U.S. Cattle on Feed Up Slightly, Beef Storage Up Strongly Over January 

The latest cattle on feed numbers held no surprises, coming in near trade expectations. The latest estimate was released Friday afternoon by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities called the report neutral to bearish with the on feed numbers in line with expectations, placements came in at 89%, which was slightly negative and marketings came in at 91%, which was near expectations. Leffer said he didn't see anything that was a shock to the market.


The U.S. had 10.626 million head of cattle on feed, as of February first. That was slightly above a year ago and 4.3% below the three year average. Leffler said this was the second smallest February on feed number of the past 12 years. In the three major cattle feeding states of Texas, Kansas and Nebraska, he said they all saw 2% increases in their on feed numbers. 


Placements in feedlots during January totaled 1.79 million, 11% below 2014. Net placements were 1.71 million head. Leffler said this was the fifth smallest January placements of the past 20 years. Texas was down 14%, Nebraska down 9% and Kansas was down 6% versus a year ago.


During January, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 405,000, down 13.8%, 600-699 pounds were at 340,000, down 21.8%, 700-799 pounds was at 477,000, down 14.7%, and 800 pounds and greater totaled 565,000, up 2.7% versus last year.


On Friday, USDA also released the latest cold storage report.  Leffler said this looks to grab the attention of traders, as the report showed that stocks of the nation's beef supplies are growing as the amount of beef in storage came in 490.937 million pounds, which is up 10.5% from last month and 14.4% above a year ago. 

To read or listen to more analysis from Tom Leffler, click here.

Jeff Scott Touts Canola Benefits, Despite Tough Year in 2014

There is no doubt that 2014 was a disaster for the state's canola farmers, but there is a bright side. The crop is still offering benefits in 2015. Jeff Scott, President of the Great Plains Association and U.S. Canola Association said some of the best wheat pasture ground was planted on failed canola acres, so there are still benefits of the crop. He believes farmers need to take a systems approach and not just evaluate canola on a single crop year.   


"A rotation, is a rotation," Scott said. "We've got to look at over 2, 3, 4, 5 years, average those returns, and I guarantee you will better off in the long run with canola in your rotation, than you will without." 


The state's canola acres peaked last year and after the tough year, the state's acres planted to canola declined for the 2015 crop.


"We have seen a little bit of retracement, but I think our diehard producers are still out here," Scott said. "They have seen what this crop will do for their operation and so they are here trying to learn what they can do in the next 100 days to get through this cropping season." 

I caught up with Scott at Canola College in Enid Thursday.  Click here to read or to listen to the full interview.

Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom Honors Coyle Elementary Teacher

Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom has announced their 2015 Teacher of the Year is Connie Whitmore. Mrs. Whitmore, a 26-year veteran educator, teaches kindergarten at Coyle Elementary. Connie has been involved with Ag in the Classroom for 10+ years. She has provided education for her students and other educators through her garden produce. Connie has been a Woman in Agriculture Winner in Ag Production and recognized by the Oklahoma Vegetable Association for contributing to the Oklahoma Vegetable Industry.  Whitmore is a graduate of Oklahoma State University.


Mrs. Whitmore says, "My passion, without hesitation is teaching. It doesn't seem to matter if I am teaching in the classroom, on the farm, or at the farmers market; I enjoy education everyone about agriculture. Whether it's explaining something growing in the garden to a child who accompanied a parent to our farm, instructing high school students working on the farm for an FFA labor exchange, education adults at the Farmers Market about the produce they were purchasing or teachers pursuing information about gardening, I truly enjoy teaching."
 

In Connie's classroom agriculture is not treated as a theme to be taught for a week or two, but integrated into all subject areas regardless of the objective.


Whitmore will be honored on Ag Day at the state capitol by Oklahoma Farm Credit; Southwest Dairy Farmers; Oklahoma Farm Bureau Women; Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry; and her legislators. She will attend the National Ag in the Classroom conference in Louisville, Kentucky and be On the Road with Ag in the Classroom this summer.  

Dairy MAX Working to Bring More Oklahomans Milk

Dairy MAX works on behalf of the region's dairy farmers in promoting milk and dairy products. Dairy MAX works to get more milk into the hands of the state's youth at schools, providing milk to those who need it most, along with promoting the latest in dairy products. I caught up with Dairy MAX's Susan Allen about the work being done by Dairy MAX. 


The Dairy MAX organization works a lot with schools in providing healthier meals to students by focusing on breakfast, because each meal is served with milk. Allen said about half of the kids in this country are not eating breakfast, so as students become hungry that impacts their ability to learn. Dairy MAX also supports the "Fuel Up to Play 60" program that encourages youth to eat breakfast along with focusing on health and wellness.


Dairy MAX also works to fill the nutrition gap. In Oklahoma, one in six Oklahomans are hungry and one in four children are at risk for hunger, so many Oklahomans don't have access to milk most days of the year. Some food banks have refrigeration and will accept donations of milk, but few people donate milk, so demand often exceeds the available supply of milk.


To fill that milk gap, Dairy MAX has been working with the "Great American Milk Drive". This allows consumers to make a donation of at least $5 dollars. That donation is sent to a local food bank, which provides those in need with a coupon for a gallon of milk at the grocery store. Allen said this is a local way to help Oklahomans fill their glasses and cereal bowls with milk. To date, 704 gallons of milk has been donated to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, which equates to about $3,000 worth of milk. Allen said though the need for milk in Oklahoma is great.  

Dairy MAX also gets behind the latest products and innovations using dairy products.  Coca-Cola is the latest to launch a dairy product.  To read more or have the opportunity to listen to my interview with Allen, click here.   

More Than 75 Agribusiness, Commodity, State Government Leaders to Visit Cuba

The U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba (USACC) announced Thursday it will lead more than 75 leaders from across the U.S. agriculture industry on a learning journey to Cuba. The visit will take place March 1-4, 2015.


"As we continue our call for Congress to end the embargo and normalize trade with Cuba, this is an appropriate time to visit Cuba and begin to strengthen business relationships," said Devry Boughner Vorwerk, Chair of USACC. "We have seen positive developments in recent weeks, including the Freedom to Export to Cuba Act that would end the embargo in an appropriate and expeditious way. Our learning journey will ensure that key commodity groups and agribusiness leaders are well-positioned to facilitate a strong bilateral trading relationship when the embargo is lifted."


The learning journey will include meetings with Cuban business and government leaders, as well as interaction with Cuban farmers and agricultural cooperatives to expand understanding of the Cuban agricultural economy. To read more about this effort, click here.  

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 for Jerry's website where there is a link on the Left Hand Column where you can subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.    

Public Notice by Oklahoma Pork Council And the National Pork Board

The election of pork producer delegate candidates for the 2016 National Pork Producers (Pork Act) Delegate Body will take place at 3 p.m. on Friday, February 27, 2015 in conjunction with the Oklahoma Pork Congress and Annual Meeting which will be held at the Embassy Suites Convention Center and Hotel, 2501 Conference Dr., Norman, Okla. All Oklahoma pork producers are invited to attend.

Any producer age 18 or older who is a resident of Oklahoma and has paid all assessments due may be considered as a delegate candidate and/or participate in the election. All eligible producers are encouraged to bring with them a sales receipt proving that hogs were sold in their name and the checkoff deducted.

If you are interested in being a candidate, please prepare a short (1/2 page) biography telling about yourself and send it to the Oklahoma Pork Council, ATTN: Election Committee, 901 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 380, Oklahoma City, OK 73104-3206. Nominations will also be accepted from the floor.