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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 Carson Horn on RON.
Let's Check the Markets!
OKC West is our Market Links Sponsor- they sell cattle three days a week- Cows on Mondays, Stockers on Tuesday and Feeders on Wednesday- Call 405-262-8800 to learn more.
FedCattleExchange.com has 355 head of cattle on their showlist for the Wednesday, April 25th sale of finished cattle - click here to jump to the website.
The Monday feeder cattle and calf trade at the Oklahoma National Stockyards was steady to $3 to 4 Higher- click here to check the closing report from USDA.
Joplin Regional Stockyards sold calves and steer yearlings at mostly steady money on Monday- details are available here.
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
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
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Howdy Neighbors!
Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update.
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Featured Story:
 USDA Undersecretary Bill Northey Tours Wildfire Damage in Northwest Oklahoma, Announces Changes to FSA Disaster Programs
On his second tour through farm country in his capacity as USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, Bill Northey stopped in Leedey, Oklahoma yesterday to meet with producers who have been affected by recent wildfires throughout the state's northwest region.
Our Associate Farm Director Carson Horn was there and spoke with Northey, who was proud to be able to get out of the office and meet with farmers and ranchers firsthand - part of a 'boots on the ground' mission Secretary Perdue and President Trump have encouraged among USDA leadership and other members of the administration.
During his visit, Northey made a couple of announcements regarding changes to certain disaster assistance programs through the USDA designed to better serve those who apply.
According to Northey, Oklahoma producers who planted wheat after the final planting date in October for the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) may still be eligible this year for payments at a reduced rate. USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) also moved the 2019 final planting date to Oct. 15 for Oklahoma producers, which was formerly Oct. 1 or Oct. 10, depending on the county in Oklahoma.
Additionally, the final planting date for the 2018 crop year will not change, but county committees in Oklahoma are now authorized to adjust livestock carrying capacity under LFP for late-planted wheat.
"Prolonged severe drought and wildfires have impacted the availability of adequate forage and water sources for livestock and, in some cases, impacted 2018 cropping decisions for many ranchers and farmers," Northey said. "USDA offers several disaster programs intended to provide relief to producers affected by severe weather conditions, and we want to make it easy for producers to use these tools to recover."
Click here to learn more about the changes made to these programs and listen to Northey's full conversation with Carson, while you're at it. |
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Southern Plains Wheat Crop Remains Stuck in Poor to Very Poor Condition- While Early Corn Planting Going Slow
The latest crop progress numbers released by USDA on Monday afternoon reflected a slowly developing planting season for both corn and soybeans- with the the "I" states really behind five year average numbers on corn planting. Meanwhile, the wheat crop in the southern plains is behind normal development- and with weekend rains not really helping the crop ratings this week- the crop is about the same in poor to very poor ratings compared to a week ago.
To review the complete Crop Progress report released on Monday afternoon- click or tap here.
Checking in on our southern plains states- while much of Oklahoma got badly needed rain on Saturday and Sunday- this week's report continues to reflect the extreme to exceptional drought the state has been dealing with- Winter wheat jointing reached 78 percent, down 15 points from the previous year and down 14 points from normal. Winter wheat headed reached 23 percent, down 38 points from the previous year and down 15 points from normal. Canola blooming reached 61 percent, down 33 points from the previous year and down 24 points from normal. Canola coloring reached 3 percent, down 15 points from the previous year and down 1 point from normal. Corn planted reached 30 percent, down 13 points from the previous year and down 9 points from normal. Sorghum planted reached 9 percent, down 6 points from the previous year but unchanged from normal. Cotton planted reached 2 percent, down 3 points from the previous year but unchanged from normal.
Click or tap here for the complete Oklahoma Crop Weather report as of April 22.
