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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest
farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron
Hays of RON for Monday, August 15, 2011 A
service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and KIS
Futures!
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-- Oklahoma Ag Secretary Jim Reese Says Major Drought Impact is Lost
of Mama Cow Herds Across the State
-- Frank Mitloehner Believes Livestock Agriculture Has a Great
Environmental Story to Tell
-- U.S. Beef and Pork Exports Close with Solid Results for June
-- Department of Energy Report Highlights Potential of Next
Generation Biofuels
-- Cattlemen's Leadership Academy Explores Different Segments of Beef
Industry and Production Practices
-- Farm Service Agency Sales Closing Date for Noninsurable Crops
Coming Up
-- Cattle Market Bumps Higher- Jim Robb of the LMIC Believes Bump is
the Market Getting Meat Lined Up for Labor Day
-- 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 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. 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. | |
Oklahoma Ag Secretary Jim Reese Says Major Drought Impact is Lost of Mama Cow Herds Across the State ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The recent
rainfall across a lot of Oklahoma has provided some much needed relief to
farmers and ranchers. However, this does not change the fact that many
producers had to sell off cattle to deal with the issues caused by this
year's severe drought. Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese
says the month of July was very cruel to Oklahoma, especially when it
comes to spring-planted crops.Reese says Oklahoma will likely see half of the normal hay crop this year, which will make it difficult for feeding livestock and cause a lot of importing of feed. This in turn will cause producers to spend more money than they are accustomed to says Reese. However, because many producers did sell off their cattle, there will be fewer cattle to feed. The most severe long-term effect of the drought, according to Reese, is the fact that a lot of Oklahoma producers have been building up their genetics and building up their herds and then they were faced with the decision of selling their cattle. Unlike most of the nation, Oklahoma has been trying to build up their herds, so this decision has caused producers to cut back on their genetics that they have been building for many years. Reese is positive on the issue of the Oklahoma herds, saying that producers will come and breed back with high quality cattle and bulls. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture is also taking steps to help producers that did not sell off their cattle get into contact with producers with hay in other states. The hay directory on the department's website includes directories for Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. Reese says declaring Oklahoma in a state of emergency because of the drought also allowed for some changes in the transportation of hay. The declaration allowed Gov. Fallin to relax the transportation rules of hay. After this change, Reese says they asked other states to meet the new standards as well to allow producers to travel across multiple states with the same load of hay and without special restrictions. Secretary Reese was our guest on KWTV News 9 during the In the Field segment this past Saturday. Click on the LINK below to listen to our conversation with Secretary Jim Reese on how the drought of 2011 has affected Oklahoma farmers and ranchers, as well as, what the Department of Agriculture is doing to help producers get through the set-backs from the drought. | |
Frank Mitloehner Believes Livestock Agriculture Has a Great Environmental Story to Tell ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of the
hottest speakers on the agricultural circuit was on the program this past
Saturday at the 21st annual Southern Plains Beef Symposium. Dr. Frank
Mitloehner of the University of California- Davis spoke for over an
hour and cattle producers young and old gave their full attention to Dr.
Mitloehner. Before his appearance in Ardmore, we sat down with him on
Saturday morning and talked about his effors to put the spotlight on the
very positive story that livestock agriculture has when it comes to being
able to produce protein in a very efficient way.
Dr. Mitloehner recalled his battle with the United Nations over a study called Livestock's Long Shadow that they released in 2006 which claimed that on a global basis- cattle produce 18% of the greenhouse gases which is more than the transportation sector. He notes that "Livestock's Long Shadow" produced its numbers for the
livestock sector by adding up emissions from farm to table, including the
gases produced by growing animal feed; animals' digestive emissions; and
processing meat and milk into foods. But its transportation analysis did
not similarly add up emissions from well to wheel; instead, it considered
only emissions from fossil fuels burned while driving. | |
U.S. Beef and Pork Exports Close with Solid Results for June ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If the trend
established in the first six months of the year holds up, U.S. beef and
pork exports are likely to set several new records in 2011 and each could
eclipse the $5 billion mark for the first time ever. According to
statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export
Federation (USMEF), June beef exports achieved the second-highest value
ever at $461.8 million. This was 23 percent higher than June 2010, and has
been surpassed only once - by the March 2011 value total of $475.2
million. In terms of volume, June beef exports reached 111,362 metric tons - an increase of 15 percent over June 2010. This brought the cumulative 2011 total to 620,851 metric tons valued at $2.55 billion, which was 25 percent higher in volume and 40 percent higher in value than last year's pace. For the first half of this year, beef exports equated to 13.8 percent of total production with an export value of $192.42 per head of fed slaughter. The United States has also recaptured its position as the world's leading beef exporter, outpacing Australia and Brazil. June pork exports were slightly higher in volume (165,786 metric tons) than last year and 6 percent higher in value ($451.2 million). This pushed first-half pork exports to 1.08 million metric tons valued at $2.81 billion - year-over-year increases of 14 percent and 19 percent, respectively. When compared to the all-time record year of 2008, the pace of this year's pork exports is 6 percent higher in volume and 21 percent higher in value. For the first half of this year, pork exports accounted for more than 27 percent of total production with export value equal to $52.76 per head. Tremendous June results in Mexico and Canada firmly established their positions as the No. 1 and No. 2 markets for U.S. beef. Demand for U.S. beef in Mexico continues to rebound, as exports through June were 8 percent higher in volume (126,309 metric tons) and 25 percent higher in value ($474.3 million) than in 2010. Canada was the value pacesetter in June with exports topping $96.6 million - a new monthly record. Cumulatively through June, exports to Canada were 23 percent higher than last year in terms of volume (87,334 metric tons) and 44 percent higher in value ($463.9 million). Click here for the full report on U.S. beef and pork exports | |
Department of Energy Report Highlights Potential of Next Generation Biofuels ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An update to
the Department of Energy's (DOE) Billion Ton Study first conducted in 2005
reaffirms the belief that America possesses ample biomass resources
(grasses, ag wastes, wood wastes, energy crops, etc.) to more than meet
our national goals to replace increasing volumes of oil and other fossil
fuels. The updated analysis was released by DOE this past week and is
linked below.
