~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Thursday May 28, 2009
A
service of Johnston Enterprises, KIS Futures and American Farmers &
Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
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-- Harvest Activity Detected in Southwest Oklahoma
-- While Wheat Harvest is Likely to Be Slim in 2009- Oklahoma Farm
Bureau Claims Better Harvest at State Capitol
-- How to Build a Beef Cattle Operation From the Ground Up
-- Secretary Vilsack Says There is Time for Agriculture to be
Included in Climate Change Bill
-- Wild Turkeys in Oklahoma- Tips as Hatching Season Approaches
-- Happening Today- OIE Moving Japan's BSE Status
-- J & J Cattle Company Invites you THIS Satruday to their annual
Production Sale.
-- 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. | |
Harvest Activity Detected in Southwest Oklahoma ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If we were
using the same scale for harvest activity that we use for earthquakes, we
might have a 2.0 on the Richter Scale that would describe harvest here
early on southwest Oklahoma. With so many fields barren of wheat here in
2009, the ones that are left are few and far between- and harvest will
likely be a scattered process as well here in 2009.
We have detected some action as of Wednesday afternoon- and Mike Schulte of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission offers reports from several elevators in Tillman and Cotton Counties regarding some fields being ready, some combines rolling and a few reports to offer as a result. For example, in Frederick, a couple of early loads have come in, hitting a test weight of 59.4 pounds per bushel and a report of 7.5 bushels per acre. Mike also offers reports from Grandfield and Walters- you can hear his comments by clicking on our link below and going to our Wheat Harvest report for the day as found on our website, WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com. We also would welcome any observations and reports that you might have about the 2009 wheat harvest. What's going on in your area? Are there fields being harvested for grain? If you have reports you can share with us, drop me a line at the email that is found on the very bottom of this daily report. I also would welcome any reports you might have of baling wheat for hay, killing the wheat to make way for a spring planted crop and any other observations that you might have. We reported lots of disease being seen by Dr. Hunger in our report yesterday- what are you seeing in that regard? We will share your information- let me know if you don't want me sharing your name with the audience- but please drop us a line now and in the days ahead as we get harvest moving northward here in 2009. Click here for the Oklahoma Wheat Commission Wheat Harvest Report with Mike Schulte | |
While Wheat Harvest is Likely to Be Slim in 2009- Oklahoma Farm Bureau Claims Better Harvest at State Capitol ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The leader of
the states largest farm organization believes farmers and ranchers
harvested an overflowing bushel basket of victories from the 2009 Oklahoma
legislative session. Mike Spradling, Oklahoma Farm Bureau president, calls
the just completed session a good one for rural Oklahoma.
The biggest highlight was passage of HB 2151, the livestock preemption bill. The bill requires the Department of Agriculture set the standard for care and handling of livestock in Oklahoma. It does not affect municipal zoning laws as some opponents had earlier feared. "This legislation has been a priority for our members and we want to thank Governor Henry, Rep. Armes, Sen. Schulz and all the lawmakers for working hard to protect animal agriculture", Spradling said. The OFB President from Tulsa County adds there are several other measures that were passed during the session that offer benefit to farmers, ranchers and those who in live in rural areas of the state. Our webstory has a complete rundown of the measures that Farm Bureau is celebrating- and includes a conversation that we had with Spradling on Wednesday afternoon. | |
How to Build a Beef Cattle Operation From the Ground Up ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you were
going to start a beef cattle operation and do it from the ground up- how
would you assemble the pieces? We look at this question and get answers
from Donnell Brown of Throckmorton, Texas as we talked with this fourth
generation rancher just before he spoke tot he Seeds for Success Grazing
Conference this past week in Wilburton, Oklahoma.
Brown talked with us on today's Beef Buzz about the three steps to put together the right genetics for your beef cattle herd to be successful- and we talk about the concept of "creative financing" which will help either a beginning rancher or one that wants to expand into a new aspect of the beef business. We will be featuring some of the comments from Donnell Brown over the next few days on the Beef Buzz. The Buzz is a regular radio feature heard on radio stations around the state on the Radio Oklahoma Network- and can also be heard at any time on your schedule on our website. We have today's Beef Buzz linked below- check it out! Click here for our Beef Buzz with Donnell Brown of Throckmorton, Texas | |
Secretary Vilsack Says There is Time for Agriculture to be Included in Climate Change Bill ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To this point-
agriculture has been pretty well been left out of the legislation that
will dramatically shape the landscape of America for years to come. As the
House energy and Commerce Committee passed their so called Climate Change
Bill this past week before Congress took a week off for the Memorial Day
Recess, agriculture was almost totally ignored when it comes to any
positive role in the cap and trade concept. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack told
Farm Broadcast Colleague Jeff Nalley in Kentucky on Wednesday that he
believes there is still time to get agriculture included in a significant
way in this proposal.
