~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest
farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron
Hays of RON for Tuesday July 19, 2011 A
service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind
Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance
Company!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- Canola Crop Finished Strong in 2011 and More to be Discussed at
Canola Conference Meetings
-- US Wheat Associates Advice to Global Customers- Buy or Price Your
Wheat Now
-- Update from the US Wheat Associates Meeting - Don Schieber
Retiring and Alan Tracy Talks Wheat Marketing
-- Latest Crop Weather Update All About the Drought
-- Forage Marketing Just as Important in Feeder Cattle
Marketing
-- Farewell to Pork Belly Futures
-- Testing for Tulsa Farm Show- Ag in the Classroom and Pray for
Jeff
-- 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. Johnston is proud to be an
outlet for Trimble GPS Guidance and Precision Agriculture Solutions- Call
Derrick Bentz at 580-732-8080 for details. For more on Johnston
Enterprises- click
here for their 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. | |
Canola Crop Finished Strong in 2011 and More to be Discussed at Canola Conference Meetings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We talked on
Monday while in Tulsa with Dr. Tom Peeper, Department of Plant and Soil
Sciences, Oklahoma State University. Tom discussed the outcome of the 2011
canola crop year. With it being a tough year for all of the winter crops,
Peeper said he believes all canola producers were pleased with how the
canola crop turned out this year. Peeper also said canola is not a difficult crop to grow, it is just a new experience for a lot of growers. And this is going to be a topic of discussion at the upcoming Canola Conference meetings in Enid on July 19 (TODAY) and in Lawton on July 20. Peeper said the take-home message of these upcoming meetings will be that canola is a profitable crop and a crop that fits well in a rotation with winter wheat. The Canola Conference meetings will cover a variety of topics including soil preparations and planting, canola varieties, insects, diseases and weeds, canola crop insurance, fertilizing canola, economics of wheat and canola rotations, harvesting options and there will be a grower panel discussion. As we move forward with canola and into these upcoming meetings, Peeper said it is important for those considering planting canola to know that it is no longer a risky crop to grow and prices are strong and holding for 2012 crop contracts. Click on the LINK below to listen to the rest of our conversation with Dr. Tom Peeper on how canola finished up this crop season and the Canola Conference meetings. AND- we hope to see you this morning in Enid at the Hoover Building on the Garfield County Fairgrounds for the Winter Canola Conference. Remember- you can also attend the event in Lawton- it's set for tomorrow, July 20th. Click here for more on Canola Conference and more from Dr. Peeper | |
US Wheat Associates Advice to Global Customers- Buy or Price Your Wheat Now ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vince Peterson
of US Wheat Associates says his advice to the many international wheat
buyers and customers that his group works with is - current wheat prices
may be a bargain- now's the time to price wheat for your country. In
talking with Peterson after his Monday morning presentation to the US
Wheat Associates Board of Directors meeting, Peterson contends that wheat
prices have come off of their highs by around $2.50 to $2.00 per bushel-
and he makes a case that this new higher plateau may be close to a floor
for US wheat prices anytime soon. Wheat prices are near where corn prices now sit- there is a lot of uncertainty in producing an adequate corn crop this year in the US and there are production concerns for wheat and feed grains in other parts of the world as well. You can hear Peterson's comments on the current wheat valuation- as well as how good of a year our wheat marketing efforts were last year- plus his thoughts on the Russian grain industry- click on the LINK below and check it out. Click here for more information on wheat from Vince Peterson and US Wheat Associates | |
Update from the US Wheat Associates Meeting - Don Schieber Retiring and Alan Tracy Talks Wheat Marketing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma wheat
producer Don Schieber of Kay County has wrapped up his year as the
Chairman of US Wheat Associates. Schieber was honored several times during
the summer Board of Directors meeting that was held at the Renaissance
Hotel in Tulsa July 15th through the 18th.As he prepared to turn over the gavel to Randy Suess of Washington state, we talked with Schieber about his time in rotating through the officer chairs and why he felt motivated to get involved in this producer led organization. US Wheat Associates is the international market promotion arm of the US Wheat Industry. U.S. Wheat Associates develops export markets by demonstrating the reliability, choice, and value of U.S. wheat in over 100 countries. Our organization is funded by U.S. wheat producer checkoff dollars managed by 19 state wheat commissions and through cost-share funding provided by USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. Click here to listen to Schieber discuss his time as a US Wheat Associates officer. We also talked with the President of US Wheat Associates, Alan Tracy,
about a variety of subjects as the 2011 US Wheat Summer Board of Directors
meeting wound down in Tulsa on Monday. | |
Latest Crop Weather Update All About the Drought ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The latest
Oklahoma Crop Weather Update continues to paint a picture of drought-
"Heat advisories remained in effect for Oklahoma for the majority of last
week. Temperatures soared to reach triple digits for another week and the
Governor issued a ban on outdoor burning for 45 counties. There were
several reports of large grass fires throughout the week, but no injuries
reported. Portions of the state received some rainfall as a weak tropical
system brought slight relief on Tuesday; however, it was not enough
moisture to alleviate the extremely dry conditions. The average rainfall
for the state was a meager 0.25 of an inch, with the Northeast district
recording the most precipitation with only 0.68 of an inch. According to
the U.S. Drought Monitor, three-fourths of the state is experiencing
severe to extreme drought conditions."
