Kim Anderson Says More Corn, Fewer Soybean and Wheat Acres Surprising, Could Pressure Wheat Prices 

The USDA report on prospective crop plantings surprised the grain trade with dramatically higher numbers on corn acres and dramatically fewer acres for soybeans and wheat than what analysts had been predicting. OSU's grain marketing specialist Dr. Kim Anderson says the numbers could pressure wheat prices lower.

Frank Lucas and Hearing Witnesses Target Risk Management, Flexible Commodity Programs, Regulation Concerns

Three out of the four House Agriculture Committee field hearings are in the books, and last week's hearing in State University, Arkansas, generally echoed themes raised in the first two. The producers addressing the panel focused on six themes: a flexible commodity program, disaster assistance, risk management, burdensome regulations, the death tax, and getting a bill passed before the end of the year.

In his opening remarks, Chairman Frank Lucas made it clear that choice and flexibility are two of the keys to a workable farm bill. He acknowledged producers across the country have different needs and a one-size-fits-all approach would be a non-starter. You can read Chairman Lucas's full remarks by clicking here.

Witness after witness testified that they are not looking for special treatment at the expense of their fellow citizens in the economic climate the nation finds itself in at the present moment. Bowen Flowers of Clarksdale, Mississippi, summed it up, "In my opinion, agriculture is willing to make a proportionate contribution to deficit reduction, but efforts to impose inequitable reductions on agriculture should be strongly opposed."  For more comments from committee members and a full list of witnesses, click here.

Dan Stewart, a small cattle producer in Mountain View, Arkansas, seemed to sum up his fellow witnesses' testimony: Basically, what I'm saying is, when we are affected by natural disasters and forces beyond our control, be there with tools and the help we need to get back to the point we can continue to be productive. Give us the guidance and assistance we need to protect our soil and water, the most valuable resources we have. Keep rules and regulations to a minimum, but when there are mandates and rules that prevent the use of our land or the ability to produce an income from it we should be properly compensated."

Analysts' Forecasts For Remainder of 2012 Little Changed By Hogs and Pigs Report

The March 2012 inventory of all hogs and pigs grew two percent year over year in the latest USDA report, but the March 2012 number slipped the same two percent over the last quarter. Analysts said the relatively slight changes in inventories are not strong enough to drive any swings right now in the markets. Price expectations for the rest of the year are trending downward. They say it's not the supply they are most concerned about, it's sluggish demand.

The breeding inventory of 5.82 million head increased one percent from last year and is up slightly from last quarter. The market hog inventory of 59.1 million head showed the same two percent increase from this time last year and the same two percent drop from last quarter as hog numbers overall.

The December 2011 to February 2012 pig crop was up three percent from 2011 and the average pigs saved per litter was a record high 9.97.

Oklahoma showed a slight increase in both breeding and market hogs, up one percent over last year's numbers. The total inventory stands at 2.33 million head, compared with 2.31 million head a year ago. Oklahoma ranks eighth in total inventory among hog producing states.

Click here to read more details of the Hogs and Pigs report as well as to hear an in-depth discussion with economists on hog market trends.

Cattle Producers from Texas and Oklahoma Hit Cowtown During TSCRA Convention- Links to our Coverage 

I saw more Oklahoma cattle producers at the 2012 TSCRA convention held this past weekend in Ft. Worth than I remember seeing in the past few years. There was lots of hallway talk about rain- or for a lot of producers- still not nearly enough.  One producer that I sat and ate lunch with on Saturday has his operations south and west of Odessa- he told me they had a shower or two recently- but before that, it had been 430 days since they had a measurable amount of rainfall.  

We have three stories posted at this point that come out of the TSCRA meeting- we caught up with JD Alexander, President of the NCBA, after he spoke on Friday to the Board of Directors meeting  of the group- we talked overregulation by the Feds, the Death Tax, Farm bill as well as the Pink Slime controversy(JD refuses to say the slang term for the product that the industry calls Lean Fine Textured Beef.) Click here for our conversation with this Nebraska cattle producer who is serving this year as the NCBA President.  

We also have the presentation of Bill Rupp of JBS that was given at the Opening General Session of the meeting- as he and other cattle industry leaders were looking at the beef business as it might look like by the year 2027. Click here to listen to his thoughts on this forward looking topic.   

