Corn Harvest Going Strong Across Southern Plains

Corn harvest was active across Oklahoma. In the weekly crop progress report from the US Department of Agriculture this past week corn harvest made a lot of progress gaining 27 points to reach 43 percent complete. Sorghum coloring reached 90 percent with 63 percent of the crop mature and 17 percent of the sorghum crop was harvested. The peanut crop was reaching maturity in gaining 27 points last week with 58 percent of crop reaching maturity. Seventy-four percent of cotton bolls were opening. The fourth cutting of alfalfa hay reached 68 percent complete. Soybeans are getting closer to harvest with 29 percent of the crop dropping leaves.  Canola planting reached 43 percent complete. That's up 31 points over a year ago. Winter wheat seeded jumped 21 points to reach 35 percent complete and rye seeding reached 44 percent complete.

Click Here for the full Oklahoma report.

Texas began the week warm and dry, then turned cooler with some much needed precipitation. The state received 2 to as much as much as five inches of rainfall. Corn harvest for silage and for grain continued with harvest reaching 67 percent complete, slightly ahead of last year and the five-year average. Sorghum and cotton harvest made very little progress this past week with both crops only gaining one percentage point. Sorghum harvest reached 67 percent complete and cotton harvest reached 16 percent done. The peanut crop progressed in areas of the Northern Low Plains and South Texas aided by recent rainfall. Soybeans in the Northern High Plains continued to drop leaves and mature. Winter wheat seeding continued throughout many areas of the state. Twenty percent of the wheat crop has been planted with five percent beginning to emerge. Pasture and range conditions were in mostly good condition and appear to have benefited greatly from the recent rainfall.

Click Here for the full Texas report.

Rain showers were limited to mostly the eastern third of Kansas. Corn harvest gained eight points this past week to reach 26 percent complete. Sorghum harvest was slow to progress with harvest three percent complete. Alfalfa hay cutting was 59 percent complete, which was ahead of last year and near the five-year average of 55. Soybeans dropping leaves was 38 percent. Cotton was progressing on track with last year with 93 percent setting bolls and 31 percent opening. Wheat planting reached 15 percent, which was near last year and the five-year average.

Click Here for the full Kansas Report.

With both harvest and maturity progress lagging behind the five-year average, the condition of the U.S. corn condition remains strong, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Report released Monday. Seventy-four percent of the crop remains in good-to-excellent condition as of September 21, 19 percentage points more than at this time last year. With only 42 percent of the corn crop at full maturity, lagging progress has not harmed forecasts of potentially record-breaking production.

"The corn crop may be running behind schedule in many areas, but it still appears to far surpass previous years' both in terms of quality and quantity," said NCGA President Martin Barbre, a farmer in Illinois. "This year's abundance has come at a price for many farmers though. We have achieved what may be record heights this year, but the prices offered for the crop continue to fall. For some, current market conditions could even result in prices below that of production. Even as we finish our work in the fields, it is imperative we also focus our attention on growing markets. Farmers must speak loudly and in great numbers to make sure our government in Washington does not take any action that would further jeopardize our markets or increase our cost of production."

In this second report offering harvest data, progress fell further behind the five-year average. With seven percent of corn acres harvested nationally, a three-point gain from last week, progress lags eight points behind the five-year average. Texas and North Carolina again showed the highest percentage of harvested acres, 67 and 64 percent respectively, while harvest had not begun as of September 21 in seven states.

Crop quality reports held relatively stable from the previous week with one point shifting up from the good to the excellent category. The percentage of corn in dent stage increased by eight points and now trails the five-year average by only two points. At the same time, 42 percent of the crop has now reached full maturity, 12 points behind the five-year average.

Click here for the whole report on crop progress- there are now harvest reports for corn, soybeans, grain sorghum, cotton and peanuts.

Peel Excited For Winter Wheat Grazing Prospects This Fall

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


Winter wheat grazing prospects in the Southern Plains are the best in several years; at least as indicated by winter wheat plantings. I traveled through southeastern Colorado and across the Oklahoma Panhandle and northern Oklahoma last week. A significant amount of winter wheat is planted and up in southeastern Colorado and the Oklahoma Panhandle. There was lots of activity as a minority of fields not yet planted were being prepared for planting with the majority of acres in the process of planting or already planted.


In the last 30 days, the Panhandle has received 2.31 inches of moisture, 117 percent of normal for the time period according to the Oklahoma Mesonet. Coming across northern Oklahoma, from Woodward east towards I-35, it is considerably drier, confirmed by Mesonet with the north central region having received 67 percent of normal precipitation for the past thirty days. Planting progress is not as advanced in this region compared to the Panhandle. Other regions of the state have generally adequate moisture, though the south central region has only received 69 percent of normal moisture in the past 30 days. Overall, wheat planting seems to be progressing faster than any time in the past five years.