As we look forward to the planting of the 2012 wheat crop- optimism is
in short supply. "The extremely dry weather has made the ground too dry to
plow in some areas. Wheat ground plowed reached 76 percent complete by
Sunday, 11 points ahead of normal." Pasture and range conditions also continue to be just plain awful- a lot of cattle continue to come off of ranches where there is just not enough forage to keep them going- here's the Monday July 18 report from the Oklahoma National Stockyards in OKC where the numbers being sold this July are almost double the numbers at the market one year ago. Click here for the complete Oklahoma Crop Weather Update as released on Monday afternoon, July 18. | |
Forage Marketing Just as Important in Feeder Cattle Marketing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Whether it's a
cow-calf producer selling weaned calves or retaining calves through a
stocker or backgrounding program; or a stocker producer adding weight to
lightweight calves, the market value of feeder cattle at various weights
reflects the value of forage used in the production of feeder cattle.
According to Dr. Derrell Peel, OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist,
these economic signals are contained in the level of feeder cattle prices
and the price relationships between different weights of feeder cattle.
Feeder cattle producers are really in the forage business more than in the
cattle business. In most markets, relative prices provide incentives to increase or decrease production. Cattle production has the additional complexity of considerable flexibility in production systems. Cattle can be produced using relatively more or less forage. Thus, cattle markets also must provide incentives for the cattle industry to utilize the best production systems for different market situations. Sometimes the market emphasizes weaned calf production and at other times the market emphasizes heavy feeder cattle production on forage. Lessons from history can be instructive. 2006 was a good example of a
market emphasizing calf production. The major market conditions at that
time were cyclically low cattle numbers and cheap corn. The result was
high calf prices, similar to current levels, but a sharp decline in prices
for heavy feeder cattle. The price of a heavy feeder was less than 80
percent of the price of a calf. Thus, the value of forage marketed through
weaned calves was high but the value of stocker or backgrounding gain was
relatively low. With cheap corn and low cattle numbers, the market was
encouraging cattle to move into feedlots quicker and lighter and the
potential for stocker based gains was limited. Click here for more information on forage marketing from Dr. Derrell Peel | |
Farewell to Pork Belly Futures ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The CME Group
announced this past Friday, July 15, in a report to traders that "because
of a prolonged lack of trading volume and after significant discussion
with industry participants, CME delisted Frozen Pork Bellies Futures and
Options effective Monday, July 18, 2011." At one time, frozen pork bellies
were the most traded contact on the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange.Trader Harvey Paffrenroth the Chicago Tribune that pork bellies were the "glamour market." The pork belly contract was introduced in 1961, when frozen bellies would be stored away for the winter, then thawed for summer's increased bacon demand. Pork belly futures allowed producers to hedge against price
fluctuations. Today, with an increase in year-round consumption,
consolidation of the industry, and the use of fresh, not frozen bellies,
the pork belly future has become obsolete. Click here for more on the demise of the frozen pork belly ag futures contract. | |
Testing for Tulsa Farm Show- Ag in the Classroom and Pray for Jeff ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The annual Big
Three Livestock Judging event at Oklahoma State University gets underway
today- and tomorrow- July 20- Wednesday- John Sampson of the Tulsa Farm
Show will be on campus at Oklahoma State University to offer FFA and 4-H
youth the chance to compete this coming December at the 2011 Tulsa Farm
Show in the Livestock Handling Skills Contest. The contest has a couple of
components- starting with the qualifying test that is given at the Big
Three event. The top teams from this written test then will compete for
scholarships this December. John, in an email, tells us "Test on
Wednesday. Room 123 Animal Science Bldg. 1 pm to 4:30 pm- Open to any ag
student team of 3 students- they must be from the same school. All teams
from one school must take the test at the same time." Click
here for more details- it says 2010- but the study guide and entry
form from this page can still be used- email John Sampson for last minute
questions.
We also got an email from Dana Bessinger from Ag in the Classroom fame-
she's riding on what we hope is a very cool bus with 46 teachers in north
central Oklahoma- educating as they roll about how to use ag in the
classroom materials in Oklahoma classrooms. Dana writes about what the
Tuesday plan "We are starting out at the Cimarron Valley Research Station.
It is the most diverse station in the state. We had planned to look at
peaches, but the crop was destroyed by the hard freeze. (Do you remember
what that felt like?!?!) Chris Kirby with Farm to School is going to meet
us there and discuss eating local fruits and vegetables. Finally, we wanted to give you an update from Hydro where our friend Jeff Krehbiel continues his battle against cancer. Jeff, former President of the Oklahoma Wheat Growers and currently a member of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, is now under regular care at the Maple Lawn Nursing Home in Hydro. Yesterday, Jeff suffered his first seizure that he has had in some time- he's already back awake and conscious but has not gotten his speech back from this latest episode as of yet. Pray for Jeff- and pray for his wife Karen and daughter Brittany as they continue down what has proven to be a very long and tough road. | |
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. | |
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 $13.03
per bushel- as of the close of trade Wednesday, while the 2012 New Crop
contracts for Canola are now available are $12.92 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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
|