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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Monday July 27, 2009
A
service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind
Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance
Company!
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-- Rest In Peace- A.J. Smith, Editor of the Oklahoma Cowman
-- Jim Robb of the LMIC Says Beef Industry Has Weathered Economic
Woes better Than General Economy
-- Tom Leffler Helps us Out on Cattle on Feed Numbers
-- Tyler Norvell Named Lead Lobbyist for Oklahoma Farm Bureau at
Oklahoma State Capitol
-- Republican Senators Call on USDA for FULL Analysis of Climate
Change Proposal
-- Poultry Community Council Pleased with Court Ruling of Last
Week
-- Remember to Register for Master Cattleman Summit
-- 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 pleased 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! It is also great to have as an annual sponsor on our daily email
Johnston Enterprises- proud to be serving agriculture across
Oklahoma and around the world since 1893. 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. | |
Rest In Peace- A.J. Smith, Editor of the Oklahoma Cowman ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was a
tragic way to end the 57th Annual Convention of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's
Association. As the cattle organization wrapped up their general business
session, their longtime editor of the Oklahoma Cowman, A J Smith, who was
fighting a valiant battle against cancer collapsed and was rushed to the
Midwest City Hospital where he was pronounced dead on Saturday morning,
July 25, 2009.
"AJ spent the past three days with his OCA friends and we are deeply
saddened by his passing," said Terry Forst, OCA President. "We express our
deepest condolences to his wife Debra, his son Aaron, his daughters
Christel and Jessi, and the entire Smith family," added
Forst. Smith was recognized with numerous honors and awards for his efforts and contributions to the nation's cattle industry. He received the Animal Science Recognition Award, the Beef Master Appreciation Award, the OSU, Animal Science Graduate of Distinction Award, The Oklahoma Hereford Association Heritage Award, the Oklahoma Youth Expo Show Honoree Award and the Honorary Cattlewoman of the Year Award. He was also inducted into the Oklahoma Angus Hall of Fame and served as President of the Southwest American Livestock Foundation. A Memorial Service honoring the life and legacy of AJ Smith is currently being planned. In lieu of flowers a fund is being established to provide scholarships for his grandchildren. The details of both the service and the scholarship fund should be firmed up early this week- the OCA's Scott Dewald expects the public memorial will be held Thursday or Friday of this week. We will have details as they are made available on our website- as will the website for the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association. | |
Jim Robb of the LMIC Says Beef Industry Has Weathered Economic Woes better Than General Economy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Director
of the Livestock Market Information Center, Jim Robb, was scheduled to
provide a market analysis to help close out the 2009 Oklahoma Cattlemen's
Association Convention at the Reed Center in Midwest City. However, that
final session of the convention was canceled with the unexpected death of
A.J. Smith.
Before these developments, we did have the chance to sit down and visit with Jim Robb about the cattle market, both the short term and long term prospects and some of the outside forces that have buffeted the cattle industry over the last few years. Specifically, Jim Robb says that for just going through the worse
economic meltdown since the Great Depression, the cattle market is in
remarkable shape. He says that this is the third mega shock the industry
has had to handle this decade, starting with the terrorist attack on 9/11,
then the Cow that Stole Christmas in December 2003 and now this global
economic collapse. He believes that domestic beef demand has hung in there
very well given the economic issues consumers have faced- and that bodes
well for the days ahead when we start to see some economic
recovery. Click here for the cattle market outlook of Jim Robb from the Livestock Market Information Center. | |
Tom Leffler Helps us Out on Cattle on Feed Numbers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Both the July
1 Cattle on Feed report as well as the mid year Cattle Inventory report
held no surprises for the cattle trade as they were released on Friday
afternoon by USDA. Analysts, including Tom Leffler with Leffler
Commodities say that the July first Cattle on Feed report came in close to
average trade guesses in all three numbers, total on feed, marketings and
placements.
June placements came in at 92% of a year ago, slightly under expectations, marketings were up a little from expectations at 101% of a year ago versus 99% as the pre report average guess, while the number of cattle on feed was down five percent compared to July first of last year- as expected by the trade. We have the full USDA reports linked in our webpage linked below- as well as the audio with Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities about the numbers that were released by Uncle Sam on Friday afternoon. | |
Tyler Norvell Named Lead Lobbyist for Oklahoma Farm Bureau at Oklahoma State Capitol ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma Farm
Bureau's public policy team is undergoing minor adjustments to take
advantage of staff strengths. Tyler Norvell has been named director of
state affairs and will be the lead lobbyist at the state capitol. "Tyler
is extremely knowledgeable about agricultural issues and the political
process," said Lori Kromer Peterson, vice president of public policy.
