Oklahoma Producers Face Poor Winter Cattle Production Conditions, Peel Says 

In the latest edtion of the Cow-Calf newsletter, Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist assesses the conditions cattle producers will face this winter.

For Oklahoma producers, the 2012 drought has been a very different situation compared to the extremes of 2011. Having had moisture in the winter and spring, the drought has not caused nearly as much distress this summer as a year ago. Many Oklahoma producers are still in a reduced stocking situation, which means that there was less need for destocking so far this year. Oklahoma auction market totals show the contrast between the two years, with reported feeder cattle volume since July 4 this year down 30 percent from the same period last year and cow and bull sales down a whopping 69 percent from the severe destocking rates of 2011. This likely means that cattle producers have made much less adjustment to drought conditions this year compared to last year.

However, the current situation in Oklahoma is very severe and producers may face more painful decisions in the near future. The latest Drought Monitor indicates that 91 percent of Oklahoma is in the worst two drought categories with 40 percent in the D4 exceptional drought category. The latest range and pasture condition ratings from USDA put 43 percent of Oklahoma pasture and ranges in Very Poor condition along with 37 percent in Poor condition. These ratings reflect the lack of rainfall this summer. In the last 120 days, the state has received only 52 percent of average rainfall, with a deficit of 6.81 inches of rain for the period. Some regions of the state are well below this average including the North Central region with 39 percent of average rainfall, the West Central region of the state with 45 percent of average rainfall and the Panhandle with 48 percent of average rainfall for this period.  

Click here to read more.

Oklahoma Wheat and Canola Seedbed Prep Falling Behind Normal- Three Percent of the Oklahoma Wheat Crop Planted

Seedbed preparation for small grains and canola was behind normal in Oklahoma, despite significant progress this past week. Wheat seedbed preparation was 47 percent complete, 16 points behind normal. Seedbed preparation was complete on 49 percent of canola fields by Sunday, just 13 points behind last year's progress. Click here for the full Oklahoma Crop Progress Report.

While it did not show inside the Oklahoma Crop Weather Update- the national Crop Progress Report for this week did give us a percentage of the Oklahoma crop now planted- three percent as of the end of the weekend- versus the five year average of four percent by this date.

ASA Launches Soy Action Center to Connect Farmers with Capitol Hill

As Congress returns from recess this week, the American Soybean Association (ASA) announced the launch of the Soy Action Center, a grassroots communications portal through which ASA's 21,000 farmer members can connect with their members of Congress, administration and federal agency officials, and state and local offices.

"The Soy Action Center will be a very valuable tool for our members moving forward," said ASA President Steve Wellman, a soybean farmer from Syracuse, Neb. "While the farm bill takes center stage right now, there is always a need for simple and straightforward communication between farmers and their representatives in Congress, in the administration, and in their state and local governments. The Soy Action Center enables farmers to keep those lines of communication open, and underscore to their elected officials why informed policy decisions are so important on the farm."

Through the web-based system, farmers can enter their address or zip code to be connected with members of Congress and state and local officials representing their communities, Wellman said. Farmers can also connect with opinion editors at local and national media outlets, research important pieces of legislation, follow local and national elections, check congressional schedules, and learn more about the legislative process through online tutorials.

To read more, please click here.

Noble Foundation, OSU Team Up on Seminar for New and Absentee Landowners

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service will co-host the Basic Ag Seminar for the Small, Beginning or Absentee Landowner from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, at the Oklahoma County Extension Auditorium, located at 930 North Portland Avenue in Oklahoma City.

This seminar will provide landowners who are new to agriculture or who spend extended periods away from their property (termed "absentee landowners") with information on hay and grazing leases, how to properly manage their resources and what technical agencies are available to assist producers.

Consultants from the Noble Foundation and OSU Extension will explain lease agreements, the importance of proper stocking rate for productivity and land stewardship, and cost-share programs potentially applicable for these landowners. A panel discussion will conclude the seminar so that producers can ask questions that may not have been covered in the presentations.

There's more to this story as well as registration information on our website.  Click here to go there.

Milk Producers Call on Returning Congress to Pass Farm Bill

In the latest newsletter of the California Milk Producers Council, Rob Vandenheuvel penned the following opinion piece urging producers to contact their Congressmen to request quick passage of the 2012 Farm Bill.

After spending the five weeks back in their districts, the House of Representatives is returning to Washington, DC, with a major piece of legislation awaiting their action: the 2012 Farm Bill.

The Farm Bill is a comprehensive package of agriculture and nutrition policy proposals for the next five years. The U.S. Senate has already approved their version of the bill, and the House Agriculture Committee has approved their version. The next step in the process is for the full House of Representatives to vote on the House Ag Committee's version of the bill. Included in both the House and Senate bills is a package of reforms to the U.S. dairy safety net policies. Both bills would eliminate the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) and the Dairy Product Price Support (DPPSP) programs. Both bills would put in their place a two-pronged safety net program for U.S. dairy farmers. Those two parts of the proposal are the Dairy Producer Margin Protection Program (DPMPP) and the Dairy Market Stabilization Program (DMSP).

Click here to read more about how the proposed 2012 Farm Bill will impact dairy farmers.

Oklahoma Oilseed Commission, OSU Partner to Develop Canola Improvements

The Oklahoma Oilseed Commission will sponsor nearly $65,000 worth of new canola research and demonstrations through Oklahoma State University's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Brent Rendel, commission chairman and an oilseed crop producer from Miami, Okla., said the projects will cover a range of production issues, including soil fertility, insect and disease control and variety performance.

"Our goal is to provide practical results that producers can observe firsthand," he said. "Since this is such a new industry in the state, we want to do all we can to help producers get off to a good start."

The research will be conducted at Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station facilities and in grower fields across the state. 

Click here to read more.

This N That- Farm Bill Now Details Released, Fat Cattle & Wholesale Beef Markets Rise and Beef Buzz Series on Replacement Heifers Underway

The Farm Bill Now Coalition has released details of their rally planned for Wednesday morning in front of the US Capitol.  A whole host of the groups that are a part of the Coalition will have leadership speak- and that includes the co- emcees- Bob Stallman of AFBF and Roger Johnson of the NFU. 

Several lawmakers will also address the gathering of farmers and their supporters- however, it's interesting to me that neither Frank Lucas, Chair of the House Ag Committee not Senator Pat Roberts- top GOP member of the Senate Ag Committee is on the list.

Our friend Sara Wyant with Agri-Pulse has a story on the Wednesday plans- click here to check out the full lineup of speakers planned at this DC rally.

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Ed Czerwein of the USDA Market News Office in Amarillo has his regular audio feature up on our website- detailing last week's rise in both finished cattle prices out of the feedlots- as well as the rising wholesale boxed beef trade of this past week.  Click here to take a listen to Ed's insights on our beef markets in the week that followed Labor Day.

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We have started a three day series on our regular daily Radio Oklahoma Ag Network program Beef Buzz- also found on the website, OklahomaFarmReport.Com. Rick Funston is a beef cattle scientist for the University of Nebraska- he knows a lot about efficiently bringing on line replacement heifers for our beef herds- today is part one- and he talks with Eric Atkinson of Agriculture Today up at K-State about the fact you can breed heifers a lot lighter than conventional wisdom has always assumed.  Click here to read more and to listen to Rick's comments on today's Beef Buzz.