The Secretary also believes that it is not right for US regulators to try to tie indirect land use in other countries to US biofuel production- it is simply too much of a stretch to connect one to another. We have an audio overview of these comments from Secretary Vilsack as he talked with Nalley at a USDA Rural Development event in Harrodsburg, Ky. Click on the link below for that story and to listen to the audio of the Secretary on these two topics. Click here for more with Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack on the Climate Change Debate | |
Wild Turkeys in Oklahoma- Tips as Hatching Season Approaches ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The eggs have
been laid and soon landowners will see young fowl leaving their nest sites
to begin their lives as wild turkeys in Oklahoma. These birds will have a
large home range so their management can be a bit tricky, said Terry
Bidwell, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension rangeland ecology
and management specialist. "Seldom will one landowner control enough land
to meet all of the turkey's habitat needs," he said. "Therefore, it is
important to evaluate existing habitat and to identify features that need
to be deleted, added or modified to improve the area." Making changes to
an existing habitat is more efficient and economical than new plantings.
Wild turkeys need to be able to roost in trees with open crowns and
horizontal limbs. A lack of these types of trees may limit populations.
Wild turkeys also need some cover to use for nesting.
"Nests are usually located in thick ground cover close to the edge of fields, roads or some type of edge such as a creek," Bidwell said. "Alfalfa fields, stream banks, hillsides with grass and shrubs provide good nesting cover in the western half of the state. Lowbush huckleberry, grape vines, grass clumps and dead brush tops provide good nesting cover in eastern Oklahoma." Water is essential for everyday life as a turkey, as well as food and escape cover. Turkeys will feed anywhere food is available, provided they are not disturbed. "Eastern turkeys tend to feed in mature hardwoods or hardwood-pine associations with open understories and small openings," Bidwell said. "They require large continuous expanses of hardwood timber for winter range. Western turkeys tend to feed in mixed grass-shrubs associations with small woodlots and forested stream corridors." Wildlife biologists with OSU's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation or the USDA Soil Conservation Service can provide specific recommendations to landowners. | |
Happening Today- OIE Moving Japan's BSE Status ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The World
Organization for Animal Health on Thursday will formally adopt a
resolution classifying Japan as a controlled-risk country for bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, according to Asian media reports. OIE decided
at a general session earlier in the week to upgrade Japan's BSE status,
the organization's officials said.
Japan mandates that beef from domestic cattle aged 21 months and older be tested for BSE, while it limits imports of beef to that derived from cattle aged 20 months or younger. The OIE ruling technically would allow Japan to ship a wider array of product abroad. Tokyo intends to press several countries including Russia and Mexico to import more Japanese beef. We have reported several times that US Beef officials believe that this status could also mean another way to pressure Japan to open their market to older US beef- at least from animals 30 months of age or younger. Click on the link below for a Beef Buzz report from earlier this month that featured comments from Gregg Doud of NCBA and the Billion Dollar potential that Japan offers the US cattle industry. | |
J & J Cattle Company Invites you THIS Satruday to their annual Production Sale. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Fourth
Annual J&J Cattle Company Production Sale is set for this Saturday,
May 30, 2009 at 12 Noon at the ranch near Orlando, Ok.
On Friday May 29 (tomorrow night), from 1 PM to dark, the cattle will be on display- at 5:30 PM, there will be a dinner and at 7:30 PM, J&J will hold an Embryo Auction. The Saturday Schedule (May 30) includes 7:30 AM Coffee, Juice and Pastries, 9:00 AM Cattle on display, lunch served at 11 AM, with the sale itself set for 12 noon. For info about the sale or the cattle to be offered, call Mark Johnson at 405-880-1902. | |
Our thanks to KIS Futures, Johnston Enterprises and AFR 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. | |
Let's Check the Markets! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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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