On Monday, the USDA's Economic Research Service released the 2014 Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) Survey. The TOTAL Survey is a comprehensive study of all landlord owners of agricultural land, including non-farm operators of agricultural land. Survey data that has been tabulated includes information about farmers and ranchers who rent agricultural land to other farmers and ranchers, as well as landowners who rent out land for agricultural purposes but do not farm. The survey collected income, expense, debt, and asset information related to land ownership, transition plans, and demographic and other landlord characteristics.


According to USDA, there are 2.1 million landowners who rented out 353.8 million acres in 2014. Almost forty percent of all farmland that is farmed in the US is leased or rented.


In 2014, landlords received $31.2 billion in rent payments. Illinois leads the US in the dollar total of rents for farmland at $3.8 billion.


In Oklahoma- there were 52,784 landlord entities who rented out agricultural land in 2014- a total of 13.9 million acres of farm or ranchland was leased or rented in Oklahoma over this past calendar year. USDA says that the total rents received in Oklahoma totaled $439.4 million dollars.

You can read more by clicking here- in our web story, we have links to the Oklahoma summary as well as a national overview of this Census of Ag product.

Outside macroeconomic forces have been pounding the oil market, the equities, and agricultural futures, and feeder and stocker cattle markets have gone along for the ride these last two weeks. Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel said for the immediate future, cow-calf producers should not panic.


"We've had a heck of ride to getting up here, the party's not over," Peel said. "The party is changing a little bit and we have to be prepared over time, but for this year, this fall, even these current setbacks notwithstanding, I think we're going to see very strong prices. We're going to see the second highest cow-calf returns that we've ever seen. They won't beat last year's level."


As we near wheat pasture season here in the southern plains,  Peel says the math for buying calves at these lower prices looks pretty good. The big unknown, is where prices are headed.  Peel said it's a good time to buy now for anyone who can take those calves now and manage them now- until wheat pasture comes on in a few weeks. Peel thinks the price of calves will return higher later on this fall.  Click or tap here to listen to this Beef Buzz feature.

The nation's crop conditions held nearly steady this past week, while crop maturity was slowed by cool weather across the Corn Belt. That's according to the latest crop progress report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With higher temperatures forecast this week, progress will likely make faster gains by the next report.


In the top 18 corn producing states in the nation, crop condition fell by one point. Overall the crop rated, 68 percent in good to excellent condition, 22 percent fair and ten percent poor to very poor. With 92 percent of corn acres in the doughing stage, 60 percent denting and nine percent mature.


The nation's soybean crop condition gained one point in the excellent category. In the top 18 soybean producing states in the nation, 63 percent of the crop was in good to excellent condition, 26 percent fair and 11 percent poor to very poor. With 93 percent of the crop setting pods and nine percent dropping leaves.


The nation's cotton crop rating was a mixed bag in gaining one point in the good category and two points in the very poor category since last week. In the 15 main cotton producing states, USDA reported 54 percent of the crop rated in good to excellent condition, 35 percent fair and 11 percent poor to very poor. USDA reported 94 percent of the crop was setting bolls and 22 percent of the crop had cotton bolls opening, behind the five year average of 27.


The nation's sorghum crop condition steady with last week's rating with 68 percent of the crop was rated in good to excellent condition, 25 percent fair and seven percent poor to very poor. With 95 percent of the crop headed, 58 percent of the crop coloring and 29 percent of the crop mature.

Click here for the full national crop progress report.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service is planning a major "refresh" of the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) for 2016. The Izaak Walton League sees an opportunity to make this program work better for farmers, conservation, and the American people.


The Conservation Stewardship Program helps farmers maintain and improve conservation practices on their farms. From 2009 to 2014, the program helped put conservation practices on almost 70 million acres of agricultural land, making it the largest conservation program in the country. With a few changes, however, this program could better benefit farmers and conservation alike.


-- Put environmental benefits first. This seems like a no-brainer, but environmental benefits aren't always at the forefront when producers are competing for CSP contracts.  


-- Remember that soil health matters. CSP has a lot of potential to improve soil quality. NRCS should help the program realize that potential by using higher payments to encourage soil-enhancing practices. 


-- Don't forget about small farms! CSP provides conservation payments by the acre, so small farms are at a disadvantage. Raising the minimum contract payment will help ensure farms of all sizes can participate in CSP. 


Click here to read more about the changes made to CSP.

Several agricultural organizations are upset over how the Environmental Protection Agency is ignoring the Courts and Congress.  Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Tom Buchanan of Altus responded to the ruling by a federal judge in North Dakota that blocked the implementation of the EPA's Waters of the U.S. rule, which went to effect August 28.

"As federal courts wrangle with the EPA over which states should be included in the Waters of the U.S. rules, it's becoming more obvious the EPA is a federal agency that feels responsibility to no one," Buchanan said.  Click here to read more from Oklahoma Farm Bureau.

The National Milk Producers Federation urged the Obama Administration to hold off on the national enforcement of the new Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) regulation, in response to a court decision last week suspending the regulation in some states, but not others.


"The EPA implementation schedule for the Clean Water Rule now treats dairy farmers differently nationwide, and clearly falls short of the EPA's goals of 'greater clarity, consistency, and predictability when making jurisdictional determinations,'" NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern said in the letter. "Therefore, we ask that EPA and the Corp of Engineers use their enforcement discretion and cease application of the recent WOTUS rule in all 50 states, until such time as it can be evenly applied in every state."


In light of the potential for confusion and inconsistent application of the regulation following the court's ruling, NMPF said in a letter sent Monday to the EPA and the Army that the government should suspend enforcement of the WOTUS nationwide.  Click here to read more from NMPF.

September has arrived- and our TV colleague Jed Castles has been coloring maps again- and offers a national perspective on rainfall outlook for the next thirty days. Much of Kansas, the Oklahoma Panhandle and a bit of the Texas Panhandle have been colored above normal regarding precipitation prospects- the rest of Oklahoma, southeastern Kansas and a lot of Texas are in the "normal" camp.

Here's his artwork- and you might notice his notation at the bottom- October looking near to above normal moisture wise as well.

 
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Mondays, Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, offers his economic analysis of the beef cattle industry- both the livestock sector as well as the wholesale and retail beef trade. This analysis is a part of the weekly series known as the "Cow Calf Corner" published electronically by Dr. Peel and Dr. Glenn Selk. In this week's analysis- Dr. Peel looks at forage supplies and prospects:


My travels recently have taken me across quite a bit of Oklahoma and the surrounding region and left me with several impressions. The most prominent impression is that it is remarkably green in Oklahoma for late August.

"In general, forage and summer crop conditions look quite good across the state.  Cows look to be in good condition with abundant forage this summer. Good pasture conditions is likely extending the grazing season for some summer stockers and may result in fall yearling sales a bit later than usual and at heavier weights."

Click here to read more From Dr. Peel on our forage status- both in terms of standing forage and baled hay.

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The animal well being guru in the OSU Animal Science Department has moved on- Dr. Michelle Calvo- Lorenzo made a career move this summer- leaving Stillwater and OSU- heading to Fayetteville- joining Elanco Animal Health.  Michelle is serving as an animal well -being technical consultant in Elanco's Beef Business Unit.

She moved from the west coast to Stillwater three years ago- and did great work for the livestock industry in our state- I keep up with her on LinkedIn and she sums up her passion for the well- being of livestock very well in her profile on this social media platform.

If you make the rounds of beef cattle industry meetings- I suspect you will see her name pop up more than once on agendas when they are focusing on animal welfare issues.