discusses gift giving for thecowboy's best friend. u.s. farm report - brought to you by thedependable, long lasting, chevy silverado.now for the news that moved the markets this week...the dow chemical companyand dupont say they're joining forces. a merger that makes itone of the biggest chemical and seed companies in the world. ina press release, both ag giants says their boards of directors unanimously approved the agreement. the new company willgo by the name dow dupont...and will spin off three fullyindependent publicly traded companies over the next 2 years.analysts say its a must for regulatory reasons. the split expected to create an agricultural powerhouse--combingseed and crop protection from both pioneer and dow. analystssay the new company would sell almost a fifth of the world'spesticides and more than 40

dowdupont company would have amarket size of roughly 130 billion dollars. the americanfarm bureau is wary of mass layoffs or reduced researchspending--ultimately meaning less choice for farmers. usdareleasing it's latest world supply and demand numbers thisweek. the report without many surprises for market watchers.usda lifting new-corn ending bushels to nearlyone-point-eight billion. that's up 25 million from last monthsestimate. it cut corn exports by 50 million, but boosted ethanoldemand for corn by 25 million bushels. soybean and wheatstocks were both un-changed. argentina elections factoringinto the latest wasde report. it pushed higher grain exports forthe country the same week as new president maurico macri tookoffice. he ran on promises to eliminate or curtail exporttaxes on grains. usda raised argentine wheat exports by amillion tons to six million. export sales boosting grainprices a bit this week. corn

export sales....usda saysdecember 3rd net corn sales topped 1 million metric tons..beating trade expectations. soybeans alsoedging higher with oilseed sales totalling 1 point 5 millionmetric tons. wheat futures getting a boost from investoraction--short coverings pushing wheat near a 3 week high. allcotton production is forecast to fall 20 percent this year to 13million 480 pound bales. per acre yields also expected to belower. production is just one of the many topics discussed thisweek at a house agriculture subcommittee hearing inwashington. cotton growers and bankers expressing thesignificant challenges facing the industry in the year ahead.u.s. cotton acreage is at its lowest level since 1983 howeverworld production and carry over pushing prices to their lowestlevel since 2009. "the world carry over is the biggestchallenge as far as on the ballance sheet. we're carryingalmost a whole crop carryover

continue to take it on the nose.december live cattle futures trading below 1-20 this week.january feeder falling below 1-49. the sterling profittracker says feed yards are now in uncharted territory. americancattle feeders now losing more than 6-hundred dollars per head.last week's 5-area cash price was a dollar 23 per pound....brekevens were calculated above 1-70. el ninokicking into high gear out west. torrential rains have pummeledparts of the west coast, causing mudslides, flooding roads and knocking out power. the sno-qual-mee river left itsbanks in rural king county. that's east of seattle. dairy'sand cattle owners spending the week moving stock to higherground more storms are expected. those are theheadlines...meteorologist cindi clawson is in for mike hoffmanthis week. cindi the end of last week seemed to be more active?how about weather in the week ahead? well clinton, i think weare still going to see some active weather this week, butlet's start off with the u.s. drought monitor. we have seensome big changes, obviously in

especially by the coast andcalifornia is getting a little better, still pretty bad, wehave a long way to go there, but one thing that we might noticeis that we actually don't have any drought in new mexico ortexas and it's been years since we have actually seen thathappen. we do see drought expanding a little bit into thegreat lakes, into indiana and into michigan, so it is gettinga little bit drier in the eastern part of the country.heading through the week, we do expect to see some pretty goodrains in the eastern part of the country, a little bit of snow,especially in the upper great lakes, some sunshine in thenation's mid-section, another system though bringing some rainand upper elevation snow to much of the rockies, but notice alittle bit of rain there, with another system coming on shorethere. by wednesday, we are going to be seeing, yep, morerain and upper elevation snow for the pacific northwest andthat system that was off in the west moving through the easternhalf of the country, so look for rain some snow over towards thegreat lakes, with some slightly

on wednesday in much of theplains states and down into the four corners region, as far asfriday goes a little bit of lake effect snow possible in thegreat lakes, some rain down into the southeast, but most of thecountry actually seeing some quiet conditions for a change. iwill have more weather coming up in the next half hour.thankscindi. stay with us, mike florez and joe vaclavik join me nextfor this week's round table discussion. you're watching u.s.farm report with host tyne morgan, commentator john phipps,agribusiness director al pell and meteorologist mike hoffman.u.s. farm report. trusted. timely.

