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- Click 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. For more on Johnston Enterprises- click here for their website!
And 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!

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.

In addition to Senator Inhofe, Oklahoma Farm Bureau Federation President Mike Spradling confirmed to me that all five members of the Oklahoma House Delegation, Congressman Dan Boren, Tom Cole, Mary Fallin, Frank Lucas and John Sullivan- were also recipients of this award from the American Farm Bureau as voted on by the AFBF Board of Directors and recommended by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau.

Spradling told us that he was proud of the spirit of cooperation that was evident when the Oklahoma delegation works on issues important to rural Oklahoma. The Tulsa county rancher and pecan grower commended all six lawmakers receiving the award for "their commitment and support of the state's agriculture community."

The question remains- will USDA go with the 2006-2007 crop years to figure support levels for 2009- or will they jump to 2007-2008 commodity prices? The latter years will mean higher supports for farmers- so that's the choice of ag groups and lawmakers eager to garner favor with voters in front of the November general elections.

We have audio courtesy of the Red River Radio Network of the dialogue between Farm Broadcasters Mike Hergert, Don Wick and Secretary Schafer. Click on the link below to jump to our Ag Perspectives Podcast that features comments from the Tuesday North Dakota appearance by the former Governor of that state as he returned home.

Click here for the comments by Secretary Ed Schafer on ACRE

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the leading veterinary association in the nation, warns, "This new bill will do nothing to improve the welfare of horses or prevent equine cruelty" and opposes H.R. 6598. The Animal Ag Alliance adds that "This bill would severely limit the rights of owners to manage their private property and subject horse owners to criminal prosecution should they sell or transport their horses for processing for human consumption."

Groups that oppose this measure include the American Quarter Horse Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Veterinary Medical Association, American Farm Bureau Federation and National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
We have Steve Dittmer's email on this issue linked in a our top ag story of the morning on our website- www.OklahomaFarmReport.com. In that story is the link to the Judiciary Committee as well which will be considering this and several other measures during their business meeting this morning.

Click here for more on the Horse Transport Measure Scheduled for a Vote Today.

According to USDA's Economic Research Service - production expenses are expected to rise by 40.4-billion dollars from 2007 levels to 294.8-billion. Chambliss says America's family farmers simply can't afford the rising costs they face as a result of rising energy prices. He says his Congressional colleagues need to support the New ERA legislation - which will move the nation in a direction to ensure the next generation of farmers doesn't have to endure the energy issues faced today.

New ERA - the New Energy Reform Act of 2008 - calls for a focused effort to transition the nation's motor vehicle fleets to fuels other than gasoline and diesel. In the interim - the proposal includes conservation provisions, consumer tax credits and measures to increase domestic production. All are expected to help ease gas prices.

The EWG claims in a news release that "This farm bill bait-and-switch routine by the Democratic Congress mirrors a longstanding Republican tradition of broken promises where pledges to increase money for environmental programs are followed by systematic and dramatic cuts that have left conservation programs billions short over the past decade."

The EWG further charges that "For every $10,000 in crop subsidies Congress sends to the most heavily polluting counties in the Corn Belt, just one dollar is spent on conservation. In the 124 counties that cause 40% of spring nitrate fertilizer pollution, the ratio between subsidies and conservation spending is 500 to one. Tens of thousands of farmers are turned away from USDA conservation programs every year because Congress cuts the budgets. "

Based on Senate bill 3289, spending for the Environmental Quality Incentive Program- EQIP- would be slashed by $285 million- almost 86% of the total cuts from what EWG says was promised in the 2008 farm law. Other programs that face reductions in the Senate plan include the Wildlife Incentive Program. and the Grassland Reserve Program.
While these cuts are being proposed by the Senate Appropriators- the reality is that the House would be unlikely to go along with the cuts- and it is probable that the agricultural budget will be folded in with several other spending packages in an omnibus measure for the upcoming fiscal year- punting spending decisions to the 111th Congress.

Here's more on the EWG and their unhappiness over the Conservation Spending Levels Talked About by the Democrat Congress.

Robert E. Whitson, vice president, dean and director of Oklahoma State University's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, says "Agriculture is the backbone of this state, and we're here to do whatever we can to make a difference in the lives of our producers. From cattle producers to wheat growers to all other crop and livestock producers, SUNUP will feature informative segments to help each farmer and rancher in his or her own operation."

Clinton Griffiths, an Oklahoma State alumnus in agricultural communications, will serve as host of the show.
This will mean that OETA will now have two shows on the weekends that will be covering ag and rural issues- former SUNUP host Rob McClendon (who hosted the show when it was still a weekday program) continues as the host of OK Horizon, a production of the Oklahoma Career Tech system.

Just a week ago, the Republicans caused a furor over their changing of their platform to reflect the views of their candidate to be President, John McCain, when it comes to ethanol. The Republican platform now shows the GOP as being on record against federal mandates for biofuels- but rather allow the market to determine their future.

During the brief telephone call to the NFU yesterday, Obama spoke of being a "strong supporter of the RFS. I am strongly committed to advancing biofuels as a key component of reducing our dependence on foreign oil."

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- One Pager From Country Hedging- looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges 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.