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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Monday May 4, 2009
A
service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and Johnston
Enterprises!
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-- A Six Figure Pay Day for OSU Wheat Breeding Efforts with Check
Handed Over from Ok Genetics, Inc.
-- NPPC Continues to Pump the Message Out About Current Flu Outbreak-
It Ain't About Hogs.
-- If We Can Hold Wholesale Beef Gains- Better Cash Cattle Prices May
Follow
-- What Direction Should be Taken in Animal Agriculture to Meet the
Challenge of the HSUS?
-- USMEF is Arguing Safety of US Pork with International Buyers as
Flu Scare Continues
-- CRP Extension Available for a Limited Number of Expiring
Contracts
-- From the World of Twitter
-- 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. It is wonderful to have as a regular 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! 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. | |
A Six Figure Pay Day for OSU Wheat Breeding Efforts with Check Handed Over from Ok Genetics, Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Oklahoma
State University Division of Agriculture has received it's first check
ever for wheat variety royalties, as collected by a new non profit
organization that has been formed for that purpose. Ok Genetics Inc. has a
licensing agreement for five OSU developed wheat varieties, and expects to
sign deals with OSU for two new varieties that will be available to wheat
farmers this fall. The current variety list in their lineup includes Ok
Bullet, Duster, Guymon and the two Clearfield varieties, OKField and
OKClearfield- with the new varieties that they will be representing
Billings and Pete.
The Executive Director of Ok Genetics Inc is Mark Hodges, and he says that very first check that has gone to OSU that will be plowed back into wheat breeding work was for $156,972.94. Hodges says that in these days of tighter budgets for University research and breeding programs, this money will allow Land Grants like OSU and K-State (who is represented by the Kansas Wheat Alliance) to stay competitive in hiring good people and doing the work to bring out higher yielding wheat varieties that also have other characteristics like drought tolerance needed by the wheat farmers here in the southern plains. We have our full interview with Mark on our website- as we talk about Ok Genetics and why this relatively new effort in Oklahoma is so important in our push for new wheat breeding efforts in the future. Click on the link below for that story. Click here for more on the six figure payday for the OSU Wheat Breeding Program. | |
NPPC Continues to Pump the Message Out About Current Flu Outbreak- It Ain't About Hogs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a Sunday
News Release, the National Pork Producers continues to tell the story of
"Non-Swine" flu to the general public- "Pork is safe to eat and handle,"
the U.S. pork industry continues to assure people in the wake of a report
from Canada that pigs in an Alberta pork operation contracted an H1N1
virus. A worker who recently visited Mexico - and became ill with flu-like
symptoms - is suspected of transmitting the virus to a pig. "People cannot
get the flu from eating or handling pork," said Dr. Jennifer Greiner,
director of science and technology for the National Pork Producers
Council. "The flu is a respiratory illness, it's not a food-borne
illness."
"Influenza is not uncommon in pigs," Greiner said, "but they recover, and it does not affect the safety or quality of pork. "It is well known that influenzas are transmissible, and it is not a surprise that a flu virus might have passed from people to pigs. The bottom line is pork is safe to eat and handle." A similar release came from Smithfield on Sunday, assuring buyers of Smithfield Food products that they have no flu associated with their product- and that in the case of Canada- they have no Canadian connections at all when it comes to facilities or in even the processing of Canadian hogs. The Smithfield release is up on our website- and the link to it is below- click and take a look. | |
If We Can Hold Wholesale Beef Gains- Better Cash Cattle Prices May Follow ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The stronger
whole boxed beef trade of recent weeks is setting the stage for a summer
rally in cash cattle prices- at least that is the expectation being raised
by Jim Sartwelle, Livestock Economist for the American Farm Bureau. He is
encouraged by the $15 advance in the wholesale boxed beef trade, even
though it has happened with fairly light volume to this point.
He does believe that now that we are in the $140s for the wholesale
trade- if we can hold that level into the early part of summer- we may see
a move into the 90s for slaughter cattle- and that will help yearling and
calf prices as well. You can hear Jim's comments on these cattle market issues on our Monday Beef Buzz, which is a regular feature heard on great radio stations around the state on the Radio Oklahoma Network. The Beef Buzz is also a regularly updated feature found on our website, www.OklahomaFarmReport.Com and we have the link to today's show with Jim Sartwelle below- check it out. | |
What Direction Should be Taken in Animal Agriculture to Meet the Challenge of the HSUS? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Animal
agriculture needs to answer one very simple question: What is unacceptable
to do to farm animals?" That's one of the bottom line statements from
Candace Croney, who is an associate professor of animal behavior/bioethics
in the department of veterinary preventive medicine at The Ohio State
University in Columbus as she pens a commentary on the subject of animal
welfare and the challenge faced by producers in several states- including
Ohio, where she lives.
