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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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USDA Begins 49th Enrollment Period for the Conservation Reserve Program

 

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Tuesday reminded farmers and ranchers that the next general enrollment period for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) begins Dec. 1, 2015, and ends on Feb. 26, 2016. December 2015 also marks the 30th anniversary of CRP, a federally funded program that assists agricultural producers with the cost of restoring, enhancing and protecting certain grasses, shrubs and trees to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and reduce loss of wildlife habitat.


As of September 2015, 24.2 million acres were enrolled in CRP. CRP also is protecting more than 170,000 stream miles with riparian forest and grass buffers, enough to go around the world 7 times. For an interactive tour of CRP success stories from across the U.S., visit www.fsa.usda.gov/CRPis30, or follow on Twitter at #CRPis30.


"Over the past 30 years, farmers, ranchers, conservationists, hunters, fishermen and other outdoor enthusiasts have made CRP one of the most successful conservation programs in the history of the country," said Vilsack. "Today, CRP continues to make major environmental improvements to water and air quality. This is another longstanding example of how agricultural production can work hand in hand with efforts to improve the environment and increase wildlife habitat."


Participants in CRP establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees (known as "covers") to control soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat on marginally productive agricultural lands. In return, FSA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance. At times when commodity prices are low, enrolling sensitive lands in CRP can be especially attractive to farmers and ranchers, as it softens the economic hardship for landowners at the same time that it provides ecological benefits. Contract duration is between 10 and 15 years. The long-term goal of the program is to re-establish native plant species on marginal agricultural lands for the primary purpose of preventing soil erosion and improving water quality and related benefits of reducing loss of wildlife habitat.


Contracts on 1.64 million acres of CRP are set to expire on Sept. 30, 2016. Producers with expiring contracts or producers with environmentally sensitive land are encouraged to evaluate their options under CRP.  Click here to read more about the accomplishments of CRP since 1985.

 

Noble Foundation Researcher Studies Cover Crop Effects on Winter Pasture

 

Noble Foundation researchers are studying how cover crops could be part of a year-round grazing system that provides economic and environmental benefits to farmers and ranchers.


Noble Foundation research agronomist James Rogers, Ph.D., received a three-year, $155,975 conservation innovation grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service to conduct the research. The grant will support Rogers in determining how much moisture is used and/or conserved by summer cover crops and how those crops impact production of grasses and legumes consumed by livestock (commonly called forages) during the winter months.


Moisture is a key component of crop and forage production. Sufficient moisture levels boost pasture quantity and provide benefits to soil, which ultimately helps farmers and ranchers. "We need to determine whether the cover crops take moisture away from or preserve moisture for winter pasture," Rogers said. "Preserving moisture will allow for earlier fall production. However, if the cover crops use up the moisture, winter pasture production is limited."  Click here to read more about Noble Foundation's Forage 365 initiative.

Sorghum Checkoff Working to Build Demand for Crop from Multiple Sources

 

Sorghum is back on the rise. Sorghum has become a high demand commodity. With softer prices this year, that's brought back demand for sorghum for ethanol and for livestock feed. New demand is also coming from today's consumer. Demand for sorghum for the domestic human food market has increased by three million bushels this year. Sorghum Checkoff Vice Chairman Adam Baldwin of McPherson, Kansas said in being gluten free and an ancient grain - more consumers are turning to sorghum. The industry is also seeing new demand for sorghum to make pet food.   


"We hope that as people realize the health benefits of sorghum, they'll translate that into maybe desiring that to give their pets and we can expand into that pet food market as well," Baldwin said.


U.S. sorghum exports have also remained strong in 2015. Baldwin said China will continue to be a market driver this year. Mexico has come back into the market as well as Central and South America. Increased global demand for sorghum has boosted acres by 24 percent nationally. Oklahoma has also become the third largest sorghum producing state in the nation. With ideal growing conditions U.S. farmers had record sorghum production this year.  

 

Our Leslie Smith caught up with Baldwin at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City. Click or tap here to hear the full interview as he talks about the efforts of the sorghum checkoff, plus how his 2015 sorghum crop turned out.
 

National Survey Shows 80 Percent of Americans Believe Chicken Contains Added Hormones

 

The National Chicken Council (NCC) Tuesday released new national survey findings on consumers' perceptions about chicken production, revealing that nearly 80 percent of Americans mistakenly believe that chicken contains added hormones or steroids, when in fact no chicken sold or raised in the U.S. is given hormones or steroids.


