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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Tuesday April 19, 2011
A
service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and Big Iron
OnLine Auctions!
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-- How Much of the Oklahoma Wheat Crop is at the Point of No
Return?
-- Pasture and Range Conditions Reflect Drought as Well
-- Impact of Drought Intensifies on Oklahoma Cattle Operations
-- Cattlemen Support Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act
-- The Wall Street Journal Opines on Chocolate Milk
-- Cattle on Feed This Week- On Thursday Ahead of Easter
Holiday
-- Congress Calls Foul on Obama Administration Plan to Expand
Jurisdiction Under Clean Water Act
-- 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- and their IPHONE App, which provides all electronic futures quotes is available at the App Store- click here for the KIS Futures App 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. 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. | |
How Much of the Oklahoma Wheat Crop is at the Point of No Return? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The latest
Oklahoma Crop Weather Update is out from USDA- and it confirms several
things- including the sad state of the Oklahoma wheat crop. The update
reports "Conditions continued to decline, due to the drought, which is
causing wheat and rye to head significantly ahead of normal. Wheat
jointing was 93 percent complete by week's end, and wheat headed reached
41 percent complete, 23 points ahead of normal." The condition of the crop
is miserable with 69% poor to very poor, 24% fair, 6% in good condition
and 1% in excellent shape- I suspect that one percent excellent is
somewhere up in Kay County where significant rains fell this past week.
Forty one percent of the Oklahoma crop has already reached the heading
stage- way ahead of the five year average of 18%.
Our neighbors in Texas and Kansas have concerns as well- the Texas crop condition is very similar to Oklahoma at 68% poor to very poor. 24% fair and 10% in good condition. Kansas has some pretty good wheat in central and south central parts of their state- but western Kansas is much like Oklahoma in facing the point of no return on crop conditions. Kansas wheat is rated 42% poor to very poor, 33% fair and 25% good to excellent. Back to our Oklahoma report- it shows about half of the expected corn acres in the state now planted (55% to be precise), with seedbed preparation in our other spring planted crops making some headway in the face of extremely dry topsoil conditions. The report does indicate that the rains in eastern Oklahoma are helping with moisture in the soil profile- but don't come close to ending drought conditions in those areas. The report does update us on the canola crop in a small way- noting
that we have almost all of the canola statewide that has survived to this
point blooming- 96% this week versus 77% a week ago. | |
Pasture and Range Conditions Reflect Drought as Well ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There is no
national Pasture and Range Condition summary as of yet, but in looking at
our part of the country, Texas wins the dubious honor of the poorest
pasture conditions in this region, with Oklahoma not far behind. The Texas
pasture and range ratings are at 69% poor to very poor, 26% fair and 5%
good. Oklahoma checks in at 59% poor to very poor, 33% fair and 8% good to
excellent. Oklahoma has the benefit of the eastern counties getting some
help from rains of last week, plus more rainfall being in their forecast
this week as well.
Also out on the west side of our region- New Mexico stands at 56% poor to very poor, 31% fair and 5% good. Kansas is a split state on this as it is on wheat- western Kansas is drying up and trying to blow away- while central and eastern Kansas has received rains. Statewide pasture and range conditions are at 28% poor to very poor, 35% fair and 37% good to excellent. Two states on the east side of our country are Arkansas and Missouri.
Arkansas has some pastures hurting, with 25% at poor to very poor. 49%
stands in fair condition with 26% in good to excellent
shape. | |
Impact of Drought Intensifies on Oklahoma Cattle Operations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The management
and market impacts of drought in Oklahoma are intensifying rapidly. The
situation in Oklahoma is becoming a bit more regional in nature as much of
the eastern one-third of Oklahoma has received some very timely moisture
in the past few days. Though these rains do not eliminate drought concerns
in that region, they provide some immediate relief and significantly
expand management options for producers. However, the western two-thirds
of Oklahoma remain exceptionally dry and management options are
increasingly limited. OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell
Peel says that you need to consider impacts on your cattle operation from
several different directions.