florez of florez trading and joevaclavik with standard grain. gentlemen, let's talk about thatreport that came out from usda this week, and we'll start with you, joe. what was your

very, very few changes. thedomestic corn balance sheet just saw some numbers moved around. they upped their ethanol projection, they reduced theirexports by just a little bit. soybeans and wheat they left thedomestic balance sheets totally unchanged, so all in all not amarket mover and not really a surprise to anybody. >> do youagree with him there, mike? >> i do. there really wasn't much totalk about. the markets didn't really have much a reaction toit either, so it's going sideways for a while ingrains, and i think we're probably going to kind of stayin that range for a while until probably end of the winter. >>yeah. now, you do more technical trading on your side. talk alittle bit about what the charts are telling you right now, mike.>> well, i think right now i think that you want to error onthe side being short the market on any rallies, but be a trader.i don't think there's a big break coming in the market,especially like in corn. it feels like it's kind of donewhat it's going to do. my cycles, a long term cycles, ithink we're going to put, set a pretty good low in next year andprobably towards the end of the

2016. but in the meantime idon't think there's a lot on the upside right now. >> yeah, notpretty but maybe an ending there. what do you think, joe?>> well, fundamentally speaking the news has obviously beenbearish for some time now, and you've got to believe that a lotof that's baked into the market at this point. we've known thatthe dollar's been strong for a long time. we've known thatexports have suffered, so i think a lot of the poor demandnews, a lot of the bearish, fundamental stuff is probablypriced into this thing. the one thing that i see as being a realnegative factor in the row markets is that farmers are justsitting on a ton of grain, corn in particular. that's somethingthat could support basis, could support spreads, but it's notfriendly to flat price. >> not evenespecially, right? >> no, not long term especially. whenfarmers are holding a large percentage of a huge crop that'snot a friendly factor. >> talk a little bit about wheat, mike,because you've been tracking that market a little bit. >>well, yeah, the fundamentals of

wheat around, but you have to look beyond just the fundamentals, and i'm reallyinterested in the makeup of who's long, who's short. andright now the funds are near a record short again, and they'dlike to be short wheat. and this is five times in the last fouryears they've gotten this short, and each time that they'vegotten this short a rally has ensued. and those rallies areanywhere from 75 cents to $3.50 over about a threeperiod. so i don't know when to exactly buy wheat, but i thinkit's coming up very, very soon. so that's the market technicallyfor me that looks the best shape to give you a rally. >> so atough market right now but maybgoes up that will pull corn and everything will get pulled, buti think wheat will be your leader. it will be the thing asmarkets go up they tend to go up further because shorts have tocover and more buying ensues. so it will be out of nowhere, butit's going to happen soon. >> what do you think, joe, youthink? >> well, funds are short

like mike said you need we^llprobably need some kind of catalyst to spark a rally,whether it's something in the currency markets or weather isthe normal culprit in these types of markets, but, yeah, theshort covering especially in the wheat can really take the market a long way when maybe it shouldn't fundamentally. >> realquick, exports. what do you think? is that enough? are wegetting enough exports to tr we had a couple big sales thisweek. >> we've had some decent or an improvement in activity incorn and soybeans, but overall we're still running belowprojections. we're running below last year. the fact we haven'tseen a decent improvement at lower prices is very troubling.>> yeah, real quick, mike, your thoughts on south america andwhat could happen there and how that could impactheir weather's okay, but that's always a changing situation.it's early in the season, so it's a wait and see on that. >>all right, thank you both. we'll be back with more round tablediscussion here on u.s. farm report in just a couple ofminutes. find your next piece of equipment atmachinerypete.com and enter for

cooler is being given away each week. go to machinerypete.com/survey,complete the survey and enter your information. you could bethe next owner of a machinery pete yeti cooler. >> hi friends,it^s machinery pete inviting you to check out my all new websitemachinerypete.com. in the past i^ve been your trusted adviserfor auction prices and used equipment values and now we^veadded a comprehensive online search experience with over 60,000 quality used farm equipment listings searchablefor free. dealers, we^ve got the innovative online marketingsolutions you need to better market your brand and yourequipment listings. visit the new site today atmachinerypete.com. [ break ] welcome back to u.s. farmreport. mike florez, florez

