From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 4:57 AM
To: Hays, Ron
Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Wednesday September 8, 2010
A service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- As You Ponder Planting the 2011 Winter Wheat Crop- Consider Cleaning Things Up!
-- Oklahoma Beef Quality Network Sales Begin This Week in Durant
-- Here comes Hermine
-- O.K. Foods Leads the Way in Humane Stunning of Poultry
-- Latest Oklahoma Crop Weather Update Says...
-- Federation of State Beef Councils Working to Define a More Independent Structure
-- Latest RON Value Book Arriving
-- 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!

And we are proud to have P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy as one of our regular sponsors of our daily email update. P & K is the premiere John Deere dealer in Oklahoma, with ten locations to serve you, and the P & K team are excited about their new Wind Power program, as they offer Endurance Wind Power wind turbines. Click here for more from the P&K 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.


As You Ponder Planting the 2011 Winter Wheat Crop- Consider Cleaning Things Up!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The head of the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association and two other organizations representing feed, seed, agricultural chemicals, fertilizer and agribusiness-retailers hopes state wheat growers do things a little differently this year by planting an alternative crop this year or using a herbicide program to clean wheat fields.
"Oklahoma has gotten the reputation of having problems with dockage and foreign material in our wheat and it has made it harder for us to sell to our domestic millers and international customers," said Joe Neal Hampton, president and CEO of the OGFA. "Over the last two years Oklahoma producers had 68 percent more dockage than Kansas and 23.5 percent more than Texas."
Even more shocking was the fact that Oklahoma wheat had 150 percent more foreign material than Kansas and 337 percent more than Texas.

That meant huge discounts for Oklahoma producers for this year's harvest and some loads of wheat were actually rejected for too much dockage, he said. Dockage and foreign material is caused by material other than wheat being present. Cheat, rye grass, rescue grass, jointed goat grass and wild oats are the most common causes of dockage while rye is the most common foreign material.

"It's up to growers to clean up their fields because commercial cleaners that can handle the volume we produce are not economically or physically feasible," Hampton said. "The obvious answer is to rotate their crops and practice good weed control. There are also several good chemicals to control some the worst offenders and growers are encouraged to use them."
Some alternative crops include canola, corn, soybeans, milo, and sesame, he said. (We are now entering the window for planting Winter Canola- the other crops Hampton mentions are spring planted crops)

Click here for more on this story of problems with wheat that does not measure up to the crop produced by our neighbors to the north and to the south.

Click here for more on the problem and some of the solutions about dirty wheat we have been producing in Oklahoma.


Oklahoma Beef Quality Network Sales Begin This Week in Durant
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OSU Area Vet Dr. Dave Sparks is a believer in the OBQN- and he offers these thoughts about the added value program that is being promoted in a joint Extension- Industry effort. "Have you ever heard someone say that preconditioning calves doesn't pay? Have you ever said it yourself? In the past you were probably right but things are changing fast. The Oklahoma Quality Beef Network had been marketing preconditioned calves for several years now, but lately it has really come into its own. Stocker and feeder operators are recognizing the added value, and the demand for verified preconditioned calves is outpacing the supply. The key ingredient, however, is numbers. There is very little added value in a handful of preconditioned calves if the feeder has to throw them together with other calves to make a load or a pen of calves. When sufficient numbers of similarly treated calves come together at one sale, the whole picture changes, even if these calves come from several seller s.

"So, does "value-added" really add value? Last year calves sold at OQBN sales brought a price premium of $8.12 per cwt over similar non-program calves sold the same day. The premium was even greater on the lighter classes. Additionally, these calves had an extra 45 days to grow than their counterparts that were marketed at weaning. Instead of arriving at the sale barn walking and bawling, they get off the truck looking to fill up and relax. These factors combined for much greater pay weights. Sometimes life can be about as hard for the cowman as it is for his weaned calf. Maybe it is time to start marketing our calves instead of selling them, and OQBN is positioned to help do so."

Click on our LINK below to learn more abou the OBQN and details about the sale coming up Thursday in Durant for the preconditioned calves signed up within the program.

Click here for more on the OQBN success story.


Here comes Hermine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have already had rainshowers the last day or so in far southeastern Oklahoma- and rain could arriving for a lot of the rest of the main body of the state as Tropical Storm Hermine works its way across Texas into Oklahoma.

The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for a large part of the state of Oklahoma- and in the statement- they address the issue of heavy rain- "We expect to see broad rainfall totals of more than two inches by Thursday morning- and some locations will see as much as five inches. if rainfall becomes concentrated near the storm center on Wednesday evening; even greater rainfall could occur in a short period of time. Tropical rainfall may not seem as heavy, because the drops are smaller but the rain actually accumulates faster, leading to dangerous flash flooding."

They also talk about strong sustained winds and even the threat of tornadoes. In talking with our News9 and News on 6 weather watchers- they believe the track of the low pressure center will take it from Hobart Wednesday evening to Weatherford by early Thursday morning to near Ponca City by somewhere around sunrise Thursday morning. The areas most likely to experience significant flooding and/or tornadoes will be along a 30-40 mile wide band extending from Lawton to El Reno to Enid.

Monitor News9 for the latest as Hermine rolls into the state later in the day on Wednesday- and you can also go to our weather page on our website to get more information as well. Click on the LINK below to check our links to News9, News on 6 and more out.