Finally- on this morning's Beef Buzz- we have Bill Rupp again during the question and answer time with that panel as he dove a little deeper into the problem the industry faces with Pink Slime- he says that having the facts on our side is not enough to win the social media battle the industry is in right now over the safety of beef in this country.   Click here for our Monday Beef Buzz to hear these comments from Bill Rupp on LFTB- or Pink Slime.  

OCA's Scott Dewald Talks Taxes, Water Policy and Oil Exploration

As the state legislative session reaches the halfway point, there are a lot of issues that have taken up and addressed. A lot of those issues impact farmers and ranchers across the state and keeping an eye on them are various agricultural organizations.

Scott Dewald, the director of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association says he meets at least once a week with all the other ag organizations to discuss what has gone and what is coming up legislatively.   He says the top issue on every group's plate, so far, is state finances.

"The core of our discussion this last week dealt with the possible elimination of the income tax in the state of Oklahoma and how you replace that income stream. So that's top of mind for all of us who represent people who own property who may find themselves paying more of the bill through a potential rise in property taxes."

He says he expects there will be some reduction in the income tax, but it probably will not be as aggressive as some lawmakers had hoped.

Click here to read more or to hear the whole interview with Scott Dewald. 

Republicans Continue to Pressure Obama To Halt Clean Water Act Overreach

Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Congressman Frank Lucas and several other senators and representatives sent a letter to Cass Sunstein Administrator of Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget asking that the document, "Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected by the Clean Air Act," put forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers not be finalized. This guidance document seeks to give the federal government control over virtually every body of water in the United States, no matter how small.

"The Obama-EPA continues to pursue a water guidance document that sets the stage for the federal government to take over virtually every body of water in the United States from irrigation ditches to puddles of water on the road," Inhofe said. "Republicans believe that any changes to the Clean Water Act through the Administration should be done through rulemaking, which requires a transparent process that allows for a public comment period. Instead, the Agencies appear to be skipping these required steps and relying on this guidance document to change the scope and meaning of the Clean Water Act. We will continue fighting this every step of the way."

"The EPA has ignored repeated requests from Congress to abandon a guideline that creates a foundation to regulate essentially any body of water, such as a farm pond or even a ditch," Chairman Lucas said. "Through this measure the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers would assume broad and expanded authorities under the Clean Water Act to further regulate land use for farmers and ranchers. Similar legislative proposals have already been rejected by Congress, yet this Administration continues down a path of regulatory overreach. The vitality and health of our nation's waterways are important to all of us. Our disagreement is how we achieve this goal." 

The full text of the letter to the Obama administration is available by clicking here. 

The RON Rate, Bob Hunger and Wheat Disease and Condolences to Bob Drake

For the month of April- we salute a new sponsor here in the daily email- the Hyatt Place on South Meridian in Oklahoma City.  This is an excellent place to stay the next time you are in Oklahoma City for any agricultural meeting- or a ball game- or any other business or pleasure event. Beautiful and spacious rooms, FREE Wifi, FREE Breakfast and a discount for you since you read our daily farm and ranch news email.  We have a RON rate- click here to jump right to the reservation form where the corporate ID code is already plugged in- giving you a lower rate than the so called "best available rate."  You can also click here to  see the overview of the Hyatt Place- OKC Airport.- it's a good place call home in OKC when you traveling in from out of town.  

Latest wheat disease info from Dr. Bob Hunger came in over the weekend- click here to read his latest report- Dr. Hunger says the wheat crop is looking awfully good right now- and that we may be getting past where strip rust will be a problem and he has seen little leaf rust to date- all of his thoughts are available at our link- and that includes the latest reports from the surrounding states as well. 

We were sad to hear the news that Kay Drake of Davis, the wife of Bob Drake, passed away at the end of this past week.  Bob Drake was the last national President of the National Cattlemen's Association before it became the NCBA- a past State Vice President of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and involved in so much more in the farm and ranch industry.  Services for Kay are set for this coming Wednesday afternoon in Davis at the Public School Auditorium at 1 PM- the Hale Funeral Home is handling the details.