Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. It is wonderful to have as a regular 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!

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 are crushing, including sunflowers and canola- and remember they post closing market prices for canola and sunflowers on the PCOM website- go there by clicking here.
And we salute our longest running email sponsor- Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the April 2009 Southern Plains Farm Show in Oklahoma City. This year's show dates are April 23,24 and 25. Check out details of both the Southern Plains Show and the Tulsa Farm Show 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.

One of the traps waiting farmers is the second crop option of following wheat with a crop like grain sorghum later this spring or early summer. Scott Bulling says not declaring even a possible crop you may plant may keep you from being eligible for SURE if the Obama Administration gets it implemented and you have a loss. Producers who anticipate the possibility of planting grain sorghum or other crops behind failed first crops this season should be aware of new rules pertaining to crop insurance under the 2008 farm bill. According to the farm bill passed last spring, Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payment program (SURE) eligibility could be affected by planting a second crop if it is not properly stated on insurance forms early in the season.

We have more on this story- and other things you need to take into consideration as you consider crop insurance needs for your operation- just click on our story below. That link has our audio conversation with Scott Bulling of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau as we talk about all of these crop insurance considerations.

Click here for more on the Spring Crop Insurance Signup Deadline

NAP for grazing is a requirement to be eligible for any Livestock Forage Disaster programs that may come about due to drought.

If you have questions about this program- or if you have simply put it off and need to sign up- get with your local FSA office before the Close of Business on Monday to get it done. We have a fact sheet on some of the details on the NAP program linked below for you to check it out.

Click here for a Farm Service Agency Fact Sheet on NAP

Provisions in the omnibus allow for a general travel license for agriculture-related travel to Cuba; eliminate the current licensing requirements through the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control; and provide a fix to the current financing requirements that impede trade with Cuba by requiring payment before shipment. While the adoption of this language is a significant victory on the road to easing trade and travel restrictions with Cuba, the excitement for the wheat industry and others was dampened by letters from Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner indicating the new measures would have little impact.

In a letter to Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who contacted Treasury with questions about the language, Geithner said, "Treasury believes that likely will have no influence on current financing rules," noting the term "cash in advance" remains in the underlying bill, the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (TSREEA).
One of those very upset with this letter from the Obama Administration is Kansas Congressman Jerry Moran- we have some audio comments from Mr. Moran on this letter and where we stand on opening ag trade with Cuba in our story linked below- click to learn more and hear how Jerry Moran weighs in on a very frustrating subject for him.

Click here for more on the Cuban Trade Mess.

The third overall Kid Doe was the Class 8 winner, owned by Tori Sessions of the Fairview FFA- Tori also won the Division 2 Championship. The fourth overall Kid Doe was shown by Brittany Venable of the Verden FFA- this Doe was the Class 16 winner and Division IV Reserve. The fifth overall Kid Doe was shown by Karisa Pfeiffer, who showed the second place Kid in Class 16 and is a member of the Mulhall Orlando FFA Chapter.

We also have details of the Meat Goat Showmanship contest on the Blue Green Gazette at our website- the link is below- and we remind you that we have many of the highlights of the OYE listed on our Calendar pages- and we are doing updates on our Twitter account from the Oklahoma Youth Expo as well.

Click here for the Blue Green Gazette for complete coverage of the Oklahoma Youth Expo

"The increase in beef muscle cut exports is very gratifying, especially in the face of so much economic uncertainty," said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. "Even with overseas consumers constricting their spending in many areas, they recognize the quality, consistency and affordable value delivered by U.S. beef. That is one of the main reasons USMEF is intensifying promotions in sectors with the greatest propensity for utilizing U.S. beef under adverse economic circumstances."

Despite a decline in exports to both countries, Mexico and Canada remained the top two destinations for U.S. beef in January, combining to account for 56 percent of the value and 54 percent of the volume worldwide. South Korea, which was closed to U.S. beef during the first half of 2008, emerged as the third-largest market in January. Korea's imports, valued at $27.6 million, were about 20 percent higher than its December 2008 total.
We have more on the beef export story as well as the pork export story which was very encouraging as well- it's in our story on our website, www.OklahomaFarmReport.Com- click on the link below and jump to our story.

Click here for more on the strong beef and pork export numbers just released for the month of January.

OALP members will interact with a variety of shakers and movers in Washington, including USDA Chief Economist Dr. Joe Glauber, NCBA's Greg Doud, Daren Coppock of the National Association of Wheat Growers, Kay Johnson Smith of the Animal Agriculture Alliance and Economist Dr. Bob Young of American Farm Bureau. They will also be spending time with at least three of Oklahoma's Congressional delegation this week- Senator Jim Inhofe and Congressmen Frank Lucas and Dan Boren.

The OALP is a program that develops young Oklahoma ag and rural leaders to get ready for future leadership opportunities. The Washington experience has been an important component of that leadership development for all of the classes down through the years- and the group in our nation's capitol this week will be drinking from a firehose that's filled with information and insights into how our federal government functions. It looks like it will be quite a week.

For more on the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program- click here for the official website.

BLC says come and buy great genetics at great prices this Wednesday. The ranch is located at 24723 Skagg City Road in Tecumseh. Call the ranch at 405-598-3757 for sale information.

We have the Ranch website linked below- they have more details on the sale offering- and you can also check with MCS Auction services for more information on this sale as well- call Matt Sims at 405-840-5461.

Click here for more on the BLC Angus Ranch sale This Wednesday. March 18 at the Ranch in Tecumseh

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- Two Pager From The Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on Hard Red Winter Wheat 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.