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.

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"This study shows the clear trend that biodiesel production continues to improve when it comes to efficient use of resources," said Don Scott, director of sustainability for the National Biodiesel Board. "No other fuel available in the U.S. comes close to such a high energy balance."

Scott noted the most recent data available for this study was from 2006. "Using data from 2009 or 2010 would likely show an even greater gain in energy efficiency," he said.

Biodiesel, made from agricultural co-products and byproducts, has always had a relatively high energy balance. This is partly because the main energy source used to grow crops is the sun, which is "free energy."

The U.S. Department of Energy and USDA completed the first comprehensive life cycle assessment for biodiesel produced in the U.S. in 1998. That study found a 3.2 - to - 1 energy balance. The energy inventory for this analysis was updated in 2009 using 2002 data, finding the ratio had improved to 4.56 - to - 1.

Click here for our webstory and a link to the full report from University of Idaho and USDA.

While corn prices are supporting the current prices for soft red winter wheat, Anderson says the USDA predictions will be adjusting as we come into the August report and move into August and September. Anderson's advice for producers on dealing with the drought is to plan on getting a crop in, plan on raising those cattle and plan on making a profit.

Click on the LINK below to hear the rest of Dr. Anderson and Lyndall Stout's conversation on the drought and heat wave impact on corn and wheat prices- and his update on the Winter Canola Conference.

Click here for more from Dr. Kim Anderson and your SUNUP preview

Long term- Gary McManus, Associate State Climatologist with the Oklahoma Climatological Survey says the forecast down into the fall is not good- if you're looking for a break in the drought conditions. McManus tells us that "Drought is expected to persist or intensify over most of Oklahoma through October 31."

The Climate Prediction Center says the bottom line for our part of the world- "continued drought persistence is likely."

We have mentioned before about both the Prediction Center people as well as folks like Travis Meyer saying that our best hope for short circuiting this drought is a nice healthy tropic system- a Hurricane if you please. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be moving in the tropics right now that could be potentially helpful to us.

Click here for the Oklahoma graphic of the latest National Drought Monitor- and links back to the National overview.

Greg Highfill, Oklahoma State University Livestock Extension Specialist, heads up the program and says it not only benefits the producer in the lot, but also in the packing plant. Highfill also says it allows producer to produce quality cattle that have a high cutability and high quality carcass in the packing plant.

Cattlemen's Choice Feedyard, near Gage, Okla., has fed many of the cattle involved in the Oklahoma Steer Feedout Program over several years. Dale Moore, with the Cattlemen's Choice Feedyard, says they help the program participants as much as any customer by providing them the full line of carcass data. Moore says the program really helps producers to get a feel for what their cattle would do in a feedlot situation.

The Angus folks have produced a YouTube overview about this program- and we have it linked on our website- you can check it out by clicking on the LINK below.

Click here for our story spotlighting the Oklahoma Steer Feedout- complete with a great Youtube about the program.

Several members of Congress, including Congresswoman Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), agree that overregulation is a costly concern for farm and ranch families.

"When I ask South Dakota producers what is the number one thing we can do in Washington, D.C., to help create jobs and grow our agricultural economy, the answer is simple: Give us more regulatory certainty," said Rep. Noem. "Not knowing what threatening regulation might be coming down the line from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dampens any small business owner's appetite for expanding their operation or hiring another employee. I believe it is essential that we stop the job-destroying overreach of the EPA, so we can give our producers the certainty they need to create jobs and grow our economy."

Click here to watch NCBA's video "Regulatory Train Wreck"

In contrast, intermediate-term loans for machinery and equipment purchases contracted during the second quarter. With rising input costs, farm income expectations eased and capital spending in the farm sector cooled. As a result, loan volumes for farm machinery and equipment dropped below year-ago levels, shrinking loan portfolios at small and mid-sized agricultural banks.

Despite higher costs for farm inputs, profits at agricultural banks strengthened in the first quarter, tripling the rate of return at other small banks. Still, a first quarter uptick in farm loan delinquency rates poses a slight risk to future profits.

Click here to read a full copy of the Agricultural Finance Databook

Oklahoma State University will be hosting a pair of Ag Technology Field Days this coming week- one in Afton on July 25th- and then a second event on July 26 in Kingfisher. Presentation topics will feature precision nutrient management, ag technology and weed management, and GPS for surface water management.

Also this coming week is the 2011 Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association Convention and Trade Show- Thursday through Saturday July 28-30. Keynote speaker next Friday at the OCA meeting will be Phil Seng, the President and CEO of the US Meat Export Federation- talking about the expanding global market for US beef. Click here for the full program for the OCA Convention that is once again planned for the Reed Center in Midwest City.

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.