Leffler Says Lower Placements in January Cattle on Feed Report Friendly News for Cattle Market

The first Cattle on Feed report of the year looks to potentially support the cattle market on Monday morning. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports the January first cattle on feed number came in at 10.69 million head. This was 101 percent of a year ago and 4.6 percent below the three year average. Nebraska numbers were up four percent, while Kansas and Texas were both up two percent in comparison to a year ago. This was the second smallest January on feed number of the past 12 years and second largest number of the past nine months.


Radio Oklahoma Network's Leslie Smith interviewed Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities after the report came out Friday afternoon.  Overall Leffler called the report "slightly friendly" with a lower than expected placement number. December placements came in at 1.54 million head, this was 7.7 percent lower than the three-year average. Leffler said this was also the second smallest December placement number of the past 13 years and the second smallest placement number for the year 2014. Texas was down 12 percent, Kansas was down eight percent and Nebraska was down two percent in comparison to a year ago.


On the weight break down of placements, cattle less than 600 pounds were down 8.4 percent, 600 - 699 pounds was down 11.8 percent, 700 - 799 pounds was down 14 percent and cattle above 800 pounds was 2 percent larger than a year ago.

Tom Leffler also addresses the surprise that came out in the latest Cold Storage Report from USDA. Read or listen to the full interview by clicking or tapping here.   

State Cattlemen Cheer Bills That Would Up Penalties for Cattle Theft in Oklahoma

With a single five hundred pound calf worth fifteen hundred dollars or more, the temptation to round up several head in a remote field by thieves is at a historic high. To battle the lure of a quick buck, a pair of bills have been filed in the Oklahoma legislature that aim to address the increase in cattle theft in Oklahoma. According to Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association president Richard Gebhart, the bills are much needed as "cattle theft has more than doubled in the last year alone."

Senator Eddie Fields, Wynona has authored SB 299 in the Oklahoma Senate and Freshman Representative Casey Murdock, Felt has authored HB 1387 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Both bills increase the jail and fine penalties for cattle theft and, most importantly, combine the two.

"Current state law says that the penalty is jail or a fine. OCA is in favor of convicted thieves receiving both!" Gebhart said. Specifically, the bills would increase the jail time from 3 to 10 years to 5 to 15 years; increase the cap in fine from $500,000 to $750,000 and replace the 'or' with 'and' thus making the overall penalty both jail and a fine. 

More on these bills is available here. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reminds livestock producers that the Jan. 30, 2015, deadline to request assistance for losses suffered from Oct. 1, 2011 through Dec. 31, 2014, is fast approaching.


Applications for the Livestock Indemnity Program and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, restored by the 2014 Farm Bill resumed in April 2014, after having expired on Sept. 30, 2011. To date, more than 556,000 applications have been approved to assist farmers and ranchers in recovering from nearly three years of natural disasters. 

State FSA Executive Director Francie Tolle tells us that over 94.000 of those applications are ones completed in Oklahoma- and over $900 million has been paid out to ranchers in our state- easily the most money going to any one state under this program.
 

Click here to read more about these programs through the Farm Service Agency- and to learn more if you have still not applied for the monies that are available.

Beef Checkoff Working Group Outlines Agreed-Changes to Checkoff

With the National Farmers Union pulling out of the Beef Checkoff Working Group last fall, there are still eight groups that are moving forward in trying to enhance the nation's beef checkoff. Chairman of the Working Group is Scott Stuart. He serves as President and CEO of the National Livestock Producers Association, a national organization representing livestock cooperatives.


Stuart said the working group has put together a memorandum of understanding showing the group agrees more financial resources are needed for the national beef checkoff. Stuart said members of the group are now going back to their members to share the group is considering a $1 per head increase in the checkoff. Stuart said the MOU also includes a refund element for the additional $1 per head collected.


"If a producer did not want to pay the extra dollar, they could go through the process and request a refund," Stuart said.  


Stuart said this option would be similar to the soybean checkoff, where a producer referendum would be held every five years, so producers would decide the future of the program. He said producers would determine if they wanted to continue the checkoff or possibly increase the assessment in the future. He said the referendum leaves it entirely up to beef producers to vote on this before an assessment fee increase would go into effect.

I featured Stuart on the Beef Buzz as heard on radio stations across the region that are a part of the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network. Click or tap here to read or to listen the full feature as Stuart discusses other agreed changes to the beef checkoff, including who should serve on the beef promotion operating committee. 

Mazzei and Sears to Introduce Legislation to Trim New Wind Farm Subsidies

Sen. Mike Mazzei and Rep. Earl Sears filed legislation Thursday for the 2015 session to reform existing state subsidies for all new Oklahoma industrial wind facilities. The legislation, which would take effect January 1, 2016, would establish sensible laws to regulate industrial wind companies and oversee future development in Oklahoma.


"Tax credits are designed to help us create a competitive environment that results in job growth and economic development," said Mazzei, R-Tulsa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "In order for us to be good stewards of our limited state resources, it is critical to reassess those subsidies to determine if the benefit justifies the cost. Providing handouts to wind developers for simply operating in Oklahoma is not a sensible approach and should be troubling to our citizens."


"I support tax incentives, however the tax credits for wind power are overly generous and must be modified for all new wind power development projects in the state," said Sears, R-Bartlesville, House Appropriations and Budget Chair. "The cost of these wind subsidies is mounting at an alarming rate, and if we do not address the policies now, Oklahoma will suffer the consequences."


Click here to read more about this proposed legislation and how it will help grow the state's wind energy development.  

American Angus Launches New Initiative to Engage Future Cattle Producers 

Cattle farming and ranching is a risky business. Whether the operation is inherited or pieced together over time, there is a lot at stake for cattlemen to produce more pounds of quality beef for consumers. Today's beef producer will require a different skill set than those of previous generations.


To meet the needs of future cattle producers, the American Angus Association has launched a new program called Future Angus Stockmen - an effort to impact the next generation through learning opportunities, while building a bond with the Angus breed and its member-driven organization.


"Our goal with the Future Angus Stockmen initiative is to give young producers, who want to play a role in beef production, the jumpstart they need to be successful in the business," says Ginette Kurtz, Association director of commercial programs. "Strong skills in communications, marketing, data analysis and business planning are critical in our industry's challenge to produce quality beef."


Future Angus Stockmen is aimed toward college-age or recent graduates who want to raise high quality Angus-based commercial cattle. Click here to read more about this program.  

Award winning broadcast journalist Jerry Bohnen has spent years learning and understanding how to cover the energy business here in the southern plains- Click here to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.

Americans to Eat 1.25 Billion Chicken Wings for Super Bowl

With the second biggest eating day of the year after Thanksgiving upon us - Super Bowl Sunday - there's no hotter time of year for chicken wings, which have become a staple food on Super Bowl menus.   


According to the National Chicken Council's 2015 Wing Report released today, 1.25 billion wings will be eaten during Super Bowl XLIX, as fans watch the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots battle for the Lombardi Trophy, matching the record tied last year when the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos.


To put that into perspective, if 1.25 billion wing segments were laid end to end, they would stretch back and forth from CenturyLink Field in Seattle to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts... almost 28 times. With the Super Bowl being played in Arizona, 1.25 billion wings would circle the Grand Canyon 120 times. That is enough wings to put 572 wings on every seat in all 32 NFL stadiums, according to the Council.    


In terms of weight, 1.25 billion wings would weigh 5,955 times more than the weights of the Seahawks and Patriots entire 52-man rosters combined. Click here to read more about America's love for wings.