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.

And we salute our longest running email sponsor- Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the Southern Plains Farm Show that happens each April as well as the Tulsa Farm Show held each December. Click here for the Midwest Farm Show main website to learn more about their lineup of shows around the country!

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.

If you have received this by someone forwarding it to you, you are welcome to subscribe and get this weekday update sent to you directly by clicking here.

For our spring planted crops- "Drought conditions continued to take a toll on most of the state's row crops with conditions rated mostly in the fair to poor range. Corn silking reached 69 percent complete by week's end. Sorghum planting was virtually complete, while 83 percent had emerged with nine percent of the crop heading. Planting of soybeans was also virtually complete, while 89 percent had emerged and nine percent was blooming. Peanuts emerged reached 94 percent complete and 29 percent were pegging by week's end, 19 points behind the five-year average. Cotton emerged reached 73 percent complete by Sunday while cotton squaring was seven percent complete, both behind the five-year average."

Pasture conditions are also critical. "Pasture and range conditions were rated mostly poor to very poor. Despite the extremely hot weather, livestock conditions were rated mostly fair to good. Cattle have very little pasture to graze and pond levels are very low."

We have both the state report for you to jump to- as well as the weekly national Crop Progress numbers for all major crops- that national report shows little difference in the condition of the US soybean and corn crop this year versus a year ago while the US Cotton crop reflects the poor conditions not only here in Oklahoma but also in Texas and indicates a crop that is suffering a great deal more in 2011 than it did at this point in time in 2010.

Click here for the latest Oklahoma Crop Weather Update as issued on Tuesday afternoon, July 5.

The Ways and Means Committee plans to review the Free Trade Deals without TAA in the mix- and that upsets the Obama Administration.

U. S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk welcomes the House effort. Kirk says, - this is an important step forward in the process of approval of the agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. However, Kirk noted that without TAA, the effort is - at odds with the Administration's stated intentions for advancing a package that includes both the free-trade agreements and assistance for workers adversely impacted by trade.

One segment of US agriculture that is VERY concerned with our lack of progress on the FTAs- the US Pork Industry. With the European Trade Deal with South Korea taking effect July 1(this past Friday), US pork producers say the EU now has a price advantage over US Pork and we are now in a position of having to play catch up. Click on the LINK below for more on the FTA battle- and a chance to hear Dave Warner of the National Pork Producers and the concerns they have because of no conclusion in sight on getting the South Korean FTA ratified.

Click here for more on the Ways and Means Committee Mock Markup- and the Pork Industry Worries About Lack of FTA Movement.

When these organisms are present in small to moderate numbers they don't present a problem. When the pond "blooms", however, they create toxins. Blooms occur when the right conditions are met, including warm water temperatures and the presence of large quantities of nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorous. Water temperature goes up as water volume goes down, due to consumption and dehydration. Water temperature also rises as air temperatures go up. Water temperature goes up much quicker and higher in shallow, stagnant sources. Water temperature goes up higher in bodies of water that have bare ground around them than in ponds that have grass and weeds up to the water. Nutrient levels in ponds rise due to fertilizer or manure run-off.

Cattle spend more time standing in ponds as the air temperature increases. When cattle are allowed into the water, their urination and defecation contribute as a major source of nitrogen and phosphorous. Cattle grazing fescue pastures in the summer may also spend more time in the water because the endophyte on the fescue causes the cattle's body temperature to rise above normal. The result from the higher temperature and nutrient availability is that the pond blooms and the water goes from relatively clear to looking like green paint in just a few days due to the production of millions of bacterial bodies.

There are two toxins produced. The first is a neurotoxin that affects the central nervous system and causes very rapid death to the animal. Dead cattle are often found lying at or near the pond where they drank. Deaths can occur in large numbers if the concentration of toxin is high. The second toxin is a hepatotoxin, or toxin that attacks the liver. This results in slower death and signs include jaundice and severe sun-burning. It is not as common as the sudden death syndrome. Once the animals have consumed the toxic water, there is no treatment. Often the wind pushes the organisms and the resulting toxins across the pond where they become concentrated. An early warning sign is the presence of dead mice, snakes, or other small animals on the downwind side of the pond.

Click here for more information on water toxicity

The two-day seminar includes social media training, demonstrations of Green Seeker technology and ranch management software, marketing training and use of the Internet for soil surveys.

"The Production Advantage Seminar will give producers who attend a production advantage because they will learn about new technology and resources that can move them to the forefront of the agricultural industry," Harmon said. "The training seminar is designed to help members improve and expand their operations through a better understanding of new technology and computer competency."

For more information, contact Kelli Beall at (405) 523-2470, or email at kelli.beall@okfb.org.

Click here for a complete schedule of the seminar

The SURE program takes into consideration losses on all crops grown by a producer nationwide. To be eligible, producers must have suffered at least a 10 percent production loss on a crop of economic significance and obtained a policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), for all economically significant crops. A producer must have a farming interest physically located in a county that was declared a primary disaster county or contiguous county by the Secretary of Agriculture under a Secretarial Disaster Designation or have actual production on the farm that was less than 50 percent of the normal production on the farm due to a natural disaster.

A limit of $100,000 per person and legal entity collectively received, directly and indirectly, applies to the combination of payments from SURE and the livestock disaster programs administered by FSA - Livestock Forage Program (LFP), Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP). Persons or legal entities whose average nonfarm income exceeds $500,000 are not eligible for SURE payments.

Click here to learn more about signing up for SURE

The July 19 conference will take place 8:20 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at the Garfield County Fairgrounds' Hoover Building in Enid. The July 20 conference will take place 8:20 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at Cameron University's McMahon Centennial Complex in Lawton.

Conference sessions will focus on canola prices compared to wheat; soil preparation and planting; canola varieties; insect, diseases and weed control; canola crop insurance; maximizing fertilizer-use efficiency; the economics of wheat and canola crop rotations; and harvesting options.

Josh Bushong, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension winter canola associate, said winter canola has become a pivotal advancement in improving many farm operations in the southern Great Plains states.

"Canola producers now have multiple marketing options as well as local delivery points that have greatly assisted in increasing canola acreage in the region," he said.

Click here for additional information on the Okanola Annual Winter Conferences

Park recently had the results of his study published in the Journal of American Society of Farm Manager and Rural Appraisal. The study was funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant for "Comprehensive Animal Waste Systems in Semiarid Ecosystems." Cooperators in the study were Dr. Jeffrey Vitale and Dr. Jeffory Hattey, both with Oklahoma State University.

The study evaluated the risk and economics of intensive forage production systems under four alternative types of forage and two alternative nitrogen sources. The results will help farmers make better informed production decisions. The study compared two cool-season grasses - orchard grass and wheatgrass - with two warm-season grasses - Bermuda grass and buffalo grass. The two nitrogen sources used to fertilize the crop were urea or swine effluent.

Park said their model showed that intensified production of cool-season grasses with the application of fertilizer appeared to be the more economically viable option for producers in the Southern Plains.

Click here for more information on cool-season grasses from OSU and Texas AgriLife

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers and 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.

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.