Presented by

 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

-- OALP Invades Vietnam and Jed Offers an 80 on the Nine Day Forecast

Featured Story:

Welcome to President's Day- Looking Ahead- A Busy Week As We Deal with Feral Hogs, Canola, Soil Health and AFR

 
It's a State and Federal Holiday on this third Monday of February- as we celebrate the birthdays of both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  Government offices are closed- there will be no mail delivery and most banks are closed.

The Stock Market is off today- and so are the Ag Futures Markets.  Auction barns like the Oklahoma National Stockyards and the Joplin Regional Market are open for their normal Monday sales- and lots of retailers will be trying to sell you something in honor of Honest Abe and General George.

Looking ahead- we have a VERY BUSY week ahead.  The Oklahoma Department of Ag will be closing their comments on the Feral Hog Rule on Wednesday of this week- Here's a link where you can go back and read and listen to our earlier interview with Blayne Arthur where the Agency says that the rule is to implement the Feral Swine Control Act and (in new proposed language) "to adopt aggressive measures for the eradication of all feral swine in the State of Oklahoma." The purpose goes on to state that "Feral swine pose a health risk to humans, livestock, companion animals and native wildlife. The Department's goal is to render the State of Oklahoma free of feral swine."

The ODAFF will be holding a hearing on Wednesday afternoon in their hearing room- starting at 1 PM.

The Oklahoma Farm Bureau have already sent their comments in- they believe that the ODAFF has not gone far enough in getting rid of this invasive species. John Collison told us last month that "It's fine for a first step, but let's go farther. Let's make the whole state a feral hog free zone. That should be our goal."

In checking with the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association and the Oklahoma Pork Council- they both will be submitting their comments this week to the Ag Department.

**********

Other events on tap for this week include the Canola College- see our story below featuring Dr. Ron Sholar, the Redlands Community College Soil Health Field Day and the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Farmers and Ranchers that starts on Friday in Norman at the Embassy Suites.

Animal Ag Groups Tell House Ag Committee that We Need to be Better Prepared in Case Foot and Mouth Disease Shows Up

Last Thursday- the House Ag Committee held a hearing to examine the preparedness of the United States in the event of the introduction of foot and mouth disease (FMD) into the country. Members heard from a panel of witnesses who shared what steps have been taken and what still needs to be done to achieve the objective of establishing a vaccine stockpile deployable within 24 hours of an outbreak.

Witnesses representing both the beef and pork industries contend that we are not ready if FMD arrives on our shores.


FMD is a highly contagious viral disease that causes illness in cows, pigs, sheep, goats, deer, and other animals with cloven hooves. The first goal is to keep FMD out of the United States through monitoring and surveillance activities. However, if an FMD outbreak were to occur, several strategies are available for responding to the outbreak including the use of vaccine. Currently, the amount of vaccine available at the North American FMD Vaccine Bank is below what would be required for an outbreak.

Dr, Howard Hill, Immediate Past President of the National Pork Producers Council, told the Committee that the funding USDA has and is receiving for the National Veterinary Stockpile (NVS) is insufficient to provide adequate FMD vaccine stockpiles, which would slow the deployment of a vaccination strategy. Several funding options are under consideration and were discussed in the hearing.  You can go here for more information from the hearing.


Dr. Hill says that the damage that could be done if FMD is discovered in this country is almost unimaginable. In comments that we featured on air this morning on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network, Dr. Hill related the expectations of one livestock market analyst, who predicts the next morning after FMD has been detected in the US, the price of hogs would fall by fifty percent- because the global export market would be completely closed.  He adds that there would be a similar nightmare scenario for beef cattle producers as well- and that impact would be felt by producers of corn, milo and soybeans as livestock feed suppliers.

You can hear our comments with Dr. Hill on this morning's report by clicking or tapping here- and the NPPC news release on his testimony last week in Washington is available here.

USDA and Partners to Invest in Large-Scale, Targeted Conservation Projects in Oklahoma

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and partners across the nation together will invest up to $720 million towards 84 conservation projects across the nation that will help communities improve water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural viability. Three of these Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) projects are coming to Oklahoma in 2016. RCPP is a program administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).  Projects coming to Oklahoma are:


·         Improving Working Lands for Monarch Butterflies: This partnership lead by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will restore, manage and conserve wildlife habitat for monarch butterflies on agricultural and tribal lands. States within the project area are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. NRCS will invest $6 million.


·         Innovative Tribal Conservation and GHG Management: This partnership lead by the Intertribal Agriculture Council will address the need for conservation stewardship projects on American Indian lands. States within the project area are Alaska, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Dakota. NRCS will invest $1.8 million.


·         Native Grazing Lands Protection in the Plains: By applying conservation easements and practices on the most intact native grazing lands remaining in Kansas and Oklahoma, this partnership lead by The Nature Conservancy will prevent habitat fragmentation and conversion to non-grazing uses, improve wildlife habitat and reduce the spread of invasive species. NRCS will invest $3.6 million.

Click or tap here to read more about conservation projects across the nation.

2016 Kickoff Banquet for the Oklahoma Youth Expo Raises $90,000- Scott Eisenhauer Named Show Honoree

 
The annual kickoff banquet for the 101st Oklahoma Youth Expo was held this past week at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. The focus for the banquet one month ahead of the official opening of the 2016 OYE was to solidify support from key sponsors and auction off the Chalices that will be given to the top winners in all four species of the market animal show. Top supporters of the show bid for the right to purchase the chalices of the Grand Champions, Reserve Grand Champions and the Bronze Medallion winners- and then present them to the winners at the Sale of Champions on March 18th at State Fair Park.