In Kansas, limited info includes the latest Wheat Ratings- Winter wheat condition rated 16 percent very poor, 33 poor, 39 fair, 11 good, and 1 excellent. Winter wheat jointed was 35 percent, well behind 80 last year and 65 for the five-year average. Click or tap here for the Kansas Crop Weather details released on Monday afternoon.
Finally, in Texas, the high plains continues to struggle with drought- while other areas of the state are in better condition. Irrigation, where available, continued on wheat fields in the Northern High Plains. High winds and hot weather damaged wheat heads in areas of the Northern Low Plains. Winter wheat in the Southern Low Plains had begun to turn. Small grains in South Texas continued to dry out and mature.
For the complete Texas Crop Weather report- click or tap here.
Oklahoma showed slight improvement this week versus a week ago in the southern plains winter wheat crop- while the Kansas and Texas saw the poor to very poor numbers grow- Oklahoma's poor to very poor rating improved by one percentage point from 65% a week ago to 64% this week. The Kansas crop worsened by three percentage points- sinking to 49% poor to very poor this week versus 46% a week ago- and the Texas wheat crop dropped from 63% poor to very poor last week to 64% poor to very poor this week.
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Mark Hodges Named Extending the Legacy Award Winner for 2018 by Oklahoma Wheat Commission
This past Friday, the Oklahoma Wheat Commission named Mark Hodges as the 2018 "Extending the Legacy" award winner. This is the second year for the award to be given to honor an individual who has worked to foster innovation and growth, creating continued advancement for research and technology while also focusing on better trade and commerce for the Oklahoma Wheat industry.
Hodges was surprised by the honor and told us "It does mean the world to me- being recognized by peers for the longevity of career- and we have been able to accomplish a lot of things- but it hasn't been in a vacuum" as he saluted the wheat producers who have served on the various boards of directors he has worked with at the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, Plains Grains and Oklahoma Genetics.
The award was created to highlight the mural of the same name painted by famous Oklahoma artist Dr. Bob Palmer and donated by lead wheat breeder at OSU, Dr. Brett Carver and his wife Terri - housed in the Oklahoma Wheat Commission office.
Click here to listen to the full conversation between Hodges and I as we reflect on his career as an area extension agronomist, Oklahoma Wheat Commission Executive Director, Director of Plains Grains and also of Oklahoma Genetics.
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Derrell Peel Believes Latest Cattle on Feed Report Provides Evidence of Heifer Retention Slowing Significantly
At the start of this week, Dr. Derrell Peel reviewed this past Friday's Cattle on Feed Report, which according to him came in basically as expected with no surprises.
"The April 1 inventory of feedlots over 1,000 head capacity was 11.729 million head, up 7.4 percent from last year. Feedlot marketings in March were 96.1 percent of last year, just about even with last year considering that there was one less March business day in 2018 compared to one year ago. March placements were 90.7 percent of last year," Peel writes. "While close to expectations, this placement number is significant because it breaks a string of twelve consecutive months of year over year placement increases."
Based on that information, Peel says the decreased March placements are not an indication of fewer total cattle supplies but rather are a confirmation of the change in feedlot timing in recent months. Larger, drought-enhanced placements in recent months have built up feedlot inventories and have set the stage for larger than normal seasonal peak marketings in May and June. Lower March placements are a reminder that, while the timing of feedlot production has changed somewhat with cattle entering the feedlot earlier than usual recently, fewer cattle are now available for placement and the overall number of cattle is unchanged.
The other takeaway from Peel's analysis is that herd expansion is beginning to plateau with evidence of heifer retention slowing significantly in this report.
"Both heifer slaughter and beef cow slaughter patterns thus far," says Peel, "are consistent with the idea of positive but small continued beef cow herd expansion in 2018."
Click or tap here to read Peel's full analysis of this month's USDA report, or listen to our conversation as he explains it himself.
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Sponsor Spotlight
Through the voluntary contributions of Oklahoma's oil and natural gas industry, the OERB has spent over $113 million restoring more than 16,000 orphaned and abandoned well sites across the state at absolutely no cost to landowners. The OERB has restored sites in 71 of 77 Oklahoma counties, cleaning an average of two to three sites each day.
