From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 7:04 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 Monday December 14, 2009
A service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
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-- Oklahoma Wheat Growers Honor Congressman Frank Lucas With Their 2009 Mr. Wheat Award
-- The Dickson FFA Chapter Claims Top Prize at Tulsa Farm Show Livestock Handling Skills Contest
-- Dr. Derrell Peel of OSU Says 2009 Has Been A Challenging & Frustrating Year for the Cattle Markets
-- Blackleg Fungus Found in Oklahoma Winter Canola
-- US Beef Exports Hit Highest Monthly Volume for 2009 in October- Pork Exports Continue Strong as Well
-- Cattle Brands Expire January First- Act Now to Renew
-- Scout Your Wheat for Winter Grain Mite- Find out how in latest PaSS Newsletter
-- 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!

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Oklahoma Wheat Growers Honor Congressman Frank Lucas With Their 2009 Mr. Wheat Award
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During their annual meeting on Saturday, the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Presented Lucas their 2009 Mr. Wheat award, given to a person annually that has had a major impact on the well being of Oklahoma wheat growers.

The top Republican on the House Ag Committee told reporters before he spoke to the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association on Saturday that there was no coincidence that the Obama Administration had the EPA declare Carbon Dioxide a danger to human health just days ahead of the President making a Climate Change address in Copenhagen this coming week.

Lucas says he is very concerned about EPA on several fronts, including the possible move by the Agency to regulate every single pesticide application in America. He says that this move and others by government regulators would allow the federal government to get further involved in every decision made by farmers.

We have the Q&A that Congressman Lucas had with reporters on our top webstory of the morning on our website- click on the link below to read more about his comments and listen to them as well.

Click here for the comments we got with Congressman Frank Lucas at the OWGA meeting in OKC on Saturday


The Dickson FFA Chapter Claims Top Prize at Tulsa Farm Show Livestock Handling Skills Contest
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Less than six points separated the top three teams at the 2009 Tulsa Farm Show Livestock Handling Skills Contest, with the FFA team from the Dickson FFA Chapter winning top honors over Pawnee and Crescent. The Dickson team was made up of Christy McGee, Julie Riner and Fred Chapman. The team members each earned scholarships for their efforts, and the winning FFA Chapter also was awarded a Calf Table from Priefert.

Each of the teams processed 2 calves as if adding them to an existing herd. They were judged on the quality of their work by a team of industry professionals. The contest is sponsored by the American Farmers & Ranchers and Midwest Farm Shows.

Team members of the second through fifth place teams include:
Pawnee, Second Place- Chase Collins, Cole Collins and Chris Grisel.
Crescent, Third Place- Kendall Harsh, Zac Tarrent and Corey Crick
Crescent, Fourth Place- Heather Christiansen, Tanner James and Derek Christiansen
Perkins- Tryon, Fifth Place- Courtney Murray, Joe Preston and Kelcea Cundiff

Click here for more on the Livestock Skills Handling Contest at the Tulsa Farm Show- including pictures of the top five winning teams at this year's event.


Dr. Derrell Peel of OSU Says 2009 Has Been A Challenging & Frustrating Year for the Cattle Markets
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Beef demand is generally weak in December and all the more so this year, which has been characterized by beef demand, or more properly, the lack of beef demand. Boxed beef rallied from October lows and hovered around $140/cwt. for Choice until early December. This was driven largely by stronger rib values. Prime rib is a popular New Year's Eve menu item and now that buying is done for the holiday, the Choice cutout has dropped back to near $135/cwt. in the past few days. Beef markets will mostly coast out the remainder of the month and year and look for post-holiday beef featuring in January.

The decrease in boxed beef prices has been matched by lower fed cattle prices, which dropped below $80 this week. Feeder cattle prices started the week fairly strong but faded during the week with lower boxed beef, fed cattle and futures prices. The first major winter storm of the season also played a part in markets this week and may impact things for the remainder of the year. In the southern plains, a continuing dribble of wheat pasture cattle demand largely dried up with the cold temperatures this week. However, the region avoided snow and there will continue to be some demand for lightweight grazing cattle into the New Year.

Click on our link below to read the rest of Dr. Peel's comments that come from Cow Calf Corner- a regular electronic cattle industry commentary that Peel and Glenn Selk produce from OSU.

Click here for more with Derrell Peel on the Cattle Market Looking Ahead into 2010.


