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Long time Extension Grain Market Economist Dr. Kim Anderson has crunched the numbers- and told the 2014 State Canola Conference this week that establishing a wheat- canola rotation is one production strategy that can help a wheat farmer stay economically viable in today's farm environment.

Anderson says that if you look at a historical comparison of hard red winter wheat prices and canola prices adjusted to the southern great plains, data from the last 20 years suggests that wheat prices are sixty four percent of the value of canola prices.   

When you run a farm budget based on that premium and take into account higher costs of production for canola (about twenty percent more than wheat), potential net revenue can increase from 45 to 65 percent annually.   

Anderson acknowledges that canola will mean adding some equipment to plant and harvest the crop- and that there is more management involved- and a significant learning curve to be able to produce the crop- but that canola added to your farm can be worth the time, trouble, risk and effort.  

You can hear our conversation with Dr. Anderson on this subject by jumping over to our website here.

Soybean Checkoff Produces Big Return On Investment 

Under the soy checkoff program, all U.S. soybean farmers contribute a small percentage of their gross soybean sales for research and marketing projects that maximize their profit potential. According to the results of a new, independent study, the checkoff continues to grow those small investments into big results for U.S. soybean farmers.


The results of the checkoff's most recent regular, independent return-on-investment (ROI) analysis found that all U.S. soybean farmers receive $5.20 in profits for every dollar they invest in the checkoff.


"Farmers are always looking for ways to improve profitability and become more efficient, so ROI is very important to them," says United Soybean Board (USB) Chairman Jim Call, a soybean farmer from Madison, Minnesota. "This study shows that U.S. soybean farmers are better off because of the checkoff."


Gary Williams, Ph.D., an agricultural economics professor from Texas A&M University who conducted the study, says 5 percent of all U.S. soybean farmers' revenues are due to the checkoff's research and marketing efforts.

Williams also pointed out other conclusions.  For the complete story Click Here.
 

USDA Implements Farm Bill Crop Insurance Provisions

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced continued progress in implementing provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill that will strengthen and expand insurance coverage options for farmers and ranchers. The new Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO), available through the federal crop insurance program and set to begin with the 2015 crop year, is designed to help protect producers from yield and market volatility.


"America's agricultural producers work hard to produce a sufficient amount of safe and nutritious food for the country," said Secretary Tom Vilsack. "It's critical that they have crop insurance options to effectively manage risks and ensure that they do not lose everything due to events beyond their control. Following the 2014 Farm Bill signing, USDA has made it a priority to ensure the Supplemental Coverage Option was available to help farmers in this upcoming crop year."


The 2014 Farm Bill strengthens and expands crop insurance by providing more risk management options for farmers and ranchers and by making crop insurance more affordable for beginning farmers. SCO, which is administered by the Risk Management Agency (RMA), further strengthens the farm safety net.


SCO will be available for corn, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, spring barley, spring wheat, and winter wheat in selected counties for the 2015 crop year.  

Click here for more information in signing up for crop insurance for the 2015 crop year.

Damaging Aphids Found in Oklahoma Sorghum Fields

Sorghum growers in Oklahoma should be on the lookout for two types of sugarcane aphids in their fields.


Both the sugarcane aphid and yellow sugarcane aphid are pests of sorghum, and have been viewed in samples taken by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. Both types of aphids colonize the surfaces of the lower leaves of sorghum, and then move up to newer leaves. Their feeding causes red or brown leaf discoloration on both sides of the leaf.


"Despite their names and common plant hosts, they are different in appearance and differ in how they cause damage to sorghum," said Tom Royer, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension entomologist.


I interviewed Royer about these aphids that have come into Oklahoma. Click here for rest of the article or to listen to Royer's comments.

Oklahoma Places Two Finalists in the National FFA Stars Over America Competition- Zach Weichel and Garrett Sharp

The National FFA Organization has selected two Oklahomans and 14 other students from throughout the United States as finalists for its 2014 top achievement awards: American Star Farmer, American Star in Agribusiness, American Star in Agricultural Placement and American Star in Agriscience.

Finalist for the American Star Farmer award includes Zach Weichel of the Cordell FFA Chapter.  He  operates his beef and grain production, where he markets and sells his feeder cattle and wheat crop. Weichel was the the 2011 Oklahoma Star Farmer- you can see and hear our conversation with Zach from 2011 by tapping here.  

Robb says Price Discovery for Feedlot Cattle a Continuing Worry

There are several structural issues that the cattle industry is trying to deal with right now. One of those issues is price discovery. It seems we're seeing fewer and fewer cattle sold on the cash market at the feedlot level. At one time in the southern plains for the Texas Cattle Feeders Association their weekly cash totals were 15 - thousand upwards to 22 - thousand head. Now its more like one thousand, two thousand or maybe three thousand head. Those cash prices are important to help figure formula prices in the feedlot as well.  Livestock Marketing Information Center Director Jim Robb says the industry is in one of those transitions right now.


"Much like when we made the transition from selling in terminal markets to out in the country," Robb said. "We're really at one of those transition points and how it unfolds its really difficult to tell."


"When we push the feed cattle market up to $160, there's not a lot of concern about thin markets and how we are going to set the base price for formula markets," Robb said.   

Click here to read Robb's reasoning for the lack of price discovery in the market and what will have to change to improve it or listen to the audio version of this story.

Here's Your Big Iron Wednesday Reminder 

It's Wednesday- and that means the Big Iron folks will be busy closing out this week's auction items- all 446 of them- starting at 10 AM central time.     

Click Here for the complete rundown of what is being sold on this no reserve online sale this week.

If you'd like more information on buying and selling with Big Iron, call District Manager Mike Wolfe at 580-320-2718 and he can give you the full scoop.  You can also reach Mike via email by clicking here.