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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Thursday September 2,
2010 A
service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind
Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance
Company!
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-- From a 30,000 Foot Perspective- We Review Last Week's Workshop
with Roy Lee Lindsey
-- Read the Rule Primer in Place at OklahomaFarmReport.Com
-- Change Coming After November Voting- How Much is the Key
-- What are the Ag Committee Implications of the November Mid
Terms?
-- No Surprises- August Was HOT!
-- The Value of Forage-Based Stocker Gains
-- Beef checkoff pairing beef with wine in tailgate promotion
-- 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. Johnston is welcoming all fall
crops this harvest. They have space to store your grain and look forward
to serving you. For more on Johnston Enterprises- click
here for their website! 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. | |
From a 30,000 Foot Perspective- We Review Last Week's Workshop with Roy Lee Lindsey ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Roy Lee
Lindsey of the Oklahoma Pork Council was one of a handful of Oklahomans
who experienced the USDA-DOJ Workshop on Livestock Competition in Ft.
Collins first hand. It has been a few days since the event and we sat down
with the Pork Industry leader to explore his view of the Workshop and the
GIPSA Rule discussion as we look at it as a part of the big picture of
what's sweeping across the landscape in the animal agriculture world.
Lindsey tells us that he is pleased that at least one issue had broad support from R Calf, NCBA, NPPC and others- the issue of fixing problems coming in 2011 with the Death Tax. Lindsey says that while USDA talked a lot about getting younger people to stay on the farm or come back to the farm- the Obama Administration has offered no leadership on solving this issue, which would be perhaps the single biggest factor in keeping young people engaged in farming and ranching. Beyond the Death Tax- it was a house divided last Friday- but Lindsey says he was surprised that the Public testimony time was not weighted to the extreme in either direction. He does believe that the USDA has already made up their minds and will implement some form of the GIPSA rule at some in point in 2011 or perhaps by Janurary 1, 2012. Click on the LINK below to jump over to our website and the chance to hear our full conversation with Roy Lee about the goings on from this past Thursday evening and Friday up at Colorado State University. | |
Read the Rule Primer in Place at OklahomaFarmReport.Com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There seems to
be agreement across the livestock industry that Obama Administration will
change the way that things work with their proposed GIPSA Rule for the
marketing of livestock that is now being commented on by the public. The
rule was proposed back in June- was supposed to have comments closed by
mid August- and now that comment period has been extended through mid
November.
We have already had numerous interviews and hours of audio that we have sorted through- for and against this rule. The news releases from USDA and both sides have also been rolling in as well. We have selected some of the key information we have received from all sides and have pulled it together into one farm news story on our website. In this one location- you have the links to the actual proposed rule-
follow up documents from USDA, where to send comments to until November
22, writings pro and con from the industry- and then audio interviews we
have done to date pro and con on the issue. We have this up on our website
and you can click on the LINK below to access it. In addition, we have set
it up as a perma link on our website- as you can go anytime to our site-
locate the graphic "READ The RULE" and the link there will take you to
this Primer. Click here for our Primer about the GIPSA Rule- just so you'll know. | |
Change Coming After November Voting- How Much is the Key ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The American
political landscape continues to tilt away from Barack Obama and to the
GOP as the midterm November 2010 elections near. It is increasingly likely
the Republicans will win the House back in sixty days- and Oklahoma
Senator Jim Inhofe's predictions that the Senate might become GOP led is
not that far fetched either. One of the most interesting looks at this
subject we have read in recent days comes from the University of Virginia-
it's called the Crystal Ball (with Larry Sabato at the controls)
Sabato says in his September second analysis "Given what we can see at this moment, Republicans have a good chance to win the House by picking up as many as 47 seats, net. This is a "net" number since the GOP will probably lose several of its own congressional districts in Delaware, Hawaii, and Louisiana. This estimate, which may be raised or lowered by Election Day, is based on a careful district-by-district analysis, plus electoral modeling based on trends in President Obama's Gallup job approval rating and the Democratic-versus-Republican congressional generic ballot. If anything, we have been conservative in estimating the probable GOP House gains, if the election were being held today." "In the Senate, we now believe the GOP will do a bit better than our long-time prediction of +7 seats. Republicans have an outside shot at winning full control (+10), but are more likely to end up with +8 (or maybe +9, at which point it will be interesting to see how senators such as Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and others react). GOP leaders themselves did not believe such a result was truly possible just a few months ago. If the Republican wave on November 2 is as large as some polls are suggesting it may be, then the surprise on election night could be a full GOP takeover. Since World War II, the House of Representatives has flipped parties on six occasions (1946, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1994, and 2006). Every time, the Senate flipped too, even when it had not been predicted to do so. These few examples do not create an iron law of politics, but they do suggest an electoral tendency." Click on the LINK below for a chance to read this full essay from Larry Sabato- he really breaks down a bunch of the races in a very methodical manner and suggests a GOP whupping of the Democrats is a very real possibility. | |
What are the Ag Committee Implications of the November Mid Terms? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Senate Ag
Committee members Chuck Grassley of Iowa and John Thune of South Dakota
appear to be solid favorites to win re-election this November. But, other
Senators in Washington may not be so fortunate, including Senate Ag
Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. The Democrat continues to
