Heath Sanders:  Mother Nature Deals 2014 Canola Crop a Disappointing Blow 

Mother Nature has dealt wheat and canola producers alike a tough hand this year. Worsening drought conditions and a late freeze have taken their toll on this year's production.

Heath Sanders of the Great Plains Canola Association brought attendees at this year's meeting of the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association up to date on the status of this year's canola crop.

"We've got canola fields out there that are short. We've got canola fields that are still trying to flower and still trying to put on pods. It's been windy. It's getting warmer. I'm a little concerned in the upcoming days about our temperatures getting as hot as they're going to get. It's going to be tough. It's going to be a tough year."

He told me he's seen canola that doesn't look too bad and other fields that don't look too good. He said producers are going to have to make some tough calls as to whether their crop is worth harvesting or not.

Some new canola producers are getting a little discouraged, he said, but others are taking this year with a grain of salt.

"I've had a lot of guys tell me, 'This is not the canola's fault. This is weather conditions.' And if the wheat is not going to be very good or doesn't look good, then the canola is not as good either."

He said it is hard to tell, at this point, how many acres will actually be harvested, but it will probably be much lower than originally hoped. 

Click here to listen to my interview with Heath Sanders.

 

Incoming State FFA President has High Hopes for 2014-2015 Officer Team 

The Oklahoma FFA Association wrapped up its 88th annual Convention in Oklahoma City with the naming of the 2014-2015 officer team. Topping the list as president was Garrett Reed of the Locust Grove FFA Chapter. Reed is a student at Oklahoma State University and has served as the Northeast District Vice President on the 2013-2014 State Officer Team.

I spoke with Reed at the convention and he will also appear with me on this Saturday's "In the Field" segment on News 9 about 6:40 a.m.

Reed began showing animals and then joined FFA in his freshman year in high school. An early success in speaking led him deeper into the organization.

"After that, it really sparked an interest in me to really get involved as much as I could. From that point on I really decided I really wanted to try and go to every livestock judging course, judging contest I could and speech contests and put as much as I could into this organization. I really loved a lot of the friends I made through it and just wanted to have a great time with it."

You can read more of this story and listen to my full conversation with Garrett Reed by clicking here. 

Subcommittee Examines Economic Factors, Regulatory Burdens Plaguing the Livestock Industry

Rep. Rick Crawford, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development, and Credit, on Wednesday held a public hearing to review the state of the livestock industry. Members heard from two panels of witnesses that ranged from the Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to an array of experts representing the animal agriculture industry. Together, they highlighted issues, such as regulatory burdens, feed costs, drought, animal disease, and trade, that are impacting this sector of the agricultural economy.

Dr. Joseph Glauber, chief economist for the USDA, testified first, giving an overview of the state of the livestock industry. He commented on the roll out of the livestock disaster programs under the 2014 Farm Bill and was questioned about the economic costs of COOL which was mandated by the farm bill.  

You can read more of this story and listen to Dr. Glauber's testimony (and his Q&A with Chairman Crawford)by clicking here.  You will also find links to all of the testimony provided by the committees witnesses.

And in yesterday's Beef Buzz- we featured the opening remarks of Congressman Jim Costa of California and his disdain over the one year old COOL rule put into place by the Obama Administration last May.  Click here to hear his rant. 

Good News from Wheat Tour Rather Limited, Kim Anderson Says

Good news coming out of this year's wheat tour is, unfortunately, rather limited says Oklahoma State University Extension Grain Marketing Specialist Kim Anderson in his preview of this week's SUNUP program.

"That good news would be that some producers are going to harvest some wheat. Wheat is a very resilient plant and it is going to produce a head and a kernel or two. You look at the Oklahoma crop tour and it came in from 66-and-a-half to 70-and-a-half million bushels. You've got to go back to 1957 to get below that when it was 43 million bushels."

He said Kansas is also expecting fewer bushels on fewer acres and Texas is in the worst shape of all.