In some cases, consumers aren't able to easily access facts on chicken production. According to the survey, 68 percent of Americans believe that the media portrays the care of chicken negatively, highlighting the need for chicken producers to engage in more conversations with consumers about where their chicken comes from. The survey uncovered many concerning assumptions about the care and safety of chicken, including:


MISPERCEPTION #1 - A majority (78 percent) believe chickens are genetically modified.


THE REALITY - There are no genetically modified chickens. Over the years, chickens with the healthiest growth and size have been selected for breeding - and are fed, housed and raised well. The result is a larger, healthier bird.


MISPERCEPTION #2 - A majority (77 percent) believe chicken contains added hormones or steroids.


THE REALITY - No chicken sold or raised in the U.S. is given hormones or steroids. In fact, the USDA has banned all hormones and steroids in poultry since the 1950s. Good breeding, proper nutrition, care by a veterinarian and better living conditions all contribute to the healthier growth of birds. 

 

 

Click here to read more about other consumer perceptions about chicken production.

Merck Animal Health Launches "Creating Connections" to Help Cattlemen With Stockmanship

 

A new program, Creating Connections, is helping cattle-handlers around the world learn how to use the right body language to communicate more effectively with their herds. Merck Animal Health Spokesperson Dr. Justin Welsh said the program specializes in "low-stress animal handling" and stockmanship. He said Merck created this initiative to help producers and the end-users of their animal health care products do a better job in handling and creating a better environment for the animals.


Merck Animal Health has made "Creating Connections" available to producers. This is a growing web-based training resource. Welsh said the information can be found at creatingconnections.info. After producers log into the webpage, they get access to training modules. Welsh said there are modules on acclamation or receiving new cattle into a feedlot and stockmanship. Each module is a one to one and half hour session that is divided into five or six smaller sessions. At the end of the module, there is a quiz for participants. Welsh said employers can use these modules to train their animal care staff.


In the future, additional modules will be made available on horsemanship, chute safety, transportation and hospital pen management. Welsh said this program aims to help producer's use resources more efficiently.


I featured Dr. Welsh on our daily Beef Buzz- as heard on great radio stations around the region that are a part of the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network. Click or tap here to listen to today's Beef Buzz.

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Crop Insurance Deal Inserted Into Transportation Bill

 

The budget bill passed last month contained $3 billion in cuts to the crop insurance program, with promises to fix the cut in passage later this year. Tuesday the negotiated text of the long-term highway bill included language to restore the crop insurance cuts, gaining praise from agricultural interests.

 

This N That - Small Grain Field Days, Big Iron Wednesday and a Week Away from Tulsa Farm Show 

 

 

Today and tomorrow- the Noble Foundation has a total of three small grain for forage field days planned- showing off several of their varieties that have been bred for cattle producers to use in a fall-winter grazing program.

 

The goal of the small grains breeding program at the Noble Foundation is to develop cultivars with improved forage qualities, better fall production, improved ability to recover after grazing and better overall forage yields. 


The Noble folks will be showcasing five of the new small grain varieties, selected for increased early season forage yields, recently released by the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. Varieties include NF101 wheat, NF201 triticale, Maton II rye, Heavy Grazer II oat and NF402 oat.

 

Cookietown, Apache and Chicksaha are where the field day programs are being planned- Cookietown today and the others tomorrow- details for the Cookietown event are available here. Check our calendar by clicking here for info for tomorrow's events.

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A week from tomorrow will be the start of the 22nd annual Tulsa Farm Show- and it promises to be the biggest one yet.  370 exhibitors will be featured at the 2015 show- as more and more things are being added this year to the lower level of Expo Square and the River Spirit Expo Facility.

 

As it is every year- admission and parking remain free. 

 

Next Thursday and Friday- show hours are 9 AM to 5 PM- Saturday, December 12- hours are from 9 AM to 4 PM.

 

More details can be had by checking out the Tulsa Farm Show website- we look forward to seeing many of you at the 2015 Tulsa Farm Show!

 

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows , P & K Equipment, American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures, CROPLAN by Winfield, Stillwater Milling Company, Farm Assure,  Pioneer Cellular, National Livestock Credit Corporation and the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites 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- at NO Charge!

 

 

 

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