aclavik, standardgrain. let's start by talking about the macro economy, mike,and what you see as like the drivers around the world reallydriving all of these markets. i'm guessing oil has to be oneof them. >> oh, yeah. oil's going to zero it looks like.saudi, i don't know understand their policy of overproducinglike this to try and drive america's out of business. idon't know that much about oil, but if those wells are closed,can't they reopen them if prices go back up again? >> you wouldthink. >> so i don't understand the strategy, but anyway that'swhat they want to do, so that's keeping -- obviously is going alot lower and putting pressure on a lot of different markets.>> yeah, what do you think, joe,

next week it is assumed that thefed is going to hike rates for the first time in a number ofyears. it's in all likelihood not going to be a big rateincrease, but it's going to be a game changer in that we haven'tseen a rate hike in a long time. interest rates, the fed fundrate has been essentially next to zero for a long, long time. ithink as it relates to farmers and people in agriculture thebiggest thing will be any impact on the currencies. >> okay. >>you know, fundamentally a rate hike should be maybe a littlefriendly to the dollar, but historically the dollar'sactually backed off after major rate hikes in the past. so asofter dollar would be the best thing that a farmer could askfor right now given poor exports of corn, soybeans and wheat. >>yeah, what do you think, mike? do you agree? >> yeah, i'veheard some talk recently out of europe that their fed governorsare saying that we've probably done about enough as they'regoing to do over there. their leader is pushing for morestimulus, but i think the board members are kind of backing offfrom that, so it could be the

stabilize. >> does an interestrate hike affect a bigger part of ag? what do you see? >> idon't really think so, you know, i don't really think so. whatfed funds are doing and what farmer gets money for, they'retwo different things, but i think it's a process that has tostart. i think it's good for the u.s. economy, so ultimately youhave to have zero interest rates forever. >>yeah, that's right. let's talkand talk a little bit about livestock because especially ifyou're looking at the cattle markets another tough week incattle. feed yards losing plus $600 a head. where does thisstop? and is there a floor here? >> well, the cash market in thecattle tells you that the market's not out of line in whatit's doing. we're fairly priced in the future. some people could argue that you're even overpriced in some of thedeferred contracts in live cattle at least relative towhere the cattle market is. so, yeah, it's an ugly deal and the volatility in the market

has made things very, very difficult for the cattle producer to hedge, to useoptions, to really do anything. it's really turned into an uglydeal after a couple really good years. >> yeah, and we're seeingthat. even traders struggling to get through the cattle market.>> yeah, it caught me this week. i dipped my toe in the water forthe first time in many a week, and you know, you can lose somuch money so quickly in cattle that it's really not worthtrading it at all. if you're going to trade it use options.it's just difficult to control your risk. >> yeah, have we walked away from the fundamentals in this market orno? >> no, not necessarily. i mean, like i said the cashmarket, the beef market, the cash you that we're not doing anything out of line relative tofundamentals, so, no, i'd probably argue that we're inbear to be rallies within this kindof bear market, but no, i don't think we're outside offundamentals at all. >> okay, real quick, 2016, what are you guys watching as we move forward? >> well, i think thebear markets in grain will end.

sudden start getting good againin prices, that's going to affect so many other differentsectors of the economy. so look for a low to come probably latewinter, early spring for grains, and i think '16 will be a muchbetter year than '15. >> what do you think? >> weather. it'sgoing to be all about weather, south american weather and moreimportantly next summer u.s. weather. the u.s. we're comingoff really two you could argue three good years, '13, '14 and'15 weather wise and crop size. so to do that four years in arow, sure, it's definitely possible, but weather's the nameof the grain in these markets, and unfortunately for the farmerwe've had some really good run of weather here recently, andthat's good for the crops but not good for prices. >> yeah,we'll see in a warm winter translates into a warm summer.we'll be right back with markets now and get your final thoughtsright after this. receive a free trial of the daily marketletter and gain knowledge about current market conditions fromthe professionals at bower

th mikflorez. >> well,i guess i would have to say that if you're a holder of grain iwould use the strong basis that you got now, especially in theeastern part of the country to maybe loosen up, sell some ofit. but i would also hold back some because i think we're goingto bottom in 2016, so i don't know how good we're going toget, but i think we're going to set some good lows that last forseveral years. so i guess i would say that the worst ispretty much we're at the worst right now. >> all right, joe,what do you think? >> a farmer in the u.s. is undersold,especially in the corn market. they're holding onto a lot ofphysical grain. they're gambling going into next year. there's noquestion about it. i couldn't give you a bullish or a bearishargument right now, but i'll tell you that they're gamblingon higher prices, and that can be very, very dangerous. it'sdangerous to try to pick bottoms

into next year. at risk ofsounding like a broken record, options are cheap. buy yourinsurance, guys. >> all right. tough year ahead, but getprepared is what i hear from both of you. thank you both forbeing here. we'll be right back with john phipps in just amoment. u.s. farm report is brought to you by basf, growsmart with basf and get the most acre after acre, season after season.

