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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Thursday July 17, 2008!
A
service of American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures & Johnston
Enterprises!
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-- Wreaking Havoc- Governor Henry Views Devastation of on going
Drought in Cimarron County
-- Senate Appropriations Committee Looking at Ag Appropriations
Today- Humane Handling Regulations for Livestock May be Included.
-- Senator Inhofe Drops Truck Weight Measure into Senate
Hopper.
-- Class 14 of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program Set.
-- Winter Wheat Harvest Continues to Roll Northward- Nebraska Making
Rapid Progress This Week.
-- Eastern RedCedar Conference- Making Lemonade Out of Lemons.
-- Check Our Calendar at WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com
-- Looking at our Agricultural 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 KIS Futures as a regular sponsor of our daily E-Mail. KIS Futures provides Oklahoma Farmers & Ranchers with futures & options hedging services in the livestock and grain markets- Clic k here for their recent TV Commercial or call them at 1-800-256-2555. We are also pleased to have as a regular sponsor on our daily email
Johnston Enterprises- proud to have served agriculture across
Oklahoma and around the world since 1893. Johnston Grain wishes our wheat
producers a safe and prosperous harvest this season- for more on Johnston
Enterprises- click
here for their website! 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. | |
Wreaking Havoc- Governor Henry Views Devastation of on going Drought in Cimarron County ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Governor Brad
Henry met Wednesday with farmers and ranchers in Cimarron County to
discuss the formidable challenges facing them as the result of the ongoing
drought. The Governor has already requested federal aid for nine
drought-stricken counties in northwestern Oklahoma and today assured
residents that state officials will do everything in their power to help.
"This drought has wreaked havoc on farmers and ranchers," Gov. Henry said
after visiting the Oklahoma Panhandle. "Experts say this is the worst
drought the region has witnessed since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and it
is easy to see why. Farmers are coping with failing crops. Ranchers are
forced to sell off cattle because there is no grass for grazing. There are
serious and significant consequences to this drought.
Last month, the Governor requested federal disaster aid for farmers and ranchers in nine northwestern Oklahoma counties. He and state agriculture officials have also intervened in a push by a national wildlife conservation group to restrict haying and grazing on designated lands. Gov. Henry and Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Terry Peach have urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fight for the right of ranchers and farmers to utilize the disputed lands. The next step in that drama occurs today in Seattle where oral
arguments are being heard by the Federal judge handpicked by the National
WIldlife Federation. That judge agreed with the NWF that the Critical Feed
Use provisions of the CRP could cause great harm to wildlife and issued
his temporary restraining order for a ten day period. Click here for the latest from WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com on the Critical Feed Use legal battle. | |
Senate Appropriations Committee Looking at Ag Appropriations Today- Humane Handling Regulations for Livestock May be Included. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our Beef Buzz
for Thursday July 17 focuses on the Senate Appropriations Process- and
work on the Ag Appropriations bill for the coming fiscal year that will be
considered today in Washington.
In talking with Colin Woodall, lobbyist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association out of their Washington office, he is very concerned with amendments likely to be offered by California Senator Dianne Feinstein. These amendments would mandate humane livestock handling standards and set what the Senator calls "objective measurements" for these regulations. Woodall says that when you examine the measure- there is little objective about them. He adds that the industry knows what to do- and has been working cooperatively among the many segments of the business to make sure that producers, employees of auction markets, processing plants and others along the beef pipeline know how to handle livestock in a safe, humane way. We talk with Woodall about this latest twist on the humane livestock story on this Beef Buzz. The Beef Buzz is a daily radio update about the beef cattle industry- and the Beef Buzzes today and tomorrow are from the Summer Cattle Industry Conference in Denver- our coverage courtesy of Hudson Livestock Supplements. The Beef Buzz is heard on great radio stations around Oklahoma on the Radio Oklahoma Network- and previous shows can be found on our website. Click here for our Beef Buzz with Colin Woodall as we talk with him in Denver. | |
Senator Inhofe Drops Truck Weight Measure into Senate Hopper. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Wednesday,
Senator Jim Inhofe introduced farm truck legislation to fix burdensome
federal regulations placed on farmers transporting their crops and
livestock from one place to another. This legislation is supported by the
American Farmers and Ranchers of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Farm Bureau.
This is similar legislation to what has been promoted by Oklahoma
Congressman Dan Boren and Congresswoman Mary Fallin on the other side of
Capitol Hill.
