Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News

Howdy Neighbors! 

The predictions of yesterday have become the reality of this Tuesday morning. All of Oklahoma has gone below the 32 degree mark- with locations like El Reno, Breckinridge, Kingfisher and Marshall expected to spend 10 hours below freezing, based on where we are at 6 AM on this Tuesday morning. Click here for the latest Mesonet map of temperatures below 32 degrees.

Dr. Jeff Edwards, Oklahoma State University Extension Wheat Specialist, spoke with me yesterday about the potential for catastrophe for wheat farmers, and said his worry was the number of hours below freezing- as that will impact the amount of damage on both the wheat and canola crops.

He says some wheat south of I-40 has been reported with the flag leaf just peeking out of the boot and might be able to handle temperatures near 30 degrees. North of I-40, the wheat is at two nodes and might be able to handle temperatures in the range of 28 degrees for an hour or two.

"If we drop much below that or stay there for very long, it certainly is a cause for concern...

"The one good thing we do have going is that our wheat is a good week and a half behind where it would normally be this time of year. If we were on a normal pattern which would mean that the wheat in southern Oklahoma would be fully headed and flowering by now and wheat in central Oklahoma would just be starting to head out, there's no doubt in my mind that this would be a disaster. So, the wheat being behind schedule this year will help us out."

Click here to read more of this story or to listen to my interview with Jeff Edwards.

Sponsor Spotlight 

P&K Equipment has ten locations in Oklahoma and as the state's largest John Deere dealer, has been bringing you the best in John Deere equipment, parts, service, and solutions for nearly 30 years.  The P&K team operates with honesty and a sense of urgency... getting you what you need, when you need it.  With an additional nine stores in Iowa, P&K has the extra inventory and resources, to provide you, the customer, with a better experience all around. Click here to visit P&K on the web... where you can locate the store nearest you, view their new and used inventory, and check out the latest deals.    

Warmer temperatures experienced last week across Oklahoma accelerated the drought conditions, especially in the Panhandle. According to the most recent drought monitor, just over 13 percent of the state is categorized in an exceptional drought, compared to just over 8 percent the previous week. The entire state, assuredly the Western portion, is in dire need of precipitation to see any progress in winter crops.

As a result, most small grains continue to be rated mostly fair to poor in the latest USDA Crop Progress and Condition report. Winter wheat was rated 54 percent poor or very poor, 32 percent fair, and 14 percent good. Jointing reached 80 percent by Sunday, 5 points ahead of the previous year and 6 points behind the five year average.

Canolaconditions were rated 52 percent fair to poor. Canola blooming reached 45 percent by week's end, compared to 37 percent this time last year and 44 percent on the five-year average. (Click here for the full Oklahoma report.)

In Kansas, conditions began warm and dry but ended with a storm system that dropped temperatures and precipitation, Temperatures averaged four to six degrees warmer than normal before dropping on Sunday. Winter wheat condition rated 10 percent very poor, 20 poor, 44 fair, 25 good, and 1 excellent. Winter wheat jointed was 31 percent, near 33 percent last year, but behind a 47-percent average. (You can view the Kansas report by clicking here.)

Windy conditions in the Northern High Plains of Texas continued to damage winter wheat. Wheat in the Northern Low Plains began to turn blue as a result of the hot, dry weather. Wheat conditions in the Edwards Plateau showed some improvement due to warmer weather. Wheat fields in the Upper Coast showed improvement due to favorable weather conditions. Sixty three percent of the Texas wheat crop was listed in poor or very poor condition, 24 percent was fair, 12 percent was listed as good and only one percent was reported to be in excellent condition.  (Click here for the Texas report.)

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, writes in the latest Cow-Calf newsletter:

With boxed beef prices down sharply from the second rollercoaster high of the year, fed cattle prices may have peaked seasonally. Fed prices are currently holding mostly steady near $150/cwt. but will likely decrease into May as fed cattle marketings increase seasonally. Cattle slaughter typically increases from April through May to seasonal peaks in June. Fed cattle prices typically decrease from April peaks to summer lows in July. Average price change from current market levels would suggest that fed prices could drop to around $140/cwt. by July. Given some bunching of placements in the past couple of months, it would not be surprising to see fed prices drop into the mid $130s, at least briefly, for a summer low. Beef demand, as expressed by wholesale and retail beef prices, will be key through this seasonal supply increase.

Feeder cattle prices have been holding strong as well but are showing signs of weakening from the current peaks. Several factors may contribute to weaker feeder prices in the coming weeks. Persistent drought conditions and delayed spring temperatures are both contributing to growing concern about forage conditions. The clock is ticking on spring pasture and hay development and another 2-4 weeks of delay will limit summer grazing demand and may force some producers move defensively to ensure forage demands can be met. 

