From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Friday, January 07, 2011 5:22 AM
To: Hays, Ron
Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
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Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Friday January 7, 2011
A service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and KIS Futures!
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-- USDA Proposes to Offer Refunds to Crop Insurance Users Who Have Had Limited or No Refunds in Recent Years
-- It's Official- 112th Congress Elects Frank Lucas to be the Chairman of the House Ag Committee
-- Monsanto Advances Several Projects in its R&D Pipeline
-- AFBF Ready to Start Annual Meeting This Weekend in Atlanta
-- The Department of Transportation Proposes Long-Haul Concept
-- Kim Anderson Says We Have Hit a New Price Plateau on Kansas City Wheat Futures
-- AgConnect Preview Day Today in Atlanta
-- 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 proud to have KIS Futures as a regular sponsor of our daily email update. KIS Futures provides Oklahoma Farmers & Ranchers with futures & options hedging services in the livestock and grain markets- Click here for the free market quote page they provide us for our website or call them at 1-800-256-2555. When you call them- ask them about their great Iphone App which provides futures quotes for your Iphone.

We are also excited to have as one of our sponsors for the daily email Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, with 64 years of progress through producer ownership. Call Brandon Winters at 405-232-7555 for more information on the oilseed crops they handle, including sunflowers and canola- and remember they post closing market prices for canola and sunflowers on the PCOM website- go there by clicking here.

And we salute our longest running email sponsor- Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the just concluded Tulsa Farm Show.. Click here for the Midwest Farm Show main website to learn more about their lineup of shows around the country, including the Southern Plains Farm Show next April in Oklahoma City.

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.


USDA Proposes to Offer Refunds to Crop Insurance Users Who Have Had Limited or No Refunds in Recent Years
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The Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency has published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would reward farmers participating in the federal crop insurance program for good performance. Under the proposed program, payment amounts would vary by producer and will be based on each qualified producer's history in the program.

"This proposed Good Performance Refund will benefit qualifying farmers and ranchers across rural America and strengthen the Federal crop insurance program," said RMA administrator, William J. Murphy. "It encourages producers to use the best available management practices in order to qualify for the refund in future years and rewards good performance by returning a portion of the out-of-pocket costs paid for crop insurance premiums back to those who have paid into the program and have had limited or no losses."

Under the proposed program, payment amounts would vary by producer and will be based on each qualified producer's history in the program. RMA estimates that the average refund amount per producer this year will be about $1,000. The program has a proposed maximum limit at $25,000, with a minimum payment of $25. The first year of the proposed program will use data from 2009 and prior crop years because not all 2010 data is finalized.

USDA officials acknowledge that most of the refunds will go to corn and soybean farmers in the midwest, where claims are traditionally the lowest.
Click on the link below for more information on this proposed refund program- including an audio overview of the program with our colleague Stewart Doan of Agri-Pulse.

Click here for more on the planned Refund Program to farmers who have made few if any claims on Crop Insurance Policies.


It's Official- 112th Congress Elects Frank Lucas to be the Chairman of the House Ag Committee
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Rep. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 6, which formally elects him as the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee for the 112th Congress.

"As a student of agriculture economics, a rancher by trade, and a Member of this Committee from the start of my service in Congress, I am honored to have this opportunity and responsibility. I am also proud to be serving as the first Chairman of the Agriculture Committee from Oklahoma. I will continue to use my experience and perspective as a producer to help shape our nation's agriculture policy.

"The work of the Agriculture Commitee, including reauthorizing the farm bill in 2012, affects every American; ensuring that our farmers and ranchers have the tools they need to produce an abundant and affordable food and fiber supply is as important to our country as national defense.

Read Congressman Lucas' full statement issued yesterday by his office in Washington.


Monsanto Advances Several Projects in its R&D Pipeline
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Several projects across platforms and crops designed to improve farmers' on-farm productivity and profitability advanced phases today as part of Monsanto Company's annual pipeline update.

The company highlighted, in particular, key projects in its yield and stress pipeline collaboration with Germany-based BASF Plant Science, which last year was expanded to include wheat. Yield and stress projects advancing phases this year include Nitrogen-Utilization Corn, Second-Generation Higher-Yielding Soybeans and Higher-Yielding/Stress Tolerant Wheat.

"Our competitive R&D advantage comes because we identify needs in the marketplace and turn research into great products for farmers, and that allows us to create value," said Robb Fraley, Monsanto chief technology officer. "We continue to invest in significant crop opportunities with a balanced approach in our breeding and biotech platforms. This approach puts us in the best position to extend our leadership and continue to deliver commercial products that benefit our farmer customers."

