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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Wednesday October 28,
2009 A
service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and KIS
Futures!
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-- Working With Farmers- Not Throwing Mandates at Them- is Helping
Improve Water Quality in Northeast Oklahoma
-- National Cattlemen's Beef Association Supports House Bill to
Address the Death Tax
-- Fundamentals Come Into Play as Cash Cattle Prices Jump
Higher
-- When it comes to stray livestock- there is no such thing as
"finders, keepers."
-- Farm-State Senators Raise Climate Concerns
-- EPA Plans on Zero in on CAFOs in Clean Water Act
-- Gray Land and Cattle Company Production Sale is This Friday
-- 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. | |
Working With Farmers- Not Throwing Mandates at Them- is Helping Improve Water Quality in Northeast Oklahoma ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Agriculture
producers from three northeast Oklahoma counties were a part of a
celebration at the Delaware County Fairgrounds Tuesday evening that
focused on the success of voluntary, locally-led water quality efforts in
the Spavinaw Creek, Honey Creek and Illinois River Watersheds. This
celebration stood in sharp contrast to the attacks on agriculture by
Oklahoma's Attorney General as the lawsuit against poultry interests
continues in the court of Gregory Frizzell.
Since 2003, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission has been working with 344 cooperators to put in place best management practices that all point to improving water quality in these watersheds that are considered critical areas that needed improvement as the Commission began this effort to partner with landowners instead of forcing practices down their throats in the form of mandatory regulations. We talked with Shannon Phillips, Water Quality Director of the Oklahoma
Conservation Commission, and she says that the best management practices
installed by the landowners since 2003 are helping to lessen phosphorus
loading in the three streams that make up the focus of this project- and
she adds that these are sustainable practices that will allow the water
quality improvement trend to continue. A rundown of the specific practices that have been put in place are listed in our story that is on our website- and we also have an audio conversation with Shannon as well about these efforts to offer cleaner water for Tulsa out of the Spavinaw Creek, as well as cleaner water for recreation in Grand Lake (out of Honey Creek) as well as along the Illinois River. Click on the link below to read more and to listen to our conversation with Shannon. Click here for more on the Water Quality Success Story that is unfolding in Northeast Oklahoma. | |
National Cattlemen's Beef Association Supports House Bill to Address the Death Tax ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The National
Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) is continuing to urge Congress to pass
legislation providing additional relief and permanency in the tax code for
America's farmers, ranchers and other small business owners. As part of
these ongoing efforts, NCBA is supporting H.R. 3905, the Estate Tax Relief
Act of 2009, introduced last week by Congresswoman Shelley Berkley
(D-Nev.), along with Representatives Kevin Brady (D-Texas), Devin Nunes
(R-Calif), and Artur Davis (D-Ala.). Over a 10-year period, H.R. 3906
would increase the estate tax ("death tax") exemption to $5 million while
decreasing the rate to a level of 35%.
Currently, the death tax is set at 45% for estates worth more than $3.5 million (or $7 million for a couple). The President's budget proposed freezing the estate tax at this level so it could be dealt with at a later date. If Congress does nothing, in 2011, it would revert to pre-2001 tax levels, and estates worth more than $1 million would be taxed at a 55% rate. "This bipartisan bill is a step in the right direction towards a
permanent solution that will allow farmers and ranchers to better plan for
the future of their operations," said Jill Davidsaver, manager,
legislative affairs. | |
Fundamentals Come Into Play as Cash Cattle Prices Jump Higher ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The cattle
market jumped higher this past week- and now the question is, can the
gains of last week hold? OSU Livestock Market Dr. Derrell Peel says that
the movement higher for cattle prices acknowledges that supplies of market
ready cattle are fairly tight and that the beef pipeline is current.
Dr. Peel adds that this is seasonal strength that showed up this past week. Could there be more gains ahead for the cattle market as we head into the last two months of the year? Dr. Peel says maybe, but he thinks any further higher movement will be modest- he is hopeful that we can stabilize the cash market at somewhat higher levels as we get to the latter days of 2009. Click on the link below and take a listen to our midweek Beef Buzz, featuring the comments from OSU Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel. Click here for our Wednesday Beef Buzz with OSU's Derrell Peel on the Cattle Market | |
When it comes to stray livestock- there is no such thing as "finders, keepers." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Col. Mike
Grimes, head of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture's Investigative
Services division is reminding Oklahomans that state law requires anyone
who finds stray livestock is required to notify the county sheriff's
department within seven days. Waiting longer than that could result in
being charged with larceny.
