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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Thursday December 4,
2008! A
service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Farm Credit Associations of
Oklahoma and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance
Company!
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-- Congressman John Salazar of Colorado- On the Short List
-- What Might Stop the Salazar Pick- Fear of His Seat Turning from
Blue to Red
-- NBAF is Manhattan Bound
-- Oklahoma Wheat Growers Meeting Set for December 13
-- Opposition to December WTO Meeting That May Be Called
-- How Often Should You Supplement Your Beef Cow Herd?
-- Let's Check the Markets!
Howdy Neighbors! Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are proud 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! It's also great to have the Farm Credit Associations of Oklahoma
with us regularly as an Email Sponsor- Financing Oklahoma is their
business! Check out their website which shows their locations statewide by
clicking
here! If you have received this by someone forwarding it to you, you are welcome to subscribe and get this weekday update sent to you directly by clicking here. | |
Congressman John Salazar of Colorado- On the Short List ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ President-elect
Barack Obama is looking at nominating Congressman John Salazar, a Democrat
from Colorado., for Agriculture secretary, according to a statement from
Salazar.
In response to a request for comment from the Denver Post Wednesday, Salazar, 55, issued a statement confirming that he is under consideration. "I am humbled that I may be under consideration as a possible nominee for Secretary of Agriculture," Salazar said. "Should President-elect Obama honor me with a nomination to Agriculture, I would certainly consider it. However, at this time, I am continuing my work on behalf of my constituents in the Third Congressional District and preparing for the many difficult challenges facing the 111th Congress." Salazar is the older brother of US Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado- whose name was mentioned last month by Collin Peterson, Chairman of the House Ag Committee as one who might be considered by Mr. Obama if he wanted diversity in the Secretary of Ag position. His brother obviously fits the bill as well- and is one of the few agricultural producers that are members of Congress. He has served two terms as a House member from Colorado's third District, has just been elected to a third term and has been a member of the House Ag Committee while in Washington. The Denver Post says of Salazar "A potato seed farmer, Salazar often
talks about the country's food security and the role of U.S. farmers in
maintaining it. 'I've lived agriculture, and I sleep agriculture,' Salazar
said Wednesday." | |
What Might Stop the Salazar Pick- Fear of His Seat Turning from Blue to Red ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Perhaps the
only negative to Barack Obama's transition team when it comes to possible
Ag Secretary pick John Salazar of Colorado is that the Democrats might
lose his seat to the Republicans in the US House. If Salazar is tapped for
Obama's Cabinet, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter would set an election date
between 75 and 90 days after the vacancy emerged. Both parties would then
meet to select candidates to face off for the seat.
John Straayer, a political analyst and professor at Colorado State University told the Rocky Mountain News that "Looking at sheer numbers, it is a Republican district, without question. The Republicans would go after it. But the Democrats are in good shape in Congress. They are not going to lose their majority if this seat were to turn." His District includes Pueblo in southern Colorado and stretches over the Continental Divide to take in the ski resort of Vail. Salazar, a potato farmer from the San Luis Valley, is apparently on a short list for the Agriculture Department job. Salazar told the Denver Post that he had talked to the Obama transition team but had not been interviewed- this as of yesterday afternoon. | |
NBAF is Manhattan Bound ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kansas has won
a three-year competition to land a new $450 million federal laboratory to
study livestock diseases and some of the world's most dangerous biological
threats. But some states that lost out are crying foul. The Homeland
Security Department's choice of a lab site at Kansas State University in
Manhattan beat out rival bids from Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina
and Texas. While the choice won't become final until after a monthlong
review period, officials in Mississippi and Texas - seeking a major boost
to local economies - already are pondering a challenge to the decision.
Kansas' new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility would replace an aging 24-acre research complex on Plum Island, New York, where research is conducted on foot-and-mouth disease and anthrax. Foot-and-mouth disease has been confined to the island since 1955 to avoid an accidental outbreak that could lead to the slaughter of millions of livestock. The disease does not sicken humans. Ft. Reno in Canadian County was considered in the preliminary stages of the selection process- but farm group fears kept Oklahoma from making the finals of the competition to grab the $450 million lab. Some farm groups expressed concern about the risks of moving the lab to the U.S. mainland. The Bush administration acknowledged earlier this year that accidents have happened with the feared virus at the Plum Island facility. But Homeland Security officials are convinced it can operate safely using the latest containment procedures. Click here for more on the decision by Homeland Security to Move This Animal Disease Lab to Kansas | |
Oklahoma Wheat Growers Meeting Set for December 13 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The 2008
Oklahoma Wheat Growers Annual Meeting will be held once again at the
Express Events Center on Highway 3 (Northwest Highway) in far northwest
Oklahoma City. The President of the OWGA, J.T. Winters of Mooreland
invites anyone with an interest in the wheat industry in our state to be a
part of the day's activities on the 13th.
The primary theme of the convention will be Genetic Improvement in Wheat. Confirmed speakers include Dr. Ann Blechl, USDA-ARS Wheat Geneticist, Dr. Jackie Rudd, Texas A&M Wheat Breeder, Dr. David Worrall, Agripro Wheat Breeder, and Dr. Jeff Edwards, OSU Extension Wheat Specialist. Reports will also be heard from the National Association of Wheat
Growers as well as from US Wheat Associates. Check this event and others out on our Calendar Page at WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com | |
Opposition to December WTO Meeting That May Be Called ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A group of
congressional leaders has sent a letter to President Bush opposing a
December meeting of WTO trade ministers. American Farm Bureau Federation
President Bob Stallman agrees with their stance. He says - Before such a
meeting is held there must be - sufficient evidence that WTO members are
truly committed to granting meaningful market access.
Stallman says, - In light of the deteriorating status of world trade talks, some member nations, especially those considered key emerging economies, still are not committed to opening their markets. In fact, according to Stallman, - several nations are hardening or revising their positions, which further reduces their willingness to make real trade reform. Stallman said AFBF, along with organizations representing the manufacturing and service sectors, recently communicated to President Bush their strong opposition to a new WTO Ministerial meeting. Stallman emphasized, - limited expectations and low ambition - are not conducive to achieving the kind of real trade reform that would help support job creation and economic growth. | |
How Often Should You Supplement Your Beef Cow Herd? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's Thursday
and our regular chat with Dr. Glenn Selk of OSU focuses on how often we
need to haul feed supplements out to that beef cow herd.
Dr. Selk tells us that once a week is not often enough- but there does not seem to be much advantage in feeding your cows supplement daily- in fact, three times a week is just fine. You can hear his comments on our daily Beef Buzz show that is aired on great radio stations around the state on the Radio Oklahoma Network. And, of course, we have our daily shows all up on the world wide web at WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com- easy to find as you can click on the Beef Buzz button on the left hand side of the page to get a full listing of the current Beef Buzz as well as all older reports- available 24/7. Click here for our latest Beef Buzz with OSU's Dr. Glenn Selk | |
Our thanks to Farm Credit Associations of Oklahoma, Producers Cooperative Oil Mill and AFR for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked at the top of the email- check them out and let these folks know you appreciate the support of this daily email, as their sponsorship helps us keep this arriving in your inbox on a regular basis! 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. | |
Let's Check the Markets! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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: | |
God Bless! You can reach us at the following: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: ron@oklahomafarmreport.com
phone: 405-473-6144
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