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Federal Farm Policy has changed the Oklahoma Peanut Industry over the years- and today's peanut business in Oklahoma looks a lot different than when Mike Kubicek began his career as the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Peanut Commission in the 1990s. The federal poundage quota program was in place at that time- and while it was a "no net cost" program to the federal government- critics forced changes and the peanut quota buyout and the new much less lucrative federal farm safety net program that followed pushed many Oklahoma peanut farmers out of the business of growing peanuts.


Oklahoma producers in traditional growing areas for peanuts, in many cases, had fields with heavy disease pressure infesting the soil- and that buyout caused at least half of the Oklahoma peanut farmers to fall by the wayside.


Mike Kubicek, who is stepping down as the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Peanut Commission after 22 years of service, says that farm program change was a watershed moment for the Oklahoma peanut industry- but while the acres planted shrank- peanuts remained a viable crop for some farmers in traditional areas- and Kubicek saw peanuts gain favor in new production territory- most notably in the Elk City region, where the fields had no disease embedded in them- which allowed farmers to save hundreds of dollars in spray applications. 

We talked with Mike at the Oklahoma Peanut Expo yesterday- where he was honored by a variety of folks as he leaves the Executive Director slot this spring- Click here for our full story and a chance to hear Mike and I  remember back over much of his 44 years in service to Oklahoma Agriculture.  

And- here's a pic of Mike with Oklahoma Ag Secretary Jim Reese accepting a citation from Governor Mary Fallin.

External Factors Bring Bounce in Wheat Market, Anderson Says

The spring rally has continued for wheat. On this weekend's edition of SUNUP, Oklahoma State University Grain Marketing Specialist Dr. Kim Anderson said wheat prices have made some movement. The Kansas City July Wheat contract price was at $5.44 on Friday, March 13th. By Monday, March 23rd the price reached $5.80. Since then the price has moved lower.


SUNUP's Dave Deken asked Anderson what's causing the price movement. Anderson responded it's the positions the funds have in the market, the U.S. dollar value relative to other currencies, the weather and crop conditions.


The value of the U.S. dollar has been highly variable in recent weeks. Anderson said the dollar index has gone from 100.7 on March 13th to dropping to 97.3 on March 23rd. That's about a four percent decline. Anderson said as the price of wheat went up, the funds were buying contracts. The lower dollar index was also making U.S. wheat less expensive on the world market, which increased export demand.


Next week the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be releasing the perspective plantings report on Tuesday. Anderson said pre-release estimate has all wheat acres forecast at 55.8 million acres. That estimate is about 1 million acres less than last year's 56.8 million acres.


Trade analysts are predicting about 88.7 million acres of corn will be planted this year. That's about 1.9 million acres lower than last year's 90.6 million acres.  

Read more from Kim's conversation with Deken as well as the chance to hear that interview ahead of when you can see it on SUNUP Saturday morning.  Click here to hear the interview and also to see the full lineup for this weekend's program.

Farm Bureau Applauds Senate Votes on 'WOTUS' Rule

Statement by Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation,  Regarding Key Senate Votes on WOTUS


"Key votes this week in the Senate delivered a resounding message that the proposed Waters of the U.S. rule is flawed in both substance and process. Senators indicated they will not tolerate outlandish regulatory actions that disregard established law, and by their action put federal regulators on notice that the rule is simply unacceptable.


"The Senate action amplifies the spirit our farmers and ranchers have conveyed over the past year of the need to ditch the egregious WOTUS rule. We thank senators for their understanding that America's farm and ranch families care deeply about clean water and their recognition that the ill-advised WOTUS rule is flawed to the core." 

Sands Urges Producers to Manage Downside Risk in 2015

Feed costs are one variable factor in the cattle business that can make the difference between profit or loss. The severe drought a few years caused feed costs go to record levels. Corn was in heavy demand from the feeding sector, export demand along with ethanol production. Today abundant corn supplies have brought corn prices down substantially. Informa Economics Senior Vice President Mike Sands said those volatile feed prices have a huge impact on profitability.


"I think that's a critical part of this overall still cautiously-optimistic picture that we would paint for the cattle and beef industry," Sands said. "We need to see feed costs stay fairly stable."


While feed prices are certainly cheaper than the previous two or three years, they remain well-above historical averages. Looking at the 2015 growing season, Sands expects farmers to plant fewer acres of corn and yields may not be as high as last year.


"If that's the case, as we move into the next crop year, we do have the potential for reducing carryover stocks," Sands said. "That begins to paint a picture, not necessarily of dramatically higher feed costs, but probably not a lot of additional downside risk. But even stable feed costs at current levels won't necessarily be bad news for the beef industry."


I caught up with Mike Sands at the Texoma Cattlemen's Conference in Ardmore Saturday. Click or tap here to read or have the opportunity to listen to today's Beef Buzz. 

