From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 6:56 AM
To: ron@oklahomafarmreport.com
Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
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Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Wednesday September 17, 2008!
A service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Farm Credit Associations of Oklahoma and Midwest Farm Shows!
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-- State Department of Ag Reminds Wheat Growers- Follow the Seed Laws
-- Judiciary Committee Set to Vote on Horse Bill
-- TSCRA Cancels Fall Meeting in Tyler
-- Oklahoma Women in Agriculture Meeting Set for Thursday and Friday in Moore
-- In the Aftermath of Ike- Burying the Carcasses of Dead Cattle on the "To Do" List
-- One "something" was caught in a Boll Weevil Trap Earlier This Month in Oklahoma
-- Record Wheat Trade Cited by USDA in Latest Wheat Report
-- 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 excited to have as one of our new sponsors for the daily email Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, with 64 years of progress through producer ownership. Call Brandon Winters at 405-232-7555 for more information about rotating some of your winter wheat acres into winter canola this year- and check out the full story on PCOM on their website by clicking here.

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!
And our email this morning is also a service of Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the annual Tulsa Farm Show held each December, as well as the springtime Southern Plains Farm Show in Oklahoma City. Check out details of both of these exciting shows at the official website of Midwest Farm Shows 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.


State Department of Ag Reminds Wheat Growers- Follow the Seed Laws
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Most state wheat farmers have already purchased or arranged to purchase seed wheat for next year's crop but the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry cautions sellers to follow state and federal seed laws.

The rules are relatively simple: Sellers must be licensed seed dealers, the seed must be tested and properly labeled, and inspection fees for the seed must be paid. Wade Krivanek, ODAFF seed program administrator, said companies and individuals advertising seed for sale must also include their dealer's license number in the ad. "Our seed laws are in place to protect farmers from purchasing inferior quality seeds," he said.

"With the high input costs of fuel and fertilizer no grower can afford the consequences of planting wheat that may contain noxious weed seeds or that will have a low germination rate. It has never been as important to know exactly what you are planting as it is today." Most seed wheat falls under the Plant Variety Protection Act which provides the developers of the varieties patent-like rights that protect its reproduction and distribution. Krivanek said these varieties must be sold by variety name only and must be certified by an official seed certifying agency. In Oklahoma that agency is the Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association in Stillwater.


Judiciary Committee Set to Vote on Horse Bill
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A vote that was originally scheduled for last week will be held by the House Judiciary Committee this morning. Up for debate and vote is H.R. 6598, which would make it a felony to sell or transport a horse for the purpose of slaughter. The bill is not supported by the horse industry including the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners and other agricultural groups. The Committee meeting is set for 9:15 AM central time, with the Horse bill the first one listed for consideration.

"In the last week the AAEP has been communicating to its membership about the pending vote in the Judiciary Committee and urging them to contact their representatives and share their opposition to the bill," says Sally Baker, AAEP director of public relations. "We've really been using grassroots efforts to let them know from a veterinarian's perspective what the negative impact is going to be on the unwanted horse population." Since state laws were used to close the few remaining processing plants for horse, the number of unwanted and neglected horses has risen dramatically. Tom Lenz, a veterinarian and former president of the AAEP, says the bill doesn't really address the core issue which is what to do with these horses that are no longer wanted or needed.

Several members of the Judiciary Committee have already signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation and Lenz expects the bill to likely be passed out of committee and go to the House floor. Baker says AAEP agrees with Lenz's assessment and is continuing to work to educate members of Congress. "Veterinarians are the people that in this whole process are the voice and the individual that has the best concern for the welfare of the horse," Baker says. "We hope Congress will listen to the many members of not only our organization, but others who have similar credentials, and hear their concerns about the unintended consequences that we are already seeing to some degree because of the closure of the plants in the U.S."

Click here for the House Judiciary Committee's website and the agenda for today's action.


TSCRA Cancels Fall Meeting in Tyler
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The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers, a group that has most of their members in Texas with a few from Oklahoma, has decided to cancel their fall Board of Directors meeting that was planned for this weekend in Tyler, Texas. The cancellation is because of the recovery efforts now underway int he aftermath of Hurricane Ike, that caused a great deal of havoc in several southeast Texas counties close to the Gulf.

"Out of respect for the thousands of ranchers affected, we felt cancelling the board meeting was the right thing to do," said TSCRA President Jon Means, a rancher from Van Horn.
"We are busy locating feed, water tanks, fence panels, trucks and other needed resources; as well as engaging many of our special rangers in the affected areas. This effort is requiring a tremendous time commitment from TSCRA leaders, members and staff which will likely continue through the week and into the weekend of the meeting. The decision was made to use these resources to aide affected cattle raisers in their time of need," Means said.

