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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest
farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron
Hays of RON for Wednesday June 15, 2011 A
service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind
Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance
Company!
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-- Senator Tom Coburn Forces Tough Vote on Ethanol Subsidy and
Loses...This Time
-- Many Agricultural Groups Applaude the Defeat of Senator Coburn's
Amendment to Eliminate Ethanol Tax Incentive
-- State Legislature Announces Formation of Joint Legislative
Committee to Review Oklahoma Water Plan
-- Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas Questions the Establishment of
White House Rural Council
-- Wheat in West-Central Oklahoma Facing Problem of Stinking
Smut
-- How Should Producers Find a Feedlot to Fit Their Needs?
-- A Dairy Beautiful Lady, Congrats Dave Freeman and Harvest
Links
-- 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 weekdays on the Radio Oklahoma Network
for the latest farm news and markets- if you missed today's Morning Farm
News (or in an area where you can't hear it) Click
here to listen to today's Morning Farm News with Ron on RON. | |
Senator Tom Coburn Forces Tough Vote on Ethanol Subsidy and Loses...This Time ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S. Senator
Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released a statement Tuesday afternoon regarding
the Senate's vote on his amendment to repeal the ethanol tax earmark and
tariff. The Senate rejected the cloture vote that would have permitted a
vote on the Coburn amendment by a 40 to 59 margin.
"The Senate's refusal to save taxpayers $3 billion by ending an ethanol subsidy the beneficiaries themselves don't want highlights the incompetence and dysfunction of this body. Many senators who opposed this policy refused to end it because Senate Democratic leaders were upset about being forced to take a tough vote. Instead of protecting taxpayers by reducing our deficit and lowering food prices, many senators chose to protect the desire of Senate leaders to avoid tough issues. Taxpayers obviously need to give the Senate another refresher course on who runs government," Dr. Coburn said. The Senator adds "However, taxpayers should be encouraged that Republican senators overwhelmingly rejected the ludicrous argument that eliminating tax earmarks is a tax increase. Tax provisions should be examined on a case by case basis, not receive blanket amnesty. I'm proud so many of my Republican colleagues put common sense, good judgment, and free-market conservative economic principles ahead of political expediency." Click on the LINK below for the rest of the Senator's comments after a smaller group than many expected decided to vote with Senator Coburn on what he calls a fiscal sanity issue. Click here for more of the post vote comments offered by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn. | |
Many Agricultural Groups Applaude the Defeat of Senator Coburn's Amendment to Eliminate Ethanol Tax Incentive ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Renewable
Fuels Association, along with the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and
the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), today applauded those
Senators that voted to stop the efforts of Sen. Tom Coburn to eliminate
the ethanol tax credit six months early. On a cloture vote to proceed to
an amendment that would end the current ethanol tax incentive immediately,
Senator Coburn lost 40-59, falling 20 votes short of the sixty votes
needed to obtain cloture.Bob Dinneen of the Renewable Fuels Association was clearly pleased with the vote as he offered this statement- "This vote demonstrates the lack of appetite for this kind of destructive policy and political gamesmanship. The Senate and the country need to focus on a comprehensive energy strategy that seeks to expand America's ability to renewably meet its fuel needs. Initiatives like the legislation introduced by Senators Thune and Klobuchar yesterday are the exact kind of responsible policy prescriptions that will create domestic jobs and help meet the energy challenges of the 21st century. With this kind of political theater hopefully behind us, American ethanol producers are ready to work with lawmakers to ensure a robust and diverse domestic ethanol industry can develop in a fiscally responsible manner." The RFA supports the Ethanol Reform and Deficit Reduction Act offered by Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). Under this proposal, the current ethanol tax incentive, known as VEETC, would transition to a variable tax incentive tied to the price of oil. Additionally, the bill would make available funds saved by the transformation of VEETC to expand ethanol fueling infrastructure by improving tax policies currently available for blender pumps and other ethanol-related infrastructure. Specifically, the bill calls for 53,000 blender pumps, a number the RFA noted was needed to help achieve the goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard. The bill would also extend current tax incentives for the next generation of ethanol technologies using cellulosic and other feedstocks. If passed, the bill would take effect July 1, 2011. This bill is similar to legislation introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who is a cosponsor of this bill, and Kent Conrad (D-ND). Click here to read the rest of the comments from agricultural groups on Senator Coburn's amendment | |
State Legislature Announces Formation of Joint Legislative Committee to Review Oklahoma Water Plan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ House Speaker
Kris Steele and Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman have ordered the
formation of a joint legislative committee to review the Oklahoma
Comprehensive Water Plan and develop a long-range state water
policy.The committee will begin working over the legislative interim and continue to work during next year's legislative session. While the committee's immediate goal is to review the water plan, its ultimate purpose is to facilitate the development of long-range water policy for Oklahoma. "Responsible allocation of water - our most precious natural resource -
is among the greatest responsibilities we have today to the citizens of
tomorrow," said Steele, R-Shawnee. "The state's last 50-year water plan is
about to expire. We need a new one, and we need it now. With the updated
comprehensive water plan nearly complete, we must no longer defer action
on this vital issue." Rural interests in Oklahoma are pleased that Phil Richardson will be a key player in this water plan work by the State legislature. Roy Lee Lindsay of the Oklahoma Pork Council says it's a great choice- "Phil Richardson will be an outstanding co-chair of the water committee. His experience as chairman of the wildlife, environment and agriculture committees in the House make him uniquely qualified to lead this extremely important effort. Add in his personal and professional experience raising livestock and as a veterinarian and you have a tremendous representative for rural Oklahoma and agricultural interests in our state." Click here to learn more on the plans for the Joint Water Committee | |
Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas Questions the Establishment of White House Rural Council ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This week
during The Ag Minute, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas of
Oklahoma, discusses President Obama's newly established White House Rural
Council and questions its intended purpose of creating jobs and economic
growth in rural communities given the administration's track record.