trail her Republican challenger, John Boozman. If Lincoln loses and the Democrats hold onto the Senate- it could mean that Debbie Stabinow of Michigan becomes Chairman of the Senate Ag Committee. A Republican grab of power could mean Saxby Chambliss returns for another tour as Chairman- although some people have spun scenarios where Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas might come back to the Senate Ag Leadership lineup as a Chairman, just in time to help shape the next farm bill. In the House, 14 Democratic members of the House Ag Committee are fighting to keep their political heads above water. Those in trouble include Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota, Jim Marshall of Georgia and Steve Kagan of Wisconsin. The implications for Oklahoma are huge if the Democrats should grab the majority in the US House in November. Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas is poised to become the first Chairman of the House Ag Committee ever from Oklahoma- and he would arrive on the scene as that body prepares to write the next farm bill. While current Chairman Collin Peterson has been a pragmatic, top notch leader of the Committee, agricultural interests in our region are really energized at the thought of Frank Lucas being called "Mr. Chairman." Overall, the Oklahoma Congressional delegation will stay the same, party- wise, with Dan Boren likely safe as the lone Democratic member of the state's Washington contingent. The newcomer for Oklahoma will almost certainly be James Lankford as the replacement for Mary Fallin in the Fifth Congressional District- after his surprisingly easy win in the Republican runoff last month. Lankford has spent time with both the American Farmers and Ranchers, as well as the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, and leaders of both groups walked away from those meetings very impressed by the soon to be freshman citizen lawmaker headed to DC. | |
No Surprises- August Was HOT! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The latest
email we have received from Gary McManus, Associate State Climatologist
for the Oklahoma Climatological Survey sums up August in really one word-
Scorching! First of all tho- here's Gary take on what led us to August-
"The end of August brings the climatological summer months (June-August)
to a close and data from the Oklahoma Mesonet reveal the worst kept secret
in the state - this summer was a hot one. Of course, with Oklahoma
weather, the final picture is never that simple. The summer was actually
composed of two acts. The first half of the summer was warm and wet, but
not overly hot. While June finished as the seventh warmest on record, much
of that warmth was due to higher overnight temperatures and was
accompanied by plenty of rainfall for most areas. After mid-July, however,
the rains ended and the blast furnace heat took hold. Even though July
finished with normal temperatures, that fails to paint the true picture of
the July heat. Once the rains ended, the sun went to work on the excess
moisture and heat indices in the latter half of the month soared above 110
degrees in much of the state. Once that moisture was depleted, Oklahoma's
summertime heat began in earnest.
"The statewide average temperature during August was 83.4 degrees, 3 degrees above normal and the 18th warmest since records began in 1895. Only seven days failed to see a triple-digit temperature across the state during the month. The highest temperature of the month, 109 degrees, occurred at Freedom on the second and the 13th. Those two readings were the highest temperatures of the summer as well. The summer ended as the 12th warmest on record with a final statewide average temperature of 81.9 degrees, eclipsing normal by 2.3 degrees. The hottest location in the state during summer was Grandfield with an average temperature of 85 degrees. The coolest location was Boise City with an average temperature of 75.5 degrees. "Summertime rainfall marched to the same beat as the temperature. The statewide average rainfall for June and the first half of July was 7.61 inches, 2.31 inches above normal and ranked as the 13th wettest such period on record. Following that, the rainfall through the end of August averaged a scant 2.77 inches across the state, 1.66 inches below normal and the 20th driest on record. August itself was dry with a deficit of 1.96 inches to rank as the 35th driest on record. As a whole, summer finished 0.62 inches above normal at 10.39 inches, the 48th wettest summer on record. A couple of Oklahoma City stations took the rainfall trophies home. The Oklahoma City East Mesonet site recorded 19.02 inches of rainfall to lead the summer totals while the Oklahoma City North site had the highest single-day total with 11.26 inches on June 14." | |
The Value of Forage-Based Stocker Gains ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OSU Livestock
Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel tells us that efficient markets allocate
production resources to their highest and best use. As a practical matter,
that means that industries, and the individual producers within the
industry, must bid resources away from other alternative uses. Because
cattle are ruminants, the beef industry can utilize a wide variety of
forage and feed resources to produce the end product of the industry, a
slaughter ready animal with a carcass of acceptable quality.
In his weekly Cow Calf Corner, Dr. Peel tells us "The U.S. cattle industry has fundamentally changed since 2007. Growing and probably permanently higher demand for corn for industrial use has successfully bid away some of the available feed supply of this country and raised corn prices to a higher base level, about $1.50/bu. higher in recent years compared to many years prior. Permanently higher corn prices implies a series of short and long run adjustments in the cattle industry. Among those adjustments, higher input (i.e., corn) prices will cause a decrease in beef production. This also means that market signals will emerge to encourage the beef industry to switch away from the more expensive grains and utilize more forage to the extent possible." Click on the LINK below for more on this concept with Dr. Peel as he explains the value of forage in adding weight along the beef production chain. | |
Beef checkoff pairing beef with wine in tailgate promotion ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Beef
Checkoff announced it is partnering with AmeriGas Cylinder Exchange for
the Sutter Home Tailgating Promotion. The promotion includes $1.00 off beef with purchase, a sweepstakes to win a trip to Napa to attend Beef and Wine University at the Sutter Home winery, along with a one-year supply of propane for grilling from AmeriGas from now through Oct. 31. "Tailgating season gives consumers a great opportunity to continue grilling after Labor Day. This year is the first year Sutter Home will be promoting its 'Sutter Home Grilling' season and the beef checkoff is excited to extend producer's checkoff investment through partnerships such as this," said Helen Wiese, cow/calf producer from Manning, Iowa, and chair of the checkoff's retail committee. The sweepstakes will send one winner and five friends to wine country
to enjoy a weekend full of tips and strategies to help make tailgating
parties easier. The prize includes rebate coupons, good for one year, for
Amerigas propane cylinders including one spare cylinder and up to ten
exchanges. Here's details on this promotion from the website MyBeefCheckoff.Com | |
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 $7.65 per
bushel- as of the close of trade Wednesday, while the 2011 New Crop
contracts for Canola are now available are $8.10 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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