From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 6:28 AM
To: ron@oklahomafarmreport.com
Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
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Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Tuesday August 25, 2009
A service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and KIS Futures!
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-- Crop Insurance Deadline Nears
-- Specifically for Canola
-- Stormy Weather of Last Week Recounted in Latest Crop Weather Update
-- Can the Cash Cattle Market Break Out and Go Higher?
-- Ah Yes Grasshopper!
-- Checkoff's Attempt To Educate TIME Magazine Editor Falls On Deaf Ears
-- Report Projects Reduced Domestic Fuel Production
-- 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.

And we salute our longest running email sponsor- Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the springtime Southern Plains Farm Show, as well as the December 2009 Tulsa Farm Show. Click here for more information on the Tulsa Show, coming up December 10,11 and 12, 2009.

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.


Crop Insurance Deadline Nears
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The deadline to purchase 2010 Non-Insured Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage on warm season grasses for grazing has been moved from March 15, 2010 to August 31, 2009. Producers who purchase this coverage must not overlook this major deadline change since there are no provisions for late filed applications.

Producers are also reminded that to be eligible for any potential benefit from the Supplemental Revenue Assistance (SURE) Program (i.e. crop disaster program) all mechanically harvested crops must be covered under NAP or FCIC. This requires all alfalfa, grass and small grain hay must be covered under NAP.
Other NAP crops with an August 31 sales closing date include: wheat and other small grains intended for grazing, hay or silage; canola, alfalfa forage as hay or silage; and cool season grasses for grazing.

To apply for coverage producers must file form CCC-471 and pay the applicable service fee of $250 per crop per county or a maximum of $750 per producer per county not to exceed a total of $1875 for producers with farming interests in multiple counties. Check with your local FSA office- or your local crop insurance agent right away- the deadline is this FRIDAY- August 31.

Click here to jump to the Oklahoma FSA office website- to help you find your local office and check other deadlines coming up


Specifically for Canola
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Gene Neuens with PCOM and POP reminds us of two dates that are looming- the first the NAP deadline that we mentioned above.

Regarding that date- Gene writes "August 31st is the last date to apply for crop Insurance for Winter Canola. You must have your application postmarked Aug 31st to be eligible for crop insurance on canola. Please check with your insurance agent and make sure they get it mailed. Insure all fields that you even think you might plant to canola on."

The second date that Gene has on his mind is September second. "Nomination Forms for the Oklahoma Oilseed Commission are due. If you or another canola grower in you district wants to represent your district please get those mailed in by Sept 2, 2009.  The Ballets will be mailed out on Sept. 8th. The ballots need to be mailed back in by October 2nd. If you need nomination forms for your district let me know or contact Glen Schickedanz at the OK Dept of Ag, 405-522-3752."

There is more information on the Oilseed Commission Nominations on the ODAFF- Click here to jump there.


Stormy Weather of Last Week Recounted in Latest Crop Weather Update
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Last week a storm system moved through the State, bringing some flooding, strong winds, thunderstorms and large hail. Several residential areas in the northern tier of the State reported damage due to strong winds and fallen trees. Oklahoma averaged 1.87 inches of precipitation, with the North Central region receiving the most at 3.92 inches of rainfall. However, the Panhandle region remains in need of additional moisture. Both topsoil and subsoil moisture conditions improved slightly due to recent rainfall and remained rated in the adequate to short range.

Farmers are beginning to get ready to get those grain drills rolling to plant wheat. "The State's wheat and oat producers completed plowing of stubble and kicked seedbed preparations into full swing. Winter wheat seedbed preparation increased to 35 percent, three points ahead of the five-year average. Rye producers had plowed 98 percent of the State's acreage by Sunday, with 32 percent of rye seedbeds prepared, 17 percentage points ahead of normal. Twenty-eight percent of Oat seedbeds were prepared, an eight point increase from the previous week and 15 points ahead of the five-year average."

As far as the row crops go- "Recent rainfall slowed field work but has substantially improved moisture profiles for all row crops. Row crop conditions improved slightly and were rated mostly in the good to fair range. As of Sunday, corn in the dough stage of development increased to 93 percent complete, on target with the five-year average. Fifty-three percent of the corn had reached the dent stage, 16 percentage points ahead of last year and 35 percentage points ahead of normal. The State's corn crop in the mature stage reached 25 percent, 16 points behind the five-year average. Over half of the State's sorghum was headed, while 23 percent of the crop was coloring, both well behind normal. Soybeans blooming increased to 90 percent, a six point increase from the previous week and eight points ahead of the five-year average. Fifty-nine percent of the State's soybean crop was setting pods, four percentage points behind normal. By week's end peanuts pegging was virtually complete at 98 percent. Peanuts setting pods reached 80 percent complete, a 24 percentage point jump from the prior week but 14 points behind normal. Cotton squaring was complete as of Sunday while 84 percent of the crop was setting bolls, four points behind normal."

Clickhere for the weekly Oklahoma Crop Weather Update dated August 24


Can the Cash Cattle Market Break Out and Go Higher?
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The cash cattle market remains in a trading range- with a bottom apparently in the low 80s- and a strong ceiling is overhead in the mid 80s. That's the take on the market right now by Dr. Derrell Peel, OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist.

