Optimal Conditions Favor High Quality Wheat Crop Going Into the Home Stretch 

With the exception of areas still dealing with drought and near drought conditions, the 2012 winter wheat crop across the Southern Plains is in uniformly good shape. Mark Hodges, the director of Plains Grains, says reports from all over indicate harvest time will begin very early this year.

"We're two to three weeks ahead of development in Oklahoma, but that's also true in Texas, it's true in Kansas. The guys in Nebraska say they're at least two weeks ahead. Colorado says they're two to three weeks ahead. The whole region is well above their average plant development stage for this point."

Hodges say mild temperatures played a big part in the rapid development of this year's crop and look favorable into harvest.  

"If you'll look at the long-term forecast for the next 10 to 20 days, we're projected to stay cool which is perfect for grain fill. We're supposed to be under 85 degrees and what we really need is plenty of moisture in profile and which in a lot of places or most places have that, and sunshine. It's looking good right now."

Harvest in central Oklahoma could be happening by Mid-May, about as early as Hodges has ever seen in his professional career.  

You can hear our full interview with Mark Hodges and read more about 2012 crop conditions by clicking here. 

AND- Mark will join us as our Saturday morning guest on our In the Field segment as seen on KWTV, News9 in the Oklahoma City TV market.  Our segment airs around 6:40 AM. 

 

New GAO Study Recommends Limiting Crop Insurance Subsidies- House Ag Chairman Lucas Disagrees with GAO Findings as Do Ag Groups  

A new GAO study says the government can save over $1 billion each year in crop insurance costs by limiting premium subsidies on individual farmers or reducing subsidies for all farmers.

Senator Tom Coburn, who requested the study, agreed with the report and thinks the reforms called for by the GAO would not only save money, but would encourage new farmers.

"This report shows that Congress could cap premium subsidies at $40,000 and save taxpayers $1 billion. High premium subsidies have hurt small and beginning farmers because the subsidies themselves have distorted the market. For instance, high subsidies have artificially increased the value of land and have created other barriers to entry and expansion. I applaud GAO for providing Congress with yet another way to save taxpayer dollars and reform government," Coburn said.

Click here to read more about the GAO study that could have an effect on the 2012 farm bill.  

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas has quickly pushed back on the Coburn requested study- saying "I do not support the repeated attacks on an actuarial sound risk management program that serves as a good example of a public-private partnership where producers pay for coverage. This proposal would discourage participation in the crop insurance program and as a result endanger its integrity."  Click here for the full statement released by the House Ag Committee Chair, who says that farmers in all parts of the country that he has heard from have agreed on the importance of maintaining crop insurance.   

Others have weighed in as well- including the American Soybean Association. Their President, Steve Wellman, opposes the potential cuts. He says it doesn't make sense to make changes to a program that has been successful and critical to farming operations. Wellman says farmers are willing to do their fair share to help reduce spending - and are doing that in other areas - like eliminating direct payments.   

And the group that represents private crop insurance companies, National Crop Insurance Services, claims that beginning farmers would actually be hurt by cutting supports for crop insurance as proposed by GAO- saying this would hurt their ability to "secure essential loans" for their operations. Click here for their response to Senator Coburn and the GAO.    

Nebraska Feedyard Owner Finds Blogging Rewarding

Anne Burkholder, a.k.a. Feed Yard Foodie, Nebraska feedyard owner and past checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance award winner, continues to communicate with consumers via her blog site. She now contributes to BlogHer, a site reaching millions of women who likely make food decisions for their families.

Burkholder believes in being proactive and in establishing a relationship with her readers. Something must be working because her readers are constantly asking where they can buy "Burkholder beef."

" I think that that's a testament to what people are looking for. You know, I use antibiotics when my animals get sick; I use growth promotants so that I can reduce my environmental footprint and have efficiently producing animals. I use all of those things and yet people still want to buy my beef because it's my beef and they know me. Can you imagine what would happen to demand for beef if everybody would reach out and start to tell their personal story?"

Burkholder's blog site, which you can find by clicking here, has had tens of thousands of hits in less than a year. Her "Hard work, trust and faith," entry has drawn 12,000 hits just in the last month due to the media frenzy surrounding Lean, Finely Textured Beef.

Please click here to catch today's Beef Buzz about Anne and her blog that is growing in popularity.