You can read more of Derrell Peel's analysis on our webpage by clicking here. 

As part of their continued commitment to Oklahoma and the health of its environment, Chesapeake Energy Corporation and the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) announced today they will partner in celebrating Stewardship Week in Oklahoma, April 27 through May 4, 2014.

"We are honored that Chesapeake Energy is partnering with us to recognize the hard work of agriculture producers and other landowners in conserving our soil, water, air, wildlife habitats and other natural resources," Kim Farber, president of OACD said. "We are deeply appreciative of Chesapeake's continued support of our state's farmers, ranchers and other landowners and all they do to protect the environment.   It's also important that we educate all Oklahomans on the importance of the stewardship ethic and the need to care for our environment. We are glad to have Chesapeake working with us to do this."

Stewardship Week is one of the world's largest conservation-related observances. Since 1955, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and OACD have sponsored the national Stewardship Week program. During the week, local conservation districts work with media outlets, communities, faith-based groups and local schools to promote the concept of stewardship. The concept involves personal and social responsibility, including a duty to learn about and improve natural resources so we use them wisely and leave a rich legacy for future generations. 

Click here for more of this story.

U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) led a number of his Republican Senate colleagues today in sending a letter to Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy, calling on the agencies to refrain from regulating livestock emissions as part of President Obama's proposed methane emission reduction plan.

On March 28, 2014, the president released his Climate Action Plan "Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions." The proposal calls on the USDA, DOE, and EPA to develop a plan in the coming weeks that would reduce dairy sector methane greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25 percent by 2020. If this plan leads to heavy-handed regulations or mandatory guidelines, farmers and ranchers would likely face a steep increase in production costs. Currently, the EPA is prevented from regulating GHG emissions associated with livestock production through an annual appropriations rider that expires at the end of each fiscal year.

The senators write: "The agriculture community is committed to environmental stewardship, which is evidenced by the 11 percent reduction in agriculture-related methane emissions since 1990. It is our hope that the EPA, USDA, and DOE will work with Congress and the agriculture industry to outline voluntary measures that can be taken to reduce emissions without imposing heavy-handed regulations on farms across America."

You can read more of this story by clicking here. 

Behind every successful agricultural operation is a strategic plan that is being implemented. Just look at Destiny Ranch.

Owners William and Karen Payne's process of "creating the plan; working the plan" allows them to continue to improve their land stewardship and intensive grazing management.

To help other producers find similar success, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation will host a Spring Grazing Workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, April 24, at the Destiny Ranch, located at 44880 Avoca Road, three miles south of St. Louis, Okla.

This workshop, which is open to the public, is designed to assist agricultural producers in improving their pastures and management skills. "This one-day workshop will help seasoned producers refresh their management skills," said Hugh Aljoe, consultation program manager. "It will also assist new ranchers in developing proper grazing management strategies to enhance both ecologic and economic sustainability." 

You can read the rest of this story by clicking here. 

After teasing the agricultural community in February with a little bit of the data- the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has announced it will publish the 2012 Census of Agriculture full report on May 2, at 11 am central.  

Renee Picanso, NASS Census and Survey Division Director. says that the agency is "ready to deliver an amazing tool that will help producers as well as those who serve farmers and rural communities."

When released, the 2012 Census of Agriculture will provide information at the national, state and county levels. The publication will include highly anticipated data on a range of topics, including agricultural practices, conservation, organic production, as well as traditional and specialty crops.

The final publication will provide more in-depth information than NASS released in February's preliminary 2012 Census report on farms and land in farms, economics, and demographics. The 2012 Census final report will also give first-time or expanded data on biomass production, equine, Internet access, regional food marketing and distribution, land use practices and agroforestry.

**********

The ladies of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau are doing lunch for a few hundred of their closest friends at the State Capitol today- it's called the Farm-City Festival and is being sponsored by Oklahoma Farm Bureau Women's Leadership Team. The women leaders prepare food for state lawmakers and their staff- no high pressured lobbying on the first floor of the Capitol at midday today- just a heartfelt thank you to the folks at the State Capitol for all they do for rural Oklahoma.

**********

Day two of the Canola Field Tours is today- click here for the locations and times of the three stops planned for today- I got a Tweet from Josh Bushong, who is our state Extension Canola Specialist about how Day One went- he told us last night about the day- "Cold, Windy, dry. Wilting Canola, and possible freeze concerns. Good turnouts, questions and optimism! Good day."

We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.  

Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com