Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update- click here to go to their AFR web site to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America!

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Ryan reported that Mike Spradling of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau told the forum that "80% of farm income comes from off farm sources; jobs must be created to help agriculture and promote viable rural communities."
Another "Mike" that was present and contributing was Dr. Mike Woods of OSU- Ryan says that Dr. Woods offered "Investments in technology infrastructure and training to develop human capital must be made to make rural communities competitive." McMullen pointed out that "Recent investments in broadband infrastructure demonstrate USDA's commitment to providing rural areas the technology needed to thrive."

On leadership development- Ben Robinson offered a comment that a lot of people responded to on Facebook- McMullen says that Robinson offered "Every kid should go through 4-H and FFA, great programs turning out great kids! Send more kids through those programs." To that I would echo a hearty amen- when you really equip a young person with the skills these organizations offer- tough times can be handled a lot easier by the individuals who have had this type of preparation.

One other subject that caught my eye that was reported by State Director for Rural Development Ryan McMullen came from State Representative Mike Brown - "banks have pulled back so businesses have pulled back. The money needs to be moved back to support job creation." And Ryan also quoted a bank VP who was at the forum- "New regs stipulate a 7 year calculation that has tied the bank's hands. Okla banks didn't create the problems but are suffering."

State FSA Director Francie Tolle told us last week that the input they got from Oklahomans would be summarized by she and McMullen- and that their report would be handed over to the White House in the days ahead- to give the Obama Administration a feel of what this state is thinking when it comes to the state of the economy and how that impacts job creation in rural areas.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are cooperating in putting these hearings on over the course of 2010. The workshops will provide an opportunity for farmers, ranchers, consumer groups, processors, the agribusinesses, and other interested parties to provide examples of potentially anticompetitive conduct. The workshops will also provide an opportunity for discussion for any concerns about the application of the antitrust laws to the agricultural industry.

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson believes it is vital to the nation's producers to address these concerns, and asks USDA and DOJ to establish a constant dialogue concerning market control and antitrust concerns in the agriculture industry.
Click on the link below to learn more about these hearings that begin in March and will be happening periodically until December of this year.

Click here for the DOJ website and details of the ag competiveness hearings.

However, any economic recovery will need to include a uptick in consumer spending in order to see beef demand improve. On today's Beef Buzz, we feature Dr. Peel's thoughts on beef demand and how it interacts with consumer spending and the push to get the general US economy back on track. Of course, the domestic market is key to improving cattle prices- but moving larger amounts of US beef into the international market will have a positive impact on those prices in our live mark

Click on the link below for the Tuesday Beef Buzz looking at beef demand for the new year- and a link back to our Monday Beef Buzz- also with Dr. Peel on 2010 prospects for live cattle markets (slaughter and feeder).

Click here for our Beef Buzz with Derrell Peel as we consider beef demand for this new year,

One source of energy that horses rely on is fiber. Hays and pastures supply energy in the form of fiber. Typically, horses should have access to pastures, hays or coarsely processed forage at minimum levels of 0.75 percent of body weight per day. These levels guard against feeding too much of the other type, the 'starchy, sugary' compounds. "Incorporation of long-stem forage into rations also increases particle size of substances ingested, thus slowing the rate of intake and the amount of digestible nutrient intake in a single meal," Freeman said. "Slowing the rate of intake and decreasing the digestible energy intake in a single meal may assist digestion in the horse's small intestine."

On the other hand, grains are low in fiber. They supply large amounts of starchy and sugary carbohydrates as compared to forages. If allowed free access, most horses will consume enough grain to cause digestive upset. The most common problem with equine overeating is the consumption of too much starchy or sugary carbohydrate in a single feeding.

We have more on how Dr. Freeman suggests you handle these feed decisions- decisions that can keep your horses feeling their best. Click on the link below to read more from our website.

Click here to read more from Dr. Dave Freeman on horse nutrition for the new year.

Vilsack released a statement saying - I am aware the results of the FASOM model have caused considerable concern within the farm and ranch community as a result of the models projections on afforestation over the next several decades. The Secretary continued - if landowners plant trees to the extent the model suggests, this would be disruptive to agriculture in some regions of the country.

Other models indicate lesser quantities of farm land being taken out of production. Vilsack believes, - there are opportunities to expand greenhouse gas offsets and biomass energy production without removing significant amounts of land from production; careful design of the offsets program will be important in order to avoid unintended consequences.

Click here for the study released by USDA back in December by Chief Economist Joe Glauber that Vilsack has praised and yet has also been critical of.

Nielsen offers several trend predictions that will have impact on food purchases and will definitely impact demand back up the chain to the farmgate.
Number One- Restraint remains the new normal. The need to save money, unemployment and other economic issues continue to be top of mind, suggesting that any return to past behavior may take some time.
Number Two- Value is a top priority. Value messaging must also include some point of differentiation beyond pricing. Manufacturers and retailers that "drive the recession wave" and take an active role in innovation and ad spending are likely to be the big winners.

Number Three- Store brand growth continues. Even with year-end 2009 softness in store brand dollar share growth as retailers cut prices across the store to be more competitive, unit share growth continues, and retailer focus has never been stronger.
and Number Four- Grocery consolidation intensifies. Local and regional players, unable to drive profits in the soft economy, will become acquisition targets, and some larger national and regional grocers will divest unprofitable formats and banners to strengthen investments behind their winning formats and banners.

Another good market making auction is the Joplin Regional Stockyards, where they kicked off 2010 with a run of 5,000 cattle on Monday. Prices were higher for both steers and heifers- yearlings and calves. Five to six hundred pound steers sold from $96 to $110, while seven to eight hundred pound steer yearlings cleared from $90 to $95.50. Click here for the full USDA summary of the Joplin market and their first sale of the new year.

We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.

Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com

Here are some links we will leave in place on an ongoing basis- Click on the name of the report to go to that link:
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network with Ed Richards and Tom Leffler- analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day-
Ron on RON Markets as heard on K101 mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
Previous Day's Wheat Market Recap- Two Pager From The Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on Hard Red Winter Wheat and the why of that day's market.
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- As Reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture. <
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
Finally, Here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.