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We invite you to listen to us on great radio stations across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network weekdays- if you missed this morning's Farm News - or you are in an area where you can't hear it- click here for this morning's Farm news from Ron Hays on RON.
Let's Check the Markets!
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Today's First Look:
mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
Each afternoon we are posting a recap of that day's markets as analyzed by Justin Lewis of KIS futures- click or tap here for the report posted yesterday afternoon around 3:30 PM.
Okla Cash Grain:
Futures Wrap:
Feeder Cattle Recap:
Slaughter Cattle Recap:
TCFA Feedlot Recap:
Our Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
Ron Hays, Senior Farm Director and Editor
Carson Horn, Associate Farm Director and Editor Pam Arterburn, Calendar and Template Manager Dave Lanning, Markets and Production
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Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
Monday, December 4, 2017
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Featured Story:
After 41 years of public service, Oklahoma State University's James Trapp will retire this coming January. During the last 11 years, Trapp has strived to advance the work of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. I had the chance to speak with Trapp and reflect with him on his colorful, lifelong career in serving the agriculture industry and the people in it.
"It has been my honor to serve as associate director of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service," Trapp said. "It's been one of the great privileges of my career to work with our Extension faculty and staff."
Public service and leadership always have been at the heart of Trapp's career choices. An agricultural economist by trade, Trapp joined the OSU faculty in 1976, rising through the academic ranks to become a Regents professor and eventually serve as head of OSU's department of agricultural economics, a position he held for six years prior to being named OCES associate director.
"To lead as Dr. Trapp has done, with such calm confidence and broad support, is exceptional," said Tom Coon, OSU vice president for agricultural programs. "All of Oklahoma is the better for his leadership and commitment to public service."
As a faculty member, Trapp was particularly well regarded for his research and educational programming relative to fed cattle markets, according to Mike Woods, current head of the department and another longtime OSU agricultural economics faculty member, and former student of Trapp's. Describing Trapp as "a systems guy," Woods says Trapp had a talent for teaching and enhancing one's awareness from a practical point of view.
Trapp and his wife, Carol, intend to make his transition from four decades of work into retirement, an active one. Both are eager to travel and also continue to keep up the family farm in Kansas.
Trapp added humorously, "No real change in my life, then, other than not having to come into the office after 41 years."
One of the finest testaments to Trapp's impact over the last 41 years might come from Joe Neal Hampton, president and chief executive officer of the Oklahoma Agribusiness Retailers Association as well as the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association.
"Dr. Trapp has been among those at the forefront who sought solutions to a lot of interesting and demanding issues facing Oklahoma agribusinesses and communities throughout his tenure," Hampton said. "People in agriculture and rural America have dreams. Jim Trapp had a hand in helping people meet their dreams, even if they themselves were not always aware of his role."
To read OSU's full-length feature on Trapp's retirement and for a chance to hear my complete conversation with the man of the hour, click or tap here. |
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Sponsor Spotlight
It's great to have the Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards as a sponsor for our daily email. The eight Commission firms at the Stockyards make up the exchange- and they are committed to work hard to get you top dollar when you consign your cattle with them. They will present your cattle to the buyers gathered each Monday or Tuesday at one of the largest stocker and feeder cattle auctions in the world.
Click here for a complete list of the Commission firms that make up the Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards- still the best place to sell your cattle- and at the heart of Stockyards City, where you can go around the corner enjoy a great steak and shop for the very best in western wear.
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Early Saturday morning, the US Senate passed their version of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act- it was all Republicans versus all Democrats plus Bob Corker of Tennessee to get to the final 51 to 49 vote.
One of the yes votes was Senate Ag Committee chairman Pat Roberts, who was designated as the lead expert on the impact of the measure on farmers and ranchers by the Senate Finance Committee, praised the legislation's provisions that will provide certainty to farmers and ranchers. He said, "I am very pleased the Senate bill keeps the Ag tax provisions, but will also help our farmers by creating a much more pro-growth tax system, lowering their tax burden and simplifying the tax provisions relating to the agricultural sector." Click here for his full statement from his Senate webpage.
As far as Ag Organizations go- Farm Bureau offered a thumbs up and NFU offered a thumbs down.
