Category: Ag News

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 10:41:11 CDT

With fall break just around the corner for Oklahoma students, Oklahoma State University Extension and the Oklahoma Nutrition Information Education Project are partnering to promote healthy snacks while children are home for the school break.

The Flavorful Fall Break resource features a variety of healthy snack recipes children can easily make during fall break, said Jenni Klufa, associate state specialist for youth programs through OSU Extension’s Community Nutrition Education Program.

Klufa said nutrition education assistants with CNEP will build on what they’re already doing in many schools across the state by also offering Flavorful Fall Break materials. In addition, all the recipes are available on the CNEP Facebook page, through county OSU Extension offices and the ONIE website.

“We want to encourage healthy eating habits for youth, and that includes when they’re on fall break,” Klufa said. “Youth involved in making their own meals and snacks tend to try healthier foods. The recipes created by ONIE are quick, easy and full of flavor. Some of the recipes require assistance from a parent or caregiver.”

Flavorful Fall Break recipes include:

• Cranberry Almond Snack Mix
• Peanut Butter Spiders
• Parmesan Zucchini Squash Fries
• Candy Corn Parfait
• Healthy Spider Munch
• Cheesy Witches Broomsticks

With the holiday season right around the corner, many classrooms will celebrate with parties. These tasty treats are a great alternative to some of the more traditional sugary treats found at classroom festivities.

“We all love to celebrate the holidays, but the typical classroom party tends to provide too much sugar for children,” Klufa said. “Parents and teachers who are in charge of party planning can use these recipes as a healthy food choice, but the students can actually make them during the party. This will help with party planning and gives them a fun activity to do.”

A balanced eating pattern for children encourages no more than 25 grams of added sugar per day, and school parties can reach that limit quickly. A 12 ounce can of soda contains about 40 grams of added sugar, and a regular size chocolate bar has about 20 grams of added sugar. It’s easy to see how quickly added sugar can add up.

Melody Nabors, a teacher at Fort Towson Elementary School in Choctaw County, said she is happy to have more healthy snack options for her students.
“Classroom parties are a lot of fun, but the amount of sugar consumed can sometimes interfere with learning. It’s nice for our students to have healthy alternatives,” Nabors said. “We have a great working relationship with OSU Extension, and I’m looking forward to using the information offered through these resources.”

Klufa said the recipes are designed to encourage healthy eating, and when a child develops good habits, it helps them make healthier choices throughout their lives.

“When children are involved in the process of making their food, they’re more receptive to trying new, healthy options,” she said. “It’s important to keep in mind that all foods can fit into an eating plan, and adults need to serve as good role models with their food choices.”

Contact the nearest county OSU Extension office for more information about the Flavorful Fall Break resources.

OSU Extension offers additional health, nutrition and wellness information.

OSU Extension uses research-based information to help all Oklahomans solve local issues and concerns, promote leadership and manage resources wisely throughout the state’s 77 counties. Most information is available at little to no cost.

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 10:04:08 CDT

To celebrate National Cooperative Month (and the centennial of the Capper-Volstead Act that underpins farm cooperatives to this day), Cooperative Hall of Fame Member Rich Stammer, former CEO of Agri-Mark, says the values of cooperatives remain important as new challenges to dairy farmers emerge.

“As more and more people moved away from the farm, didn’t know anything about farming, co-ops have played a bigger role in informing consumers about dairy and farmers and what they do,” he said. “We have attacks from animal rights groups. Dairy farmers take great care of their animals, but getting that message out to consumers with all the negative things that come down, is an important role of co-ops. We have a program, our FARM program, basically to ensure animals are treated right, to have a measurable way of animal care, and to get that message out to consumers about how well we care for our animals.

“You have more and more challenges on the environmental side of our business. And dairy co-ops have become very involved in sustainability efforts, and again, showing how sustainable dairy farms are and how we take care of our land. We are much more involved in getting messages out to consumers, representing farmers and environmental laws, and there’s so many areas,” he said.

For more about the value cooperatives provide, NMPF has a page here. The full podcast is here. The full podcast is here. You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music. A transcript is linked below. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file.

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 14:59:14 CDT

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture are now putting the Daily Cash Grain Report into a PDF format – we are saving that PDF and archiving them for today’s specific report. To see today’s update, click on the PDF report link at the bottom of this story.

In addition to the PDF of the daily report, you can also listen to the Cash Grain Report by calling 405-621-5533. Push 2 for the grain report.

Click here: 04302_OklaCashGrain10072022.pdf

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 14:52:15 CDT

Click here to listen to audio

Listen to today’s report with Justin Lewis, by clicking or tapping on the LISTEN bar

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 12:53:56 CDT

The American Farm Bureau Federation, in partnership with Farm Credit, announces a change in the 10 semi-finalist teams in the 2023 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge. California-based Vence was acquired by …

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 12:08:41 CDT

Click here: that decision

After a recent Kenyan governmental task force recommendation regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and food safety, this week, Kenya’s president, William Ruto, …

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 11:05:44 CDT

Click here to listen to audio

KC Sheperd, Farm Director, is visiting with Bob Rodenberger, a partner with Stockman Oklahoma Livestock Marketing, as he talks about this week’s cattle market conditions.

“We started out with bigger-than-average runs this time of year,” Rodenberger said. “Of course, our cow runs are bigger everywhere.”

On Monday, Rodenberger said the market was a couple of dollars cheaper for feeder steers going straight to the feed yard. Stocker cattle, Rodenberger added, are under pressure.

“There is a big gap in the very front-end calf to just the average calf, price-wise,” Rodenberger said. “There is a gap between the front-end calf that has had all the bells and whistles 60 days weaned, but that same calf that is just like him without all the bells and whistles if all the quality is there- there is a difference. Not the difference we have seen back in the spring. Right now, it is just finding somebody that wants one and has a place to take one.”

In the last two weeks, Rodenberger said we have taken every bit of 20 to 25 dollars off calves coming off cows weighing under 650 lbs. and there is nowhere to put them. The grow yards are full, he added, and it is difficult to find somebody who wants to take them.

Rodenberger said if we can get some rain, there can be some late wheat grazing, but that will need to happen promptly. Wheat is all over the board, he added.

“Killing cows are 10 dollars cheaper, 15 dollars cheaper than they were two weeks ago, and that is not going to change,” Rodenberger said. “Cow runs are large everywhere.”

From 2019 through 2021, from June through September, Rodenberger said around 4,000 cows were sold on average.

“In 2022 at this time from June to September, we are at 11,000 cull cows,” Rodenberger said. “That is how much we have ramped up the culling stage. It is bigger in different parts of the state.”

With these dry conditions, Rodenberger said the culling of the cows is not going to change.

“We know from January through August next year, the availability of stockers is going to be down considerably,” Rodenberger said. “That doesn’t mean they are out of the system; they are just not going to be available for the buyers because they are already in a grow yard or in the second or third hands that are going to put them somewhere in a feed yard in a timely fashion.”

A very small percentage of the industry that has pivots, silage, and personal grow yard facilities, Rodenberger said, is buying and weaning calves and holding them over.

“I do not think that we are going to start buying back cows in April,” Rodenberger said. “We have got to get to April to know if we are going to get rains to have hay to cut for next year. We have got to rebuild the whole process from the grass to the cow.”

Click the LISTEN BAR below to listen to KC’s full conversation with Bob Rodenberger about the current cattle markets.

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 10:05:18 CDT

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) is sponsoring 21 trade teams made up of agricultural product importers, government officials and agribusiness leaders from more than 50 countries in support of the Council&rsqu…