Click here for more on the developing situation with Hermine to be found on the links we have on our weather page.


O.K. Foods Leads the Way in Humane Stunning of Poultry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meatingplace has details of a new technology that has been developed by O.K. Foods of Ft. Smith, Arkansas- a stunning method embraced by the American Humane Society. They report "The American Humane Association has accepted as humane a controlled-atmosphere stunning method called Low Atmospheric Pressure System (LAPs).

"The technology was developed by Fort Smith, Ark.-based O.K. Foods in conjunction with a poultry harvesting company and scientists at Mississippi State University. The technology features a euthanasia chamber in which live-haul cages are placed and oxygen volume is reduced to irreversibly stun broilers. Unlike other controlled-atmosphere systems, LAPS does not use gases."

OK Foods reports they hope to implement this method sometime this fall at their plant at Ft. Smith. OK Foods is one of the companies involved in the Poultry Federation that represents the poultry industry in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. In fact, the current Chairman of the Federation is Trent Goins, senior vice president of O.K. Industries.

Click here for more on O.K. Foods based on information from their website.


Latest Oklahoma Crop Weather Update Says...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As we wait on moisture coming in from Hermine- the latest Oklahoma Crop Weather Update talks about the hit or miss rains of this month to this point. "September began with a few summer storms scattered across Oklahoma. A cold front brought strong winds, rain and power outages to parts of central and western Oklahoma late last week. Overall, weather conditions were mild, with average temperatures across the state in the mid-seventies. All nine districts received some rainfall, with six of the nine districts receiving more than half an inch. However, more rainfall is needed in much of the state, particularly in the southeast. Topsoil moisture conditions were rated mostly in the short to adequate range with 25 percent rated very short. Subsoil moisture conditions were rated mostly in the adequate to short range with 20 percent rated very short. There were 6.0 days suitable for field work."

No percentages were given in this week's report about wheat that has been planted. Seedbed preparations for small grains continued across the state. Many producers are waiting for additional rain before beginning fall planting. Wheat seedbed preparation was 58 percent complete by week's end, six points behind normal.

Regarding the spring planted crops- "Conditions remained mostly in the good to fair range, though insect problems with cotton and soybeans have been reported. Corn dent reached 96 percent complete, 17 points above normal. Eighty-four percent of corn had matured, 28 points ahead of the five-year average. The corn harvest was 47 percent complete by Sunday, a 22 point jump from the previous week. Sorghum headed was virtually complete by week's end and sorghum coloring reached 62 percent complete, 12 points ahead of normal. Twenty-one percent of sorghum was mature by Sunday. Eighty-eight percent of the soybean crop was setting pods by the end of the week, eight points ahead of the five-year average and five percent had matured, 13 points behind normal. The peanut crop was virtually finished setting pods by Sunday, and 20 percent had matured. Thirty-four percent of the cotton crop was setting bolls by Sunday, 15 points ahead of normal."

Click here for the complete Crop Weather Update- one day later than normal due to Labor Day.


Federation of State Beef Councils Working to Define a More Independent Structure
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A statement was released yesterday by the Federation of State Beef Councils about work of last week to define a structure that would be separate from NCBA, but allow the Federation to still work in a synergistic way with the organization, building on the 14 year relationship that has been established.

"The working group has identified principles it believes support an independent Federation structure, while also retaining operational efficiencies found in its 14-year relationship with NCBA.
"Today, via a webinar conference call, the working group shared its preliminary recommendations with Federation directors and beef council executives.
The next step is to share the draft recommendations with USDA, in order to gain feedback.
"Following a feedback period and development of final recommendations, Federation directors are expected to vote on the matter in February 2011, during the cattle industry convention in Denver."

Richard Gebhart of the Oklahoma Beef Council represented Oklahoma at the meetings last week held to start this "Independent Structure."


Latest RON Value Book Arriving
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Look in your mailboxes and/or your stack of mail for the September issue of the RON Value Book. We have sent about 24,000 copies across the state to farmers, ranchers and land owners/operators. Check out the many different deals from our advertisers and we feature some of the BIG events coming in the weeks ahead.

We have details of some of the things we will be covering at the State Fair of Oklahoma, the Tulsa State Fair and 2010 National FFA Convention.

If for some reason you did not receive a copy- click on the link below for a PDF copy- it is a big file so be patient.
If you have interest in being a part of the holiday RON Value Book that will come out just ahead of the Tulsa Farm Show and the Christmas season- drop me an email and we will get you more information about this affordable way to reach thousands of rural Oklahomans!

Click here to download the September Issue of the RON Value Book


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.

Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com


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 $8.05 per bushel- as of the close of business yesterday, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $8.50 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:
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network with Ed Richards and Tom Leffler- analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day-
Ron on RON Markets as heard on K101 mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
Previous Day's Wheat Market Recap- Two Pager From The Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on Hard Red Winter Wheat and the why of that day's market.
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- As Reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture. <
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
Finally, Here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.



God Bless! You can reach us at the following:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
phone: 405-473-6144
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forward email

Safe Unsubscribe
This email was sent to ron.hays@radiooklahoma.net by ron@oklahomafarmreport.com.

Oklahoma Farm Report | 10700 Whitehall Blvd | Oklahoma City | OK | 73162