The Grand Champion Chalices were purchased by:

Grand Champion Market Steer- Oklahoma Farm Bureau, $6500.00

Grand Champion Market Barrow- American Farmers & Ranchers, $5000.00

Grand Champion Market Lamb- National Livestock Credit Company, $5000.00

Grand Champion Market Goat- Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma, $5000.00


The Sirloin Club also announced two special awards they present annually.  The President's Award was given to Ag Youth Magazine, which is owned and operated by Larry and Mary Peck out of Sentinel. The President's Award is given to a business or organization that has gone above and beyond in support of the OYE.

The other award given at the Banquet was the Show Honoree Designation- and was presented to Scott Eisenhauer of P& K Equipment. 

We talked with Scott after he was named the Show Honoree- and you can click here to read more about the banquet and hear our visit with Scott about being named the Show Honoree and what the OYE means to him.

Ron Sholar Previews Canola College and Offers Optimism for 2016 Winter Canola Crop

The Southern Plains canola crop has much more production potential than a year ago. Great Plains Canola Association Executive Director Ron Sholar is optimistic in the future of the 2016 winter canola crop. The crop had more favorable conditions at planting and the crop hasn't experienced wild fluctuations in temperatures. With milder weather, sunny days and good moisture, Sholar said this crop is still synthesizing, building root reserves and the crop should be building toward a highly productive crop.


While the crop looks better, there were fewer acres planted in the fall of 2015. Sholar said the crop hit a speed bump with acres due to unfavorable weather conditions the previous two growing seasons and lower canola prices.   Like other commodities, he said the price of canola has dropped by 50 percent. Sholar commends the farmers that have stuck with the crop. In rotating with wheat, he said canola makes the following wheat crop more productive in improving yields, grain quality and offers other rotational benefits like weed control.


Canola requires more management than a cereal crop. Sholar advises farmers to look at the crop's nutrient needs, as some fields will require nitrogen this spring. He also encourages farmers to scout fields frequently for insects, as they will be an issue this year.


I also interviewed Sholar about Canola College that will be held this Thursday, February 18th in Enid.  If you plan on attending, online registration is encouraged to ensure there are materials and meals for everyone that attends. Registration is available online at canola.okstate.edu.  Click or tap here to listen to the interview.  You can also find more details about Canola College.

Want to Have the Latest Energy News Delivered to Your Inbox Daily?

Farm Bureau Backs Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell's 'Healthy Children, Strong America' Platform

The American Farm Bureau Federation and American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture are pleased to support Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell and her platform of "Healthy Children, Strong America," which encourages children to make healthy choices and stay physically active


Cantrell, who grew up on a 700-acre farm in Warner Robins, Georgia, will join Foundation Executive Director Julie Tesch in introducing the First Peas to the Table Contest. This new national competition for schools will encourage children in kindergarten through fifth grade to plant, raise and harvest peas this spring.


The contest - including official guidelines and rules - will be announced on THIS MORNING at AFBF's Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.  Click or tap here to read more about contest highlights.

And- guess who will be on stage following Miss America on the YF&R program??? Oklahoma's Kelly Barnes who will offering a little leadership inspiration for the 800 or so young farmers and ranchers who are at their Leadership Conference.

Beef Has Smaller Environmental Impact Today, According to Sustainability Expert Dr. Jude Capper

She's active in the world of social media, known as the Bovidiva. Dr. Jude Capper has become a well-known expert on livestock sustainability and she shares that message on her blog, Twitter and Facebook. She grew up in England and has spent time working for Cornell University, Washington State University and has been involved in the cattle industry in Bozeman, Montana. She's now an independent livestock sustainability consultant in England. She was in our nation's capital this week to talk with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the sustainability of the beef cattle industry in this country. Capper said the beef industry has a great story to tell in making significant gains over the last 40 years.


"What those gains mean is that we've improved carcass weight per animal over that time and we've also cut the total number of days that any animal needs to come to market," Capper said.


Dr. Capper published her findings in 2009 in showing how much progress has been made over previous generations. In comparing data from 1977 to 2007, she said it showed the amount of improvement made with advances in feeding, breeding, housing and caring for cattle. In 2007, she said it took 12 percent less water, 30 percent less land and carbon emissions were 16 percent lower per pound of beef. She said those are really great achievements on behalf of everybody in the cattle industry.

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

OALP Invades Vietnam and Jed Offers an 80 on the Nine Day Forecast

 
It's always good to see everyone standing after such a long plane ride- they were soaking in the culture of Hanoi over the weekend and are moving on to several farm visits and other looks at Vietnam agriculture here during the work week.

The international travel is the capstone of the OALP experience.  You can learn more about this year's trip from our earlier conversation with Dr. Edmond Bonjour, the Director of the program- click here to check it out.

**********

Spring time for the week of President's Day???  Yessir- that's what we seem to be looking at- the problem is not a lot of moisture is in the mix- and that is starting to be a concern for both our winter wheat crop and our winter canola crop- as well as our pasture and rangelands who could use a nice drink of water with the 70s we are expecting a lot of this week.

Here is  the nine day forecast courtesy of Jed Castles with KWTV, News9:



Come on Jed- work on those rain chances a little harder, PLEASE!

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment,  American Farmers & Ranchers, Stillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma AgCredit,  the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association, Pioneer Cellular, Farm Assure and  KIS Futures 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!

We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.   

 Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com  

God Bless! You can reach us at the following:  

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is Proud to be the Presenting Sponsor of the Ron Hays Daily Farm and Ranch News Email