You can listen to more of Kim Anderson's analysis and read the lineup for this week's SUNUP program by clicking here.

USDA Announces New Landmark Conservation Initiatives

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced yesterday that applications are now being accepted for new, landmark conservation initiatives created by the 2014 Farm Bill. The programs will provide up to $386 million to help farmers restore wetlands, protect working agriculture lands, support outdoor recreation activities, and boost the economy.

Vilsack made the announcement at Kuhn Orchards in Orrtanna, Pennsylvania. The farm's owners participate in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Conservation Stewardship Program, have worked to encourage pollinator health through planting practices, and used USDA program support to construct a high tunnel.

"By protecting working lands and wetlands, we're able to strengthen agricultural operations, sustain the nation's food supply and protect habitat for a variety of wildlife," Vilsack said. "In addition, we're providing states and tribal governments a tool to expand access to private lands for hunting, fishing, hiking and other recreational activities, which helps boost wildlife-related businesses and grows the economy."

Click here for more.

Wheat Commission Chief Encourages Participation in 2014 Junior Wheat Show

Mike Schulte, executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, manned the commission's booth at the career show during the 2014 Oklahoma State FFA Convention in downtown Oklahoma City. In addition to passing out samples of bread made with Oklahoma wheat, he spent his time encouraging students to participate in this year's Junior Wheat Show.

The purpose of the show is to encourage the production of wheat with superior market qualities. In line with this, Schulte told me the parameters for this year's show have been changed. He said that the emphasis of judging is moving away from the visual appearance of the sample to the milling and baking aspects of the crop.

"The reason we are doing that is because we are trying to educate the producers that that is what our foreign and domestic buyers are wanting so we are going to have a different score sheet this coming year. Traditionally, in the past, we have taken the top 10 samples out of the 4-H and FFA for milling and bake tests to go on, but this year we're going to be doing the top 25 samples."

He says $16,000 worth of scholarships are up for grabs in the competition.

To read the rest of this story, please click here.

This N That- Oklahoma Wheat Crop in Historic Territory, Kansas Crop Well Off Normal, Hall Coyote Hills and Census Cometh

Yesterday- our top story in the daily email was about the estimated size of the Oklahoma Wheat Crop- wheat industry officials came up with an estimate of 66.5 million bushels of wheat that will be harvested this year- that means since it is an estimate- there are quite a few wheat industry folks who see an even smaller crop than the average of all of the guesses.  

If we should land on the 66.5 million bushel level- that would mean this year's crop will be the smallest since the 43 million bushel drought crop of 1957.   

Based on yields per acre- the 2014 estimate of 18.5 bushels per acre has not been seen since 1967 in the state.

Our thanks for Dr. Kim Anderson for digging through his files at work to find these historic production numbers in short order yesterday!

One other Oklahoma Wheat Crop update- click here for the latest BLOG entry from state wheat specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards on what he is seeing as he continues with the wheat plot tours across the Oklahoma wheat belt.

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The Wheat Quality Council 2014 Hard Winter Wheat Tour wrapped up on May 1. Crop scouts estimated production for the Kansas crop at 260.6 million bushels. This is the lowest tour estimate since 1996. The average yield, calculated from 587 stops, was 33.2 bushels per acre. 

Click here for more details from the Kansas tour- that wrapped up with their final reports in Kansas City yesterday afternoon.

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The Hall-Coyote Hills Ranch Limousine & Lim-Flex Production Sale will be happening tomorrow- Saturday. May 3 at 1:00 pm at the Ranch near Chattanooga, Oklahoma.

They will be offering a great set of cattle- a total of 180 lots to be sold.

Click here for full details about their annual spring production sale. AT this link- they now have final updated production data on the animals to be sold- and videos of them as well. 

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USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service will release the final results of the 2012 Census of Agriculture today at 11:00 AM central time via live webcast. Click here to watch- and we have been advised by the Oklahoma Department of Ag that they will released an overview of the Oklahoma data this afternoon as well.