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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, January 15, 2018
Happy Martin Luther King Holiday!
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Howdy Neighbors!
Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update.
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Featured Story:
 Congressman Frank Lucas Calms the Waters on Sec. 199, Optimistic Over Farm Bill Proceedings
At the Enid Farm Show this past week, I had the chance to visit with Congressman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma's 3rd District, who was there to speak with grain sorghum producers. With concerns raised by many in farm country over the potential effects of the new tax reforms championed by President Trump, I asked the Congressman what his thoughts were, specifically about Section 199 which has a great deal to do with how coop businesses operate.
While many in the industry worry that recent changes to this provision could force farmer coops to rethink how they do business, Lucas advised constituents not t panic just yet.
"199 is a situation where the House Ways & Means Committee perhaps undid the traditional balance. The Senate responded by attempting to address that by going too far and now it's created a situation where in its present form, it will be a dramatic drain on the US Treasury and it will bring to debate the tax status of all coop organized entities," Lucas said. "What I expect, is a technical correction. I would say we'll be restored to what things were before December 31."
Regarding the Farm Bill, the Congressman seemed confident that his colleague Mike Conaway, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, is committed to begin the process of drafting this heavy legislative task during the first quarter.
In the meantime, Lucas, who currently serves on the subcommittee tackling conservation, says he is working vigorously to find a way to continue funding flood control dam projects and as much CRP and CSP acres as possible.
Click here to hear more of the Congressman's comments regarding these issues and others.
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Sponsor Spotlight
The Oklahoma Farm Bureau - a grassroots organization that has for its Mission Statement- Improving the Lives of Rural Oklahomans." Farm Bureau, as the state's largest general farm organization, is active at the State Capitol fighting for the best interests of its members and working with other groups to make certain that the interests of rural Oklahoma are protected. Click here for their website to learn more about the organization and how it can benefit you to be a part of Farm Bureau.
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As mentioned in the previous story above, farmers have expressed concern regarding changes to the Section 199 provision in the US tax code, included in the recent reform bill signed into law last month by President Trump. Some fear the changes in question could potentially negatively impact the marketplace, forcing cooperative organizations to restructure their business models.
Last week, Chuck Conner, president & CEO, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and Randy Gordon, president & CEO, National Grain and Feed Association, released a joint statement on the matter, which echoed sentiments lent by Congressman Frank Lucas as described above.
"Congress's intent in including this provision was to replicate the tax treatment previously available to co-op farmer-members, consistent with the bill's overarching goal of creating jobs and economic growth including in rural America.
"We are working intensively with stakeholders, including cooperatives, non-cooperative-owned agribusinesses and Senate offices, including Senators Hoeven, Thune and Roberts. The goal of these discussions is to arrive at an equitable solution that preserves the benefits that cooperatives and their farmer patrons previously enjoyed under Section 199 of the tax code, while addressing any unforeseen impacts on producers' marketing decisions."
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Oklahoma Wheat and Canola Seedings Take Another Tumble- A Revew of the Friday USDA Reports
There's another half a million acres in Oklahoma that were not planted to fall seeded crops in 2017 which will apparently will be up for grabs in the spring of 2018. That means we could see more acres dedicated to cotton, grain sorghum, corn,soybeans or even sesame this spring.
Nationally, the USDA report on Wheat and Canola Seedings says that Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat seeded area is expected to total 23.1 million acres, down 2 percent from 2017.
The largest declines in planted acreage are estimated in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. However, both Kansas and Texas increased slightly in their seedings this past fall. In percentages, Oklahoma dropped by nine percent while Kansas increased seedings by three percent and Texas upped their winter wheat acreage by six percent.
The number of acres planted to winter wheat in Oklahoma has fallen for four years in a row- USDA reports that Oklahoma farmers planted 5.3 million acres the fall of 2013 and the fall of 2014- and since then it has fallen to 5 million acres planted in 2015, 4.5 million acres in 2016 and now 4.1 million acres this past fall in 2017- to be harvested in 2018.
In Oklahoma, the crop that seems to have been the biggest beneficiary of the move away from wheat is cotton- with 215,000 acres planted in the spring of 2015- increasing to 585,000 acres planted this past spring in 2017. With 555,000 harvested in the fall of 2017- and total production pegged on Friday by USDA at 1.06 million bales- it is expected that even more acres may be planted into cotton this spring, if mother nature provides any moisture at all.
Click or tap here to read more- we have links in our story to both the Wheat and Canola Seedings report as well as to the Comprehensive Crop Production Summary for 2017.
One link we share with you here- the Oklahoma and Texas Crop Summary for 2017 released on Friday- click or tap here to get this quick summary of crop agriculture in the two states.
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I also had the chance to catch up with Joe Neal Hampton in Enid last week, during the Farm Show. Hampton wears several hats here in the state as executive director of the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association, the Oklahoma Agribusiness Retailers Association and the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association.
As a man that must consider many different perspectives from the ag community and the members he represents, one thing he knows for certain... the ag sales tax exemption enjoyed by farmers in Oklahoma is their Holy Grail, he says. In this day and age, though, when a legislature with a growing urban representation that is struggling to find means to an end in keeping our state solvent - tax exemptions are being viewed more and more as low hanging fruit.
