OKAgFund Endorses Candidates in State Elections 

As the Oklahoma primary election approaches on June 24, the OKAgFund today announced its endorsement of 21 candidates running for election in state Senate and House races.


The OKAgFund, Oklahoma Farm Bureau's political action committee, is made up of OKFB members from across the state who identify candidates who demonstrate beliefs and actions that are consistent with OKFB policies, regardless of political affiliation. While the OKAgFund contributes financially to several state campaigns, an endorsement is the highest level of support the committee gives to select candidates.   


"Agriculture is one of Oklahoma's top producing industries, and it is essential that our legislators understand and are sympathetic to the issues affecting the state's farmers and ranchers," said John Collison, OKFB vice president of public policy and media relations. "The OKAgFund continues to be an effective tool to support the election campaign of agriculture-friendly candidates." 

Click to read the list of candidates endorsed by OKFB. 

Managing Through Drought Conditions 

Hugh Aljoe, Consultation Program Manager of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation writes in the June Ag News and Views newsletter.

Farmers and ranchers have become accustomed to managing through adverse conditions, and drought certainly falls into that category. During the last half of 2010 and the first few months of 2011, most producers have had to manage through drought conditions. Some have managed better than others. There is a common denominator for those producers who cope with drought better than others - they all have active drought management plans. Following is a set of guidelines for developing a drought management plan.


Know your expected forage production and annual rainfall patterns by season. As a rule of thumb for warm-season perennial pastures (native or introduced), about 70 percent of our annual forage production will occur by July 1 regardless of the total rainfall for the year. The most effective rainfall for our warm-season grasses occurs during the second quarter of the year (April through June), which is typically the most abundant rainfall quarter across the Southern Great Plains. Table 1 shows annual precipitation (including totals by quarter) from 1971 through 2000 for three selected southern Oklahoma counties extending on a line from east (Choctaw County), through Ardmore (Carter County), to west (Tillman County). About 30 to 37 percent of annual rainfall occurs during the spring quarter, in which 70 percent of our annual forage is produced. If precipitation is below average for more than one quarter, drought management plans should be implemented.

Click to read more insight from Hugh Aljoe.

Stronger Yearling Prices, Brings More Risk

 When it comes to the cattle business, the stocker segment in particular has a favorable outlook for summer 2014. Livestock Marketing Information Center Director Jim Robb says that especially true, if cattlemen already own the cattle.


"I think certainly for the people that have already bought the calves these programs can fair surprising good this year," Robb said. "Record high calf prices, but the heavy weight yearling market has really been the market that has charged ahead of the other markets as we look across the board."


"I think that raises a bit of risk in this marketplace," Robb said. "We have had the premium of the 700 -800 pound and sometimes heavier steer widen relative to the calf, which makes those trying to buy the animals these programs look less profitable than they did a few weeks ago, but also widen relative to the fed cattle market."

Click to read more comments from Jim Robb- who joined us for today's Beef Buzz.
 

USMEF Product Showcase Creates International Connections

The 120 international meat buyers who descended on the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) product showcase last week in Kansas City to meet with 21 U.S. processors and exporters didn't come to make small talk. They came to buy U.S. beef, pork and lamb. And that's just what they did.


"Now I can give more choices to my sales people," said Romagle Bastidas, trade manager for Grupo Alonzo, which operates 24 companies in the Dominican Republic and imports anywhere from 10 to 40 containers per month of U.S. products, including beef, pork and lamb. "I have learned about many different cuts and different ways to come up with new center-of-the-plate items. Now I can think outside of the box."

Click to read more about USMEF's international promotion efforts.  

Oklahoma Cattlemen's Summer Ranch Tour Set for June 23-24

The Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association will be hosting the annual Summer Ranch Tour on June 23 and 24.

"This year's tour will take place in West Central Oklahoma and will include 10 stops," said OCA President Richard Gebhart. "The Summer Ranch Tour provides a way for cattlemen to fellowship while seeing other ranching operations and learning from each other."

Tour hosts include: OKC West Livestock Auction, El Reno, Okla.; RCC Royce Ranch, El Reno, Okla.; RCC Darlington Campus, El Reno, Okla.; Cattleac Cattle Equipment, Weatherford, Okla.; SportChassis LLC - Heavy Duty Pickups, Clinton, Okla.; Harrison Cattle, Arapaho, Okla.; Price Farms, Elk City, Okla.; A-Cross Ranch, Hammon, Okla.; K - Bar Cattle Company, Canute, Okla. and Harvey Farms, Red Rock Meat Company, Hydro, Okla.

Click to register or to learn more about the summer ranch tour.

OSU Receives Research Dollars to Help Local Food Operators Take Their Business to Next Level

 Oklahoma State University researchers will be looking at ways to help small- and medium-sized producers and agriculture businesses take their enterprises to the next level thanks to a hefty U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant.


Though national in scope, the project easily has the potential to affect any producer in Oklahoma, said Dave Shideler, OSU Cooperative Extension economist and one of the project's lead researchers.


"The idea is to help producers move forward, regardless of the current size of their operations," he said. "Our work will apply to the farmer operating a roadside fruit stand in Idabel, as well as to the producer in Arnett who wants to begin selling watermelons to the local school."

For more information on how this grant will benefit speciality crop producers click here.  

This N That- Big Iron. Cochran on the Brink and Pig Castration Advances in Iowa! 

The weekly Big Iron auction for this Wednesday morning will see closing of items begin at 10 AM central time- and this week they are featuring 302 items- click here for the Big Iron Website and a full listing of all of the equipment items on the virtual auction block today.

And- if you want to learn more about how Big Iron can help your operation- by selling excess equipment  or buying that item that your farm or ranch needs- click here for our interview with District Manager Mike Wolfe from earlier this year at the Oklahoma City Farm Show.  

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The top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee is on the brink of losing his job as the Senior Senator from Mississippi.  Senator Thad Cochran is about two thousand votes behind Mississippi State Senator Chris McDaniel- McDaniel just under the magic fifty percent mark that he would have needed to not have to face the incumbent in a runoff three weeks from now.  

Cochran, as we began 2014, was one of the four lawmakers in the room as the negotiations for the 2014 Farm Bill came to a conclusion.

Click here for a report that quotes a local political analyst in the state that said the six term incumbent did not run much of a campaign- and that is one of the key reasons why it is so close- and that in three weeks- Cochran denied a seventh term.

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Finally- we take a look at the Primary election in Iowa- where a pistol packing, castration knife carrying farm lady has won the GOP nomination for the Senate race that will determine who replaces former Chairman of the Senate Ag Committee, Tom Harkin, in the Senate.

Joni Ernst won over 50% of the vote in a five way race- and her signature ad that jumped her visibility over her opponents was about her growing up on an Iowa farm- where she says she learned to castrate pigs- a lesson that will help her cut pork in Washington.   

She will face Congressman Bruce Braley in November- and she won't be an easy out- lots of political pundits say she is a good enough of a candidate that she has pulled the Iowa Senate Seat into play as the GOP hopes to net a gain of six Senate seats around the country.

For your viewing pleasure- here's the ad that got Ernst on her way to the November General Elections- Make Em Squeal!

Squeal