~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Wednesday March 9, 2011
A
service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind
Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance
Company!
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-- Senators Tell Obama- Push Japan to Widen Access for US Beef
-- General CRP Sign-up to Begin
-- Farm Mom of 2010- Carol Cowan- A Great Ambassador of the Farm Way
of Life
-- Korean Free Trade Deal Finally Going to Congress
-- Soybean Checkoff Funded Study Touts Benefits to Soybean Producers
of US Animal Agriculture
-- Tri-State Agritourism Conference
-- Sonrise Ranches Production Sale Coming This Saturday- Oologah,
Oklahoma
-- 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. One of the great success stories
of the Johnston brand is Wrangler Bermudagrass- the most widely planted
true cold-tolerant seeded forage bermudagrass in the United States. For
more on Johnston Enterprises- click
here for their website that features their grain, ports and seed
business! 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 Ron Hays on RON. | |
Senators Tell Obama- Push Japan to Widen Access for US Beef ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sen. Mike
Johanns (R-Neb.) has urged the Administration to press Japan to fully open
its market to U.S. beef in light of Japan's interest in joining the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). A letter authored by Johanns and signed
by 26 of his colleagues, including five Democrats, calls for President
Obama to encourage Japanese leaders to immediately relax restrictions on
U.S. beef if Japan seeks inclusion in TPP negotiations. Oklahoma Senator
Jim Inhofe is among those who have signed this letter to the President.
"Japan is an important trading partner to the U.S. and I would strongly support a robust trade agreement that includes both countries, but it has no leg to stand on without fixing the beef issue first," said Johanns. "Our beef industry has been unfairly targeted and restricted for far too long. Japan's restrictions are not based in science and irrationally punish one of our most competitive industries. Our farmers and ranchers have always produced the highest quality beef and our internationally renowned food safety system has protected consumers for decades. It's time for Japan to recognize these efforts and remove their unjustifiable barriers." The United States is currently in negotiations with eight other
countries to join the TPP, a multilateral trade agreement in the
Asia-Pacific region. Recently, Japan expressed interest in joining TPP
negotiations. Click on the LINK below for more on this story- and a chance to jump over to the full letter to read it. Other Senators from our region that have signed off on the letter include both Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts of Kansas, as well as both John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. Click here for more on this letter that has gone out to President Obama on US Beef into Japan. | |
General CRP Sign-up to Begin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ General
sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program begins next Monday, March 14,
and continues through April 15. During the sign-up period, farmers and
ranchers may offer eligible land at their county Farm Service Agency
office. Additionally, current CRP participants with contracts expiring
this fall may make new contract offers. Contracts awarded under this
sign-up are scheduled to become effective October 1, 2011.
CRP is a voluntary program that assists farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers to use their environmentally-sensitive land for conservation benefits. Acreage enrolled in the CRP is planted to resource-conserving vegetative covers, making the program a major contributor to wildlife population increases in many parts of the country and well as improving water quality. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says - sound conservation practices encouraged through CRP enrollment preserve the soil, clean our water and restore habitat for wildlife. In addition to general sign-up, CRP's continuous sign-up program will be ongoing. | |
Farm Mom of 2010- Carol Cowan- A Great Ambassador of the Farm Way of Life ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Carol Cowan of
Watonga is wrapping up her year as the 2010 Farm Mom of the Year in a
contest sponosored by Monsanto. Carol was in Tampa at the Commodity
Classic, along with her husband Rodney, taking in all the sessions and the
trade show- and helping beat the drum for year two of the Farm Mom of the
Year contest.