AFBF President Zippy Duvall offered this praise in his reaction: "We applaud the Senate's commitment to key tax provisions farm and ranch businesses depend on, such as immediate expensing, business interest deduction and cash accounting. While we also had hoped to see the estate tax finally put to death, increasing the exemption should bring relief for many farm and ranch families looking to preserve their agricultural legacy." Click here for AFBF complete response.
Roger Johnson of the National Farmers Union has been unhappy with the process as Congress has worked their magic- blasting the House passed version and now the Senate measure- "Today, the U.S. Senate voted to cut taxes for the wealthiest individuals and corporations in our country, and pay for those cuts by adding $1.5 trillion to the deficit and shifting the tax burden onto the rest of us, and to our children and grandchildren. This legislation and its counterpart on the House side are inherently flawed, and Congress should reject any combination of the two."
One group that lost their argument with the Senate is the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives- their CEO, Chuck Connor, was not pleased- "It is deeply unfortunate that the Senate failed to include continuation of the Domestic Production Activities Deduction (DPAD), also known as the Section 199 deduction, for agriculture in their tax reform bill. This action creates tremendous uncertainty as farmers plan for the coming year and they will need to quickly assess the impact of this legislation with their accountants and lenders."
Click here for Connor's complete statement from over the weekend. It's expected that the House will agree today to begin work with the Senate on reconciling the differences between the two bills and for the two bodies to pull together a Conference Report quickly to have a Tax Reform Package passed that can be delivered to the White House before Christmas.
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This past week, Dr. Kay Helms was honored by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, and recognized as a Significant Woman in Agriculture.
Originally from an eastern South Dakota community called Cavour, Kay would go on to graduate from Oklahoma State University and become a veterinarian at the Winsor Animal Clinic near Coalgate, Okla. She built a ranch alongside her husband Phillip where they continue to run a cow-calf operation, just a half-mile south of where Phillip grew up. That little girl also went on to be Director of the Veterinary Technology Program at Murray State College in Tishomingo, retiring from there in 1999. She then did relief work for veterinarians who needed extra help for one reason or another.
But for Helms, it seems all things in life came full-circle. Not too long after retiring, she started offering low cost spay and neuter clinics for low income families, working for local humane organizations in Coalgate, Broken Bow, Fort Towson and Ada.
Today she works for Dr. Larry Thompson doing the spays and neuters at Winsor Animal Clinic, the business where she started. Helms also provides that service for some local humane organizations. In fact, she now does about 2,000 surgeries a year.
In addition to these other efforts, Helms does a trap, neuter and return for the feral cats in Coalgate.
Helms briefly considered medical school, but the compassion for animals within her was too powerful.
Although she once considered attending medical school, Kay says her love of animals has always been too strong. She has dedicated her life to caring for them and advising other on how to do the same. Her work is important to her. But even more so, she says it is important to the families of the animals she treats.
Continue reading Kay's story about her life and what makes her a significant woman in agriculture, by clicking over to our website for her complete profile by ODAFF.
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 Vet Mike Apley Says Antibiotic Use in Animal Agriculture is a Matter of Judicious Use vs. Stewardship
In recent years, the threat of bacterial resistance to antibiotic treatments, has prompted concerns not only in the human health sector, but also over the use of antibiotics in livestock production as a contributor to the issue. Hence, the recent enforcement of the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) that now governs antibiotic use in production agriculture. Kansas State University Veterinarian Mike Apley, is one of the nation's foremost authorities on the subject. He spoke with me about his perspective on the issue."The question - is about stewardship vs. judicious use," he asserted, explaining that the judicious use of antibiotics is when a veterinarian has diagnosed an infection and prescribes an effective dose of antibiotics for an animal for a specific duration of time. "We've made that decision, to use it for just as long as I need to and I'm only going to expose the animals that absolutely have to have it. Stewardship brings in the part of me doing everything I possibly can to avoid the need to use the antibiotic."In his work with peers and fellow scientists, Dr. Apley arrived at the point of view that stewardship should be practiced, in order to ensure the continued use of antibiotics be allowed and remain an effective treatment. This is a position he feels adamant about."On ag, we're being asked about the nature of the production systems that have evolved to very, very efficiently produce food at a very low cost," Apley said. "What it comes down to is, antibiotics are incredibly valuable in human and veterinary medicine. So, we better be paying attention to stewardship."Listen to Dr. Apley explain his position regarding the appropriate use and value of antibiotics in the livestock industry, to Ron Hays, on today's Beef Buzz - click here.
