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Deal With Wheat Nutrient Needs Now- So Says Dr. Brian Arnall of OSU   

With the calendar now saying January, it's time to really take a hard look at top dressing your winter wheat crop, according to Dr. Brian Arnall of Oklahoma State University. As we go through the limited growth winter season, we need to prepare for the high nutrient demands of the 2012 crop when it breaks dormancy.


Arnall says that if you soil tested back in late summer before rains came and started to break down your crop residue from this last growing season- the higher nitrogen levels you saw on your fields then may be all but gone now if you got fall rains which allowed your winter wheat to take off and get established. He says the problem is that crop residue- once it starts breaking down- can absorb a lot of available nitrogen, which drops fertility levels for the wheat you are trying to grow.  

Click here for the rest of our story as found on our website this morning- and a chance to listen to our full conversation with Brian about wheat nutrient needs- and also about the value of the nitrogen strips planted by many producers this past fall- Arnall says they have proven to be invaluable.

Eastern Oklahoma Lawmakers to Offer Bill Calling for Vote for Any Out of State Water Sale  

State Sen. Jerry Ellis (D-Valliant) and state Rep. Eric Proctor (D-Tulsa) are authoring "The People's Water Act," which would give the people of Oklahoma the ultimate say in any water deals made with other states.


Currently the Legislature must approve all water agreements with other states but the proposed law would also mandate that the final decision be made by the people of Oklahoma.


"Oklahoma's water policy decisions should rest with our state's people. This choice should be made by Oklahomans, not by any federal court and definitely not by the State of Texas," Proctor said. "Far too often politicians look to the next election rather than to the next generation. This bill would take the power from special-interest groups and high-paid lobbyists and give the final decision to the people of Oklahoma."

Click here for more on this story- and we remind you that this will be one of many water related pieces of legislation that will be out there this coming state legislative session.

Job One in Washington for Cattlemen is Estate Tax Deal 

While the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention is still a couple of weeks away, the top NCBA priority for this year is expected to be estate tax reform.


According to NCBA Manager of Legislative Affairs Kent Bacus, the estate tax, commonly referred to as the death tax, is one of the leading causes of the breakup of multi-generation family farms and ranches. In December 2010, Congress passed temporary estate tax relief effective through Dec. 31, 2012. For now, estates worth more than $5 million per individual or $10 million per couple are taxed at a 35 percent rate.


Bacus says that movement on this issue is imperative- that reverting to a million dollar exemption is simply not an option. Getting Congressional action during this contentious Prsidential election year will be difficult, but Bacus says that NCBA is hopeful that with a lot of grass roots involvement, a deal can be done.

Bacus is our guest on the Beef Buzz, a regular look at beef issues as heard on great radio stations all across the state of Oklahoma on the Radio Oklahoma Network.  Click here to jump over to our website and a chance to hear this edition of the Beef Buzz to gain some insights into the Death Tax battle that may be ahead in 2012.  

 A War of Attrition- A Look At What Record Cattle Prices May Mean

Cattle prices are at record high levels and will push even higher in 2012 and beyond. According to OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel, retail beef prices are increasing and will push higher but it is uncertain how much and how fast. These conditions ensure that margins for various sectors in between will continue to be squeezed and some sectors of the beef industry will face difficulties in the coming months.


Retail beef prices increased through the year of 2011 but it wasn't until the fourth quarter of the year that beef production dropped sharply. Anticipated decreases in beef production in 2012 mean that retailers will be challenged to keep retail prices on pace with boxed beef and live cattle prices. Retailers are always reluctant to increase retail prices too fast or too much and retail margins are likely to be squeezed in the transition. Packers have already faced limited margins as fed cattle prices increased faster than boxed beef prices. Packers experienced poor margins much of the fourth quarter of 2011. Packers have the additional challenge of not operating at efficient capacities in the face of declining cattle numbers. That challenge will increase as feedlot marketings decrease in 2012.


Feedlots face perhaps the toughest challenge of all. High feeder cattle prices and high feed costs will likely more than offset record fed cattle prices and result in negative operating margins much of the time for the foreseeable future. Feeder cattle supplies will continue to tighten and may decrease dramatically if the drought abates and heifer retention accelerates. Feeder supplies will be tighter in 2012 and may not reach the tightest level until 2013 or beyond.    

Click here to read the rest of the analysis from OSU's Dr. Derrell Peel.

NFU Policy Committee Working This Week on Recommendations for 2012 Convention

The National Farmers Union (NFU) Policy Committee is meeting in Washington, D.C., this week to begin revising the organization's policy. This year's committee is comprised of Dan McGuire of Nebraska (chairman), John Daughenbaugh of Colorado, Jeff Eschmeyer of Ohio, Sarah Lloyd of Wisconsin, Jeremy Scherler of Oklahoma, David Teigen of North Dakota, and Gail Temple of South Dakota. States are represented on the policy committee on a rotating basis. Last year's Policy Committee of the NFU was chaired by Paul Jackson with American Farmers & Ranchers.

Oklahoma maintains a seat on the policy committee again this year- the seat held by Jeremy Scherler of Walters. Jeremy and his wife Joey, operate the family farm and ranch, which consists of 2,000 acres where wheat, cotton and cattle are grown. He also has a custom harvesting operation and owns the local AFR insurance agencies in Cotton and Stephens Counties.   

"The Policy Committee members are essential to NFU, as they are tasked with the huge responsibility of helping to create the grassroots policy that we advocate for during the course of the year," said NFU President Roger Johnson. "This is particularly critical this year, as we discuss policy regarding the 2012 Farm Bill. We only get the opportunity to shape the federal farm policy once every few years, so we must make sure that we focus our efforts on the portions of the farm bill that will most benefit our members."

Click here to read more about the NFU policy making process- which ultimately culminates with delegate discussion at their national meeting in Omaha, Nebraska in early March.

Prescribed burning aids producers in land management

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation will host an educational workshop on the benefits and proper use of prescribed burning for land management.


The Prescribed Burning Workshop, which is open to the public, will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 31, at the Noble Foundation Kruse Auditorium in Ardmore.


"Prescribed burning is a tremendous tool in land resource management, but it must be used in a safe and proper manner to be effective," said Ken Gee, wildlife research consultant. "This workshop is designed to introduce participants to the various aspects of burning, teach them how to conduct a safe burn and give them hands-on experience in a controlled setting." 

Click here for more about the workshop and for details about how to register and be a part of the day's program.

Bits and Pieces- Cattlewomen Promoting- and US Wheat Loses a Good One  

We had a note on Tuesday from Tammi Didlot, the current President of the Oklahoma Cattlewomen with a quick update/invite for those that may be planning on attending the Oklahoma City Home and Garden Show this weekend- "The Oklahoma CattleWomen are going to be out at the Oklahoma Home & Garden Show this Saturday the 21st from 11:00 am - 2 pm. We have Casey Campbell from the OSU Extension office doing food safety session while demoing the Oklahoma and National Beef Cookoff Recipe Winners. Following Casey at 1:00 we will have Capt. Jere Korthanke doing a kitchen fire safety session. Look for the white chef coats and red scarves and you will find the volunteer CattleWomen helping with these demonstrations and handing out good beef information."   

After 22 years managing wheat export market development in the Middle East, East and North Africa for U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), Regional Vice President Dick Prior has announced that he will retire later this year. Prior will be replaced by Mark Samson, who is returning to USW after serving in Singapore as Regional Vice President, South Asia, from 1997 to 2009.  Click here for more on the retirement of this legend in the wheat industry- Dick Pryor.