Significant direct market impacts of the drought are not apparent at this time. Though most cattle prices decreased slightly the past week, it is most likely due to seasonal and broader market impacts than due to drought. Oklahoma auction volumes for cows and bulls are up roughly 22 percent for the year to date, as is beef cow slaughter in the southern plains (up 11 percent in Region 6, which includes Oklahoma and Texas) but it is likely that most of that is due to high prices more than the result of drought forced movement. However, the impending drought impacts may be part of these cow marketing decisions, at least indirectly. While the market impacts of drought may not very significant yet, the impacts could increase dramatically, especially for cow prices, if the drought continues to worsen over the next 30-60 days. Read more of Dr. Peel's anaylsis on how drought conditions are impacting cattlemen and their herds here in the state. Click here for more on the effect of drought on managment decisions for your cattle | |
Cattlemen Support Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Regulating
dust generated by everyday activities in rural America is yet another
example of overregulation passed down by this administration, according to
National Cattlemen's Beef Association President (NCBA) Bill Donald, who is
a Montana rancher. Donald, along with Public Lands Council President John
Falen, Nevada rancher, submitted a letter of support to Congresswoman
Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) for her attempt to stop the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) from doubling the stringency of the Coarse Particulate Matter
National Ambient Air Quality Standard, more commonly called the dust
standard by proposing the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act (H.R. 1633).
"EPA has already laid the foundation for regulating dust at unprecedented levels," said NCBA President Donald. "This standard would put large portions of land, including my family operation, in the Midwest, West and Southwest into nonattainment. Economic growth would suffer. And, for what purpose? It is well known at EPA that scientific studies have never shown that rural agricultural dust causes health concerns at ambient levels." On today's Beef Buzz, we hear more about NCBA's support of this legislation from Ashley Lyon, Deputy Environmental Counsel for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Click on the LINK below to read more and to hear our Beef Buzz report- as heard on great radio stations in the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network. Click here for our Beef Buzz as we feature the battle against Dust Regs by lawmakers | |
The Wall Street Journal Opines on Chocolate Milk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One Mom
writing in the Opinion section of the Wall Street Journal is blasting
schools who choose to ban chocolate milk. Jen Singer is the mom- and she
writes "Let's face it: Chocolate milk is like broccoli hidden in mashed
potatoes. It's the way parents sneak nutritional content into something
palatable to kids who choose their breakfast cereal not by the quality of
its content but by the cartoon characters on the box.
"In fact, the Washington Post reports that removing flavored milk from schools reduces children's milk consumption by 37%. And for many kids, school is the only place they drink any milk all week long. Take it away, and they don't get those nutrients anywhere." This is a subject that Susan Allen of Dairymax have talked about before- Jen Singer is clearly a lady who's thinking much like Susan on this subject where the do-gooders need to hush. Click on the LINK below to read the Journal piece from this mom of two. Click here for more on what this Mom calls a bad idea- banning Chocolate Milk from School | |
Cattle on Feed This Week- On Thursday Ahead of Easter Holiday ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This month's
Cattle on Feed Report will be out on a Thursday this go round instead of
the normal Friday as this Friday is Good Friday and a day where the
markets will be closed. One of the analysts that we follow and get a
preview from regularly on Cattle on Feed is Allendale- and Rich Nelson
with Allendale offers these preview remarks:
"March Placements are expected to be 1.3% larger than last year. The sharp rise in fed cattle prices in March, averaging $7 higher than February, likely brought in a few extra feeders. Further incentive may have come from the $130 per head profits from finished cattle leaving feedlots. Cattle placed in February will be marketed from August through October. "Allendale anticipates a Marketing total 2.8% larger than March of
2010. Slaughter levels will go from slightly higher than last year this
spring then balloon to sharply higher in the summer when large winter
placements come due." | |
Congress Calls Foul on Obama Administration Plan to Expand Jurisdiction Under Clean Water Act ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A bipartisan
group of 170 members of Congress, led by Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) and Tim Holden
(D-Pa.), issued a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator Lisa Jackson and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil
Works (Corps) Jo-Ellen Darcy to express concern regarding an attempt by
the agencies to expand their jurisdiction over U.S. waters. Specifically,
EPA and the Corps sent a draft "guidance" document to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for regulatory review to identify waters
subject to jurisdiction under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of
1972, more commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). The members of
Congress agree that the "guidance" goes beyond clarifying the scope of
U.S. waters subject to Clean Water Act programs.
Both the American Farm Bureau and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association have cheered the pushing back by Congress. Bob Stallman, President of the American Farm Bureau, says of the effort by the two agencies- "The guidance would take an overly broad view of 'waters of the U.S.' It would serve as a road map for EPA and the Corps to designate nearly all water bodies, and even some dry land, as subject to federal regulations that dictate land-use decisions." The National Cattlemen's Beef Association also has weighed in- as Ashley Lyon from their DC office says "If EPA has its way, government overreach will continue to devastate financially farmers and ranchers across the country. Giving EPA the go-ahead to regulate every little drop of water in the United States is absurd." | |
Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchersand KIS Futures 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 $11.00
per bushel, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available
are $11.15 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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