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!

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We traveled in Canadian County up into Kingfisher County and then into Garfield County. All wheat, even the best fields we saw is very short, definitely shorter than normal.
Virtually every field has headed or is heading- both the thicker stands as well as the thin uneven stands.

We took some pictures of both the uneven thin wheat which seemed to be the rule south of Kingfisher- and also took pictures of some wheat that was thicker, very uniform as far as height was concerned(all short) and all headed out.
We also found at least one field that had white heads very prominent in several spots- I head that those white heads could be the manifestation of freeze damage.

Click on the LINK below and take a look at the pictures we snapped on Tuesday- one thing we did not have to worry about (unfortunately) as we walked through several fields was getting muddy- not a trace of mud to be found unless there were cattle or horses gathered around a stock tank.

Click here for the April 19th Wheat Crop Update in Pictures

Brenda Sidwell, who has a Crop Insurance Agency in Goltry, says that farmers are calling and pricing hail insurance right now. She says that is a good idea, as you can watch the storms with Gary England or Travis Meyer- and it you think that the storms brewing that day could bring hail into your area- you can call and get hail insurance- in some cases instantly- and in other cases with only a two hour wait before the policy kicks in.

The other thing that we talked with Brenda about was that with the conditions being so dry as approach harvest- you may want to consider fire insurance for your crop. Sidwell says that your current crop insurance policy only will pay on a fire loss if its an act of God started fire. She tells us while the coverage is only for 60 days- it's very inexpensive and worth a look.
You might want to visit with your crop insurance agent about that.

Click here for this morning's farm news podcast- you can listen to Brenda's comments on both of these subjects.

The American Farm Bureau has expressed its approval that at least the Administration is talking about moving the Panama FTA. Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman points out that - Panama has duty-free access to the U.S. market, while our products face excessive tariffs when sold to the Panama market. Once implemented, Stallman says, - the Panama FTA will level the playing field for U.S. farmers and ranchers by eliminating these tariffs.

As for all three outstanding free trade agreements, Stallman says, when completed, they will - create expanded markets for American farm and ranch products and boost our overall economy. Together, the three agreements represent nearly 2.5-billion dollars of additional agricultural exports from the United States and would support as many as 27-thousand new U.S. jobs.

Another group that is excited about the chances of getting Panama's FTA on the table is the NPPC- The National Pork Producers Council. According to NPPC, the trade agreement with Panama will provide new market opportunities for a wide range of American agricultural products. NPPC says the deal will - level the playing field so U.S. producers and exporters of food and farm products receive reciprocal market access. Also, the bill will open to U.S. pork producers, other agricultural sectors and U.S. businesses a market of almost 3.4 million consumers.

American Farm Bureau has a good backgrounder on the FTAs- click here to take a look.

Russell "Rusty" Noble, a member of the Board of Trustee's executive committee and founder Lloyd Noble's grandson, hailed Cawley as a visionary leader. "Mike Cawley has been a thoughtful, devoted steward of the Noble Foundation for more than two decades," Noble said. "He is a man of integrity, and his leadership has been critical to the growth and success of this organization. The Noble Foundation Board of Trustees and all the employees offer a whole-hearted thanks to Mike for his dedication and tireless pursuit of excellence."

During Cawley's tenure, the Noble Foundation experienced tremendous growth. Net assets increased more than 500 percent, and in the last decade, the organization spent more than $100 million expanding its research campus, which doubled its infrastructure to more than 500,000 square feet of research and administration space. The focus of the expansion was to allow the institution to vastly grow its plant science and agriculture research programs to include agronomy, bioenergy, cell and developmental biology, genomics, plant breeding, plant-microbe interactions and plant transformation.

Click here for more on this announcement by Michael Cawley regarding retirement from the Noble Foundation

Below is a suggested order of culling for fall-calving herds in the face of diminishing forage supplies.

Culling order:

1. Open (non-pregnant) old cows
2. Open replacement heifers
3. Old cows with unsound mouth, eyes, or feet and legs
4. Open cows of any age
5. Thin cows over 7 years of age (BCS < 4)
6. Very late bred young cows

Click on the LINK below for more with Dr. Selk on these ideas of culling those animals that offer the least upside when resources are tight.

Click here for more on the Culling order for your Mama Cow Herd- courtesy of Dr. Glenn Selk.

As a part of the Field Day- the Oklahoma Oilseed Commission will be meeting right after lunch and invites all growers to stay for their discussions. To learn more about the OSU Canola efforts, click here for the Okanola webpage.

Also coming up this spring is Part Two for Canola University- or CanolaU. This is being sponsored by DeKalb and High Plains Journal. Canola U is planned for May 3rd at the Clarion Meridian Hotel just south of I-40 on Meridian in Oklahoma City- this event will feature more good information on the opportunity that winter canola is bringing to the wheat producer as a viable and profitable rotation crop. Click here for more on our calendar page about CanolaU- you need to register to attend but the good news is that it's free! Click and check it out.

Bob Funk and Jarold Callahan write in the Grass Time Catalog that their goal at Express Ranches is to "blend technology with common sense to supply you, our customer, with the best cattle we can produce." They add that this set of cattle will help producers make real improvements in their beef cattle herds to make them more profitable in the future.

You can call Express Ranches at 1-800-664-3977 for more information or click on the LINK below to jump to our calendar listing for this upcoming sale from Express.

Click here for more on the Grass Time Sale at Express Ranches coming April 29

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

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.