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By the narrowest of margins, the Missouri Right to Farm Constitutional Amendment has been approved by a vote of the people in the Show Me state. The final margin of victory was just 2,500 votes out of almost a million cast- the tally according to the unofficial results for 100% of the precincts reporting on the State Secretary's website gave the YES supporters 4989,751 to the NO votes totalling 496,223.


The Amendment One vote will have to be certified by the Secretary of State's office then the process of a recount begins because the final vote was within a one-percent margin. That process could take several months.


Missouri Farm Groups are basking in the glow of this victory, no matter how narrow it was. One Missouri farmer was on Twitter in the early hours of Wednesday morning after the final margin was posted and called it a victory of "grassroots over big money." That big money reference was the over $400,000 dollars that were poured into the opposition to Amendment One by the HSUS- the Humane Society of the US.


Both Missouri Cattlemen and the Missouri Farm Bureau posted a simple "Thank You" to the voters of Missouri for saying Yes to Amendment One becoming a part of that state's constitution. Farm Bureau tweeted the final vote and added "Amendment #1 has passed! Thank you Missouri for supporting Missouri farming and ranching to #KeepMissouriFarming!"

Kevin Good of Cattlefax Forecasts Strong Markets into 2015 

This year has been quite the ride for cattle producers in 2014. At the recent Summer Cattle Industry Convention in Denver, Cattle Fax Senior Market Analyst Kevin Good told Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm News Director Ron Hays about the record breaking year and the outlook for 2015. 


"We're enjoying record high values for all classes of cattle," Good said. "The fed market is probably the most challenging as you analyze that today because we have had a tremendous run up over the past few weeks."


Good said the market is extremely overbought and fed values as a percent of retail are extremely wide, thus indicating the fed market is probably due for a set back in the next few weeks.


"It's still going to stay historically strong, but here in the mid - 160's area might be kind of a spot that we have some trouble pushing through or even maintaining through the second half of the year," Good said.    


If the second half of the year remains strong, Good anticipates more cattle will be sold in the 150's to low to mid 160's range. Looking at the yearling and calf market, he says those categories are well supported. The yearling market is trading about a $220 on a US average on a 750 pound steer. With grain values moving lower, Good said that does support about a $220 yearling, so that market looks to be supported into the second half of 2014.


Calf values are averaging around $255 on a 550 pound steer calf. Good said with lower input costs, improved moisture conditions and roughage supplies going into fall, all of those factors should support calf values holding onto to near present levels going forward.  

Click Here to read more about Good's predictions for 2015 or to listen to Tuesday's Beef Buzz.

U.S. Pork Weighs In On Important Trade Matters

The National Pork Producers Council weighed in on two important trade matters, insisting that U.S. trade negotiators get from Japan a deal on pork similar to the one the United States got from South Korea and urging lawmakers to exclude South Africa from a U.S. preferential trade measure.


In written testimony submitted to the Senate Finance Committee International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness Subcommittee, NPPC said the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which was implemented in March 2012, "provides the kind of access opportunities for U.S. pork that NPPC would like to see in all U.S. FTAs." It noted that the deal on pork in the agreement was accomplished despite opposition from South Korean farmers and compared it with the offer from Japan on pork in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. Japan's trade negotiators so far have refused to eliminate tariffs on pork - and number of other "sensitive" agricultural products - because of opposition from Japanese farmers.


"Opening the market to U.S. pork is no more politically sensitive in Japan than it is in South Korea," said NPPC, which also pointed out that elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers on all products is the hallmark of U.S. FTAs. "There is absolutely no reason Japan should be treated differently from other U.S. FTA partners."  

Click Here to read more about the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade agreement.
 

Selk Offers Tips In Growing Bred Replacement Heifers

Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist, writes in the latest Cow-Calf Newsletter.


The strong cattle prices have encouraged more producers to develop replacement heifers to add to their current cow herd. Bred replacement heifers that will calve in January and February need to continue to grow and maintain body condition. Ideally, two year old heifers should be in a body condition score 6 at the time that their first calf is born. This allows them the best opportunity to provide adequate colostrum to the baby, repair the reproductive tract, return to heat cycles, rebreed on time for next year, and continue normal body growth. From now until calving time, the heifers will need to be gaining 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per head per day, assuming that they are in good body condition coming out of summer.


Heifers will need supplemental protein, if the major source of forage in the diet is bermudagrass or native pasture or grass hay. If the forage source is adequate in quantity and average in quality (6 - 9% crude protein), heifers will need about 2 pounds of a high protein (38 - 44% CP) supplement each day. This will probably need to be increased with higher quality hay (such as alfalfa) or additional energy feed (20% range cubes) as winter weather adds additional nutrient requirements. Soybean hulls or wheat mids may also be used to insure adequate energy intake of pregnant heifers.