A relative abundance of wheat pasture this fall may be in contrast to extremely tight supplies of available stocker cattle.   Wheat pasture grazing values may be pressured as more wheat acres chase a limited number of stockers. At the same time, stocker demand is likely to add additional support to calf prices this fall. This fall may bring together the best opportunity for winter wheat grazing in several years with both forage availability and favorable economics. This assumes, of course, that moisture conditions do not turn dry this fall, which remains a distinct risk. The Drought Monitor is a reminder that marginal drought conditions remain across the Southern Plains and, while timely rains this summer have improved conditions considerably, any interruption of timely moisture would permit drought conditions to rebuild quickly.  Click Here to read more about the economics for stockers.   

On-Going Drought Conditions to Persist Until 2020

Oklahoma is in the midst of two long term weather cycles in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that cause drier than normal conditions. Attendees at the Western Governor's Association Drought Forum held Thursday at the National Weather Service Center in Norman heard about the outlook for drought continuing for the south central United States. In a interview with the Radio Oklahoma Network, Mark Shafer, Deputy Director of the Oklahoma Climatological Study and Director of the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program for the Association said these large scale ocean circulations in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans change very slow and he doesn't expect the situation to change until after 2020.


"That kind of favors a dry pattern," Shafer said. "Doesn't mean that we are going to stay in drought or that we are not going to get relief from it, but tends to kind of shape things that way for the south central US."


The impact of this drier than normal pattern will vary throughout the country. Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and southeastern Colorado may not see the exceptional or extreme drought, but drought-like conditions will continue for at least another five more years.  


While you can't stop the drought, Shafer said we can prepare for it with a drought early warning system.  Click Here to read how Oklahoma has been preparing for ongoing drought.  

With Limited Irrigation Water- How Many Acres Do You Crop?

Getting the most value out of irrigation water is likely on the minds of many farmers across the southern Great Plains. As groundwater supplies diminish, pumping rates decline and talk of local water conservation policies surface in the region, these farmers face even more difficulty in determining how to best manage limited water.


Nathan Hendricks, assistant professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, recently examined how the value of agricultural production declines as water availability decreases. He specifically looked at two general management methods to determine which is more effective: deficit irrigation on a larger number of acres versus more intense irrigation on a smaller number of acres.


Intensive focus on fewer acres seems to have the upper hand


To answer the question of which is better, pumping more intensively on fewer acres versus less intensively on more acres, Hendricks said he first looked at the basic economics. The question only relates to those facing limited irrigation, not those farmers who currently have limited authorized irrigated acreage and can fully irrigate that acreage. 

Click here to read more on balancing reducing irrigation intensity and acres.   

General Mills Shareholders Urged to Reject GMO Food Proposal

The National Center for Public Policy Research is urging General Mills investors to vote down a shareholder proposal that would direct the company to remove completely safe and nutritious genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from its products.  The proposal will be voted on at Tuesday's annual meeting of General Mills shareholders in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


"General Mills' shareholders can send a strong message to self-appointed food police by rejecting this junk-science proposal. The scientific debate regarding GMOs is over and the radical activists have lost," said National Center Free Enterprise Project Director Justin Danhof, Esq. "The science is settled - GMOs are safe."


If approved, the proposal would require the company to remove GM ingredients from all the products it manufactures or sells. The proponent deceivingly claims this removal is necessary because they "believe genetic engineering involves risk to the environment, food security, and public health."

 Numerous independent and well-regarded scientific organizations and studies have categorically proven that GMOs are safe.  Click here to read more about the proposal being reviewed by the General Mills' shareholders.  

Excel Based Farm Program Decision Aid Released by Oklahoma State and Kansas State

Oklahoma State University and Kansas State University have released a computer decision aid to help farmers decide on the best option for participation in the 2014 Farm Bill commodity program. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) has not announced when they will start to take enrollment, but this computer aid will allow farmers to evaluate the program and to start thinking about the option that best fits their farm. 

Dr. Jody Campiche and Dr. Eric DeVuyst of Oklahoma State led the development of the program from the OSU side, as they worked with Dr. Art Barnaby and Dr. Mykel Taylor of Kansas State University.


Dr. Barnaby indicates that K-State has plans to offer a webinar that will update the information on the Farm Bill and a discussion on how to use the decision aid. Details on the webinar will be available in the near future.

Head over here to our Top Ag Story of the morning to learn more  

about this decision aid and for the links to the download from either the OSU or the K-State websites.