Currently the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration defines a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) as a vehicle which has a gross vehicle weight of at least 10,001 pounds. Many states allow 26,001 pounds, but it is reserved solely for intrastate commerce. Once a truck is considered a commercial motor vehicle, the driver must meet the same requirements as a professional truck driver. While these requirements serve important purposes for long-haul truck drivers, they are unnecessary for farmers who carry these loads only a few times a year. This Legislation, if passed, makes the CMV weight limit for farm trucks
defined by the state in which the vehicle is being operated, thus allowing
interstate farm travel at a higher weight than the federal baseline of
10,001 pounds. It also states that the Department of Transportation cannot
withhold grant money from states that choose to raise their weight limits
above 10,001 pounds up to 26,001 pounds. Click here for more on the Inhofe Proposal regarding truck weights and farm use. | |
Class 14 of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program Set. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The selection
process is complete- and we are pleased to be able to share with you who
will be a part of Class 14 of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program. OALP has
well over 350 graduates since its inception in the early 1980s. The
program is designed to assist potential leaders develop a deeper
understanding of themselves and of people. This includes personal and
group study and interaction, improving skills in communications, and
developing a commitment to future leadership roles in Oklahoma
agriculture.
The Class 14 invitees include: The remaining participants from Class 14 include Charles Rohla of Roff;
Chad Selman from Collinsville; Daniel Skipper from Duncan; Scott Sproul
out of Isabella; Mary Steichen from Ponca City; Kent Switzer from Thomas;
Tim Taylor of Stillwater; Brent Thompson from Pauls Valley; Jackie Walther
of Stillwater and Brandon Winters who lives in Edmond. | |
Winter Wheat Harvest Continues to Roll Northward- Nebraska Making Rapid Progress This Week. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wheat harvest
dramatically picked up throughout Nebraska in recent days. Moisture levels
were slightly high around 15% in the north western part of the state as of
Monday, and there were some reports that harvest began in the west over
the weekend. Producers in the south east and south central part of the
state have reported that they are wrapping up harvest for 2008.
Statewide, harvest in the Cornhusker State stands at 19%- well behind the five year average and the pace set in 2007. We have a nice graphic of a map available on our website that shows the progress in the various parts of that state- and we have that linked below for your to check out. Click here for more on the wheat harvest progress of the 2008 Nebraska Wheat Harvest. | |
Eastern RedCedar Conference- Making Lemonade Out of Lemons. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marketing
products from cedar trees and the benefits of reclaiming grassland invaded
by cedar were among the many topics discussed at the 2-day conference
"Eastern Redcedars: From Peril to Profit" held July 8 and 9 in Oklahoma
City. Over 200 people attended the event, hosted by the High Plains
Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Council, including
participants from Indiana, Oregon, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, and
Oklahoma. Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins and Oklahoma's
Secretary of Agriculture Terry Peach were in attendance, expressing their
desire to remove the water guzzling trees from the land in a way that is
environmentally and economically beneficial.
Of the 17 million acres of rangeland in Oklahoma, eight million are currently overgrown with Eastern Redcedars. That number is increasing at an alarming rate of 762 acres per day. Cedar invasion takes land out of production for livestock and diminishes wildlife habitat, which affects the economy and the balance of the environment. The cedars also rob underground water, streams, and reservoirs of water that many municipalities rely on for their water supply. It is estimated that a mature cedar tree consumes 30 or more gallons of water per day. In addition to that, when a rainfall event does occur, the canopy on the trees prevents the rain from ever touching the ground: it is absorbed by the tree or evaporates. Attendees were told about ways to market Eastern RedCedar and help get rid of the unwanted trees across the state. We have more on this meeting on our website in the story linked below. Click here for more on the Eastern RedCedar Conference held this past week. | |
Check Our Calendar at WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are more
than 45 items on our Farm and Ranch Calendar right now for the months of
July and August- including details of the annual Oklahoma Cattlemen's
Association Convention and Trade Show, the Noble Foundation's Southern
Plains Beef Symposium and the Wheatland Stocker Conference that comes up
in the latter part of August.
We also have a couple of major events that will be happening in multiple locations. For example- the August area policy meetings of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau are now in our calendar database- go to August and scroll down and click on the location nearest you to get more information on these annual grassroots meetings. We also have multiple sites where Beef Quality Assurance training will be happening in August- again go to the August listings- scroll down and pick a location that is close to you and you'll find details like time and a number where you can call to RSVP for a free dinner, courtesy of the Oklahoma Beef Council. On our new website- you will find on the front page a listing of five or six events that will be coming up in the next few days- and a place to jump to the full Calendar of Events. When you arrive there- scroll down to the month you are interested in- and click on events that you want more information on. AND REMEMBER to send us your calendar items for us to include in what we want to be the most comprehensive listing of farm and ranch industry related events that will be found anywhere! (Thanks for your help) Click here for our calendar on our new look website- WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com | |
Our thanks to Johnston Enterprises, KIS Futures and American Farmers & Ranchersfor 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. | |
Looking at our Agricultural 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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