tool to have on the farm. justgo to usfarmreport.com and click on the link to get details.deadline is december 16 so don't delay. no doubt you've noticed afew ofjohn's projects underway in his shop. in john's world,and likely in yours, the final product is worthwhile but thejob of finishing is often

over my shoulder, i have beenmaking slow progress on the slant front desk for mydaughter-in- law. at this point roughly two years behindschedule my fitful progress has been less a source ofconcern than an running gag at family gatherings. but i am entering the part of the construction process that i havebeen slow to learn how to enjoy: finishing. one big realizationfor me over the years in the shop has been when the cuttingand gluing and routing is done, you are only about halfway tocompletion. there remain many incredibly dull hours ofsanding, staining and finishing. these steps aren't nearly asmuch fun as inflicting steel on cellulose and there aren't manyshortcuts to make them faster either. worst of all, a mistakeat this final stage can make all your effort up until now muchless impressive. those of you who have ever built a house mayrecognize this mistake as

completed. farmers face asimilar finishing problem. after the crops are harvested and themachines are stored, you may be facing some long delayedpaperwork. the final accounting can seem like as much work asthe actually growing the crop. while i know many of you are farmore diligent about keeping financial records up to date,some of us do what is necessary to keep going day-to-day, and atthe end of the year condemn ourselves to a considerable taskof summing up the sums. years like 2015 may be a little worsebecause maybe we suspect what the bottom line is going to looklike and don't mind postponing the confirmation as long aspossible. but finishing a desk or finishing the numbers may beshowing us what the future of our work is going to look like. technology and tools are decreasing the time and effortfor actual production, so soon the finishing "touches" could bethe biggest part of getting the

sawdust part more than necessaryjust to delay the polyurethane tedium. here's hoping yourefforts to complete your work in 2015 are characterized bypatience, attention to detail, and a well-crafted conclusion toa year of hard work. and here's hoping you don't have any drips, gouges or blotches. perspective...from john's world.thanks john. still to come in the next half hour of u.s. farmreport: researchers in west texas are looking at the calvesof clones for potential in the feedyard. baxter black has giftgiving tips for your four legged friends. and al pell fires up anold john deere 50. stay with us...we'll be right back.thechevy silverado is the official news gathering vehicle for farm journal television.

report. here's what's ahead on u.s. farm report. cool borders--canada and mexicoprepare retalitory tarriffs over the u.s. country of origin labeling law. future feeders--could cloning reallyresult in higher quality beef at the grocery store? researchershope to find out. a lawsuit legacy--what does the saw injohn's shop have to do with class action cash? and dearlybeloved-- a john deere 50 works

brought to you by the all-newchevy silverado. 2014 north american truck of the year. nowfor the headlines...the world trade organization opening thedoor for trade retaliations against the u.s. this week over country- of-origin meat labeling. the wto announcingmonday it would allow mexico and canada to enact retaliatorytariffs on u.s. goods totally just over $1 billion dollars.that's much less than the near 3 and half bill the countriesasked for. canada and mexico have set a meeting for december18th to ask for the go ahead on tariffs. mexico has pledged toenact $228 million in tariffs on u.s. products canada couldimpose $780 million. a previous canadian list of productsincluded beef, pork, apples, rice, and corn. the swineindustry celebrating big news out kansas state and the university of missouri. researchers developing pigsresistant to the porciine reproductive and respiratorysyndrome--also known as the prrs virus. that virus alone has costthe pork industry more than 10 billion dollars since arrivingin the country back in the

