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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Monday August 9, 2010
A
service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind
Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance
Company!
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-- Obama Administration Confirms They Are Finding the Money for Ag
Disaster Aid
-- Mandatory Price Reporting Clears the Senate- Awaits House Action
in September
-- As we get ready for the 2010 National FFA Convention- Oklahoma
Outqualifies All Other States
-- HRW Wheat Harvest Mostly Done- For Oklahoma- Too Much Dockage
& Foreign Matter- Too Little Protein
-- $1.2 Billion in Broadband Projects Announced by USDA
-- Senate Ag Leadership Offer Bill to Reverse Courts on Pesticide
Application Permits
-- Merial's Igenity Offers Low Cost DNA Test for Replacement Beef
Heifers
-- Let's Check the Markets!
Howdy Neighbors! Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update- click here to go to their AFR web site to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America! It is also great to have as an annual sponsor on our daily email
Johnston Enterprises- proud to be serving agriculture across
Oklahoma and around the world since 1893. W.B. Johnston is welcoming all
fall crops this harvest. They have space to store your grain, and they
look forward to serving you!! For more on Johnston Enterprises- click
here for their website that features their grain, ports and seed
business! If you have received this by someone forwarding it to you, you are welcome to subscribe and get this weekday update sent to you directly by clicking here. | |
Obama Administration Confirms They Are Finding the Money for Ag Disaster Aid ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Senator
Blanche Lincoln's office has released a letter she has received from the
Obama Administration- promising that they will find a way to fund her
proposed $1.5 billion dollar ag disaster plan for farmers across the
country. That will include $106 million in assistance for Oklahoma
producers.
In the letter, Robert Nabors of the Office of Management and Budget tells the Chairman of the Senate Ag Committee that "I want to assure you that the Administration is committed to providing assistance consistent with your legislative proposal by the end of this month. OMB and USDA are aware of existing authorities and are currently reviewing options to ensure compliance with existing laws, ease of administration, and effectiveness of targeting the assistance to those in need." Lincoln has not been able to find a vehicle to carry forward her proposal to pass this disaster assistance plan, but was promised by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel that the Obama Administration would find the money within USDA to make this plan a reality. We reported last Friday that Senator Lincoln was continuing to push for this aid, even though she has been unable to find a way to pass it through Congress. Click here for our story of last Friday morning- and click on the LINK below to jump to our story on the OMB letter- we have a PDF of the letter for you to read with that story. | |
Mandatory Price Reporting Clears the Senate- Awaits House Action in September ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This past
Thursday evening, the Senate approved legislation to reauthorize the law
requiring meat packers to report to the U.S. Department of Agriculture the
prices they pay producers for animals.
Senators passed by voice vote S. 3656, sponsored by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., to reauthorize for five years the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act, which is set to expire Sept. 30. The reauthorizing bill, which would extend the law to Sept. 30, 2015, also adds to the reporting law provisions requiring weekly reporting of pork exports - by price and volume - and of wholesale pork cuts. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association applauds the efforts of the Senate Ag Committee Leadership to get this measure through their committee and now through the full Senate. Bruce Hafenfeld of California is the Chairman of the NCBA's Policy Division and says "As a producer of food and fiber for a growing global population, I appreciate Senator Lincoln's efforts to help continue the availability of timely and accurate information for U.S. cattle producers. By reauthorizing the Mandatory Price Reporting, cattle producers will continue to have access to daily price and volume information on purchases of cattle and boxed beef sales as well as export and import data. This effort to enhance transparency in the marketplace is a definite win for every aspect of the industry." Click here for more on the reauthorization efforts in Congress for Mandatory Price Reporting. | |
As we get ready for the 2010 National FFA Convention- Oklahoma Outqualifies All Other States ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a couple of
key areas, the Oklahoma FFA Association has bested every other state in
the country. For example, in the area of the national proficiencies
competition, Oklahoma has qualified 22 national finalists, compared to
Wisconsin with 18 National Finalists and California and Illinois with each
16.
Another test of the high quality depth of the Oklahoma FFA experience is in the number of three star chapters that will be honored at the National convention in Indianapolis. Among the elite states that have more than 20 chapters that meet the stringent qualifications to achieve three stars- Oklahoma is the leader with 25 chapters to be so recognized, while Iowa is second with 22 and Florida is third with 21. One individual FFA member that we will be watching closely as we cover
the 2010 National Convention in a couple of months will be Riley Padgett
of Woodward. Riley has been selected as the Oklahoma representative to be
the National officer candidate from the state this fall. | |
HRW Wheat Harvest Mostly Done- For Oklahoma- Too Much Dockage & Foreign Matter- Too Little Protein ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Harvest of the
2010 Hard Red Winter Wheat crop is virtually done, except for the state of
Montana- and Mark Hodges of Plains Grains says that the lower than normal
protein levels seen early on in Texas and Oklahoma improved some, but
still have trended below 12% as we have moved further north in the HRW
belt.
