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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Tuesday March 29, 2011
A
service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind
Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance
Company!
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-- Wheat Crop Continues Downhill in Latest Crop Weather Update
-- Specifically- Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma Wheat Crops Retreat in
Condition
-- Ag Groups Battling Lawsuit That Could Ban Hundreds of Ag
Chemicals
-- Oklahoma Pork Council Honors Former Secretary of Agriculture Terry
Peach at Pork Congress
-- Looking a Few Good Ornery Horses for Next Week
-- Seasonality May Mean Little for 2011 Beef Cattle Markets
-- Oklahoma Sooner Shorthorn Sale Happening This Saturday
-- 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 brand new website! 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. | |
Wheat Crop Continues Downhill in Latest Crop Weather Update ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ According to
the latest Oklahoma Crop Weather Update- "Last week proved to be another
dry week for Oklahoma. All nine districts experienced drought-like
conditions and field crops are showing signs of stress from lack of
precipitation. Some wheat producers have considered abandoning their crops
in exchange for another crop and cattle producers have considered letting
their cattle graze out the wheat. Unfortunately, very little rainfall was
received last week with the Northeast district receiving the most
rainfall, a meager 0.24 of an inch of precipitation. Additionally, as a
result of the dry weather, the chance of wildfires remained high across
the state. Portions of the week brought wind and temperatures averaging in
the mid-fifties. Topsoil and subsoil moisture conditions continued to
decline as both are rated 85 percent short to very short."
Looking at our fall seeded crops- "Small grain crops are showing signs of drought stress due to lack of precipitation and were rated mostly in the fair to poor range. Wheat jointing was 58 percent complete by week's end, an 18 point increase from the week prior, and six points ahead of normal. Rye jointing increased by 26 points to reach 74 percent complete by Sunday. Oats planted reached 86 percent complete and oats jointing more than doubled to reach 16 percent complete by week's end. Canola blooming reached 20 percent complete by Sunday." For our livestock producers- two concerns are rising to the top. Number
one is the condition of our pastures and ranges- "Both pasture and range
are beginning to suffer as a result of the state's drought-like
conditions. Ponds and streams are in critical need of rainfall in order to
replenish. Conditions continued to be rated mostly in the fair to poor
range, with 13 percent rated very poor." Click on the LINK below to jump to the complete Oklahoma Crop Weather Update- as issued by the NASS of USDA. Click here for Monday afternoon's Crop Weather Crop Update for Okahoma | |
Specifically- Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma Wheat Crops Retreat in Condition ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma and
our neighboring hard red winter wheat states have rapidly fading wheat
crop conditions- a slide that can only be stopped by significant rainfall.
The Texas wheat crop is the most mature as you would expect- and current
ratings show 62% of the crop is in poor to very poor condition, 27% fair
and just 11% of the crop in good condition. No wheat in Texas has been
found in excellent condition. Texas has an index for wheat and their
pasture conditions- in the case of the winter wheat crop- last year, the
index stood at 78% of normal- this year at this point that same index for
wheat is just 35%.
The large Kansas crop is also panting and needs a substantial drink of water. It's now rated 35% poor to very poor, 34% in fair shape, 27% good and 4% excellent. Those numbers are somewhat better than the Oklahoma stats- which stand at 46% poor to very poor, 33% fair, 17% good and 4% excellent. We understand some fields are already being considered as having little
or no yield potential by crop insurance adjusters, especially in the
southwestern quadrant of the state. There is just a 20% chance of rain in
the Altus area for Tuesday- and no chances in the forecast out to next
Monday after tomorrow. Chances of rain jump higher as you move to Hobart
and then towards Chickasha with Oklahoma City and Stillwater pegged at 60%
and the Tulsa area with a 70% chance of precip on Tuesday. | |
Ag Groups Battling Lawsuit That Could Ban Hundreds of Ag Chemicals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The American
Farm Bureau Federation, along with other agriculture groups, has filed a
motion to intervene in federal court in a lawsuit aimed at imposing
needless restrictions or bans on pesticide use.Earlier, CropLife America filed a similar motion in the same case- click here for the news release from that trade group to read more about their concerns regarding this case. The Ag Groups involved filed in the "Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental Protection Agency," a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The Center for Biological Diversity's (CBD) lawsuit alleges that EPA violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing the use of nearly 400 pesticides without conducting consultations with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (Services) regarding potential impacts on 214 listed species. "This case aims to use the Endangered Species Act to impose
restrictions, if not outright bans, on hundreds of pesticides," said AFBF
President Bob Stallman. "To protect the interests of growers nationwide
who rely on the availability of safe, affordable and effective pesticides,
we have sought to intervene in the lawsuit in order to participate fully
in how the case is resolved." | |
Oklahoma Pork Council Honors Former Secretary of Agriculture Terry Peach at Pork Congress ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At the
Oklahoma Pork Congress this past week in Midwest City, the Oklahoma Pork
Council presented their Distinguished Service Award to former Oklahoma
Secretary of Agriculture Terry Peach. Peach, who served as the Oklahoma
Secretary of Agriculture from 2003-2010, was honored for providing a sense
of unity and solidarity to Oklahoma's agriculture groups and supporting
Oklahoma's pork industry.
