Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. Our email this morning is a service of Midwest Farm Shows, featuring the Southern Plains Farm Show in Oklahoma City April 19-21, 2007, as well as the Tulsa Farm Show held each December. Check out details of both of these exciting shows at the official website of Midwest Farm Shows by clicking here.

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We do remind you that the last big government report of the year comes this afternoon with the USDA Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report- which is expected to show modest hog herd growth as producers face higher feed grain costs. We will will recap that report for you- including the specifics on the health of the Oklahoma hog industry tomorrow morning.

Futures markets will be operating during their normal trading hours today and tomorrow- then will be back tot he holiday schedule on Friday, with all ag futures closing for the year at 12 noon central time. They remain closed through Monday and will reopen for 2007 business on Tuesday, January 2, 2007.

He told the CNBC anchorette that it's the second of those themes that will potentially moove the Cattle futures higher in the second and third quarters of 2007. Basse believes that higher corn prices will continue to force cattle to be fed fewer days, lowering carcass weights and helping to shrink supplies of beef enough that a rally in cattle prices could be in store. He was thinking back to the 90s by the end of the summer/early fall.

He continues to see corn at strong valuations, while he says the weak sister may be wheat- saying the higher prices this year has everyone planting wheat globally- and that a fall back to the $4.20 level- basis Chicago could be in the cards by next summer.

Downstate- we are facing mostly a windy but just wet end of the week. Amounts of rainfall may be greater in the northern part of the state- but it looks like that is still a little uncertain. We do expect colder Canadian air to come in with this system after we have had most of the moisture- so driving conditions should not be horrendous as we go through this final weather making system of 2006. They do have the word "snow" mentioned by late Friday and Saturday in the bulk of the state- but it sounds like a dusting is about all we will be facing of the white stuff.

Most folks across the state will be happy with any and all moisture that we receive- helping bring up the final rainfall totals of what has been an extremely dry 2006 over the bulk of Oklahoma.

Many years, the American Farm Bureau convention also is in the sunny and warmer south. Last year- they were in the south- but not in such a warm locale as they convened in Nashville, home state of their largest state Farm Bureau. Upcoming in about a week and a half, they will be in even a colder spot for their 2007 convention, Salt Lake City, Utah.

About 80 Oklahomans have made plans to go and represent Oklahoma Farm Bureau interests at the annual meeting- and while the weather outside may be more conducive for skiing than swimming- they have a "hot" agenda with some of the real key players for the 2007 farm policy debate flying to town to speak to them. Among the headliners will be Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns and the new Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Colin Peterson of Minnesota. We will be in attendance and will offer full coverage of the AFBF as they will likely re- position themselves on the timing of new farm policy and what they want emphasized in new authorizing legislation.

The Congressman is asking incoming House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson to bring together officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative’s office to discuss the situation in South Korea. The Congressman says - this has gone on for far too long. He said - we have to close the loopholes that are allowing the Korean government to find ways to keep our products out.

The latest play by the Koreans might be called the "Dioxin go deep." South Korea searched until they found bone chips in all three shipments of U.S. beef sent to that nation from the U.S. thus far- but for some reason, after they found the bone chips- they also tested the beef for toxins and claim a high level of dioxin. USDA calls the finding "surprising" and has asked the Koreans to provide a lot of detail to back up this unusual result. Meanwhile back at the line of scrimmage, there seems to be little chance of running any more beef shipments into the line of Korean inspectors until we get a ruling from the "rules" committee on tolerances on bone chips in boxes of boneless beef that everybody else in the world accepts. And for that matter, it seems the Koreans also need to realize they are all alone on demanding boneless beef among our major trading partners at this point- they even admit the bone chips have nothing to do with BSE or the safety of the product- it's all about the deal they claim they got with the Bush Administration.

Who's that cheering over in the grandstand? I believe it's Korean beef producers- delighted that their government is protecting them from that cheap U.S. beef. This game is now three years old- and our team is getting fed up with the Zebras who have called the last three fouls- and they are beginning to demand that Korea be thrown out the front door and not be scheduled again unless they are willing to renegotiate the terms of the game and allow U.S. beef the footing that we enjoyed before the Canadian cow that stole Christmas three years ago was flagged for being Mad. We are currently in a Holiday "TV timeout" and you know how darn long those things last- so stay tuned- I suspect we'll be hearing a lot of coaching advice from the Congressional front office early in 2007 being given to the USDA/USTR Coaching Staff who will need to see if they can turn this current shutout around.

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