She is writing in Feedstuffs and offers her opinions on the efforts of the HSUS to push for state by state reform of animal welfare legislation. "Animal agriculture's leaders must stop waiting to see what happens next and respond quickly and appropriately. The problem of farm animal welfare is here to stay, and the current attempts to address it with legislation may bring unforeseen consequences along the lines of those encountered following the horse slaughter ban." She adds that livestock producers must realize that consumers
understand more than we are often willing to admit- and that it is very
hard to argue against some of the language offered up by the Animal Rights
Activists- even if sound science is on our side. She points to the Prop 2
Initiative in California that included the dictate that "animals should be
able to stand up, lie down and turn around comfortably." Click here to read the commentary "State-by-state welfare legislation not solution" from Feedstuffs | |
USMEF is Arguing Safety of US Pork with International Buyers as Flu Scare Continues ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With all of
the facts in hand, the U.S. Meat Export Federation is working in each of
its markets to prevent expansion of overreaction to the H1N1 virus.
Several or our trading partners have cut off or severely curtailed imports
of U.S. pork. Philip Seng, president and CEO of the USMEF, says it is the
goal of his organization to - limit the scope and length of any trade
suspensions.
The federation is making frequent contact with trade and food safety officials in overseas markets in order to provide sound, scientific facts they are able to use to reassure the public about the safety of U.S. pork. In some cases, the results have been highly successful as several major trading partners have resisted pressure to impose bans or restrictions on pork imports. Seng says, - the majority of our trading partners have stepped up to the plate and followed sound science on this issue. He says, - the bans imposed by Russia, China and some other markets are quite frustrating, however, because they have no scientific basis and are simply adding to the confusion and unfounded fears about pork. | |
CRP Extension Available for a Limited Number of Expiring Contracts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack says USDA's Farm Service Agency will offer certain
producers the opportunity to modify and extend their Conservation Reserve
Program contracts that are scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, 2009. USDA can
only extend approximately 1.5 million acres out of a total 3.9 million
acres expiring this year. This extension will ensure that FSA meets the
statutory CRP acreage limitation of 32-million acres established in the
Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.
FSA will notify participants by letter beginning Wednesday. The sign-up for this voluntary extension will begin on May 18 and run through June 30, 2009. Farmers and ranchers may apply for this extension at their FSA county office. A general CRP signup is not scheduled during fiscal year 2009. However, producers may continue to enroll relatively small, highly-desirable acreages, including land that is not extended, into Continuous CRP. Continuous CRP includes such practices as filter strips and riparian buffers. Here's the full news release from USDA on this CRP Reenrollment Coming for 2009 | |
From the World of Twitter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I follow quite
a few people on Twitter, which means when they do a "tweet" I see it on my
computer or on my cell phone. A "Tweet" is a short 140 word message which
may be a factual update or a mini commentary on just about any subject you
can think of. I follow folks from here in Oklahoma, but also nationally
when it comes to farm and ranch issues. I also have my computer set up
with a program that allows me to see any mention of the word farm when it
is used by one of the millions that now utilize this social media magnet.
From time to time- I will point out "Tweets" that may be of interest to you- I will mention them because I found them interesting. For example, a farmer in northwest Iowa that Tweeted yesterday signals today may be a corn planting day in his part of the world- " Should be a great day for planting corn 2morrow. After sows are fed and bred." As for the world of commentary- there's always lots flying around in
the argument over organic versus conventional farming practices- one from
this weekend says "We grow 5x more corn w/ 20% less land than we did
in1930s. Explain 2 me how modern ag. yields 'less' than organic?" | |
Our thanks to Midwest Farm Shows, Producers Cooperative Oil Mill and Johnston Enterprises 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! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Woodward
Livestock Auction sold 3,678 head of cattle on Friday, with yearlings
going steady on the steers, and steady to $2 lower on the feeder heifers.
Steer calves were steady, while heifer calves sold steady to $1 higher.
Five weight steers sold $122 to $126.75, while seven to eight hundred
pound steer yearlings cleared from $93 to $106.75. The entire Woodward
report from this past Friday will be up on line from USDA by around 8 AM
Monday morning- click
here to review all of the numbers.
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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