that produces a key protein. "weused some of these new genetic editing technologies to disruptthat gene so that there is no protein produced. these pigs arelacking a single protein and they appear to be perfectlyhealthy. when we challenged them with the prrs virus, with ourcollaborators at kansas state, the pigs acted like they neversaw the virus. they were in a pen with other wild type pigsthat got sick, that coughed, that coughed on these pigs, butthese pigs showed no sign of infection." "to put it in anutshell, we were able to make pigs that are resistant to anotherwise incurable disease, an untreatable disease. this couldsave the industry hundreds of millions of dollars everyyear."? the researchers say they'll continue to develop thetechnology. that say it could be about 5 years before the animalsare available for farmers. from our newest reporting partners atthe packer...usda's latest

growers. production totalsputting the estimate for the 2015-16 crop to 69 millionboxes. that's nearly 30 percent less than last season and thesmallest more than 50 years. the sharp decline due mostly tocitrus greening. the last time production was at that level wasback in 1963 and 64. that's it for news...meteorologist cindiclawson joins us again with our longer range forecast. cindiit's been a pretty mild start to december. ok, you are not kidding, it's been very, very warm. we stillcontinue to see some warmth, at least in the eastern part of thecountry, but we are going to see some pretty big troughs movingthrough and that will really cool things down for a lot offolks, especially in the north central and north eastern unitedstates. we are going to see some systems that bring us some coldair and even some snow chances for parts of the north central,north eastern part of the country. by next weekend though,it looks like we have a little bit of a warm up in the east butstill cool temperatures in much of the northwest. now, as far asour 30 day temperatures are concerned, we really haven'tseen much change. we are looking

above normal for the gulf coast states, for most of them anyways, all the way up to thenorthern plains. it looks like a little bit more on the cool sidedown towards the four corners region and the southwesternunited states. here's a look at your precipitation for the next30 days, it looks like wet along the mid-atlantic, the gulf coaststates, into the four corners region and of course along thenorthwestern coast, the west coast, a little dry for thenorthern plains. thanks cindi. last week we heard about plansin china to build a factory that rolls out a million clonedcattle a year. in the u.s. livestock clones have beenaround for quite sometime. and in today's farm journal report,tyne morgan takes a closer look at new research into clones andtheir potential to impact the feedyard. a thick black coat,nice depth of body.... these may look like your typical calves,but it's their genetics that makes them unique. these are notcloned animals, these are products of cloned animals.>you're looking at the first

research at west texas a&muniversity's ranch just south of amarillo. we're selecting for agenotypic trait, instead of a phenotypic trait like a lot ofcloning projects have done. that means the researchers want theanimals for the quality of their meat. we wanted to improve thequality of the beef carcass in the national, the prime yieldgrade 1 carcass, it happens .03% of the time in the population,so we wanted to see if we could improve that. just the slightestbit would help out the industry" since the clones aren't enteringthe food chain, this is nothing more than a normal breedingproject." the project started in 2012 by cloning their first bullnamed alpha. we took a carcass off the line, and it was a primeyield grade 1 carcass, we took a tissue cell from that carcass,from the muslce and we cloned that animal on teh prime yieldgrade 1 trait." from there, they had three heiffers from thatsame dna line. that group they

gamma. with genetics it takesmany, many years to get to a product ath you want withtypical and traditional breeding techniquest. what we're doing iswe took the ccarcass off thel ine and we're kind of workingbackwards on that. so we get the finished product that we're looking for quicker than traditional methods.> whilecarcass quality was the goal, the unexpted occurred... they'vejust been really, really healthy calves" to be a prime yieldgrade 1 means they could have not of ever really stumped theirtoe, gotten sick, had any treatments, their vigor at birthwas outstanding, they're rate of gain has been really good. iweighed all summer, every two weeks to get grwoth data onthem, an dtheir average daily gain has been outstanding, upnear 3 on most of them, all through the summer'the hope isto make the dna available for reproductive purposes across theentire industry. the hope is

that producers across teh nationcould get semen and eggs from and be able to produce some outstanding calves and generations beyond that."whilethat still may be years in the making, the possibility isthere. if the product does nothing more than shift agreater percentage of cattle towards the choice qualitygrade, it's successful"i think it's really promsing. i mean ifyou can tell a producer, i mean as producers know, when theytake something to harvest or even a feedlot, they get paid atharvest for different premiums on prime, high choice whateverthey're looking for. so if you can say, hey, we're going topromise that more of your animals are going to gradebetter, then it will be a huge deal for hte producer."as thesun rises, bringing a new day, it's the prospect of betterquality cattle that's helping this university improve the future of the industry. reporting from canyon texas, i'mtyne morgan with u-s farm

for decades, it was the 1996announcement from scotland--of dolly the sheep --that began acascade of advances in the technology. next week the farmjournal report takes a closer look at the catfish industry andrecent changes in federal oversite. stay with us, johnphipps is next. "the viptera lawsuit, is it just free money?"join us this year as we talk to growers about this year'sgrowing season and the decisions they're making on their journeyto harvest healthy fields higher yields.

