|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
The update for Friday July 21, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- Oklahoma Agroterrorism Working Group hears from NCBA Key
Staffer
-- How many chicken legs does it take to add up to $45
million???
-- Do your homework this weekend- then be ready to vote Tuesday
-- Grain Sorghum Tour and OCA Convention on tap next week!
-- Starting Today- the Four State Farm Show
-- Johanns on BSE testing and the WTO
-- Our Preview of the Cattle on Feed Report- then after 6 pm Friday,
Analysis of the Reports
Howdy Neighbors! Here's your morning farm news headlines from Ron Hays, Director of Farm Programming for the Oklahoma Agrinet. Listen to Ron on Oklahoma Agrinet stations statewide, or log onto www.farmnews.net 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. | |
Oklahoma Agroterrorism Working Group hears from NCBA Key Staffer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The quarterly
meeting of the Oklahoma Agroterrorism Working Group met at the Oklahoma
Farmers Union headquarters in downtown Oklahoma City, just a stone's throw
from the site of the worse case of domestic terrorism before 9/11, and
they got an update about some of the major players in agroterrorism and
eco-terrorism. The AWG now has 41 groups participating in its regular
meetings, representing Law Enforcement, the Ag Industry, Academia and
Government.
Their keynote speaker this week was Kendal Frazier, Vice President for Public Relations of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. We have known Kendal for a lot of years, as he was a farm broadcaster on WIBW out of Topeka, Kansas when we were getting started in farm radio at KFH Radio in Wichita. Frazier talked to the group about how the beef cattle industry and the USDA responded to the BSE "Cow that stole Christmas" event of December 23, 2003. Frazier told the group that they learned a bunch of lessons, including the very important lesson that you need a plan, you need to coordinate with all the potential players and you need to practice, practice, practice when you have your plan so that if the day comes that you have to wheel it out and make use of it, as many of the snafus that could occur have been addressed. You can hear some of Kendal's thoughts about the threat of Agro-terrorism and how farmers and ranchers need to be aware of the world they live in here in 2006 by clicking below. Listen to Ron visit with Kendall Frazier of the NCBA on Agroterrorism preparation | |
How many chicken legs does it take to add up to $45 million??? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma
attorney general Drew Edmondson has claimed to the general media that he
never asked for money from the poultry industry before he filed suit
against them and that lawyer fees were never a part of any give and take
with the poultry industry. Up to now, those conversations were considered
confidential, but now the Northwest Arkansas poultry companies are saying
since the AG has brought the issue up, they are responding and telling a
different tale.
In a nutshell, Janet Wilkerson says the claims of the Attorney General are NOT TRUE and misrepresent the facts of those negotiations. She adds that the poultry industry put a comprehensive plan on the table to lessen the amount of chicken litter that would stay in the Illinois River watershed and offer millions of dollars of money that would go straight to environmental improvement projects. Wilkerson says that the AG response was to demand at least $45 million dollars in cash from the poultry industry, up to half of which would go to the lawyers retained by Edmondson. Wilkerson adds "the poultry industry offered comprehensive litter- management solutions, but General Edmondson would not even consider that offer." To see the full statement from the group of poultry companies, click below. Click here to see the full statement from Janet Wilkerson responding to AG Drew Edmondson | |
Do your homework this weekend- then be ready to vote Tuesday ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The President
of the Oklahoma Farmers Union, Ray Wulf, invited us to his third floor
office in their new headquarters building in downtown Oklahoma City while
we were there for the Agroterrorism Working Group meeting this week, and
he and Terry Detrick gave us the lowdown on the history of this remarkable
building, as well as a few stories of the over the Easter Holiday move the
organization and insurance company made from I-40 and McArthur to this
former home of the original high school for downtown OKC.