Wheat Growers Express Concern Over IARC Glyphosate Reclassification

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) expressed concern about the claims of a recent, stand-alone report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that moves to reclassify glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. NAWG President Brett Blankenship, a wheat farmer from Washtucna, Wash., provided the following statement on the issue:


"I appreciate people being concerned about food safety and where their food comes from, but years of regulatory scrutiny and scientific review show the clear facts about the safety of glyphosate use in production agriculture. The use of glyphosate in wheat production is minimal, but not absent. On my own farm in Washington State, I use glyphosate well before I plant my wheat to provide a clean planting environment to give the consumer the cleanest and healthiest possible product I can provide as a farmer.


"The claims by the IARC are very troubling and are not based on any new science. More than 25 years of analysis from global regulatory bodies and the international scientific community, assessing updated data and peer-reviewed literature, has consistently provided the same evidence: the toxicity levels of glyphosate are low and glyphosate is not carcinogenic. The discrepancy between 25-years of scientific analysis and one report, which was based on a limited amount of data, cannot be ignored." 

Click or tap here to read more from NAWG.

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.

USDA Launches StrikeForce Initiative in Oklahoma to Address Rural Poverty 

Thirty-two counties in Oklahoma will be joining the U.S. Department of Agriculture's StrikeForce Initiative. This is a coordinated effort to provide assistance to the nation's most impoverished counties. State and federal leaders made the announcement at the state capitol Thursday. USDA Assistant Secretary Gregory Parham said is an outreach effort by USDA.


"So, what we are trying to do is make sure that those communities that have traditionally not had access, are aware of the programs, know how to apply for the programs and therefore can increase their participation in the programs that we already have in place," Parham said.


The StrikeForce Initiative will be rolled out by USDA's Farm Service Agency, Rural Development and Natural Resource Conservation Service. Parham said they are working to address the needs of local communities by creating awareness and educating citizens on the availability of programs across USDA. Among the most popular programs include the Microloan Program, which provides loans up to $50,000 for direct farm operating loans, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program that helps individuals get into growing specialty crops with hoop houses and so forth.

Our own Leslie Smith was at the Thursday morning media briefing at the State Capitol- she talked with Parham and you can click or tap here to read more and hear her conversation with this USDA official.

This N That- We Need YOUR Horse; Last Call for "Farm Mom of the Year" Nominations and Thanks Peanut Commission 

The OKC Farm Show will be here before you know it- and once again, we are looking for a few good horses that need a little discipline in their lives- Horse trainer Scott Daily is returning to the 2015 Oklahoma City Farm Show to demonstrate his training techniques- and if you have a horse that you would like to be involved April 16-18- I need to hear from you.  

You can call me at 405-841-3675 or you can email me by clicking here- tell me about your horse- tell me your name and how to contact you- and we will pass your name along to Scott to for consideration in getting your horse into that Round Pen at the 2015 OKC Farm Show.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!!!

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For those who have been waiting to enter their favorite farm mom into the 2015 America's Farmers Mom of the Year competition, now is the time! Nominations will be accepted for one more week - through March 31 - and Monsanto Company wants to hear your story!

Anyone can nominate their favorite farm mom, whether it's their mom, sister, aunt, daughter, friend or community member. Just visit AmericasFarmers.com during the nomination period to review the full rules on eligibility and judging, and submit a brief essay online or by mail that explains how the nominated farm mom contributes to her family, farm, community and agriculture. Be sure to address all four areas as a panel of judges from American Agri-Women will use that as part of the criteria they use to help Monsanto select five regional winners. 

Click here to read more on how to nominate your favorite mom for America's Farmers Mom of the Year competition.   

Of course- we have a soft place in our heart for this contest since the FIRST Farm Mom of the year was Carol Cowan of Watonga- click here to remember her story from 2010.

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Finally- a thank you to the Oklahoma Peanut Commission and their outgoing Executive Director Mike Kubicek- they took time at their 2015 spring Peanut Expo to honor three members of the ag trade media- Ron Smith, Mike Dain and yours truly.   

We've been talking about peanuts almost the entire time we have been in Oklahoma- dating back to when now Oklahoma Representative Harold Wright owned KRPT in Anadarko- he wanted a special program on peanuts- asked if we could do- and of course- you don't say no to one of your great radio stations as you are building a radio network- and that's how our daily Peanut Talk was born- a show that was heard on several radio stations down thru the years and featured folks like David Nowlin from Caddo County, Dr. Ron Sholar when he was state oilseed/Peanut Specialist and a during his early days as OPC Exec- Mike Kubicek.   

Anyway- we've talked about them a lot ever since- so this honor is much appreciated- here's a pic of the plaque given to me yesterday.