Instead of adding another layer of bureaucracy to an already bloated
government, Chairman Lucas argues that a better use of our resources would
be for the administration to focus on job-creating initiatives that are
already in play such as acting on the pending free trade
agreements.The Ag Minute is Chairman Lucas's weekly radio address that is released from the House Agriculture Committee. Click on the LINK below to read the complete transcript from Chairman Frank Lucas, as well as listen to his comments on the White House Rural Council. Click here to hear Chairman Lucas's comments in this week's Ag Minute | |
Wheat in West-Central Oklahoma Facing Problem of Stinking Smut ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma
Cooperative Extension Service offices have received reports about the
presence of common bunt - also known as stinking smut - in wheat harvested
in Roger Mills, Washita and Custer counties."In at least one of these cases, the load was rejected by the elevator and the grower was told to not return with similar wheat," said Mark Gregory, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension area agronomy specialist for the region. It may seem like "piling on" to wheat growers who have all ready faced
a number of damaging factors this year: longstanding drought conditions,
untimely freezes followed by excessive heat and sustained winds so strong
that a person could hit a tennis ball and almost have it fly back in one's
face. Click here to read more on the issue of stinking smut in this year's wheat crop | |
How Should Producers Find a Feedlot to Fit Their Needs? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many cow-calf
producers use feedyards to add value to their cattle herd. But many of
these producers do not know how to go about selecting a feedyard. There
are many factors to consider, such as location. However, Greg Highfill,
Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Specialist, there are two
main factors for when producers look to a feedyard.One of the main considerations is to ask feed managers how they are controlling feed costs. Highfill says the other is producers need to feel trust and confidence in the feedyard they select. Click on the LINK below to watch a video over the considerations and questions farmers and ranchers need to ask of feedlots, and of themselves, when selecting a feedlot for their cattle herds. Click here to learn more about selecting a the right feedlot for you | |
A Dairy Beautiful Lady, Congrats Dave Freeman and Harvest Links ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The 2011 Miss
Oklahoma is a farm girl- growing up in Davenport, Oklahoma on a dairy
farm, raising Jersey cows. Betty Thompson talked with Stan Miller
of News9, KWTV in Oklahoma City and talked about her desire to share some
of the values she picked up as a farm girl. Her platform for the coming year is to share the concept that "Milk does a body good." Click here to jump to our website and take a look at Stan's chat with Betty- Stan is the nervous one! Oklahoma State University's Dave Freeman has been named the 2011 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in Equine Science by the Equine Science Society. "Dave is most deserving of this award, which is presented only once every two years and is the most prestigious honor bestowed by the society on its members in recognition of truly outstanding contributions to the field of equine science," said Ron Kensinger, head of the OSU Department of Animal Science. Click here to read more about this honor for Dave Freeman- who has been a horse specialist for OSU since the 1980s! We have a short report on harvest this morning from the Oklahoma Wheat
Commission- they are saying on their website that "Wheat harvest is mostly
complete throughout the bulk of the state in Oklahoma. Reports in the
Northeastern parts of the state say the harvest is about 60 percent
finished. In the North Central and Northwest parts harvest is 90 percent
completed. Most all custom cutters have moved out of the state into
Kansas."
Click here for the OWC update on harvest. | |
Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures and Oklahoma Mineral Buyers.Com 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 $12.12
per bushel- as of the close of business yesterday, while the 2011 New Crop
contracts for Canola are now available are $12.12 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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