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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Thursday October 22,
2009 A
service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and KIS
Futures!
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-- Stop Animal Movement Exercise Today in Oklahoma and Kansas
-- McKenzie Walta Advances to Final Four in National FFA Prepared
Public Speaking
-- Also From Indianapolis- We Talk About the State of the FFA Nation
with National Advisor Larry Case
-- Ryan McMullen's House Seat Goes Republican in Southwest
Oklahoma
-- Oklahoma Department of Ag in the Spotlight at the Chicken Litter
Litigation
-- Meanwhile- Oklahoma Conservation Commission to spotlight water
quality improvement success stories.
-- No Trick- Just a Treat- The Shorthorn 500 Sale Happens
Halloween
-- 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 KIS Futures as a regular sponsor of our daily email update. KIS Futures provides Oklahoma Farmers & Ranchers with futures & options hedging services in the livestock and grain markets- Click here for the free market quote page they provide us for our website or call them at 1-800-256-2555. We are also excited to have as one of our 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 on the oilseed crops they handle, including sunflowers and
canola- and remember they post closing market prices for canola and
sunflowers on the PCOM
website- go there 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. | |
Stop Animal Movement Exercise Today in Oklahoma and Kansas ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This morning,
a joint exercise between Oklahoma and Kansas officials will begin at 9
a.m. near Turpin, OK and Sitka, KS. The exercise will involve officials
stopping vehicles transporting livestock or suspected of transporting
livestock. Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry animal
health and law enforcement agents say people transporting livestock will
be delayed as little as possible in the exercise. The exact locations of
the exercises are three miles north of Turpin, OK on Highway 83 and the
intersection of Highways 160 and 183 near Sitka, KS.The Stop Animal Movement exercise will last approximately four hours. In the exercise, Oklahoma and Kansas officials are trying to prevent an imagined outbreak of foot-and- mouth disease from affecting animals in their states. Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious disease of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, deer and other cloven-hooved animals that causes blisters on the mouth, teats and soft tissue of the feet. Infected animals have difficulty eating and walking. While it is painful for infected animals, it does not pose a significant threat to human health. The exercise, titled SAMS-KO, or Stop Animal Movement Statewide KS-OK, is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Oklahoma and Kansas are members of the Multi- State Partnership for Security in Agriculture, a consortium of 13 states that work together to protect the food and agriculture sector by sharing information and building interstate response capabilities. The partnership contracted with SES, inc. of Merriam, Kansas, to design and conduct the exercise to test the plans and coordination needed to successfully stop and screen livestock and livestock-related traffic involved in interstate commerce. Foot-and-mouth disease was last identified in the United States in
1929. It is a primary concern for animal health officials because it could
have potentially devastating economic consequences due to disrupted trade
and lost investor confidence. Click here for the story we have done with Commissioner Peach on this exercise. | |
McKenzie Walta Advances to Final Four in National FFA Prepared Public Speaking ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mckenzie Walta
has been in a national contest finals before here in Indianapolis. A
couple of years ago, she represented Oklahoma in the National Creed
Speaking Contest- and came in second. Last year, she was part of the
Kingfisher Parliamentary Procedure team that made the final five in the
national competition, also here in Indy. This fall, she is hoping that the
third time is a charm as she has come to this city with a speech about a
genetically modified animal and its future in reducing water pollution in
this country.
Walta advanced twice in the speech competition of Wednesday here in Indianapolis, which puts her into the finals of a National Contest once again as she touts the virtues of the Enviropig. In watching both of her performances on Wednesday, she dominated her rounds, as no one came close to matching her ability to quietly and calmly answer questions on her speech. Walta will face off with this speech against three other contestants later this morning here in Indianapolis- and she will make her pitch one more time for this Canadian developed piggy. We talked with McKenzie about the speech and her involvement in FFA in advance of the contest- and we have a link to that conversation below. And, be watching our Twitter feed today- either directly on Twitter- or by going to our website and looking at the latest Tweets on the bottom right hand side of any page on our website. You will see the special widget there that has Ron_on_RON at the top and the latest messages we have posted from Indianapolis and the 2009 National FFA Convention. Click here to learn more about Oklahoma Speech Contestant McKenzie Walta. | |
Also From Indianapolis- We Talk About the State of the FFA Nation with National Advisor Larry Case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ National FFA
Advisor Larry Case has been around a few of these national meetings- 26 of
them to be exact- and he says that while the bells and whistles have
changed- a lot of what is instilled into the lives of young people is
still the same. Belief in yourself, leadership skills, public speaking and
more are all a part of what Ag Education and FFA are all about.