At the 2010 Oklahoma Wheat Review this past week in Stillwater, Hodges told us that the 2010 Oklahoma wheat crop was plagued with three significant problems- too much dockage and foreign material- and not enough protein. He says a lot of that are the agronomic decisions we make as a grazing state- planting much earlier than the optimum planting date for grain production only is one specific that we discussed. Click on the LINK below and you can hear our full conversation with Hodges- as well as check on the HRW wheat belt harvest report and jump over to the Plains Grains website for more of the quality data that has been gathered about this year's crop. Click here for more with Mark Hodges and the Plains Grains data for 2010. | |
$1.2 Billion in Broadband Projects Announced by USDA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack announced this last week the funding of 126 new
Recovery Act broadband infrastructure projects that will create jobs and
provide rural residents in 38 states and Native American tribal areas
access to improved service. Broadband access plays a critical role in
expanding economic, health care, educational and public safety services in
underserved rural communities. Today's announcement is part of the second
round of USDA broadband funding through the Recovery Act.
Oklahoma projects are claiming over $46 million in this program with the lion's share of that money- over $42 million going to Cimarron Telephone Co. USDA says "With this award of $42.4 million, the Cimmarron Telephone Company project will provide both FTTH and wireless broadband service to underserved areas of Payne, Osage, Creek, Pawnee and Okfuskee counties in Oklahoma. More than 21,500 people, approximately 933 local businesses and 35 community institutions stand to benefit from this improved service. Not only will this project create jobs upfront, it will help drive economic development in the community that creates jobs for years to come." Five other projects that will serve Oklahoma are also a part of this broadband pile of cash- alltold, USDA announced $1.2 Billion worth of projects last week. Click here for the complete listing of all projects- it is listed alphabetically by states- so scroll down to the "Os" to see the Sooner state projects. | |
Senate Ag Leadership Offer Bill to Reverse Courts on Pesticide Application Permits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S. Senator
Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss
of Georgia announced this past Friday afternoon they have introduced
legislation that aims to clarify that additional permits are not required
for pesticide application in accordance with the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The bill, S. 3735, will bring legal
and regulatory certainty for our farmers, foresters and ranchers regarding
the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recent actions related to the
Clean Water Act.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said, "American Farm Bureau Federation strongly supports legislation introduced today by Senators Lincoln and Chambliss to remedy the harmful effects of a court decision that puts farmers at risk of unnecessary and burdensome regulation. This legislation does nothing more than clarify what has been the situation for nearly forty years - that lawful application of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) does not trigger regulatory requirements in other programs. Congress must step up and take action to clarify the questions raised by a flawed court ruling that, if left to stand, will have ramifications for farmers and ranchers around the country. Farmers know the label on each chemical they use is the law of the land and that they must use chemicals properly. Having additional regulations and bureaucratic red tape will not improve food safety or the environment. We commend the senators for their leadership on this important issue." Back in July, Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole was hosted by the Kinder
Family of Walters as they explained the problems of EPA moving in the
direction of requiring permits everytime you apply pesticides anywhere
close to a body of water. Click
here for our story and the video remarks of Congressman Cole that day
in Cotton County. | |
Merial's Igenity Offers Low Cost DNA Test for Replacement Beef Heifers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IGENITY, a
division of Merial, announces the introduction of the most cost-effective
DNA product on the market - the IGENITY profile for replacement heifers.
It is designed specifically for cow/calf producers committed to the
long-term success of their herd.
"Developing a replacement heifer requires a substantial financial investment by the producer. Not only will that heifer remain in the herd for years to come, but she will also help to define the genetic direction and profitability of the entire herd," says Dr. Kevin DeHaan, technical services director, IGENITY. "Bottom line: Producers can't afford to pick the wrong replacement heifers, and the IGENITY profile for replacement heifers can help producers make the right decisions for their herd." We talked with Dr. DeHaan at the recent Summer Cattle Industry Conference and you can hear our conversation about Igenity and this new inexpensive DNA test for heifers by clicking on the LINK below. Through the new cost-effective DNA offering from IGENITY, cow/calf
producers can receive analyses on five economically important
traits: Click here to learn more about the new DNA tests that Igenity offers for replacement heifers. | |
Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures and Big Iron Online Auctions 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- FREE! We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe. | |
Let's Check the Markets! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We've had
requests to include Canola prices for your convenience here- and we will
be doing so on a regular basis. Current cash price for Canola is $8.40 per
bushel- as of the close of business Friday, while the 2011 New Crop
contracts for Canola are now available are $8.45 per bushel- delivered to
local participating elevators that are working with PCOM.
Here are some links we will leave in place on an ongoing basis- Click
on the name of the report to go to that link: | |
God Bless! You can reach us at the following: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: ron@oklahomafarmreport.com
phone: 405-473-6144
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