Every crop year for the past decade has been a challenge. While the average may not look too bad, Oklahoma's wheat farmers have had to deal with a lot of extremes. As farmers begin planting their hard red winter wheat crop, they have to wonder what Mother Nature will deal next. Oklahoma Genetics, Inc. Executive Director Mark Hodges remains cautiously optimistic about the 2016 crop. After several years of drought, moisture looks to return to the forecast with the likelihood of a strong El Nino, which would bring Oklahoma above average precipitation into the spring.


Oklahoma's farmers are starting to plant their wheat crop that will be harvested in 2016. Oklahoma has a unique opportunity, as a large number of producers will plant wheat for grazing, while others grow the crop strictly for grain production. In planting wheat for grazing, farmers plant the crop in September. In growing a crop for grain production only, the ideal planting time starts after October 15th. In planting a crop earlier, Hodges said the wheat crop will face additional pressure from disease and insects. With wild fluctuations in weather, he said farmers will have to increase their management by being more vigilant in scouting for diseases and being more diligent in applying fungicides in the spring.


As farmers head to their field, several Oklahoma State University developed varieties sold through Oklahoma Genetics Inc. have been in high demand. Hodges said the most popular are Gallagher, Iba, Ruby Lee and the two-gene Clearfield wheat Doublestop. He said this year they ran out of Doublestop and there is very little Gallagher left. 


Earlier this summer, OSU announced Bentley was the newest variety to be released. Hodges said there's nothing average about Bentley, as it has outstanding yield for a grain-only production system, it has outstanding production in grain plus grazing situation and it has outstanding milling and baking qualities. Bentley was developed for central Oklahoma and it has moderate resistance to acid soils. It has a late first hollow stem, which gives producers more time for grazing, but it has a medium heading date, so harvest can take place on time. Hodges said the only average characteristic is Bentley's test weight, but Bentley's yielding potential has more than made up for the lower test weight. Currently there are 8,000 bushels of Bentley seed, but Hodges said it will take some time to build up supplies before Bentley seed will be sold to the general public.  I interviewed Hodges about this fall's planting considerations and the state of Oklahoma Genetics, Inc.  Click or tap here to listen to the full interview.

We will be visiting more with Mark Hodges Saturday morning during our In the Field segment that will be seen on KWTV News9 in Oklahoma City- at about 6:40 AM as a part of their Saturday morning news block. 

If farmers still have grain in the bin, wheat prices look pretty grim. Wheat prices have been trending lower since July 2013 and prices have been on a steady decline since harvest. On this weekend's edition of SUNUP, Oklahoma State University Grain Marketing Specialist Kim Anderson said right now the September Kansas City wheat futures contract is around $4.77 with the Oklahoma cash price around $4.30 a bushel. In watching the September contract, he said it has support around $4.60 with strong support at $4.50 and resistance at $4.80. In looking at the long term trend of wheat prices, Anderson said the bottom is nearing.


"If you look at wheat prices on the KC contract over the last 15 years, there's a floor at about $4.30 on the futures contact," Anderson said. "I've got my bottom at $4.50, so we could pop the $4.50, go down and bounce off $4.30."


In looking at where wheat prices are headed, Anderson said a lot will depend on the Australian and Argentina wheat crops. In past years, he said wheat prices have moved sideways until a factor can move prices off the bottom. With three record world wheat crops in a row, global ending stocks also look to be record setting.


In exporting the wheat crop, Anderson said the U.S. will have to become more price competitive. Canada and Australia will need to continue to export wheat and once their supplies get lower, he said their wheat prices will increase. That will help the U.S. become more price competitive on the global market, plus there is the difference in quality. The U.S. has a good bread milling quality product, which is good for exports. Anderson said the quality of the crop and lower prices is helping the U.S. get some wheat sold right now, along with the relationships with wheat buyers around the world.

Click here to read or to listen to this full interview as Dr. Anderson.  You can also find the lineup for this weekend's edition of SUNUP.

More than 300 international soy buyers visited the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" recently to learn about some of U.S. soy's bestselling points. The third annual U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange in Minneapolis drew representatives of major international companies in countries such as China, Korea, India and many others.


"As the world's population continues to grow, so does the preference for U.S. soybeans," says Bob Haselwood, soybean farmer from Kansas and United Soybean Board (USB) chairman. "This event gives U.S. soybean farmers and the U.S. soy industry a platform to prove that we are committed to providing our international customers with a sustainable, high-quality product. The importance of these relationships is immeasurable."


In the most recent marketing year, U.S. soybean farmers exported over 2 billion bushels of U.S. soy, valued at more than $30 billion. They've exported more than 1.8 million bushels of U.S. soybeans so far this marketing year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Click here to read more about the U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchanges.

R-CALF USA submitted a white paper to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry (Committee) urging them to update the soon-to-expire Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act (Act).


Originally passed in 1999, the Act was a response to the increasing concentration in livestock markets that resulted in fewer and fewer animals being sold in the price discovery market, also known as the cash or spot market. Increased market concentration brought with it new livestock procurement methods that significantly reduced marketplace transparency. Using new procurement methods, the concentrated packers in the 1990s began shifting large volumes of livestock away from the more public cash market and into more private marketing agreements, making actual sale prices difficult to discern.


The limited pricing information flowing from the concentrated packers placed farmers and ranchers who wanted to sell their livestock at a distinct disadvantage: the packers knew what the fair market value of livestock was at any given time, but livestock sellers did not.

In its white paper, R-CALF USA explained that the cattle market had undergone considerable changes during the past five years that warranted updating the Act before its reauthorization.  Click here to read more.

The Certified Angus Beef program is considered the "gold standard" when it comes to value-added beef programs in the U.S. When you add the Path Proven concept from the Performance Food Group, the nation's first DNA-based traceability program, you come up with a real winner. That's according to Performance Food Group Senior Director of Protein Dr. Brad Morgan. He said over half of their distribution facilities sell CAB.


"They want to have something that has the story associated with it, verified that they're black Angus cattle, that they are handled and fed in a feed yard in a certain manner," Morgan said. "That story now is going over to CAB in our distribution facilities."


This partnership between Performance Food Group and Certified Angus Beef, differentiates this beef product from the competition. The DNA-verified program isn't just for high end steak houses, it is also being done for restaurants that serve hamburgers.


The joint effort between Path Proven and Certified Angus Beef also creates opportunities overseas, as CAB has opened an office in Tokyo. Morgan said they will be able to compete against the Australians and Canadians because of the trace back program with Path Proven.  Click or tap here to read more or to listen to this featured interview with Dr. Brad Morgan.

Some key areas that were the driest in southern sections of Oklahoma got some nice rains earlier this week. HOWEVER- most of that water fell after the 7am cutoff for consideration in the new Drought Monitor map. The changes from this rain will show up next week. Until then, this is what we have for the latest map.

Drought- either moderate or severe- is now found in 12.55% of the entire state- mainly in the ten counties that are the bottom two tiers of counties from I-35 east to the Arkansas line. 

If you add abnormally dry to the mix- you jump up to right at one fourth of Oklahoma now at this dryness.  

Some of the areas now in drought may not be by this time next week- based on the significant rainfall amounts since 7 AM this past Tuesday- but drought lingers- and that is always a worry.