contin in rega s and it's viptera seed traits.and of course viewers want to know what john phipps thinksabout it. his answer from the customer support desk. john.this week we have a problematic

who asked to remain nameless: myquestion is: if we were upset at syngenta then instead of suingthem shouldn't we just quit buying their products? wouldn't20,000 farmers refusing to purchase any syngenta product domore harm than a lawsuit? if one of these lawsuits eventuallygrinds through our legal system and a large settlement isawarded, then won't syngenta just pass that along to thefarmer in higher seed and chemical prices? surely dupontand all other seed companies would have to raise the cost oftheir products to cover the cost of any future litigation? i haveavoided addressing this issue. the anonymous viewer was not the first to ask my opinion, although i doubt its value. andthe reason for my reluctance is literally right in front of us.he is referring to ongoing

release of a particular type ofgm corn that was not approved in china, allegedly resulting in a loss of market share for american producers. we've beenhere before. back in 2004 i signed up for the starlinkclass-action lawsuit kind of on a whim. while i have beencritical of our excessively litigious legal system, when itcame down to it i threw those principles out the window asfree money appeared to be a possible outcome. was i in facteconomically harmed by the trade kerfuffle that resulted? thoseinjuries are easy to imagine and hard to prove. in the end,however, my slice of the 70-odd million dollar settlementamounted to about $3 acre or to put it another way, this 10"left-tilt jet cabinet saw, which i had been longing for foryears. what's weird is i still think of it that way i notquite like finding a wallet full

agree that such lawsuits areperhaps more about legal fees than justice, i am evidence ofthe lure of unearned wealth. the idea of punishing vendors by notbuying their products only works if you are buying them in thefirst place. in fact, any retaliation method has adownside. and yes, these costs, like all costs eventually comefrom sales or out of shareholder pockets. there is no guaranteethe current lawsuits will buy anyone a table saw, but ifhistory is any guide many of us will be signing on just in case.and if there is a settlement, i suspect we'll be just asconflicted about the outcome as i am about this faithfulcompanion. thanks john. and if remember if you have thoughts,comments or feedback on this or other parts of the program besure to send them to the farm report mailbag. that mailbag atu.s. farm report dot com. miss any of today's show? head tousfarmreport.com to watch the program online. u.s. farm report, the spirit of

tis the season for givinggifts...and while shopping for

the most important people inyour life is always a rewarding challenge--what about those dearfriends of the four legged variety. baxter black has somethoughts... one of the most difficult questions everychristmas for horse lovers is what to get for that familymember that brings you the most joy--he's always there when youneed him and understands you better than anyone. no. it's notyour horse clinician, or your barista, or pilate's personaltrainer. no, it is your horse. this is not to diminish youraffection or your hubby, or your children, or your parents, oryour gal pals, but in those

their fears, you rub theirnecks, you let them cry on your shoulder, but whose shoulder doyou cry on? and who do you tell your deepest secrets to? and whonever calls you silly or tells you that you snore or talk back?not your dog, that's for sure. dogs are too needy. and catsaren't much better, they're more like husbands. you pour yourheart out to them and both of them look at you the same waywhen you're done--blank. now, i know people who have an aquarianor a gerbil or wind chimes to turn to in times of need, but inmost cases they might as well talk to a 2 by 4--at least a 2by 4 doesn't fidget, but a horse is the best listener you willever find. he never questions your ridiculous worries or badhabits or your dreamy wishes, you can lean on a horse. tryleaning on a cat. horses can take you for a ride. sure, dogswill take you for a walk, but

cow out of your hand or talkingto a parrot all day, whose only vocabulary is...gimme five.christmas shopping for a dog is easy--something to chew on, fora cat something to play with. but a horse would rather thatyou got something for yourself. new chaps jog purrs, hat, boots,and braided rains, see that's how your horse thinks. he wantsyou to look god, he wants you to feel pretty and to shine andpeople could learn a lot from horses. this is baxter blackfrom out there. a special part of the family. thanks baxter. ofcourse you can see, hear and read more from baxter online atbaxter black dot com. hey a quick reminder...christmas iscoming--now just a couple weeks away. and this year we're givingour viewers a chance at a beauty

you're an outdoor enthusiast orjust need a speedy way to get around the farm or ranch--thekodiak 700 is a great fit. it's yamaha's newest model couplingcompact size with plenty of 'muscle' -- fit for any terrain.it also sports a 13-hundred pound towing capacity. to win,you have to enter online at us farm report-dot-com. look forthe kodiak 700 on the homepage. entries close soon. we'llannounce the winner the week of december 18th. good luck. whenwe come back, tractor tales and our country churchsalute...please stay with us.

