The National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Sorghum Producers released the following joint statement at the 2015 Commodity Classic.


"On behalf of our farmer members, we are united in our support for the comprehensive farm bill passed by Congress just over one year ago. We are keenly aware of the cuts just made to mandatory spending across many titles and strongly oppose any changes or cuts to farm bill programs, many of which are just now being implemented.


"Commodity Classic attendees are anxious about the 32 percent drop in farm income projected for this year, compared to 2014. On a wide range of issues, from the farm safety net to the Renewable Fuel Standard to biotech approvals, certainty is what America's farmers need most from their elected officials at this time, and we worked hard to improve farm programs in the 2014 farm bill to reduce the burden on taxpayers while ensuring farmers get support when they need it the most.


"Our family farmers work hard each season to provide a safe and abundant supply of food, feed, fuel and fiber for the world. The best way for Congress to support our work is to not stand in the way of a law that works and has great promise for rural America."
 

Peel Says 2015 Beef Production Smaller Than Expected So Far 

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


USDA estimates beef production through the end of February to be down 5.2 percent from the same period last year. Total cattle slaughter is down 7.0 percent year over year including a 6.4 percent decrease in steer slaughter and a 8.7 percent decrease in heifer slaughter. Total cow slaughter is down 6.6 percent including a 4.0 percent increase in dairy cow slaughter and a 17.9 percent decrease in beef cow slaughter.


Overall cattle carcass weights are currently 20 pounds above year ago levels. Average cattle carcass weights are a function of both the carcass weights of various classes of cattle and also the composition of slaughter by class of cattle. Currently, steer carcass weights are up 19 pounds over last year and heifer carcass weights are up 15 pounds. Cow carcass weights are up 29 pounds year over year mostly the result of more dairy cows in the cow slaughter total. So far this year dairy cows represent 58 percent of total cow slaughter compared to 52 percent one year ago.


Increased steer and heifer carcass weights reflect feedlot response to market conditions the past several months. Feedlot inventories have been slightly above year earlier levels since November, mostly as a result of delayed feedlot marketings of cattle. Total feedlot placements of cattle the past six months are down 3.8 percent year over year. In the same six months, feedlot marketings are down 7.2 percent. Data from Kansas feedlots shows that feedlots fed cattle an extra 16 days the past six months compared to the same period a year earlier. This led to increased final weights despite the fact that placement weights were smaller. Interestingly, feedlot performance was poorer during the past six months with decreased average daily gains, increased feed/gain ratios and increased death loss.


Peel offers insight on what producer's can expect in the coming months.  To read more, click here.   

2015 Southern Plains Wheat Looking Mostly Fair to Good- as We Get Early Reports of Leaf and Stripe Rust  

Texas is already into their weekly crop weather updates while Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico are poised to start weekly updates next week.  In the Meantime- we have the February summary of crop conditions from those three states issued yesterday afternoon.  

The wheat crop in the three major southern plains HRW states show a mostly fair to good crop- Kansas calls it 85% fair to good, Oklahoma 83% fair to good and Texas 79% fair to good.  It's important to note that Texas actually has the best rated wheat crop as they also have 9% rated in excellent condition.  

New Mexico pasture and range conditions have seen improvement over the winter months with snow- 48% of the Pasture-Range ratings are in the good to excellent category in that state.

To review each of the states- click on the name of the state here:

Oklahoma February Monthly Summary

Kansas February Monthly Summary

New Mexico February Monthly Summary  

Texas Weekly Crop Weather Update

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Meanwhile. reports of leaf rust and stripe rust are starting to emerge in central to southern Oklahoma, along with reports across Texas. Oklahoma State University Extension Wheat Pathologist Dr. Bob Hunger said he is starting to compile the reports in releasing an Oklahoma Disease Advisory report. John Fenderson of Monsanto has reported there was lots of stripe rust and some leaf rust along Highway 70 going west to Frederick and in a few places he saw the ground colored orange from stripe rust spores indicating a stripe rust "hot spot."


Leaf rust and stripe rust has also been reported in parts of Texas.  To review our full Oklahoma and Texas wheat disease update- click here.  

Angela Post Says Time to Think About Weed Control

With warmer weather on the way, the canola crop will start to come out of dormancy and so will the weeds. Oklahoma State University Weed Extension Specialist Dr. Angela Post said farmers need to start thinking about controlling those emerging weeds as temperatures warm up. In applying a herbicide treatment during the cold weather, she said herbicide applications will be slow to work, but when conditions warm up it will be good timing for post emergence control. She recommends using Roundup for Roundup Ready Canola and in conventional canola she recommends a mix of Stinger or Select or Assure II to treat grasses. 


