Beef Vesus Dairy- In Ireland, Hands Down- It's Dairy that is Most Profitable  

Dairy is the most profitable segment of Irish agriculture- at least that's the opinion of Dr. Padraig French, the head of the Livestock Systems Research Department for the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority. The numbers seem to back him up, as the bulk of the dairy products that are produced in Ireland are value added and exported into the European market and beyond. Especially lucrative is the infant formula market- Ireland produces more of that than anyone else in the world.

While both the beef cattle business and the dairy industry are heavily dependent on exports to thrive- Dr. French believes the beef industry has a much harder time making a consistent profit- as it is much more of a margin business. When it comes to the amount of grasslands that are dedicated to livestock- beef is clearly the leader, with 60% of the land in beef production, 25% to dairy and the remainder in sheep.

French says that the key to the dairy business is that Ireland is one of the world's cheapest places for milk production- because of the fact that grass will grow 270 to 300 days a year across the southern half of Ireland, where most of the dairy is concentrated.

We talked to French after his presentation to Class XV of the OALP- and you can hear our full conversation with him by clicking here and jumping to the rest of our story on how Ireland tries to use year round green grass  to their advantage.   

Our Monday morning farm news has comments from fourOALP Class XV members about what was surprising to them in Ireland- and what they learned. Click here if you want to listen to those comments. 

You can also click here for all of our stories  to date from the OALP travels in Scotland and now Ireland.

AND- click here for our set of pictures from the entire trip- got lots of great dairy shots over this past weekend to share.   

USDA Chief Economist Gives Forecast at Outlook Conference 

Referring to 2011 as a "very good year for agriculture," USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber this week outlined what he sees coming in 2012. His forecast included the following:

--  Exports for this year are forecast at $131 billion, down $1 billion from last year, but the second highest on record. Glauber said this reduction reflects record global crop production with weaker prices and export volumes;

--  China became the U.S.'s largest export customer in 2011, buying just under $20 billion in various commodities. Exports in 2012 will drop 15% reflecting that nation's concentration on bulk commodities like soybeans and cotton; China is expected to purchase 10% of the U.S. soybean crop this year;

--  U.S. corn stocks are expected to increase in 2012 assuming a return to trend yields, with livestock producers seeing increasing margins toward the end of the year; world corn stocks for 2011-2012 have tightened and are estimated at 52.3 days' use, the lowest since 1973-74; 
 

Farm Bureau Committee Expresses Urgency on Passing a New Farm Bill

Oklahoma agricultural producers urgently need a new farm bill that provides a strong safety net for farm income using a combination of crop insurance, a revenue assurance program and price protection. That's the message recently delivered by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Farm Bill Committee.
        
"We encourage farm groups to work together to support Cong. Lucas and Sen. Stabenow to get the new farm bill passed quickly," committee chairman Scott Neufeld said. "We're concerned if this is not passed by July 1, it will not be passed this year. Continued delays by Congress to pass the new farm bill will reduce the farm program's effectiveness."
        
"We strongly support completion of the 2012 farm bill and we must work together to expedite this process," Neufeld said. "Expediency is needed to insure certainty for the future of the agricultural industry." 

        
The committee pointed to the recent drought that severely damaged crops in the southern High Plains, as an example of why an effective crop insurance program is needed. 
 

You can find more information on the Farm Bureau's request for a new farm bill by clicking here.

Dr. Damona Doye Talks About Rebuilding Herds After The Drought

It's no secret the 2011 drought was of historic proportions. It certainly left its mark on Oklahoma and Texas.

It's also no secret that the drought did a lot of damage to cattle producers and forced a lot of them into some precarious financial situations.

Dr. Damona Doye, an agricultural economist at Oklahoma State University, said a lot of producers are trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces.

"There are people who have liquidated entire herds. We have people who liquidated part. We have people who held onto as many cattle as they could.

"If they liquidated early, they probably saved a lot on feed expenses. They still got good cattle prices and so they have money in the bank, hopefully, to buy back those expensive females," she said.

You can read more about Dr. Doye's strategies for rebuilding herds by clicking here.

U.S. Cattle on Feed Up 2 Percent

The latest USDA Cattle on Feed report is out on Friday afternoon, February 24, 2012 and it's being called neutral to friendly. The numbers came in close to pre-report estimates with only Marketings higher than expected. The On-Feed number was the twenty first straight month of seeing On-Feed numbers higher than the previous year. There weren't any big surprises that should sway the market one way or another.   

Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.8 million head on February 1, 2012. The inventory was 2 percent above February 1, 2011.

Placements in feedlots during January totaled 1.85 million, 2 percent below 2011. Net placements were 1.77 million head. During January, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 445,000, 600-699 pounds were 430,000, 700-799 pounds were 525,000, and 800 pounds and greater were 447,000. 

Read more about the Cattle on Feed report or access the full report by clicking here.

Cattle Raisers Applaud Texas Ruling Recognizing Groundwater Rights

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) today applauded the opinion of the Texas Supreme Court in the Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Burrell Day and Joel McDaniel case regarding whether or not landowners own the groundwater below their land.

"The Texas Supreme Court has affirmed that landowners own the groundwater in place below their land and that it is subject to constitutional protection as a property right," said Joe Parker, Jr., rancher and president of TSCRA.

"This opinion is a victory for Texas landowners and will be important for generations to come. It also recognizes the important legislation, S.B. 332, that was passed by the Legislature in 2011" Parker said.

Click here if you would like to read more about this water rights ruling.

Last CanolaU Call- and Some Traveling Home Shots from OALP Travels in Scotland and Ireland

CanolaU happens on Tuesday at the Cherokee Strip Conference Center in Enid- it's being put on by DeKalb and High Plains Journal- there's something there for farmers thinking about canola for this first time for later this year- and for folks with a year os so under their belt- and even for veterans in the planting of winter canola.   Click here for more detalls about this excellent program.

 As you receive this- we are likely in the air over the Atlantic heading back from Ireland with Class XV of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program.  We have several more stories that we will be posting over the next few days- and we really enjoyed our time with these young agricultural leaders and a chance to see some of the brightest and best actors in especially Irish agriculture. Our final two farm visits- to a vegetable operation Saturday morning (Click here for our story of that visit) and then the dairy farm of Tim O'Leary on Saturday afternoon were tremendous learning times for OALP- and reminded me that sometimes our race to produce the last bushel of grain or pound of beef or gallon of milk may not be in the best interest in the profitability or sustainability of that family farm.  Good stuff.  

By the way- we will be in Nashville much of this week as we join the crowd for Commodity Classic- more on that tomorrow.