Carol tells us that she has had a tremendous year- helping remind everyone that a key element of a farm family is that farm mom. Carol is a great example of the typical farm mom. She's really excited about seeing this program continue and for other farm moms to be nominated for 2011. We talked with her in Tampa about that- and you can hear our conversation by clicking on the LINK below- you can also see a YouTube that Monsanto posted earlier in the year on Carol and her life on the farm as the Mom. We also have the link on over to the site where you can nominate someone to be the Farm Mom of 2011. Click here for more on Carol Cowan- your 2010 Farm Mom of the Year. | |
Korean Free Trade Deal Finally Going to Congress ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Obama
administration notified Congress Monday that it is ready to work on
legislative language to implement the U.S.-Korea (KORUS) free trade
agreement (FTA). In a letter to Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said his office has finished its preparatory work on the FTA, clearing the way for technical discussions on the implementing bill and draft Statement of Administrative Action. Meanwhile, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack held a news briefing yesterday on the benefits of the FTA with Korea for agriculture. Vilsack told reporters "This agreement immediately eliminates duties on the majority of U.S. farm products exported to Korea and eliminates duties over time on many others, including U.S. beef. KORUS is a win not just for America's farmers and ranchers, but for millions of Americans who depend on the farm economy for jobs and wages. Congress must move swiftly to ratify the U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement, because if we do not act quickly and decisively, America's competitors will secure their own trade deals with Korea, and our competitors' products will achieve an advantage at the expense of American productivity." The United States provided almost 30 percent of Korea's total agricultural imports in 2010. In fiscal year 2010 (Oct. 1, 2009 - Sept. 30, 2010), U.S. agricultural exports to Korea totaled nearly $5 billion, making Korea the fifth largest export market for U.S. farm products. | |
Soybean Checkoff Funded Study Touts Benefits to Soybean Producers of US Animal Agriculture ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S. poultry
and livestock farmers provide more than just meat, milk, eggs and other
food. They also produce jobs, generate property tax revenues and
contribute to household incomes. A new report by Promar International shows that poultry and livestock industries produced 1.8 million jobs, and contributed $252 billion in U.S. gross domestic production on an annual basis. Livestock and poultry also contributed $41 billion to U.S. household incomes, increasing income by $3 billion over the past 10 years, according to the study The United Soybean Board (USB) funded the independent report because
U.S. poultry and livestock consume about 98 percent of the domestically
used soybean meal, making them the number one customer for U.S. soybean
farmers. The 32-page report breaks down a range of data by state, including measurements for poultry and livestock production and value, economic impact, characteristics of farm operations and operators, input purchases, agricultural and economic censuses, taxation and computation of meal use by poultry and livestock. Click here for more on the Soybean Salute to their Number One Customer- US Animal Agriculture | |
Tri-State Agritourism Conference ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kansas,
Missouri and Oklahoma residents who operate agritourism businesses and are
interested in developing and promoting their rural small business, will
want to attend the "Tri-State Agritourism Conference" on Tuesday, March 22
and Wednesday, March 23, 2011, in Pittsburg, Kansas. The conference will
also be of interest to potential agritourism businesses, destination
marketing organizations, and chambers of commerce. The two-day event will
begin at 9:00 a.m. on March 22 at the Overman Student Center on the
Pittsburg State University campus in Pittsburg, Kansas, and conclude
Wednesday afternoon.
A variety of presenters will share information on diversification and new markets, direct marketing (on farm/off farm), on-line marketing (including social media), risk management, partnering with the local community, and ways to engage visitors to generate more income. An overview of agritourism programs in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma will also be presented. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend a networking reception featuring food and beverages from tri-state area producers, a trade show and a tour of several area agritourism businesses. The $40 early registration fee deadline is extended to March 10. After that date, the registration fee is $55 per person. Registration fee includes meals, refreshments, networking reception and tour transportation. Advance registration is required. To register, contact the Kansas Small Business Development Center at Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS at 620-235-4920. Click here for the brochure on the Tri State Agritourism Conference. | |
Sonrise Ranches Production Sale Coming This Saturday- Oologah, Oklahoma ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sonrise
Ranches will be holding their spring Performance Tested Bull Sale this
coming Saturday, March 12, 2011, staring at 1 p.m. The Sale will be held
at the ranch, near Oologah, OK.
Ranch Owner Chip Carroll writes about the selection of bulls and
females that they will be selling this Saturday on their website- "Each of
these 60+ bulls is sure to make a positive impact on your cow-calf
program. They've all passed a BSE exam. And aside from eight we've used to
cover some of our cows, they are all virgin bulls. The eight will be
Trich-tested free before the sale. These bulls are ready to go to work for
you. Click on the LINK below for their website, where you will find a link for a downloadable catalog, as well as video of the bulls that will sell on Saturday. | |
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 $9.95 per
bushel- as of the close of business yesterday, while the 2011 New Crop
contracts for Canola are now available are $10.80 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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