Weed control in canola is easiest in the fall, especially in controlling a weed like henbit. Post said farmers won't really be able to control henbit in conventional or Roundup Ready canola, because it has over-wintered and it has had a lot of stress factors that have caused the plant to be resilient. If farmers weren't able to control their weeds in the fall, she said it will definitely hurt yields.


In scouting fields, Post is seeing all kinds of mustard weeds, such as blue mustard, tansy mustard, flixweed, pennycress and bushy wallflower. She said controlling mustard weeds in a mustard crop is very difficult. Post said most of the grassy weed species were controlled in the fall, so she is seeing a low incidence of those. Getting additional moisture events in the coming weeks will help the canola crop be more competitive with these emerging weeds. 
 

Dr. Post also addresses controlling weeds in wheat and spring seeded crops.  To read more or have the opportunity to listen to our full conversation, click here.   

Butler Says Time for Beef Producers to Stand Up for Industry

Things have changed for the agricultural industry. In speaking at the recent Ag Issues Forum in Phoenix, Beef Marketing Group Chief Executive Officer John Butler said specifically the beef industry can no longer work behind the scenes and producers have to be more outgoing and proactive in sharing with the consumer how their food is raised.


The Beef Marketing Group aims to provide what the consumer wants when it comes to a beef experience. The cooperative provides beef to a wide variety of customers from Wal-Mart to some of the smaller niche markets that are out there as well as overseas customers. Butler said part of their job today is explaining what they are doing when it comes to the beef they are raising.


"We can't hide, put our head in the sand or hide and sweep it under the rug," Butler said. "These practices that we use, the technologies that we utilize are all approved by FDA, they have gone through rigorous trials, science-based and we have to base our defense on that."  


Further Butler said the beef industry has to communicate their commitment to producing a safe and wholesome food product that delivers on the expectations of the consumer. With growth proponents or antibiotics, Butler said those products keep our animals' healthy, help animals optimize their performance and they keep food prices as low as possible. 

To read or have the opportunity to listen to this Beef Buzz feature with John Butler, 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 to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.

DuPont Leader Outlines Path for Growth in Agriculture and Nutrition & Health Segments

DuPont Executive Vice President James C. Borel discussed growth priorities driven by key research advancements and product launches across the Agriculture and Nutrition & Health segments at Thursday's Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2015 Global Agriculture Conference.


"While farmers worldwide met the challenge of building grain supplies the last two years, long-term demand for agricultural production is expected to continue at the pace of the last decade, when demand for corn and soybeans increased 40 percent," said Borel. "To meet this demand for more and better food, DuPont is delivering innovative solutions across the food value chain fueled by a robust research pipeline, which leverages our leading positions in seed, crop protection, ag services, biologicals, nutrition science and food formulation."


Extending DuPont leadership in Agriculture and Nutrition is one of the company's three strategic priorities to build a higher value, higher growth company. Following the separation of Performance Chemicals, the Agriculture and Nutrition & Health segments are expected to represent about half of total company sales.   

To read more about DuPont's efforts in advancing innovation in the agriculture research pipeline, click here. 

Norman and Houston Are Among the Places You'll Find Us This Week- Plus Tis the Season for Purebred Cattle Sales

the 2015 Oklahoma No Till Conference is getting underway this morning- we'll be spending some time at this annual event as they spend some time this year on their program looking at cell grazing, cover crops and other issues that are important to both crop producers as well as cattle producers here in the state.

Details of the meeting that kicks off about 9 AM are available here.

Tomorrow and Thursday- the 2015 edition of the International Livestock Congress is underway in Houston.  This is a meeting that had its roots in Houston- but had moved north to Denver for a few years- linking up with the National Western Stock Show.  For 2015- the organizers of this program have returned to align themselves with the Houston Stock Show and kicks off midday on Wednesday and goes through Thursday afternoon.  

Details of their program are available here- we will be covering this meeting for you- as they have always offered some cutting edge conversation about where the beef cattle industry is- and where it needs to go in the days ahead.

There are several purebred bull sales that you may want to check out over the next few weeks- starting with the Express Ranch Spring Bull Sale this coming Friday- March 6.  They plan to offer 550 Angus Bulls and 30 Hereford Bulls this Friday. 

Other purebred sales that are listed on our Auction Page this month include the Blackjack and Friends Sale, Hall-Coyote Hills Ranch Bull Sale, 74-51 Bull Sale, Pollard Farms Bull Sale and the OBI Test Station Bull Sale.

Click or tap here for the AUCTION page which will give you information on all of these sales.