"The law is very clear that anyone who finds livestock is responsible for contacting the sheriff's office," he said. "They can claim reimbursement for the cost of caring for the animals but they cannot keep or sell the animals. That would amount to theft and could result in charges being filed." Several instances have been noted recently of people improperly concealing or selling livestock that did not belong to them, Grimes said. At least three of these cases have resulted in charges being filed. "The maximum penalty is seven years in the state penitentiary," he notes. "The bottom line is that if you find stray livestock, don't try to keep it or sell it. Be safe and report it right away." | |
Farm-State Senators Raise Climate Concerns ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Missouri
Senator Kit Bond fears a cap-and-trade system aimed at limiting carbon
pollution - like the one proposed by Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry
- would place a heavy burden on Midwest producers. That was one concern he
raised during the opening Senate Environment Committee hearing on the
Boxer-Kerry bill. Bond noted the legislation does not include a five-year
moratorium on the EPA's indirect land use rule - nor does it put USDA in
charge of running the carbon offsets program.
Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley is also concerned about the unfair burden on farmers in the Midwest. In a letter to Boxer and Kerry - he said a provision that allocates a large portion of allowances to utilities regardless of their compliance obligation is in effect a transfer of wealth to the East and West coasts at the expense of regions like the Midwest - a region that will already shoulder a larger share of the burden under the proposed system. Grassley questions the wisdom of unilateral U.S. legislation outside an international agreement - but says if the leadership is going to consider unilateral climate legislation - the economic burden should be shared equitably across all states and regions of the country. The top Republican of the Environment and Public Works Committee is Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, and he also expressed concerns about the Boxer- Kerry Bill. Inhofe also was upset that Senator Kerry was the opening witness and got 28 minutes to speak- uncontested- about this measure. Senator Inhofe says that Kerry did not get the facts straight- and he took to the full Senate Floor to offer a rebuttal. He went point by point to counter the Kerry comments- and we have that linked for you below. Inhofe contends that Kerry got it wrong on rising global temperatures in the last decade, the real cost of Cap and Trade and the ability of the EPA to run uncontested to improse all kinds of mandates on small businesses and farms ranches. Check out the Inhofe rebuttal- it's good reading. Click here on the Kerry Point- and Senator Inhofe Counterpoint on Climate Change | |
EPA Plans on Zero in on CAFOs in Clean Water Act ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A new Clean
Water Action Enforcement Plan unveiled by Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Lisa Jackson last week in a committee hearing in Washington
places emphasis on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs),
according to the National Pork Producers Council.
EPA, according to an NPPC briefing, said it will "pursue new strategies aimed to enforce existing rules limiting pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations. CAFOs have become larger and more densely located, placing more stress on waters in proximity to those locations. CAFOs result in a large pollution load to the environment. Where facilities with large numbers of animals are discharging without permits or in violation of their permits, they can cause significant pollution problems of concern to communities." NPPC urged pork producers to take steps to manage their manure properly. "NPPC will monitor developments around the implementation of the plan and will provide producers with updates as to what that means for them," the organization said. | |
Gray Land and Cattle Company Production Sale is This Friday ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gray Land and
Cattle holding their 14th production sale on Friday, October 30th, 2009
with the sale to start at 12 noon. Gray Land and Cattle Company is located
just 1/8 of a mile east of Exit 146 on Interstate 35, north of Edmond,
Oklahoma. This is also known as the Waterloo Road exit.
Dr. Charles and Karen Gray will be selling breeding age bulls- Polled Hereford, Hereford, Angus and Red Angus bulls. They will also be offering Bred Registered Polled Hereford Heifers as well as Commercial Polled Hereford and black baldy heifers. For more information on the cattle, contact Gray Land And Cattle Company at 405-341-6861 or call Charles' cell phone at 405-226-9578. | |
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 $7.45 per
bushel, while the 2010 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are
$7.75 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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