Blackleg Fungus Found in Oklahoma Winter Canola
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Phoma blackleg or Phoma stem canker are the names of a new plant disease recently observed in winter canola fields near Cherokee and as far south as Hennssey, according to Gene Neuens, Producers Cooperative Oil Mill and the Plains Oilseed Products Cooperative. Located first in a field of canola in Alfalfa County by Heath Sanders, Oklahoma State University Extension Asst., symptoms of the new disease are beige-colored lesions or spots on the winter canola leaves and black pepper-like dots within the spots. Not previously confirmed in Oklahoma, the effect of the disease on canola yields is not known at this time, Sanders said.

OSU Extension agronomists and specialists are working to determine the extent of the disease in the 2009-10 Oklahoma wnter canola crop. Because the disease has been seen in several areas in the state, it is likely the the disease, also known as blackleg, has been present at low levels for several years. The outbreak this year is most likely due to the cool, wet weather that helps plant diseases to development and spread.

In this early stage of the 2009-10 winter canola crop, with approximately 85,000 acres planted in Oklahoma, growers should take no action at this time besides scouting their fields for symptoms of blackleg, Neuens said. "If growers observe symptoms of the disease and want to have the disease confirmed, they should contact their local county OSU Extension office," Neuens said. "Samples can be taken and checked in the laboratory. Symptoms should not be confused with normal winter dormancy and dieback of canola leaves in cold weather.

Click on the link below for more on this story about a new production problem to worry about when it comes to winter canola here in the southern plains.

Click here for more on the Blackleg fungus now apparently in some winter canola fields in the state.


US Beef Exports Hit Highest Monthly Volume for 2009 in October- Pork Exports Continue Strong as Well
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U.S. beef exports hit their highest monthly volume for the entire year in October, while pork exports achieved their second-best month of 2009, according to the latest statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

For beef exports- October showed promising signs of a rebound. Exports totaled 82,627 metric tons (182.2 million pounds) valued at $274.7 million, the largest monthly volume and third-highest monthly value (slightly behind May and June) of the year. While still below year-ago levels, October's beef exports show a 12 percent increase in volume and 5 percent in value over the prior month, and exceed the 2009 monthly average by 11 percent in volume and 7.5 percent in value. January-October exports of 743,085 metric tons (1.64 billion pounds) valued at $2.56 billion still lag last year's pace by 12 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

Pork exports continued their upward momentum with a strong performance in October. Exports of 164,092 metric tons (361.8 million pounds) represented the second-largest monthly volume this year, while pork muscle cut exports achieved their highest volume of 2009 at 128,392 metric tons (283.1 million pounds). Year-to-date exports are down 11 percent in volume (to 1.53 million metric tons or 3.37 billion pounds) and 13 percent in value (to $3.57 billion) compared to 2008, the highest ever year for pork exports, but they remain nearly 50 percent higher than the second-best year on record, 2007. This year, exports account for 22.3 percent of total production compared to 24 percent last year, while the value of exports equates to $38.17 per hog slaughtered compared to last year's $42.31.

Click on the link below for a full rundown of the meat export situation here in the US- which looks positive for US livestock producers.

Click here for more on the Beef and Pork export story from the month of October.


Cattle Brands Expire January First- Act Now to Renew
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All registered cattle and horse brands in the state of Oklahoma are set to expire on January 1, 2010 unless renewed. The Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association (OCA), under contract with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Food and Forestry, is the official state Brand registrar. The OCA began mailing out over 13,000 brand renewal forms to current brand holders in October.

"We have had a very good response rate so far during this renewal process," said Scott E. Dewald, OCA Executive Vice-President. "We have made every effort to ensure everyone receives their renewals, despite this we have had some renewals returned to us because of inaccurate addresses. Because of this we encourage anyone who has not received a renewal form to contact us at (405) 235-4391."

More details on the renewal process can be had by clicking on the link below.

Click here for more on renewing your cattle brand for five years.


Scout Your Wheat for Winter Grain Mite- Find out how in latest PaSS Newsletter
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The latest OSU Plant and Soil Science News Letter is now available- we have it linked on our website and you can jump to it by clicking on our link below.

Among the topics covered in this latest newsletter-

Winter grain mite in wheat
Dr. Tom Royer discusses this hard-to-see pest, so get out your magnifying glass and scout those fields!

2010 Crop changes
Dr. Chad Godsey covers what worked in 2009 and what should be changed in 2010.

Greenbug management
It's been cold lately. So, how do greenbugs tolerate the sub-feezing temps? Read this article by Dr. Royer to find out.

Sustainable agriculture is a goal
Dr. Kefy Desta outlines what is meant by the term sustainable agriculture.

Click here for our story and link to the latest PaSS Newsletter from OSU.


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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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 $7.95 per bushel, while the 2010 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $8.15 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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