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Rhea Fire Now 87% Contained- Update onExpress Ranches Wildfire Relief Efforts
Operations Section Chief John Raulerson provided an update on what happened yesterday on Facebook- the key numbers for the report from April 23rd is that we now have 87% of the Rhea fire contained- latest total acreage number is 286,742.
Click here for the link to the Facebook video found on the Oklahoma Forestry Services page.
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Money continues to flow into the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Foundation fund to assist ranchers hurt by the northwest Oklahoma fires of recent days- a big contribution came in on Saturday as Express Ranches donated the full proceeds of Lot 1 from their Grasstime sale midday Saturday.
The bull sold for $9000 and was purchased by Mark and Cindy Ahearn of Wills Point, Texas- and then another $10,000 was donated by the following folks:
National Livestock Credit Corp
OKC West
Superior Livestock
P&K Equipment
MWI Animal Health
KD Cattle and Equipment
Callahan Cattle Company
Matt Sims
Ron Cunningham
SO- a total of $19,000 was given to the OCF Wildfire Relief efforts by all these folks-
There are three foundations that are accepting donations for wildfire relief- the Cattlemen's Association, the Farm Bureau's Farmers and Ranchers Foundation and the AFR's Oklahoma Farmers Union Foundation- details and links for all can be seen by clicking here.
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Introducing You 2018 Northeast Area Star in Agriculture Production, Rhett Taylor of the Okemah FFA Chapter
We're back at it this week, covering the 2018 Area Stars in FFA - this time featuring your Star Finalists in the Ag Production category. We began this week with your Northeast Area Star in Ag Production, Rhett Taylor of the Okemah FFA Chapter. Rhett's supervised agricultural experience, or SAE, revolves around breeding swine production - a business he started at just 9 years old. His operation boasts a variety of breeds, but in recent years, Rhett has concentrated on Herefords. Rhett says Herefords have always been a favorite of his and has enjoyed seeing the breed's popularity grow.
Rhett says his success is rooted in his long-term vision for himself, setting goals he hoped to achieve from his first year as a member of the FFA. Those goals included being chapter president and Northeast Area Star Farmer. Today, he has accomplished both. Obviously, Rhett has worked very hard for the recognition he has earned, but humbly says it would all have been impossible without the help of others.
After graduation, Rhett plans to attend Connors State College with hopes of joining the livestock judging team. He intends to seek a degree in Agribusiness and Animal Science with plans to finish out those degrees at Oklahoma State University.
You can hear our entire conversation by clicking or tapping over to the Blue-Green Gazette on our website and while you're there, be sure to check out our sponsors - American Farmers & Ranchers and AFR Insurance - proud supporters of our youth in agriculture.
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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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ICYMI - ODAFF Warns of Red Imported Fire Ant Infestations as Emergency Hay Donations Roll Into Oklahoma
With the generous outpouring of hay being donated to help feed livestock that have survived the recent wildfires in northwest Oklahoma, producers must be vigilant in preventing the movement of red imported fire ants from restricted areas.
The red imported fire ant is thought to have an estimated economic impact of $1.2 billion annually, just in Texas alone. These fire ants are pests of urban, agricultural and wildlife areas and can pose a serious health threat to plants and animals including humans.
As a result, ODAFF and Oklahoma State University Extension will be surveying sites for the red imported fire ant where donated hay is being stored.
To prevent your unintentional contribution to this problem - ODAFF is asking producers to familiarize themselves with the restrictions under which hay must remain quarantined.
To do so, click or tap here to jump to a previous article with all the pertinent information a producer should understand as hay continues to be transported across state lines in large quantities.
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Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, American Farmers & Ranchers, Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Stillwater Milling Company, National Livestock Credit Corporation, OERB, 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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