Click here for the full listing released by Monsanto of the projects they are working on and hope to bring to the market in the years ahead.


AFBF Ready to Start Annual Meeting This Weekend in Atlanta
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Topics ranging from environmental policy and food safety to the 2012 farm bill and use of social media by farmers and ranchers highlight a slate of conferences during the American Farm Bureau Federation's 92nd annual meeting, that is getting underway this weekend in Atlanta, Ga. Ninety two Oklahoma Farm Bureau members are going as a part of the official delegation from the Sooner State to attend the 2011 event.

"Successful farming and ranching in the 21st century involves managing a vast amount of knowledge and information on a day-to-day basis," said AFBF President Bob Stallman. "This can be a real challenge, but by attending AFBF's annual meeting in Atlanta in January, Farm Bureau members can cut through the clutter and return home with a better understanding of how all the various issues impact their lives and livelihoods."

We talked with Mike Spradling about policy positions that the Oklahoma Farm Bureau will be pushing at the 2011 meeting- the delegates start their work first of next week- and you can hear that conversation by clicking on the LINK below.
Mike will also join us on KWTV News9 for our weekly In the Field TV segment on Saturday morning at 6:40 AM- check that out as well.

Click here for a preview of the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention getting ready to go in Atlanta this weekend.


The Department of Transportation Proposes Long-Haul Concept
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The U.S. Department of Transportation has unveiled an initial concept of a long-haul cross border Mexican trucking program that, according to the department, meets the United States' obligations under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. At issue is the U.S. refusal to allow Mexican trucks free access into the United States, as called for under NAFTA, as well as a 2001 NAFTA dispute settlement ruling.

Mexico has placed retaliatory tariffs on many American goods including pork and fresh produce items entering Mexico. The National Pork Producers Council says U.S. pork exports to Mexico have dropped by 11 percent because of the trucking dispute. NPPC President Sam Carney points out - Mexico is our largest volume export market and the retaliation Mexico has put in place on pork has hurt U.S. pork producers.

United Fresh Senior Vice President Robert Guenther says the news is - a positive sign of progress. Gunther says, - this has gone on much too long and needs to be rectified as soon as possible. Gunther wants to know if this proposal satisfies Mexican officials and if they will suspend their current trade retaliation efforts that have severely impacted U.S. trade with Mexico.

Click here to see the "concept" paper from the DOT about this long haul proposal.


Kim Anderson Says We Have Hit a New Price Plateau on Kansas City Wheat Futures
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Oklahoma State Univesity Extension Grain Marketing Economist Dr. Kim Anderson says that current wheat prices have hit a new, higher plateau- especially for the hard red winter wheat that is traded in Kansas City.

Anderson believes there are several factors helping support the current wheat price picture- and weather is one of those factors. He expects that we will have a "weather market" as we get into the February thru April time period, with the market watching precipitation- or the lack of it- closely in the southern Great Plains. He predicts, with his tongue in his cheek- that we will kill the wheat crop this year at least seven times before harvest.

You can see Lyndall and Kim talk about these issues on Saturday morning on SUNUP- or you can click on the LINK below and get a preview of that part of the show right now.

Besides Dr. Anderson's conversation with Lyndall Stout of SUNUP, this weekend's program offers a variety of stories for you to check out. We have that full rundown of the Saturday morning half hour listed at the LINK below as well.

Click here to hear Kim Anderson talk wheat with Lyndall Stout of SUNUP- and see a listing of the full lineup for SUNUP this weekend.


AgConnect Preview Day Today in Atlanta
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We are in Atlanta as we write this on a chilly Friday morning in the south. We have come in to the 92nd annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau a little early in order to paricipate in the Media Day Preview of the international farm equipment show that is known as AgConnect.

All of the major North American farm equipment makers have a significant presence at this show- and there are dozens of overseas farm equipment manufacturers that are taking part as well.

The Case IH folks are putting on a special seminar first thing this morning looking at ag issues from 30,000 feet- with Tom Buis of Growth Energy, Tom Dorr of the US Grains Council and others offering their current views on the business of agriculture. We will have coverage from that- as well as lots of picutres to share with you and interviews as well to come.
Go to our website later today and look on that right hand column to our "tweets" as we will be updating you via Twitter from the show- with other coverage to follow later in the day and the weekend.

Click here for more about the AgConnect Farm Equipment Show.


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!
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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 $10.00 per bushel, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $10.50 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:
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phone: 405-473-6144
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