Nine members of the American Farmers and Ranchers are participating in the fall National Farmers Union Washington Fly In- and heard from US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on Monday. The Secretary offered an update on the efforts of USDA to be involved in the relief efforts following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma- and estimated that upwards of a billion dollars of damage has been found in Texas and Louisiana in the aftermath of Harvey- he says it is way too early for damage numbers for Irma as she continues to work her way into the mid south.


The AFR members, led by President Terry Detrick, also had the chance to talk with Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole- and have meetings planned with Oklahoma Senators James Lankford and Jim Inhofe and Congressmen Frank Lucas and Markwayne Mullin on Tuesday.

Click or tap here to read more- and to hear Q&A with Secretary of Ag Perdue- courtesy of Sam Knipp with AFR.

In this week's article for the Cow/Calf Corner newsletter, OSU Extension Livestock market economist Dr. Derrell Peel offers readers an update on the cattle business so far this year as observed during the month of September.

In his analysis, Peel says feeder cattle prices are about 10 percent above year ago levels. He says it is likely that fed cattle prices will continue a steady decline over the course of the next couple months during the typical seasonal low in October - but prices are still expected to remain higher than this time late year.

At the same time, he says boxed beef prices have dropped sharply from June highs but appear to have stabilized recently.

"Choice boxed beef prices are currently very close to year ago levels while Select boxed beef prices are slightly higher year over year," Peel writes. "Boxed beef prices are expected to increase some in the fourth quarter and average higher year over year for the balance of the year."

Beef production this year is up as much as 4.0 to 4.5 percent from last year, caused by increased slaughter, which is up nearly 11 percent total. This is offset some though by lighter carcass weights, that have been on the average this year about 14 pounds lighter than carcasses last year.

"In the face of increased beef production in 2017, cattle and beef prices have been remarkably strong," Peel contends. "Retail prices have generally increased during the year and are at year ago levels despite the fact that per capita retail beef consumption is expected to increase nearly two percent this year."

Click here for a look at Peel's complete analysis of the current trends in the cattle market.

Farm Bureau and John Deere announced, yesterday, a new partnership that will give Farm Bureau members in participating states special access to John Deere's GreenFleet Loyalty Rewards program, providing members with a free two-year Platinum membership.

Along with valuable equipment discounts, GreenFleet Loyalty Rewards Platinum members are eligible for special parts savings, Home & Workshop Products discounts, and other members-only promotions. 

"Together with Farm Bureau, we are strengthening our agricultural communities and building for the future," said Steve Geick, John Deere director of ag industry relations, US/Canada. "The GreenFleet Loyalty Rewards program for Farm Bureau members is John Deere's way of rewarding those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land."

To participate, Farm Bureau members can visit their state Farm Bureau website or JohnDeere.com/FarmBureau.

Once the registration is complete, the member will receive their GreenFleet member number and can instantly access program benefits. Members can simply purchase online or by visiting a local John Deere dealer.

Click over to the original announcement up on our website to learn more about this special offer from John Deere to Farm Bureau members.

Preconditioning programs for beef calves can not only generate improved health outcomes, but also provide additional price benefits at the sale barn. With dozens of pre-formulated programs out there for producers to choose from, Extension Veterinary Specialist Dr. Gregg Hanzlicek, told me, that even the simplest of programs can significantly improve any rancher's operation and bottom line.


"There's been lots of studies to show that whether producers sell on video auctions or other auctions, typically if they mix a good vaccination program with perfect timing, they'll net some income from actually using a preconditioning program," he said. "For me, that means two to four weeks before the desired weaning time, let's get a good product that basically includes all the respiratory diseases and then also Blackleg. Let's get those vaccines in those calves."


By doing this, you will set up your calves with a stimulated immune system to help fight off post-weaning diseases. Hanzlicek strongly recommends working with your local veterinarian to help you develop your personalized vaccination program, as every product works differently to a degree in different geographical areas. Once the program is implemented, the next step is to make it known what practices you employ on your operation. Take advantage of special preconditioned sales as a channel for marketing your cattle. But before you consign to a sale, be sure you understand the auction's requirements.


"There are sales that are called preconditioning sales, but they have stringent requirements on what products that need to be used, and when," Hanzlicek advised. "It's important producers get ahold of the people and ask what exactly needs to be done to have cattle sold in that sale."


Learn more about available programs and where preconditioned cattle can be marketed here in the state, and hear Dr. Hanzlicek speak on the value of implementing a preconditioning program into your operation with me, on yesterday's Beef Buzz - click here.

Agricultural economist consultant, Myriah Johnson of the Noble Research Institute recently published an article outlining several options that beef producers should consider when marketing their calves from each calving season.

First, Johnson describes a situation many fall-calving producers are finding themselves in or will soon - asking the question of whether to sell fall yearlings now or wait until closer to November to put a bit of extra weight on them and create additional value? For some producers, this may not be viable, if they cannot compensate for the steep price declines for selling off late in the season. However, according to her calculations, Johnson says if your cost of gain is less than $1.39, you could stand to earn a bit of a profit here in Oklahoma by selling off heavier weight cattle late in the year.

The question is essentially the same for producers selling spring-born calves, except there are several options involved here.

"The choices here are," she writes, "1) strip the calves from their mothers and sell before the bawl is out of them; 2) wean and background or precondition the calves; 3) wean, background, place them on winter small grains pasture and pull them off by first hollow stem; or 4) wean, background and place them on winter small grains pasture through graze out."

Again, the case presents steeper price discounts going into next spring, compared to the remaining few months of this fall. If you are looking for the highest value of gain, that looks to be in just a few short months this fall.

The last two things to consider, Johnson says, is putting your calves under a preconditioning protocol, such as VAC-45 or VAC-60. She says, 9 out of 10 years, producers find a preconditioning program to be profitable for their operation. But she says this should all be evaluated for your particular individual operation. Which brings us to her last point, about managing your risk.

She says, looking at the numbers, retaining cattle until November or December seems to be the best option, but producers should crunch the numbers first before any strategy is committed to, as each operation is runs differently.

Read Johnson's complete article for more in depth advice on some of the considerations you can make regarding the marketing of your calves this year, by clicking or tapping here.

 

At 11 AM Central- we will have a pair of USDA reports to consider- the September edition of the USDA Crop Production report and the regular WASDE report.

 

Average analyst estimates from Reuters for today's USDA report are 168.2 bpa for corn yield and 14.035-billion-bushel total production. Harvested corn acres are estimated at 83.428 million. Soybean average estimates are 48.8 bpa and a total crop of 4.328-billion-bushel. Harvested soybean acres are estimated at 88.752 million.