise meat animals, and has caused one of the largest Dead Zones on record in the Gulf of Mexico this year.

The report arrives in the wake of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) prediction in June that this summer's Gulf of Mexico dead zone would be the third-largest recorded since monitoring began 32 years ago. The estimated dead zone of 8,185 square miles, about the size of New Jersey, will be significantly larger than the average area of low or no oxygen in the Gulf of 5,309 square miles, NOAA said.

To read more about this report pointing the finger of blame at meat producers and those of us that enjoy a steak, a piece of fried chicken or even a ham sandwich- click or tap here.

"We're very pleased with what we've seen in the variety trials, and I'd say, Lone Rider, which was an irrigated trial outside of Garden City, topped that yield variety trial at 108 bushels per acre. So, we're excited about the new releases and we do have ample seed supplies available to seedsmen."

Hodges says sales were down this past year, but he suggests that's to be expected after a record harvest, when farmers can sell a sizable portion of their harvest and still keep some back for planting the following year. But he is optimistic that this year, farmers will be ready to renew their seed inventory and will be eager to purchase seed from OKGenetics, with enthusiasm to discover how well the newly released varieties might work out on their operation.

Hodges and other leaders of the Oklahoma wheat community will be attending the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Convention later this week, August 3rd in El Reno, at the Redlands Community College Conference Center. For more information or to register for the event, click here. In the meantime, you can listen to my full discussion with Hodges, here.

This past week, roughly 120 agricultural and government leaders met in Oklahoma City for a listening session hosted by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, as he continues to gather information on how to best rewrite the current form of the Waters of the United States rule, or WOTUS, implemented by the Obama-era EPA back in 2015. OSU Ag Law Specialist Dr. Shannon Ferrell, who offered comments to Pruitt, explained to me, what he believes to be at the root of the problem with the original version of the controversial rule and his thoughts on what Pruitt may include in his revision.

Now- we featured our interview with Ferrell in yesterday's email- but we then used some of his key comments in the Tuesday Beef Buzz audio report which can be heard on radio stations across our region in Oklahoma, as well as in Missouri, Kansas, Texas and New Mexico.  Click or tap here to jump over to our Beef buzz treatment of his comments on WOTUS.

What I thought was really interesting was the response we got in basically rewriting this story- done by our Associate Carson Horn- and this time using Shannon's name in the title of the story.

We got lots of BUZZ on Twitter- ten people or entities either liked or retweeted (or both) the story the second time around.

In touting the report- Tiffany Dowell Lashmat, who is an Ag Law Extension Specialist at Texas A&M Agrilife said on Twitter "@shanferrell is big time...offering advice to the EPA on re-writing #WOTUS. No better advocate for agriculture!"

I would agree with Tiffany, who by the way is an Alum of OSU.  And this redo of our conversation with Shannon shows me that it can be a really good idea to let people know up front who is making the comments- and if they are well regarded- then that becomes your biggest selling point in generating interest and having others help you spread the word about agriculture.

I appreciate those of you that follow us on Twitter- our handle is Ron_on_RON.

In a recent interview, Mark McCully, Certified Angus Beef vice president of production, talked about why premiums for high-quality beef are on the rise, despite the fact that the supply continues to grow.

CAB reports that as cattle prices fell dramatically since 2014, premiums began making up a much more of the total animal value.


"The impact of the quality premiums have gotten far more significant," said Mark McCully, Certified Angus Beef vice president of production. "They are a bigger percent of the total animal value today, so the cattlemen need to be paying attention to that as we move into some of these different price levels, of the important level that those quality premiums have in the marketplace."


Even as 70% of the nation's fed cattle grade Choice, McCully says the incentive to produce it remains strong.


"So, I don't think cattlemen need to be concerned that there's going to be too much of a good thing out in the marketplace," McCully said. "We've not seen any slowing in the spreads between the commodity product; in fact, they are continuing to separate."

Continue reading the full article, or watch a video clip featuring McCully, talking about why premiums continue to rise, even in the face growing supplies, by clicking or tapping here.