However, a plan to inject our state's coffers with new streams of revenue has just been proposed by a group of civil leaders in Oklahoma. If adopted, it might keep the farmers; coveted tax exemption off the table a while longer. Hampton brought this to the attention of farmers gathered at the Enid Farm Show this past week, calling for the rural community to join him in support of the plan and to keep farmers in business.
"I think it makes a lot of sense and the only real thing I see that would effect agriculture and rural Oklahoma is the six-cent increase in fuel tax," Hampton said. "We can't keep going with continued budget deficits and robbing Peter to pay Paul. I know taxes are uncomfortable. People don't like them. But, if you want to fund things you expect from government, then we've got to get some of the stuff we've given away in the past back."
Click here to listen to my complete conversation with Hampton.
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Sponsor Spotlight
The Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association is the trusted voice of the Oklahoma Cattle Industry. With headquarters in Oklahoma City, the OCA has a regular presence at the State Capitol to protect and defend the interests of cattlemen and cattlewomen.
Their Vision Statement explains the highest priority of the organization- "Leadership that serves, strengthens and advocates for the Oklahoma cattle industry."
To learn more about the OCA and how you can be a part of this forward-looking group of cattle producers, click here for their website. For more information- call 405-235-4391.
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In an Industry Where Variability Abounds, Keeping Your Pencil Sharp Might Make All the Difference
There's a tremendous amount of difference between beef cow herds and how they are managed from operation to operation. Dustin Pendell, an agricultural economist based out of Kansas State University, has compiled a studyof differences he has observed and says one thing is for certain - there is a lot of variability in the cost and the profit levels of cow herds."You take a look back to 1975, there's a lot of variability across those years. In fact, we looked at last year and we had some on average, some of your largest losses on a per head basis," Pendell said. "If you go back to 2014, that was a record year for returns. Just in that three or four-year span, you've had returns going from $225/head all the way down to -$300/head."Pendell attributes the cattle cycle in part for contributing to variability, but also mentions certain things that are out of the control of producers, like interest rates. Like in 2014, Pendell says we are seeing expansion continue in the US cow herd. As supplies grow larger over time, he says prices are likely to come down again. All things considered, Pendell says producers must pay attention to two things: their revenue and expenses. Those that keep their pencils sharp will make all the difference in determining if an operation can be categorized as a high-profit or a low-profit operation. For instance, managing the hay you feed your cattle a bit more tightly, could help to conserve your operation's financial resources a little more, translating into more profitability."If you look at the 2016 data, looking at your top third most profitable operations - on average - their gross income is roughly a little over a $1000/head. Compare that to the bottom third, it's a little over $900/head. So, a difference of about 15 percent or $136/head," he approximated. "One of the largest expenses; one of the largest differences come from your feed, your non-pasture feed expenses."Listen to Pendell break down the differences of profitability between high and low profit operations as illustrated in his recent study on the matter, on Friday's Beef Buzz - click here.
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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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USDA Finalizes Regulation to Allow All Mexican States to Export Pork to the United States
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined through a science-based risk assessment that Mexico is free of Classical Swine Fever, a highly contagious viral disease in pigs that was eradicated from the US in the late 1970s.
As a result of these 2016 findings, the USDA announced Friday it has finalized a regulation that will allow all Mexican states to export pork to the US.
Mexico in late 2007 requested market access to the United States for pork from the eight states in its central region but later amended that request to include all Mexican states. At the time, though, it was determined Mexico's control program for CSF was not sufficient.
Since then, in light of our countries' valued trading partnership, USDA's Foreign Agriculture Service has funded a Global Based Initiative to assist Mexico with improving its control program. A subsequent review by the World Organization for Animal Health has determined that Mexico is free of CSF. The National Pork Producers Council says this will help to ensure future cooperation and reciprocal trading amongst our two nations.
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MLK Day- Your Quasi Holiday to Start the New Year (and a Quick Weather Check)
MLK Day is a federal holiday, though its path to national commemoration took more than 18 years after Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis.
Efforts to honor King with a federal holiday began just months after his April 4, 1968 death. Those efforts failed, as did a 1979 vote by Congress that came after King's widow, Coretta Scott King, spoke out in favor of the day. Momentum for the holiday grew in 1980 when entertainer Stevie Wonder released "Happy Birthday" in King's honor, leading to a petition calling for MLK Day and, in 1983, House passage of a holiday bill. Despite Senate objections, the King holiday passed the Senate and was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. The first official Martin Luther King Jr. Day was observed on the third Monday of January 1986. Today- the Federal Government(including your friendly mailman) and all State Governments shut down for the day- most local governments take the day off as well- the Stock Market and Ag Futures are all closed today- Banks are closed and then after that- it's a case by case deal. Most businesses choose to stay open- our Livestock Market Auctions that normally sell on Monday are open- including the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City, Tulsa Stockyards and the Joplin regional stockyards- the market reporters cover the markets and get other time off- and we normally get our Boxed Beef reports midday on this sorta, kinda holiday. As you can see- we are here on this Martin Luther King holiday- and our reports on our radio stations across the region will be heard today as well. If you have the day off from your in town job- enjoy- but be weather aware- there is a traveler's advisory for northeastern Oklahoma- north winds are going to blow like crazy again today and push temps down across much of Oklahoma all day long. And then there is Texas- don't try to drive to Waco this evening or early tomorrow-
In a word- Yuck!
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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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