"Members and lawmakers will see him on a daily basis during the
legislative session, representing Farm Bureau interests."Peterson said she will continue to use her experience as a lobbyist and attorney to benefit Farm Bureau but will now be able to expand her duties to focus on issues and project management. Norvell said he looks forward to the challenge of keeping agriculture and rural issues on the legislative front burner. "I want to pursue our current successful strategies, emphasizing the protection of private property rights and our livestock producers' freedom from burdensome government regulations," Norvell said. Other members of the public policy team will continue to work in their respective areas. Ericka McPherson, director of national affairs, focuses on federal legislation and political education. Marla Peek, director of regulatory affairs and the OFB Legal Foundation, focuses on agency rule makings and implementation as well as management of cases, issues and outside legal counsel for the Foundation. Click here for more on this restructuring in the Public Policy Office at the Oklahoma Farm Bureau | |
Republican Senators Call on USDA for FULL Analysis of Climate Change Proposal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Following a
Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on the effects of climate change
legislation on farmers, U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and other
members of the Committee today sent a letter to Dr. Joseph Glauber, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Chief Economist, requesting updates to
USDA's study regarding EPA's agriculture analysis of H.R. 2454, the
American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. U.S. Senators Thad Cochran
(R-Miss.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Mike Johanns
(R-Neb.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Pat Roberts
(R-Kan.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), joined Sen. Chambliss in signing the
letter asking USDA to brief the Committee on the results of the analysis.
Additionally, during the hearing members noted acreage estimates from
the American Farm Bureau Federation regarding the conversion of cropland
to new forest land. Initial estimates calculated from data furnished by
EPA indicated 40 million acres would be subject to afforestation; however
according to Committee calculations, that figure could be significantly
higher, perhaps as much as 78 million acres, which would be 20% of all US
cropland. That high of a number raises major concerns about the ability of
US agriculture to continue to be able to feed and cloth the world.
| |
Poultry Community Council Pleased with Court Ruling of Last Week ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We had the
opportunity to get further reaction on the Judge Greg Frizell ruling of
last week that removed monetary damages from the case filed by Oklahoma
Attorney General Drew Edmondson against those northwest Arkansas poultry
companies that Edmondson has alleged are polluting the Illinois River
watershed. We caught up with Jackie Cunningham of the Poultry Community
Council while she was at the Friday sessions of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's
Association Convention- and we talked about what this ruling means for
settling this case, as well as the water quality of the Illinois River and
the ability to make a living by poultry contract growers in Eastern
Oklahoma.
Cunningham had earlier issued a statement on this decision, saying that "We are in the process of reviewing the court's ruling to determine the impact that it is likely to have on the future of the case. The Poultry Community Council is glad the court has seriously considered this motion and we believe this confirms the necessity in filing this motion. Our hope is that the court's ruling gives each party involved an opportunity to have a voice in resolving these matters outside of the courtroom." You can read the rest of her statement- and hear our brief conversation at the OCA meeting as well by clicking on the link we have provided below. | |
Remember to Register for Master Cattleman Summit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here's a quick
reminder from our friend Glen Selk of the OSU Animal Science Department
about one of the big events of summer for their department as they work
with cattle producers from across the state.
Beef cattle producers in Oklahoma (and surrounding states) are reminded to register soon for the Master Cattleman Summit to held on the Oklahoma State University campus August 13th and 14th . Producers who attend will gain "hands on" experience in determining forage availability and cattle stocking rates, selecting beef replacement heifers, and using risk management and cowherd management software tools. They will also hear from industry leaders such as Chip Ramsey, manager of the Rex Ranch in Nebraska and Dr. Todd Thrift, Professor of Beef Nutrition and Management at the University of Florida. Register now to assure your spot in this education-packed day and a half on the OSU campus. We have linked below our calendar page item on the Summit- click on it and you will can learn more about registering for this unique opportunity. | |
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! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Woodward
Livestock Auction sold a total of 6900 cattle this past Friday, with
yearling steers called steady to a dollar cheaper, yearling heifers $1 to
$1.50 down and calves selling steady. Seven to eight hundred pound steers
cleared $100 to $102.75, while eight weight steers clearing from $97 to
$102.75. For the complete rundown on the Woodward
market from Jerry Nine and his Woodward livestock auction team, click
here.
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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