TSCRA staff members are calling pre-registered members today to inform them of the cancellation. Full refunds will be issued; however, members also have the option of transferring their registration fee to a relief fund for ranchers affected by Ike. Donors will be provided with a charitable donation receipt for this transaction.


Oklahoma Women in Agriculture Meeting Set for Thursday and Friday in Moore
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Oklahoma's Fifth Annual Statewide Women in Agriculture & Small Business Conference will be held on Thursday and Friday of this week, 2008 at the Moore Norman Technology Center located at SW 134th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Oklahoma City. It is presented by the Great Plains Resource Conservation and Development Association along with the USDA Risk Management Agency.

The theme for the 2008 Conference is "Managing Risk Successfully." The Keynotes for Thursday and Friday are Jolene Brown a real "Farmer Brown" from West Branch, Iowa and Jenifer Reynolds the current host of the statewide TV program Discover Oklahoma. Friday's guest speaker is Mike Klemme, an Enid native and longtime Oklahoma resident, and the Official Photographer of the Oklahoma Centennial.

We have this event and a lot more listed on our calendar page found at WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com. We are adding new events that people let us know about almost daily. Check out the link below- and if you have details on an upcoming meeting of interest to farmers and ranchers in our neck of the woods- drop me an email and we will get it included.

Click here for the Calendar page found on WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com


In the Aftermath of Ike- Burying the Carcasses of Dead Cattle on the "To Do" List
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An article from a Texas newspaper provides an update in the battle to save thousands of cattle from dehydration and starvation after Ike blew through their pastures- drenching pastures with salt water and contaminating all water supplies available to those animals. Officials are working on supplying hay and fresh water to those animals to keep them alive.

However, many cattle have already died at the hands of Ike. The paper quotes Dr. Bob Hillman, head of the Texas Animal Health Commission "The grim chore of disposing of dead livestock still looms." He said his agency is working with local officials and with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to determine where mass burial sites should be located.

"We want an area that will have no impact on ground water," Hillman said. "And the soil must be deep enough to be able to dig an adequate hole. Once we identify the needs, we have to get enough trucks and backhoes to do the job. And on top of that, we have the serious issue of the availability of fuel and power. There will be a lot of work to be done before we can remove those carcasses."

Here's a link to the full story on how the coastal cattle producers are coping after Ike.


One "something" was caught in a Boll Weevil Trap Earlier This Month in Oklahoma
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Joe Harris, executive director of the Oklahoma Boll Weevil Eradication Organization presented an Oklahoma eradication update to the National Cotton Council's Boll Weevil Action Committee Tuesday in Little Rock.

From the OBWEO website, Executive Director Harris provided this overview of area covered by the program in 2008: "This year. the Oklahoma Boll Weevil Eradication Organization, headquartered in Hobart, has mapped and placed traps on just under 152,000 cotton acres across the state. "This is a 13% decrease in mapped acres from last season and is representative of decreases in acres across the belt as cotton continues to compete with corn and soybeans."

Harris reported that there has been one weevil found in recent weeks as he reported yesterday in Little Rock. We have his comments on the webstory that we have on our website- it's linked below.

Click here for the Oklahoma Boll Weevil Report Offered to the National Cotton Council on Tuesday.


Record Wheat Trade Cited by USDA in Latest Wheat Report
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Increased foreign production forecast for 2008/09 and larger beginning stocks for Kazakhstan and Canada boosted world wheat supplies sharply this month. Increased wheat production in the EU-27, Russia, and Ukraine includes large amounts of low quality wheat that are projected to be used as feed both in the producing countries and in some importing countries. This month's increase in world wheat supplies is larger than the increase in use, boosting projected ending stocks.

World wheat production in 2008/09 is forecast at 676.3 million tons, up 5.5 million tons this month. Increases in the Northern Hemisphere, mostly based on harvest reports, more than offset reductions for the southern Hemisphere, where growing conditions have been less favorable. EU-27 wheat production is up 4.0 million tons this month to a record 147.2 million. More than half the increase is in Germany, based on German government estimates. There were also significant increases based on harvest reports from Bulgaria and Romania where dry harvest weather minimized harvest losses. Wheat production in Russia was raised 3.0 million tons this month to 60.0 million tons.

World wheat trade in 2008/09 (July-June) is projected to reach a record 122.9 million tons, up 1.6 million this month mostly due to increased imports of wheat for feeding. Wheat imports increased 0.5 million tons each this month for South Korea and Philippines and by 0.4 million tons for Israel. Adjustments to import forecasts for several countries in the FSU were partly offsetting, but boosted imports slightly.

Click here for the full 18 page report from USDA's Economic Research Service


Our thanks to Midwest Farm Shows, Farm Credit Associations of Oklahoma and Producers Cooperative Oil Mill 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.

Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com


Let's Check the Markets!
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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.



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phone: 405-473-6144
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