After his address to the opening session, we sat down and talked with Larry Case for a few moments about where FFA has been- where it is and where it may be headed. Case is excited about trying new ideas and extending FFA into areas it has never been before. He believes that there is lots of opportunity along the food chain from the farm to the consumer's stomach- and that's where the FFA s- right in the middle of delivering food, fiber and even biofuels to consumers here in the US and globally. We asked him about one of the concluding thoughts he shared with the
audience this afternoon- he told members as he addressed them "I am Proud
of You." He tells us that he has used that statement a lot in recent
years- and it is not just a line- but a heartfelt opinion of the young
people that make up this organization. He told us, "when you watch them in
action, they blow you away." | |
Ryan McMullen's House Seat Goes Republican in Southwest Oklahoma ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just a few
months after Ryan McMullenresigned from the Oklahoma House of
Representatives to accept the job of the head of the Oklahoma USDA Rural
Development Agency, his house seat went from blue to red. Newly-elected
state Rep. Todd Russ formally took the oath of office yesterday in the
Oklahoma House chamber. "Taking the oath of office is both an exciting and
humbling event, and I am eager to begin the work of serving the people of
House District 55," said Russ, R- Cordell. "During the campaign I promised
to work to diversify and promote western Oklahoma's agricultural base,
strengthen our schools, create more jobs, protect our rural hospital, and
uphold our traditional conservative values. I will work hard everyday to
keep those commitments."
Republican leaders were all smiles as the party's control of the Oklahoma House grew a little stronger. "Todd's election is further proof that times have changed in Oklahoma and the Republican Party's message of conservative fiscal policy and support for family values is one that resonates with voters in all parts of our state," said House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa. "Todd was a great candidate with a great work ethic and a winning message," said House Speaker- designate Kris Steele, R-Shawnee. "He will be a valued member of our caucus and an important voice for rural Oklahomans." Russ owned and operated a commercial nursery business in Cordell for 14 years and has been involved in banking since 1983. | |
Oklahoma Department of Ag in the Spotlight at the Chicken Litter Litigation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The trial
before Federal Judge David Frizzell continues- and the latest witness for
the state has, under crossexamination, admitted that Oklahoma could have
gone to court long ago to enforce water quality standards in the Illinois
River watershed. The decision to not use litigation until 2005 came during
poultry company attorneys' questioning of Teena Gunter, the deputy general
counsel for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry.
From the Associated Press account of the proceedings from Wednesday, "Gunter described a state agency that seemed overwhelmed and understaffed, with only two poultry inspectors responsible for dozens of chicken houses in the 1 million-acre Illinois River watershed, which spans parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas." The companies have maintained their contract growers - the farmers who
raise the birds - have broken no laws in their handling of the waste
because they received permits from Oklahoma and Arkansas to spread the
waste as an inexpensive fertilizer on fields or sell it to other
farmers. Click here for more on the Illinois River Chicken Litter Litigation underway in Tulsa. | |
Meanwhile- Oklahoma Conservation Commission to spotlight water quality improvement success stories. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Agriculture
producers in northeast Oklahoma are invited to attend a Hog Fry at the
Delaware County Fairgrounds on Tuesday, October 27 at 6pm to help
celebrate the success of voluntary, locally-led water quality efforts in
the Spavinaw Creek, Honey Creek and Illinois River Watersheds.
"We want to invite all agriculture producers and anyone interested in northeast Oklahoma water quality to come out and join us next Tuesday," Shanon Phillips, Director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission Water Quality Division said. "We'll have a good meal, enjoy some fellowship and discuss the water quality success stories that have been documented in the Watersheds of north east Oklahoma." According to Phillips, the best management plans developed by the Conservation Commission in cooperation with local conservation districts have resulted in sizable reductions in nutrients and bacteria in the various watersheds where local producers have taken part in various water quality programs including the clean water act Section 319 (319) program, the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Reserve Enhanced Program (CREP), and the USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The program at the dinner Tuesday night will highlight these practices and celebrate the success they have shown. "We are very excited to have the chance to say thank you to all those
producers in the area who have worked with us on these programs," Phillips
said. "Through 319, CREP, EQIP and other water quality efforts, farmer,
ranchers and other landowners have made are continuing to make a real
difference in addressing non-point source pollution through voluntary,
locally-led means. We hope everyone comes out to hear about the good work
going on in northeast Oklahoma. | |
No Trick- Just a Treat- The Shorthorn 500 Sale Happens Halloween ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Shorthorn
500 Sale is being planned for October 31, 2009 at 1:00 pm in the Bruce
Brooks Sale Facility, Marietta, Oklahoma. A great set of top notch
Shorthorn cattle will be offered during the Saturday sale.
Consigners/Sponsors of the SHorthorn 500 Sale include Double J Ranch, Chickasha, OK - Jim and Beverly Freed, Jeepetta Cattle Company, Crow Creek Farms, Lawton, OK - Steven and Jerrell Crow and the Brady Family Shorthorns of Marlow, OK. For sale details, you can call call: 405-222-0399 or 405-820-9725. Click on the link below and it will take you to the catalog for this Shorhorn event coming October 31. At our link below- we have a link that will take you to the Shorhorn website, where the catalog for the Shorthorn 500 has now been posted you can look at it there or can download it as a PDF file. Click here for more on the Shorthorn 500 Cattle Sale on October 31 in Marietta | |
Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, AFR and KIS Futures for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites 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! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We've had
requests to include Canola prices for your convenience here- and we will
be doing so on a regular basis. Current cash price for Canola is $7.80 per
bushel, while the 2010 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are
$8.00 per bushel- delivered to local participating elevators that are
working with PCOM.
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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