Wheatwatch 2013- Oklahoma Crop Conditon Continues to Slide Despite Rains 

The condition of the Oklahoma winter wheat crop continues to deteriorate rapidly without significant soaking rains.  A cold front brought moisture to much of the state excluding the Panhandle last weekend, but it proved to be too little, too late in many areas. 

The latest USDA Crop Progress and Condition reports lists 49 percent of the state's crop in fair condition, 38 percent in poor or very poor shape (versus 30 percent a week ago), with 12 percent listed as good and only one percent in the excellent category. (Click here for the full report.) 

As part of this year's Wheatwatch, Mike Schulte of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission has toured the state and says things are looking a little bleak.

"In southwest and central Oklahoma there are still places where the moisture maybe didn't fall in areas that specifically needed it.  Going into winter right now you can look at the crop and see where maybe it had enough moisture to bring the crop up in those regions where they'd received rain, but that they didn't maybe receive up in the northern parts of the state.  Where that crop had sprouted, it does look like it is going backwards.  And, in places, it looks like it's curling up and dying out in the field."

He says some areas are looking better than others, but sub-soil moisture is a problem statewide.  You can read more of the latest Wheatwatch or listen to my full conversation with Mike by clicking here. 

By way of comparison, the Kansas wheat crop is faring somewhat better than Oklahoma's, with four percent listed as very poor, 17 percent poor, 46 percent fair, 32 percent good and one percent excellent.  (Click here for the Kansas Crop Progress and Condition Report.) 

Pork Producers Feed Hurricane Victims 

The Pork Checkoff's event trailer traveled to the East Coast last week to assist in feeding victims of Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane on record to hit the northeast coast.

Although 24 states have been impacted by the storm, the hurricane hit New York and New Jersey especially hard, flooding numerous streets, tunnels and subway lines, as well as cutting off electricity to parts of the city and its suburbs. In response, pork producers from several states rolled up their sleeves to help feed those impacted by the storm.

"The event trailer, a mobile kitchen equipped with grills and cooking supplies, traveled to New Jersey to offer assistance serving pork products to those in need," said Conley Nelson president of the National Pork Board. "This is just another way pork producers demonstrate that they care for people and their communities."

You can read more by clicking here.

 

NCBA Urges Congress to Pass Permanent Estate Tax Relief

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) joins more than 30 groups representing the agriculture industry in sending letters to the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate urging them to provide farmers and ranchers with permanent and meaningful relief from the estate tax. Current estate tax relief is set to expire at the end of 2012 with exemption levels dropping to $1 million per individual and the tax rate increasing to 55 percent.

"If Congress allows current estate tax relief to expire it will have a devastating impact on the cattle industry. America's farmers and ranchers are small business owners who cannot afford to foot the bill for government inaction," said NCBA President J.D. Alexander. "The fate of American agriculture and our economic recovery rests on there being certainty in the tax code and continued relief from the burdensome death tax."

Reducing the tax burden on cattlemen and women has always been a top priority for NCBA and the beef cattle community. For decades NCBA has fought for full and permanent repeal of the estate tax. Alexander said that at a minimum, NCBA supports extending the exemption level to $5 million per person and retaining the top rate of 35 percent until permanent repeal is achievable.

Click here for more.

 

Good Management Can Help Alleviate the Effects of Drought Stress in Cattle

With the drought continuing to linger, the stresses affecting cattle herds continue to multiply. Dr. Harold Newcomb, technical services manager for Merck Animal Health, says the impacts are readily apparent in the feed available to the animals.

"We've seen a lot of dry conditions and that has caused a decrease in the quality and amount of forage that these animals are being exposed to. We've seen a decrease in the quality of grain. So, all of this translates into an animal that has, probably, a weakened immune system. It's not able to operate for optimum production."

Obtaining and feeding high-quality forage and feed is the obvious solution, Newcomb said, but that is not always easy to do given the length and breadth of the drought. When that is the case, he said, solid management decisions can lessen the impact.

"Efficient management is going to pay for some of it. When you look at that, you've got to look at ways to optimize your animal health program."

Click here for the latest Beef Buzz with Dr. Newcomb and his suggestions for alleviating drought stress in cattle.

 

'Extreme Beans' App Gives Farmers Easy Input Cost Evaluation Tool

Ever wonder whether it's worth it to apply a fungicide? How about the most cost-effective seeding rate? The national Soy Checkoff has put that information in the palm of your hand.

A new app developed by the United Soybean Board (USB) includes two calculators that help farmers plan for their next crop. One helps users determine whether the yield benefits of various input combinations justify the costs. The other uses the main maturity rates for a farmer's region, the cost of soybean seed and an estimated price of the soybeans at the time of sale to determine an optimal seeding rate based on a percentage of return.

The app also includes documents and videos that describe the research behind each tool.

"This is a really easy way for farmers to get an idea about seeding rates for soybeans based on both the cost of the seed and the price of the harvested grain," says Seth Naeve, lead investigator and associate professor of agronomy and plant genetics, University of Minnesota. "It's a way for them to utilize that information together to provide them with a numerical suggestion for seeding rates."

You can read more about the "Extreme Beans" app by clicking here.

 

For the Second Time in Three Years- OSU Claims National Livestock Judging Championship

For the second time in three years- the Oklahoma State University Livestock Judging Team has won what is considered the National Championship of Collegiate Livestock Judging that is held at the North American International Livestock Exposition each November in Louisville, Kentucky. Steeped in history, the first National Collegiate Judging Contest was held in 1900, the inaugural year of Chicago's International Live Stock Exposition. The winning team came from the University of Illinois, and the high individual was from the University of Wisconsin. Since 1900, the contest has taken place annually except for 6 years when the International was canceled (1914-15, 1942-45). The contest remained in Chicago until 1975, the last year of the historic International Live Stock Exposition. Since 1976, it has been held in Louisville, Kentucky, in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Exposition.


The winningest team over the lifetime of the competition is Iowa State University with 20 titles- many of those in the early years of the contest. Oklahoma State University is one of the perennial powers in the contest in recent years and has now won 17 national titles with the 2012 Championship. In fact, OSU, along with Texas Tech and Texas A&M, have dominated the Contest since 2001, with each of these school winning four times each over the last 12 years.


The OSU squad won by 9 points over second place Colorado State University. Click here for details about how the individual Cowboys performed as they won the 2012 Championship.

Cattle on Feed Preview As Seen by Allendale

The monthly Cattle on Feed numbers will be released this coming Friday afternoon by the USDA- at 2 PM central time. Rich Nelson of Allendale offers these thoughts ahead of the cattle feedlot count-

"October Placements are expected to be 8.9% lower than last year. At this time of year, sale barns are full of freshly weaned calves that go either to the feedlot or to winter wheat pastures and overwintering programs. Neither of those options look good right now. Even with a $4 rise in cash cattle prices in October, back month futures were still implying a loss for these new calves. Feedlots would rather hold on to market ready numbers than pick up new calves and feeders. On the other hand, quality wheat pasture and cheap forage materials are still hard to find. Cattle placed in October will be marketed from March through August.

"Allendale anticipates a Marketing total 3.1% higher than October of 2011. This was due to a calendar adjustment higher for this month as there were 22 weekdays and 4 Saturdays. 2011 September saw 20 weekdays and 5 Saturday's. The unadjusted number would imply marketing fell short of available cattle numbers.

"Total Cattle on Feed as of November 1 will be 4.9% lower than last year. This is down from the October 1 survey which found 2.6% fewer cattle. Feedlot supplies are tightening due to low placements, not from active marketings."