Read more here of the advice offered by Dr. Selk.

Canola Farmers To See Results of 2014 Farm Bill Soon

After a long-haul to get a Farm Bill passed, US Canola Association (USCA) Assistant Director Dale Thorenson said canola farmers can look forward to having farm safety net choices.   


"Canola growers and all growers will have a choice," Thorenson said.   "They will better safety net as far as a price or revenue program and they have a choice for that."


Thorenson recently spoke at the 10th Annual Canola Conference in Enid, where he told the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network's Leslie Smith about the rollout of the Farm Bill. Click on the LISTEN BAR below to hear Thorenson's comments With the new Farm Bill, he said in the coming months landowners will have the opportunity to reallocate base acres and update their yields.


"It's a choice and once they have all of that done then they have to choose between their price loss coverage, which is like the old countercyclical program with higher target prices or higher reference prices, or a revenue program," Thorenson said.    


Once those bases are established, Thorenseon said farmers can plant whatever they want as they will be paid on their historical base acre, except for the generic cotton acres. He said cotton has moved out of the commodity title, so those acres will be tied to whatever crop is planted on those cotton base acres.


"That is a opportunity for wheat or canola or for whatever in various parts of the country to be covered under this farm program," Thorenson said. "It's a possibility here in Oklahoma and northern Texas for canola." 


Besides the Farm Bill, Thorenson said USCA has a number of legislative and regulatory priorities in Washington DC. Read his comments here where you can also listen to Leslie's full interview with him.   

Federation of State Beef Councils Awards State Beef Promotion Grants

The Federation of State Beef Councils has awarded seven grants totaling $77,850 to six state beef councils for programs aimed at enhancing beef demand in their states. The awards, part of the Federation Initiative Fund program, were announced at the 2014 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver Aug. 2. 


The Federation Initiative Fund is managed by the Federation Executive Committee, and was established in 2006 to help move beef checkoff funds from states with heavy cattle numbers to states with heavier consumer populations. Oklahoma participates in this shifting of funds from people deficit states to cattle deficit states.  


         The six states receiving awards for the remainder of FY 2014 are:

 Arizona Beef Council, $6,100 for its Gate to Plate tour series.


 Florida Beef Council, two grants, $32,000 for its Farm to Fork Tours, and $7,500 as the second part of a ProStart Education Initiative to launch a high school culinary education initiative.


 Hawaii Beef Industry Council, $5,000 for a ranch tour for millennial bloggers, food writers and chef/culinary students.


 Minnesota Beef Council, $7,250 for its Team BEEF program.


 New York Beef Industry Council, $15,000 for social media marketing outreach and digital marketing.

Pennsylvania Beef Council, $5,000 for a Millennial to Millennial (M2M) Recruitment Program.


 State beef councils voluntarily invest in the Federation to help strengthen national efforts to build demand for beef. Since it was created, the Federation Initiative Fund has awarded more than $2.2 million to 22 states conducting 180 programs.  

Kansas Primary Win for Father of Freedom to Farm

It was a lot closer at the end for the reelection campaign of Senator Pat Roberts in Kansas than the polls were suggesting- but the non metro areas of that state- outside of Kansas City and Wichita- pulled the Senator over the finish line, even though some folks in the state are upset that he no longer really lives in Kansas.

Roberts defeated Milton Wolf, a favorite of the Tea Party with 48% of the total vote.  Roberts should count his lucky stars that he was not running in a state like Oklahoma or Mississippi where less than a majority vote would only earn you a runoff.  There were a total of four candidates in Kansas- and the third and fourth place finishers pulled away more than enough votes that might have gone to Wolf to keep him from winning.  

One political observer noted on Twitter Tuesday evening that it was crazy that the final vote was this close, as Senator Roberts was sitting on over $1.5 million dollars in the closing days of the election while Wolf had $95,000 in the bank.   

Senator Roberts was the Congressman that represented the big First District of Kansas for 16 years and was the Chairman of the House Ag Committee when the 1996 Farm Law was passed. That was the so called Freedom to Farm law that decoupled farm payments from the planting of that specific crop, allowing farmers in states like Oklahoma to plant something other than wheat on continuous wheat acres that were in the farm program.

Senator Roberts was the ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee before that slot was claimed by past Chairman of the Committee, Thad Cochran, in 2014.  It is possible that Roberts might become the Chairman of the Committee if the GOP should grab control of the Senate this coming November.   

Milton Wolf almost threw a monkey wrench into those plans, but Senator Roberts remains standing this Wednesday morning- and faces only a nominal challenge this fall in the general election- he will likely be in the Senate representing the Sunflower State for another six years in 2015.