Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We say thanks to Farm Credit of East Central Oklahoma for being a regular sponsor of our daily email update. Farm Credit of East Central Oklahoma has ten branch offices to serve your farm financing needs and is dedicated to being your first choice for farm credit. Check out their website for more information by clicking here!

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It looked like the Senate would complete the deal by sometime this morning- and we could finally call this a done deal- it sounds as easy as one, two, four! The incredible bottom line is it that kind of math that has made the House Leadership schedule yet another Farm Bill vote this morning- first thing- with yet another farm bill extension to follow the "do over" on the farm bill. It's a guess at this point- but we assume the "do over" will have to be done by the Senate as well- as someone that was assembling the bill forgot that the number three comes between two and four- as Title Three- the Trade Title- did not get included in the text of the bill that was transmitted from Congress to the White House.

Colin Peterson- Chairman of the House Ag Committee- said on the floor yesterday that it was no big deal- it was simply a glitch- but clearly after the lawyers have studied the deal- they have recommended restarting the process and advancing the Conference Committee report all over again through the Congress and hopefully get all of the pages sent to the White House this time- so President Bush can veto he whole thing! Then there will be another override of the President's veto but now it appears all of this will not occur until early June- after the Memorial Day recess.
I would wager that the House Ag Committee Staff will make sure that whoever makes the final check knows who to count- from one to twenty at least- just to be sure. You will be able to watch Colin Peterson explain it all around 9:15 AM central time this morning on CSpan.

Click here for the latest on the Farm Bill Saga on our webpage at WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com

This first report is a good reminder to put the word out to one and to all- whether you are an individual wheat producer, a elevator manager or employee or otherwise involved in the wheat business- we want to get those wheat harvest reports from you. We had a tremendous set of reports last year from all across the state as harvest unfolded and unfortunately turned into a major disaster for many of our wheat farmers who were unable to harvest a single bushel. Here in 2008, we are praying for a great harvest- and we look forward to having ongoing reports over the next several weeks and wheat ripens and combines roll.

The email address found at the bottom of this email is the best place to send your reports to. We will be looking for information about your harvest progress- things like what variety you have harvested, how many acres, how many bushels and other details like test weight and other quality factors. I really appreciate the many different reports that we received this last year- we won't mention names- but would like to at least mention the county and/or the community where the wheat has been cut.

Currently animals that suffer an injury inside the plant after they have been inspected can go to slaughter if inspected again and passed by a veterinarian. Schafer says the ban will present a clear definition of what is and isn't allowed and he says the proposed rule won't affect that many cattle. "Last year, of the nearly 34 million cattle that were slaughtered, under 1,000 cattle that were re-inspected were actually approved by the veterinarian for slaughter," Schafer says. "This represents less than 0.003% of cattle slaughtered annually. As you can see, this number is minimal."

"Allowing the current rule to remain in force could ultimately undermine the confidence of U.S. consumers and foreign customers, in markets that are proving difficult to reopen in the first place," says American Meat Institute President J. Patrick Boyle. "We appreciate the Department's prompt response and timely action." The Human Society of the United States commended USDA for the move, but voiced concerns about the timeline for implementation. The rule is in the proposal stage and will be subject to a lengthy comment period.

"Agriculture must be higher on our agenda in a world of increasing food demands and shrinking resources," he said. "Farmers and agri-businesses are the engines that will enable increases in productivity. "I assure you that the private sector and the 1.3 billion farmers around the world are eager to help and are committed to being a part of the solution."

He outlined four long-term solutions that business and industry believes would increase productivity and help alleviate poverty and hunger.
1. Encourage research and the dissemination of technologies and techniques for sustainable agriculture and water management.
2. Deliver extension and agronomy programming at a local level to ensure productivity increases are sustainable.
3. Increase stewardship training in agricultural best practices at the local level.
4. Establish secure land tenure and recognize female land owners.

Click here for the full news release on Borel's Comments to the UN

Wulf is appearing before the House Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee this morning at 9:00 AM central. Wulf intends to tell the committee that AFR is opposed to moving the Plum Island facility from its current location unless the new location is sufficiently isolated from the animal population of this country.

AFR is also not convinced that the US Government is really ready to contain a FMD outbreak if one should occur- they say there are simply too many variables that can't be planned for. Wulf, in his concluding remarks prepared for the committee- says that "AFR strongly supports full funding for the research performed at Plum Island, including research on foot-and-mouth disease. In addition AFR fully supports funding to update research facilities to the highest standards. However, AFR believes the U.S. should not risk bringing highly contagious animal disease research to the mainland with so many variables that could wreak havoc on the U.S. livestock industry, communities, the U.S. and global economy."

To read Ray Wulf's Testimony that will be offered to this Subcommittee this morning- click here

The Blood Institute reminds everyone that each time you donate blood you receive vital health checks at no cost including pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature and anemia (iron level). The Beef Council wants everyone that beef is one of nature's best sources of iron for the diet. Beef is also an excellent source of protein, zinc, vitamin B12, selenium and phosphorus, and is a good source of niacin, Vitamin B6 and riboflavin.

The Oklahoma Blood Institute and the the Oklahoma Beef Council will be teaming up in this "Beef Up the Beef Supply" at ten difference locations of the Blood Institute around the state. We have a link below for more info- check it out

Click here for more details about this Beef and Blood Promotion Set for This Friday!!!

Besides Tom Glazier who was nominated for another term on the OWC Board, you have Danny Geis of Loyal and Keith Griffith of Rocky who also will have their names submitted to the Governor for his consideration.

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. Previous Day's Energy Market Recap- also from Country Hedging
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.