Anderson Says Grain Markets a Little Surprising on WASDE Report- Check His Weekly SUNUP Analysis

Dr. Kim Anderson, OSU's grain marketing specialist says with the exception of corn, grain stocks in the recent WASDE report were right about where analysts had pegged them to be. Trade estimates had corn at 721 million bushels, but it came in at 801 million bushels. Wheat and soybeans were right on targets.

So, how did the markets react?

"Probably not according to expectations," Anderson said. "Corn, the day of the report, really didn't do much. It was down 25 cents the next as you'd expect it to be. Beans were slightly higher, as expected. Wheat down 21 cents and with the report coming out at expectations, that was kind of a surprise."

Anderson says the short-term surprises will continue, but overall, he thinks his prediction of prices at harvest time will hold true."

"We don't have a clue where prices are going. We have an idea of the ranges. I've been predicting a cash price at harvest of $5.75 I still think that's going to be relatively close for central Oklahoma."

Anderson's analysis can be seen on this weekend's SUNUP on OETA- and we have the full lineup on this Saturday's show at the link below- check it out and enjoy SUNUP from the OSU Division of Agriculture.

You can hear more of Dr. Anderson's evaluation of the WASDE report and where prices are headed by clicking here. 

Environmentalists Call for Stronger Conservation Measures in New Farm Bill

A new Environmental Working Group report examines water pollution from farm runoff and details how treating the problem after the fact is increasingly expensive, difficult and, if current trends continue, ultimately unsustainable.

Water that runs off poorly managed fields that have been treated with chemical fertilizers and manure carries nitrogen and phosphorus. These two pollutants set off a cascade of harmful consequences, threatening the drinking water used by millions of Americans.

"Access to clean and healthy drinking water is a critical issue for Americans and the rest of the planet. The only solution to preserve clean water is to tackle the problem of polluted agricultural runoff at the source," said EWG senior scientist Olga Naidenko PhD, lead author of the report.

Read more about the new EWG report by clicking here.

Gary Crawley Elected to OFB Board of Directors

Pittsburg County rancher Gary Crawley has been selected to serve on the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Board of Directors representing District 5. Crawley replaces Larry Boggs, Wilburton, who recently resigned to run for the state senate.
        
Crawley operates a commercial cow/calf herd with stocker cattle in partnership with his son, Gary Gene, near Savanna.
        
He has been actively involved in Farm Bureau for many years, serving the last 15 years on the Pittsburg County Farm Bureau board of directors. Crawley follows in the footsteps of his father, Junior, who served 35 years on the same Pittsburg County board.
        
"Farm Bureau is a good organization that is focused on improving the quality of life in rural Oklahoma," Crawley said.
        
The Savanna rancher recently retired from a long and distinguished career with the USDA's Farm Service Agency, working primarily in the farm commodity and loan program areas.
        
Crawley earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Education from Oklahoma State University. He and his wife, Wilma, have two children and two grandchildren.
 

Rock'n R Ranch On Line Bull Sale Today- Griswold Sale Tomorrow

There are quite a few live auctions that also put their sale on line in real time- but we have a different approach to tell you about this morning from the Rock'n R Ranch of Plainville, Kansas is holding a two day "on line only" auction of 124 fall yearling and yearling Angus and Red Angus Bulls.  

In the online information that you can access by clicking here, the Hrabe family says "We at, Rock'n R Angus have seen a need to branch out and welcome the technology to expand our seedstock marketing. This will allow us to broaden our customer base and expand our Angus genetics.  Unfortunately, we all can not be at more than one place at a time, and this sale feature allows us to do just that.  For this type of sale to work, we must reassure the customer that the type of sire you need and want is what you get.  Rock'n R stands behind these bulls being offered.   The cattle market being volatile as it is, a buyer needs to be assured the investment he makes in his sires is worth the money spent.  Rock'n R confirms these bulls offered will do just that for you."

You can go and read up on how the sale works- see videos of the bulls, register to bid and be a part of this auction up through 7 PM central time Friday evening. Click here and check out the next generation of on line sales of seedstock.  

A little closer to home- we want to remind you about the Griswold annual Grass to Grid Bull Sale that is scheduled for Saturday, April 14, in Follett, Texas. The sale will be at the Jeff Bourquin sale facility in Follett.

Selling over 200 Bulls, featuring GCC Genetics including:
Registered Angus, SimAngus, Simmental and Mainetainers.

For more information, call John Griswold at 405-780-3300 or click here for the full catalog to check out these outstanding cattle- videos of the bulls are also available there.