Based on a thorough review of the scientific evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Tuesday finalized its determination that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are not "generally recognized as safe" or GRAS for use in human food. Food manufacturers will have three years to remove PHOs from products.


"The FDA's action on this major source of artificial trans fat demonstrates the agency's commitment to the heart health of all Americans," said FDA's Acting Commissioner Stephen Ostroff, M.D. "This action is expected to reduce coronary heart disease and prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks every year." Click here to read more about FDA's announcement.


The FDA's recent announcement to phase out partially hydrogenated vegetable oils did not come as a shock to soybean farmers. The United Soybean Board (USB) has been working with industry on two replacement options for partially hydrogenated soybean oil for more than 10 years. And now, those solutions are coming to the forefront.


"The soy industry estimates that 2 billion pounds of partially hydrogenated soybean oil are used in food today," says Jimmy Sneed, a soybean farmer from Hernando, Mississippi and USB farmer-leader. "We're excited to bring solutions like high oleic and interesterified soybean oil to the market and ready to shift the discussion to innovation."  Click here to read more from USB. 

The American Soybean Association (ASA) called on FDA to build in the time needed by the soybean industry to increase production of high oleic soybean varieties, which provide the functionality of PHOs in many baking and frying applications without the addition of trans fats.


"High oleic soybeans represent a key evolution in soybean farmers' ability to meet the needs of our customers," said Wade Cowan, ASA's president and a soybean farmer from Brownfield, Texas.  "But we've emphasized to FDA all along that we need the time to get the high oleic trait integrated into soybean varieties and approved in overseas markets so we can produce what the industry demands."  Click here to read more from ASA.

The World is All Abuzz about Pollinators - Celebrating Pollinator Week

Celebrate Pollinator Week, June 15-21! While many pollinators may seem like just annoying insects, they are actually a very important part of the web of life upon which we all depend. Unfortunately, pollinators have shown disturbing signs of decline in recent years.


"Pollinators play a critical role in our everyday lives, and it's important that we work to protect their habitat," says National Association of Conservation Districts President Lee McDaniel. "Pollinators form the underpinning of a healthy and sustainable future for food and the environment."


When pollinators shrink in number, many plants either produce less seed or no seed at all. The bottom line is, when pollinators start disappearing, plants start disappearing. Most plants depend upon pollinators to reproduce. While animals can travel and move around to find mates and reproduce, plants are rooted to one spot. Therefore, plants depend on pollinators to move pollen from their anthers to their stigma.


On planet Earth there are more than 100,000 species of insects, including bees, flies, moths, butterflies and beetles that work hard as pollinators. There are also over 1,000 species of other animals such as birds, reptiles and mammals, including bats that pollinate plants.  Click here to read more about pollinators. 
 

Tonsor Reviews Beef WASDE Numbers for the Rest of 2015 and into 2016 

On a monthly basis, the World Agricultural Outlook board of the U.S. Department of Agriculture releases their World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate report, otherwise known as WASDE. The report offers a global outlook for both crops and livestock. Last week, USDA released the latest on beef and livestock production. Kansas State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Glynn Tonsor has analyzed the numbers from the latest WASDE report. He found the 2015 meat production numbers have been revised down from the previous month, but the 2016 numbers were up over last month.


"It appears we have more meat coming because the entire livestock space is expanding and the beef industry is part of that," Tonsor said.


In looking at beef production numbers for this year, Tonsor said they were lowered to just over 24 billion pounds. That's the result of fewer beef cattle being slaughtered in the second quarter as well as producers expanding their herds. That will decrease the amount of cull cows and bulls that supplement beef production.


In looking at 2016, Tonsor said beef production is expected to increase with the jump in placements in the back half of 2015. He also expects heavier placements with the improved forage conditions.   

I featured Tonsor on our latest Beef Buzz, as heard on great radio stations across the southern great plains. Click or tap here to listen to this feature.

Rabobank Dairy Quarterly Q2: Still More Milk than Market

While U.S. milk prices have fallen considerably in the last 8 months, a surplus of milk on the international market is likely to squeeze U.S. producer margins further as 2015 progresses, according to the Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR) group's Q2 2015 Dairy Quarterly report.


"While we are well off the record level achieved in late 2014, producer milk prices in the U.S. are still 15 percent and 57 percent higher than those presently being paid to dairy farmers in the Netherlands and New Zealand," says Rabobank Global Dairy Strategist and report lead author Tim Hunt. "Sustaining these kinds of premiums is going to get tougher in coming months, as the impacts of an oversupplied international market filter back home."


The price of key dairy commodities fell further in international markets in Q2, and now sit at the lowest levels since 2009. After falling marginally in Q1, production in key export regions rose above prior years in April as weather improved and EU quotas were removed. In the face of ongoing weakness in China and Russia, other buyers stepped in to take most of this product, though buy-side stocks are now large and supply-side stocks are also showing signs of growing. Weaker commodity markets have fed through to the farmgate in regions like NZ and the EU, pushing milk prices towards or even below breakeven for producers.


The U.S. dairy market has held up better than the international market to date.  Click here to read more about Rabobank's second quarter report.

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.

Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist, writes in the latest Cow-Calf Newsletter.


Fall born replacement heifers have been (or soon will be) weaned and will be at a very critical growing period. It is important that they grow at about 1.5 pounds per day from weaning until the start of the breeding season. Oklahoma has been fortunate to receive spring rains and in most cases will produce adequate forage quantity for the cow herd and the replacement heifers. Currently summer pastures are green, growing, and adequate in protein content.   However, warm season pastures such as native grass or bermudagrass can be expected to be declining in forage quality in the hot, dry days of July, August, and September. Also these grasses will be reaching plant maturity which accelerates the decline in protein content.


Therefore, the young heifers must receive supplemental protein to continue to grow at the necessary pace of 1.5 pounds per head per day going into their first breeding season. An economical solution would be to give these heifers 1.5 to 2 pounds per head per day of the protein supplement called Oklahoma Gold. This is an OSU-developed protein supplement scheme that consists of a high protein (38% - 45%) pellet that contains the label-recommended dosage of one of the ionophores. Ionophores are feed additives (monensin or lasalocid) that improve feed utilization, inhibit coccidiosis, and enhance the onset of puberty in growing heifers. Research from Texas A&M in the 1970's indicated that heifers receiving an ionophore reached puberty about 2 weeks earlier than counterparts that did not receive an ionophore. Inclusion of the ionophore in the growing program should cause a few more heifers to be cycling early in the breeding season.  Click here to read more about using these protein supplements.

It's Big Iron Wednesday  

It's Wednesday- and that means the Big Iron folks will be busy closing out this week's auction items - all 386 items consigned.  Bidding will start at 10 AM central time.                

Click Here for the complete rundown of what is being sold on this no reserve online sale this week.

If you'd like more information on buying and selling with Big Iron, call District Manager Mike Wolfe at 580-320-2718 and he can give you the full scoop.  You can also reach Mike via email by clicking or tapping here.