The 2010 Billion Ton Study update states that under its baseline scenario, sufficient volumes of biomass feedstocks would be available for conversion into ethanol and other biofuels and capable of meeting the goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The DOE study states, "This potential resource is more than sufficient to provide feedstock to produce the required 20 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels. The high-yield scenario demonstrates potential at the $60 price that far exceeds the RFS mandate." The 2022 RFS requirments for advanced and cellulosic biofuels (i.e. those fuels not derived from corn starch and meeting the greenhouse gas reduction requirements) is 21 billion gallons. "America has both the resources and the know-how to break our addiction to foreign oil," said Advanced Ethanol Council Executive Director Brooke Coleman. "What is lacking is the political will to stand up to oil special interests and level the playing field for all biofuels, including next generation ethanol, to compete. Scores of promising technologies are ready for commercial deployment, but are being held up by an unstable and unpredictable policy climate. In order to deploy these technologies to harness the potential of America's vast biomass resources, and to compete in the global race to produce next generation fuels, consistent and stable policy relating to biofuels is essential. That means continuing investment in new technologies, expanding refueling opportunities for domestically produced, non-petroleum fuels like ethanol, and protecting the integrity and the intent of the RFS." Click here to read a fully copy of the energy report on biomass resources | |
Cattlemen's Leadership Academy Explores Different Segments of Beef Industry and Production Practices ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The second of
four sessions scheduled for the 17th annual Cattlemen's Leadership Academy
class took place on August 8 & 9. During the two-day event, CLA class
members (all Oklahoma Ranchers and members of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's
Association) were exposed first-hand to different segments of the beef
industry. AdvancePierre Food Company located in Enid, Okla., gladly welcomed this group of beef producers to their facilities. AdvancePierre Food Company is a fully integrated manufacturer of value-added proteins, Philly steaks and handheld sandwiches. The group of ranchers toured AdvancePierre's Enterprise Facility, a premier manufacturing facility for "ready-to-eat" foods. "During the plant tour we saw hamburger being made into patties, and then cooked, frozen and packaged for shipping - all a process to add value to beef," said Tony Bowman, CLA member and rancher near Stillwater, Okla. "As Ranchers, we are always seeking ways to add value to our product - beef. It's comforting to know that different segments of our industry our working hard to do the same," Bowman said. CLA members were also given the opportunity to visit a beef fabrication plant. Creekstone Farms located in Arkansas City, Kansas, process only the finest premium Black Angus beef, all born and bred in the USA. The folks at Creekstone seek out the cream of the crop when it comes to Black Angus cattle, all in an effort to increase consistency of delicious, tender beef. Click here to learn more about the Cattlemen's Leadership Academy | |
Farm Service Agency Sales Closing Date for Noninsurable Crops Coming Up ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Francie
Tolle, executive director of the Oklahoma Farm Service Agency (FSA),
urges producers who want to purchase coverage through the Noninsurable
Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) to do so before the sales closing
date of August 31, 2011. NAP provides financial assistance to producers of noninsurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters. "Purchasing a crop insurance policy is an easy way for producers to
practice risk management," said Tolle. "This year alone we have seen how
natural disasters can directly affect the profitability and recovery of
agricultural operations." In order to meet eligibility requirements for NAP, crops must be noninsurable, commercially-produced agricultural commodity crops for which the catastrophic risk protection level of crop insurance is not available. If the Risk Management Agency (RMA) offers coverage for a crop in the county, then NAP coverage is not available for that crop. | |
Cattle Market Bumps Higher- Jim Robb of the LMIC Believes Bump is the Market Getting Meat Lined Up for Labor Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Director
of the Livestock Market Information Center, Jim Robb, was another
of the speakers on the afternoon program at the 2011 Southern Plains Beef
Symposium in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Farm Director Ron Hays had the opportunity
to sit down with Robb and talk about the current cattle markets and some
of the factors that are impacting cattle producers and their ability to be
profitable and stay in business.
Robb says the current strength in the cattle market that we have seen in the last two weeks is not that surprising, as he believes we are seeing the beef pipeline lining supplies up for the final holiday weekend of this summer- Labor Day. On this past Thursday, cash cattle trade occurred at $116 in the southern plains feedlots, according to the Texas Cattle Feeders Association Daily Market Update. That is three dollars higher than the week before. Other topics covered with Robb included: | |
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 $12.33
per bushel, while the 2012 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available
are $12.35 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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