We talked with Terry after the presentation and you can hear our conversation about the award and his reflections of what he feels was accomplished during his years as the State Secretary of Agriculture during the two terms of the Brad Henry Administration. You can hear that conversation by clicking on the LINK below to jump to our webstory on this award- and you can also see the OPC video shown at the lunch that highlighted Peach's career to this point and his service to Oklahoma's pork industry and to agriculture in general. | |
Looking a Few Good Ornery Horses for Next Week ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We have had
several of you come forward and nominate a horse for Scott Dailey to work
with next week at the 2011 Southern Plains Farm Show. But, we need another
horse or two- so this is your invitation to get some professional training
for your horse- free of charge!
No matter what the problem may be with your horse- we will pass along your nominations to our friends at Midwest Farm Shows and they will contact you to discuss if your horse sounds like the right fit for the twice daily horse training seminars that Scott Dailey will be offering next Thursday, Friday and Saturday at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City (April 7-9). Either drop me an email at ron@oklahomafarmreport.com or give me a call at 405-841-3675 and we will look forward to hearing from you. And remember, you can once again register this year to win the Round Pen from Prefiert that Scott Dailey will be using at the Southern Plains Farm Show- Our Radio Network will be giving it away on the Saturday afternoon of the Show. You can register either at the Horse Training Seminar or in our RON booth in the Cox building. We look forward to seeing you there- and look forward to hearing from you about your horse with "issues." | |
Seasonality May Mean Little for 2011 Beef Cattle Markets ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Historically,
seasonal cattle price patterns have been one of the most reliable
tendencies in cattle markets. This is particularly true in a stable market
environment. However, Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell
Peel says the market is anything but stable now and that means that normal
price seasonality may not mean much this year. Anticipating cattle markets
is always a daunting task and is particularly challenging this year with
so many short and long run factors affecting the market at the current
time. Feeder and fed cattle prices have advanced more than seasonally
through the first quarter but still there are indications that markets may
be close to a seasonal top or plateau. However, there is much turbulence
in the water and the picture is far from clear.
Most recently, a series of global events has introduced additional
uncertainty and hesitation into markets in general and have affected
cattle markets as well. The continuing unrest in the Middle East and
Africa provokes general political uncertainty and adds volatility to oil
markets. The Japanese disaster and ongoing nuclear concerns add additional
uncertainty to markets. You can click on the LINK below for the full analysis from Dr. Peel on this issue of seasonality- and you can click here for today's BEEF BUZZ with him as we talk about some of those international factors that are churning the market conditions at this time. Click here for the latest Beef Market Analysis with Dr. Derrell Peel of OSU | |
Oklahoma Sooner Shorthorn Sale Happening This Saturday ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This Saturday,
April 2, 2011 at the fairgrounds, Duncan, Oklahoma, it's the Oklahoma
Sooner Shorthorn Sale. The sale begins at 1 pm selling, 43 Lots from 16
consignors including Fancy Show Heifer Prospects, Bulls, Bred Females,
Cow/Calf Pairs, Semen and Embyos.
The cattle will be available for viewing on Friday, April 1 at 3 pm with a fellowship dinner at 7 that evening. You can also view the cattle the morning of the sale at 8 am. For more information call Sammy Richardson at 580.658.2709 or his cell at 580.467.8267. Also, you can contact Steven Crow at 405.820.9725. | |
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 $9.80 per
bushel- as of the close of trade Wednesday, while the 2011 New Crop
contracts for Canola are now available are $10.75 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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