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Sponsor Spotlight
We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update. On both the state and national levels, full-time staff members serve as a "watchdog" for family agriculture producers, mutual insurance company members and life company members.
Click here to go to their AFR website to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America!
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Last week, Monsanto celebrated the agricultural innovation the company continues to deliver from its global research and development headquarters in Chesterfield, Mo. As part of the event, Monsanto leaders and employees, joined by state and local officials, cut a ribbon to celebrate the completion of Monsanto's newest technology building, part of the company's $400 million expansion at its Chesterfield Research Center.
"With this investment, we are underscoring our commitment to advancing St. Louis as the epicenter for global agricultural innovation," said Hugh Grant, chairman and chief executive officer of Monsanto. "Today is an important celebration of the possibilities that can be unlocked here. This facility will be tackling some of the world's most critical needs, as we look to identify ways to help growers around the world grow crops in more sustainable ways."
The expansion project includes a new 400,000-square-foot research building that now houses 13 Controlled Environment Agriculture rooms and 250 additional research laboratories.
The Chesterfield Research Center focuses on such key areas as plant breeding, biotechnology, agriculture productivity, data science, crop protection and biologicals.
The building features many eco-friendly attributes such as an energy use savings of 21 percent, utilization of recycled content materials and regionally manufactured and extracted materials and construction waste management. It also was recognized for water use reduction and water reuse by reusing approximately 1 million gallons per year through a 15,000-gallon rainwater collection tank and reuse distribution system. These features have earned the building a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification.
For nearly two decades, Monsanto has been delivering agricultural innovation around the world from St. Louis. Grant says this new facility will ensure that legacy of innovation will continue for many years to come.
Click here to read more about the new building officially opened by Monsanto last week.
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Want to Have the Latest Energy News Delivered to Your Inbox Daily?
Award winning broadcast journalist Jerry Bohnen has spent years learning and understanding how to cover the energy business here in the southern plains- Click here to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.
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The Oklahoma State University College of Agriculture produced twenty of the forty eight Seniors of Significance for the 2017-2018 Academic Year- all 48 were honored at a special reception on the Campus in Stillwater by the OSU Alumni Association.
The Seniors of Significance Award recognizes students who have excelled in scholarship, leadership and service to campus and community and have brought distinction to OSU.
"The OSU Alumni Association is proud to honor this year's Seniors of Significance," says Chris Batchelder, Alumni Association president and CEO. "These students will go on to become impactful alumni upon graduation and will make Oklahoma State proud."
The 48 students represent the top one percent of the Class of 2018 including all six OSU undergraduate colleges. The College of Agriculture has the most Significant Seniors of the six colleges.
Click here for a complete list of those Seniors of Significance from the College of Ag for 2017-2018.
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The USDA's Risk Management Agency has announced changes to its crop insurance policies. Major changes for 2018 focus on conservation compliance certification and choice of unit structure based on the risk management needs of producers.
To offer producers increased flexibility, RMA has removed the June 1 certification deadline date from the conservation compliance provisions and will instead refer to the premium billing date. This will allow the conservation compliance certification process for crop insurance to be administered more consistently with the way it is administered for other USDA programs. RMA is also streamlining its services by now allowing a policyholder to select an enterprise unit for either irrigated or non-irrigated practice. Policyholders may also choose the most appropriate unit structure on the other practice, be it a separate enterprise unit or optional or basic units. These changes reduce the burden placed on producers and makes crop insurance more accessible.
RMA worked closely with its stakeholders to identify the changes, which were published Nov. 24 in the Federal Register.
Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net by clicking over to the original webstory.
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Save Money by Registering for Winter Crops School Today
Save yourself $75 by registering before the end of today for the OSU Winter Crops School that happens next week at the OSU Student Union in Stillwater.
Registration today is $125- tomorrow it will be $200.
Click here to jump straight to the registration online site- and for the full schedule of the two day event, click or tap here.
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Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, American Farmers & Ranchers, Oklahoma Beef Council, Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Stillwater Milling Company, National Livestock Credit Corporation, Oklahoma AgCredit, the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association, and KIS Futures for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites out and let these folks know you appreciate the support of this daily email, as their sponsorship helps us keep this arriving in your inbox on a regular basis- at NO Charge!
We invite you to check out our website at the link below too that includes an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.
God Bless! You can reach us at the following:
phone: 405-473-6144
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