report. for today's tractortales, we're heading out to the pacific northwest for a look atsome classic iron. getting this john deere 50 looking good andrunning properly was no easy

modifications along the way, hemade this tractor something to remember. i got a john deere 50here i restored oh about 5-6 years ago. it had a tricyclefront end on it when i bought it. and when i pretty well gotit ready to paint and everything a gentleman from waptu countybought a corn picker and he had a tractor he wanted to put on itbut he didn't have a wide front end and i said hey, we tradedthis straight across and that was a good deal for me and gooddeal for him. had to get the engine bored out, had to get theheads redone had to get the transmission gone through. butnow it's had the 90 thousandths out to get all the rust out ofthe bore. it had sat for 8 years with a rust, water running downit. but anyway its a great tractor now. we do have aplowing day in the spring, out in the farming country andanyone that wants to go out

harrow with it and done smallwork but with cow pastures you don't need to do any plowing soit has skidded some logs around once in a while and stuff likethat. but it's kinda the handy thing around the place in case ineed a tractor. i was raised in idaho with my dad had a johndeere d. we farmed three hundred and some acres, dry farm. whichyoure only working half of it each year. so i spent a lot ofyears on that d trying to get all the work done. every spring just to get planted and everything so i put a lot ofyears out in the field when i was a kid. and from our friendsout east, we have a special tribute from patrick eimers.this is his grandfather's 1941 h. robert eimers bought it newin westfield new york to grow cucumbers on his farm in ripley.patrick and his father merl

while it's working days aredone, the eimers bring it out to play from time to time. by the way, they still have the original bill of sale withgrandpa robert's signature! thank you for sharing yourphotos and family history with us. this week, we're paying tribute to the lancaster christian church located nearsigourney, iowa. this small country church celebrated 100years in the 19-50's-- the building burned down in the70's, was rebuilt and is still serving the community. ourthanks to karen rounce-ville for submitting the church. eventhough she moved out of state and no longer attends, she saysshe has fond memories from her time there as a little girl. asalways we want to learn about your home church as well...salutes can be sent via email to mailbag at us farm report dotcom or reach us through our

enter to win this yamaha kodiak700 eps a great tool to have on

the link to get details.deadline is december 16 so don't delay. we wrap things up thisweek with cropwatch. lets start in jackson county iowa. farmerstell our partners at agweb that in east central iowa the 5 to 10percent of corn harvest is dragging on. first it was 10inches of snow now several decent rains are keeping fields wet--even in the mild temperatures. this farmer saysfolks are pushing hard to try and get done. scott simmons sentus a photo of some cotton left on the south plains. he saysthere isn't a lot left in the fields, but more than heexpected. simmons says the area received some rain over the lastcouple weeks. now growers are running hard to finish theharvest. more than 80 percent of texas cotton is now harvested.brenda cox sent this photo to our facebook page. she lives inmountain home arkansas...where life is obviously harmonious.she snapped a picture of her dog enjoying a little chow withresident chickens. jan hoadley also caught a perfect petpicture... her kitty cat on a lazy day a top a round bale nearher home in nah-voo alabama. thank you for sharing and ofcourse if you'd like to see friends, family or farm on cropwatch be sure to snap and send a picture with a short descriptionto mailbag at us farm report dot

twitter. and that is going towrap us up for another week here on u.s. farm report. for tynemorgan, cindi clawson and all of us here at the farm...thanks forwatching and have a wonderful week. as always, we want to hearfrom you, send comments to mailbag-at-u-s-farm-report-dot-com or check us out on facebook and twitter.and that is going to wrap us up for another week here on u.s.farm report. for tyne morgan, cindi clawson and all of us here at the farm...thanks for watching and have a wonderfulweek. the chevy silverado is the official news-gathering vehiclefor u.s. farm report. i'm

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