We talked with Wulf about several subjects, including the Superfund law and its application to manure, as well as the upcoming primary elections. On the Superfund issue- Wulf and the OFU are strongly opposed to anyone using this 1980s era law to go after livestock producers because of the manure their animals pile up. He is hopeful that Congressional efforts to clarify this issue will be successful and soon. We didn't talk so much about specific candidates in this Tuesday's Primary elections as much as the need for folks to study up on the races in your community (and the state level races that apply to you as well) and then proceed to make it the very highest priority to get out and exercise the right to vote. Wulf says that it's the least we can do to honor the memory of those who have given their lives in the defense of freedom for this country- in recent days and down through the life of our great country. Remember- Primary Election Day is this coming Tuesday! | |
Grain Sorghum Tour and OCA Convention on tap next week! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thursday
through Saturday of next week is the 54th annual Oklahoma Cattlemen's
Association Convention and Trade Show. The Trade show is a sell out and
the program that Scott Dewald and team have planned is just over the line
of being phenomenal!
The lineup of speakers include William Perry Pendley, Mountain States Legal Foundation talking private property rights; Paul Hitch, Vice President of the NCBA; Phil Seng, President and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation on the U.S. Export Market outlook including his very unique perspective on when we get the Japanese and Korean markets reopened and Dr. John Lawrence of Iowa State University with this summer's market outlook. Add to that list a who's who of cattle industry experts from the OSU Division of Agriculture for the Friday afternoon Cattlemen's College. It will be a dandy, again this year at the Marriott in northwest Oklahoma City. Next Thursday, the Oklahoma Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Goodwell has a morning Grain Sorghum Plot Tour on tap- featuring several folks from OSU, as well as Dr. Brent Bean of Texas A&M on their look at the plots and how they have survived what has been a tough year in the Panhandle as well as the rest of the state for growing about anything. OSU Extension is teaming with the Oklahoma Sorghum Commission and the Oklahoma Grain Sorghum Association to host this event on the 27th of July. | |
Starting Today- the Four State Farm Show ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Folks from
northeastern Oklahoma will be heading for Pittsburg, Kansas today through
Sunday for the 2006 renewal of the Four State Farm Show. This is one of
the major farm shows of the summer in our part of the world- and it's
always pretty hot- although this year with the slight cooling compared to
earlier this week- it may not seen to be so bad at this year's event.
There are over 25 acres of agricultural exhibits- over 700 in all- and there will be lots of new technology to check out at this year's event. That includes a Precision Farming Test Driving Range showing off the latest GPS technology. Show hours all three days are from 8 am til 4 pm, with the show location just south of Pittsburg a 1/2 mile east of the junction of 69, 400 and K-171. | |
Johanns on BSE testing and the WTO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As we reported
yesterday that they might, USDA did pull the trigger and has announced
their intention to move to a much smaller maintenance level of BSE testing
in the next few months. When the change is made- we will be testing 40,000
at risk animals at random annually, instead of a thousand or more per day.
That still puts us well above what the minimum standards are based on the
international animal health guidelines for dealing with BSE. There will be
hefty savings for the USDA as well, as the enhanced surveillance program
has been funded using emergency CCC funds totaling $157.8 million since
June 2004. Ongoing surveillance will cost approximate $17 million per year
using funds appropriated by Congress. Johanns assured the general and
trade media that BSE is in the United States at a very minute level- and
that the expanded testing regime proved that beyond a doubt.
Meanwhile, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns is packing his suitcase for yet another jump across the Atlantic to Geneva to push for an end to the stalemate to the current Doha talks of the World Trade Organization. He will leave Washington Friday evening. Johanns told reporters that we can't settle for a round of talks that are not ambitious in reducing tariffs and improving market access. Johanns will leave Geneva first of the week for a trade mission to Asia, but then will go back to Geneva next weekend for yet more trade talks in an effort to find that elusive deal. | |
Our Preview of the Cattle on Feed Report- then after 6 pm Friday, Analysis of the Reports ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We have a
Cattle on Feed report coming up this afternoon, as well as the semi-annual
cattle inventory update and on the link below, we have a look at both the
Cattle on Feed report expectations as well as the Semi-Annual Cattle
Inventory Report that is based on July first data.
Our market watchers on this link include Jim Robb of the Livestock Market Information Center, as well as K-State's Jim Mintert. Both reports will be out Friday afternoon at 2 pm central time. The general expectation is that the total cattle on feed number will be about 2.5% bigger as of July one this year than last. Listen to Ron Hays with several top analysts on these "cattle count" reports | |
God Bless! You can reach us at the following: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: ron@oklahomafarmreport.com
phone: 405-826-4882
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