Dr. Peel is our guest today- and for the next couple of days on the Beef Buzz. Dr. Peel says the overhead resistance that cattle producers are facing has been reinforced by the problems in the pork marketplace- especially the sharp decline that we saw at the beginning of summer that came as a result of fears over H1N1, incorrectly called Swine Flu. Countries like China have seized on the H1N1 hysteria to ban our pork, protecting their domestic industry along the way.

Beef demand in this country also faces a consumer that simply is still very uncertain about his or her future, and that consumer is reluctant to buy beef as often, especially with the competing meats cheaper in the meat case.
Click on the link below for our Tuesday segment with Dr. Peel.

Click here to take a listen to our conversation with Derrell Peel of OSU on current cash cattle market conditions


Ah Yes Grasshopper!
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The old TV show with David Carradine, Kung Fu, is most memorable to me for the reference to Carradine the student, who was called Grasshopper. He was always seeking truth. Well, our story yesterday about grasshoppers stirred up several reactions and emails- and so we report what we have learned along the way.

Tom Smith in Pushmataha County reports "In the southeastern corner of Oklahoma, I have not seen nor heard of high populations of grasshoppers. In fact, when mowing my own hay, I found far fewer grasshoppers than normal this year. I know this is hardly scientific, but there it is."

And then we finally found the grasshoppers of this summer in Oklahoma. Cherrie Brown from Boise City offers this on the scene email "Cimarron County has an infestation of grasshoppers. Several are 2.5" x .5" in size. Many gardens have fallen prey to their onslaught. Range pastures are infested and a new hatch has occurred. No control measures have been put in place as yet. We actually saw grasshoppers during the winter."

So our western most county in the state does have a bunch of the insects hopping around. By the way, we did get another grasshopper email as well- this one from fellow reporter Brian Brus of the Journal Record. Brian got me laughing as he suggested a headline for a second wave of grasshopper stories "Controversy and lies surround grasshopper numbers!"


Checkoff's Attempt To Educate TIME Magazine Editor Falls On Deaf Ears
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TIME magazine posted an article by reporter Bryan Walsh to its Web site: "The Real Cost of Cheap Food." The article repeats a wide range of "factory farming" claims, including the common myths about modern beef production's over-reliance on corn and antibiotics, the distorting effect of farm subsidies and poor farm animal living conditions. It's the cover story for the Aug. 31 print edition, which already is available at some newsstands and will be arriving in subscriber mailboxes this week. The cover artwork is a package of ground beef that carries the warning: "CAUTION. This hamburger may be hazardous to your health."

The issues management and media relations teams of the Beef Checkoff Program, heard from a TIME research assistant at the end of July about a pending article. At that time, it was positioned as an article Walsh was writing about food safety and antibiotics. The research assistant specifically wanted the industry's comment on the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) and antibiotic use in the beef industry. Through actions by the Beef Checkoff Program, an interview was quickly arranged, after which, Walsh contacted the team directly to fact check how much it costs to raise a steer to harvest weight. When pressed, Walsh revealed his story would address other issues, including beef and nutrition and the environment. Again, Walsh was told he needed to hear from beef industry experts before running his story.

We have more on how the beef industry offered a whole host of industry experts- of whom Walsh quoted only one them. Instead Walsh wrote of the life of a pig in confinement- saying that once that pig is slaughtered, he will become sausage or bacon and will be "feeding an American addiction to meat that has contributed to an obesity epidemic currently afflicting more than two-thirds of the population. "

Click here for more on this story about Time Magazine and their efforts to throw modern agriculture under the bus in their current issue- including a link to the article online at the Time website


Report Projects Reduced Domestic Fuel Production
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The American Petroleum Institute has released a report on how implementation of the Waxman-Markey bill would affect domestic fuel production. The report projects that by 2030, U.S. refining production could drop 17% from today's levels if the climate bill is passed as currently proposed. The study says the drop would have to be made up by foreign imports, meaning the U.S. could end up relying on other countries for 19.4% of its refined fuel -- nearly twice the amount it imports today.

Average U.S. refinery output would drop to 12 million barrels a day in 2030 from about 14.5 million barrels a day currently, if nuclear power, technology to reduce carbon emissions and the use of international offsets fail to become widespread. Refinery utilization rates could drop to 63.4%, from about 83% today. The API-backed study concludes that if the U.S. puts a price on carbon emissions, domestic production would decrease as U.S. refiners deal with higher costs and lower demand for fuel.

Even beyond the recession, industry experts expect demand for gasoline to continue declining as vehicle mileage improves and new biofuels are developed. Last month, Valero Energy Corporation, the largest U.S. refiner by volume, posted a quarterly loss and analysts are expecting at least one refinery to shut down due to slackening demand. Without the restrictions of a Waxman-Markey bill, the study predicts U.S. production rates would grow to an average 16.4 million barrels a day in 2030.

CLick here to go to the API website and a news release on this study- complete with a link to the study


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.

Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com


Let's Check the Markets!
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There was a total of 7,500 cattle that were sold on Monday at the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City. Market reporter Jerry Alexander writes of the Monday run "Demand moderate to good for feeder cattle despite last Friday's bearish COF report. Demand good for calves. Recent rains and cooler temperatures has grass pastures in very good condition and some area farmers getting the wheat drills ready. The run continues to include significant numbers of No. 2 and crossbred cattle." Click here to check the actual prices of the Monday run in Oklahoma City, where yearlings were steady to a dollar lower and calves were called steady.

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 $8.10 per bushel, while the 2010 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $8.25 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:
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.



God Bless! You can reach us at the following:
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phone: 405-473-6144
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