Oklahoma's wheat crop has gotten off to a strong start, the best probably in several years in terms of crop yield potential. Oklahoma State University Extension Wheat Specialist Emeritus Dr. Jeff Edwards now serves as the head of the Plant and Soil Science Department.  Edwards said having a full profile of soil moisture is especially important in going through the winter into spring time.


"There's a lot of things hidden underneath the soil that are going on right now in terms of head size, number of potential grain sites, all of that is being determined before jointing - before you see that head moved above the soil surface and any stress to the crop during that time period can affect those," Edwards said.


Farmers are set up to produce good yields, if they take care of the factors that can be controlled. With a lot of expenses already tied up in the crop, Edwards said farmers need to look at inputs that provide the best return on investment. That includes nitrogen fertilizer, weed control and possibly a fungicide. With above normal moisture, this crop has lost some its availability of nitrogen, especially with leaching in sandier soils.


"I've got a feeling that this is going to be one of those years where we do need quite a bit of top dressed nitrogen," Edwards said. "In the Southern Plains our rainfall is unpredictable, so it's important that we get started with those nitrogen applications fairly early in the winter. We need moisture to move the nitrogen into the soil profile and it has to be there available for the roots prior to jointing."

You can listen to our conversation by clicking here.  And- you can watch my In the Field segment with Edwards Saturday morning on KWTV, News9 in Oklahoma City. In the Field airs at 6:40 AM in the News9 Saturday Morning News Block.

The National Cotton Council (NCC) and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) expressed appreciation for U.S. trade negotiators' diligent efforts in resisting pressure for further concessions on cotton during the 10th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, last week.  However, the American Soybean Association (ASA) expressed its disappointment with the decision to allow the continued use of export subsidies by developing nations.


"U.S. negotiators held firm with respect to any cotton specific outcomes, ensuring that the United States would not face any new restrictions on cotton domestic support," said NCC Chairman Sledge Taylor, a Mississippi producer and ginner.  Click here to read more from NCC.

Long banned for industrial goods, export subsidies are, along with guaranteed prices above world market levels and input subsidies, among the most harmful and distorting practices for world agricultural trade. Although the WTO already banned export subsidies for industrial goods, many member countries are still authorized to use agricultural export subsides. While authorized subsidies are rarely used anymore, agreeing to eliminate them is no small matter. For example, while the European Union, collectively the world's largest wheat producer, no longer uses export subsidies it still has standby authority to do so. Other countries are using unauthorized export subsidies and should be challenged to prevent continued violations of current disciplines. Certainly, eliminating export subsidy authority at once for developed countries and by the end of 2018 for developing countries is a major step forward for world wheat trade.  Click here to read more from U.S. wheat.


Specifically, ASA is disappointed that the agreement on export competition reached at the WTO Ministerial in Nairobi will allow developing countries to use marketing, processing, and transportation subsidies for exported commodities under Article 9.4 until 2023 - practices that undercut U.S. exports and distort trade. ASA supported the position of the United States and many others that the ability of developing countries to utilize Article 9.4 export subsidies expired in 2004, at the end of the implementation period of the Uruguay Round commitments.  Click here to read more from ASA.

  

 

There is still a fair amount of uncertainty in exactly who will get what kind of precipitation starting late Christmas Day and on into the post Christmas holiday weekend. 

State Climatologist Gary McManus is often tongue in cheek as he offers his outlook- but Gary has even outdone his normal self this time- proving with this graphic that he probably spends too much time in fast food/convenience store locations:



Gary does point out in his latest Mesonet Ticker that we are talking several inches of rainfall- and that could mean a lot more if temps slide a little and it turns into snow for some.

And our colleague David Payne with News9 says we could be talking HUGE amounts of snow in the Oklahoma Panhandle and Northwest Oklahoma and even over to about I-35 before we wrap things up by Monday.

Here's a link to David's video forecast of last night- where he talks about 26 inches of snow for Guymon and vicinity and over a foot of snow in the Woodward area.
 
David says depending on several factors that we could see really nasty weather in especially the western half of Oklahoma- and super wet in the eastern half of the state- just like the map that Gary McManus provided us.

Keep watching our TV partners- News9 for western and central areas of Oklahoma- and News on 6 in Eastern Oklahoma and they will keep you on top of these changing and very dangerous conditions.

 

On today's edition of the Beef Buzz, we're reviewing 2015 and looking ahead to 2016 with Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel. Herd rebuilding continued this past year. Peel said there is no doubt herd rebuilding has taken place. He estimates upwards of one-million head of cows were added this past year.


The bigger unknown is how the downturn in the cattle markets have effected growth going forward. Peel said it's hard to tell if that caused producers to change their plans on heifer retention. He doesn't think producers will change their plans for heifers that are set to calve in the first half of 2015. There's more uncertainty about the new crop of fall heifers. Peel doesn't look for these changes to impact 2016 cow numbers, but rather 2017.


In trying to find that ideal size for the U.S. beef cow herd, there are a lot factors influencing those numbers. Peel said that includes supply, domestic demand and international demand. While domestic demand has stayed strong, international demand has struggled with the stronger U.S. dollar. In going forward, he said recovery in the export markets will determine the size of the U.S. cowherd. With heavier carcass weights over the last two years, he said there won't be as many cattle needed. He said that could actually shave off the size of the cowherd. If the U.S. adds roughly a million head of cattle in 2015, Peel thinks potentially another million to million and half head will be needed going forward. That could happen over 2016, 2017 and potentially into 2018.


I featured Peel on the Beef Buzz feature. Click or tap here to listen to today's Beef Buzz.

 

Governor Mary Fallin Tuesday announced she has re-appointed Rick Davis to the Board of Regents for Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges. He has served on the board since 2011, when he was appointed to fill an unexpired term.


Davis, of Guthrie, is one of the governor's three at-large appointees to the nine-member board, which also includes the president of the Oklahoma State Board of Agriculture and representatives from each of Oklahoma's five congressional districts. Davis' new eight-year term as regent must be confirmed by the Oklahoma Senate.  Click here to read more.

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USDA announced this week that the department will honor Bob Stallman's tenure as President of the American Farm Bureau Federation just before the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida next month. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden will proclaim January 6th, as Bob Stallman Appreciation Day, presenting the honoree with an official proclamation in recognition of Stallman's commitment to strengthening rural American families and communities.

USDA called Stallman a recognized champion of agriculture that has served as President of the American Farm Bureau Federation for 16 years, tirelessly supporting U.S. farmers and ranchers as they help feed the world, protect and preserve the environment, provide jobs, and contribute to the nation's economy. The proclamation of Bob Stallman Appreciation Day takes place at 10:00 am, January 6th, at the USDA office building in Washington, D.C.