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!
And 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.

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.

In Oklahoma, we also saw the number of farms jump by four percent, and the land in farms also grew by four percent in Oklahoma to just over 35 million acres. the amount of land devoted to farms declined nationally by just over 16 million acres to 922 million acres in the 2007 count.
Farm Sales Receipts grew 30% in Oklahoma from 2002 to 2007 with stronger prices for both livestock and crops- with 80% of the total sales for Oklahoma coming from the livestock sector.

Of the 86,565 farms in Oklahoma- almost 46,000 have internet access with over 25,000 having high speed internet access.
We had the chance to visit with Wil Hundl of the Oklahoma City Field Office of NASS on Wednesday afternoon about the numbers- and that conversation can be found at the link below- go and check it out.

Click here for more on the Oklahoma numbers within the 2007 Census of Ag

Braum's supplier, Peace Deluxe Candy Company, voluntarily recalled their produce as part of the Food and Drug Administration's ongoing investigation into a nationwide salmonella outbreak. Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) is the current focus of an ongoing Salmonella investigation by the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA). In January, the FDA expanded its investigation to include all peanuts processed by the PCA at its plant in Blakely, GA., since January 1, 2007.

The voluntary recall of Braum's Premium Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream includes half gallons, three pint cartons and 3 ½ gallon squares:
* Premium Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream - Half Gallon Carton (UPC Code 400000001098)
* Premium Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream - Three Pint Carton (UPC Code 400000021096)
* Premium Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream - 3 ½ Gallon Squares (No UPC Code-Not Sold Retail)
Consumers who have purchased Braum's Premium Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream may return it to any Braum's store for a full refund or exchange. Consumers with questions may contact Braum's Customer Service at 800-327-6455.

During that hearing, Congressman King asked Kennedy to confirm a quote he made to the Des Moines Register in 2002: "Large-scale hog producers are a greater threat to the United States and U.S. democracy than Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network, says Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, a New York environmental group." Kennedy responded: "I don't know if that's accurate, but I believe it, and I support it."

There is a YouTube video of the give and take between King and Kennedy- the audio quality is horrible but we were able to make out that Kennedy believes that the hog industry paid off virtually every public official in several states, including the second largest hog producing state in the US, North Carolina, and that's why we have legislation in several states that he says makes it illegal to criticize food coming from "factory farms."
Congressman King took strong exception to Kennedy- saying that the hog industry's commitment to the environment has resulted in cleaner air and water in his state of Iowa. Kennedy was having non of that- as he called the modern pork industry the "worst polluter in the nation."
As I mentioned, the audio is horrible- but you can go to the YouTube link below and see for yourself. I listened with headphones and that made it a little easier to hear Mr. Kennedy defend his earlier claim that hog farmers are more of a threat to the future of the US than bin Laden.

Click here for the YouTube give and take between Congressman Steve King and Robert F Kennedy, Jr.

"Sue is very much the living embodiment of the land-grant mission, having taken the lead on numerous, much-needed programs on behalf of the people of Tulsa County and Oklahoma throughout her 24 years with OSU Cooperative Extension," said Robert E. Whitson, vice president, dean and director of the division.

Gray was the founder of the "Green Acres" program in Tulsa, which provides practical information about rural lifestyles and services; shopping for, buying and managing rural land; and selecting rural enterprises to urban residents looking at moving to rural areas and rural residents who commute to work in urban areas. The program has since been adopted by additional counties in Oklahoma and two other states, and has been featured as a story in "The Wall Street Journal."

Read more about Sue Gray being honored by OSU and the Oklahoma Extension Service

Our colleague at Griffin Communications, Gary England, Meteorologist for KWTV News9, dropped us a note yesterday afternoon confirming the danger. "Fire risk will be high Thursday & Friday with strong southerly winds, low humidity and warmer temperatures. Wildfires in these conditions will be a significant event."

With springlike temperatures ahead- spring storms may be pulling into town as well. Gary adds "There will be a risk of severe thunderstorms late Sunday, Sunday night and early Monday. "
The link below is to the Oklahoma Department of Ag's website and a map they have on what counties now have burn bans in place as of this morning. It is an active map- so you can roll your mouse across it and see which county is which.

Click here for that Burn Ban map courtesy of the ODAFF

On Friday- it's the 50th Oklahoma Pork Congress at the Express Events Center in northwest Oklahoma City- top leadership of the National Pork Board and the National Pork Producers Council will be on hand speaking- as well as the CEO of Seaboard Farms during the afternoon. Add to that Awards to be handed out and more as a part of their day long schedule. Click here for our link for more information.

On Saturday- it's your chance to support the 4-H and FFA Foundations in the state by going and watching the Oklahoma City Blazers puck it out on the ice in downtown Oklahoma City. American Farmers & Ranchers are sponsoring this event- with youth from all over the state heading to the Blazers game. Jump to this link to get details on how you can get tickets that will contribute toward support for the 4-H Foundation and the FFA Foundation of our state.

Van and Milt Messner and their families are proud to offer 75 Hereford and 50 Angus Bulls (yearlings and 2 year old bulls) as well as 50 spring calving bred Hereford and Angus heifers. EPD data is available on the bulls that will be offered.

We have details of the sale on our Auction page at WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com- which includes how you can watch the sale on the Internet if you are unable to be there in person. Click on our link below for more on the Messner Ranch Annual Production Sale.

Click here for details of the Messner Ranch Hereford and Angus Bull Sale on February 7

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.

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.