Presented by

 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

-- Good Friday is Here- and that Means the HOPE of Easter Sunday is Coming!

Featured Story:

Drought Continues to Expand- Now at 14% Statewide- All Found in Northwestern Oklahoma  

 
Drought continues to expand. The new drought monitor released Thursday morning shows a large increase in D1 (moderate) drought across northwestern Oklahoma, including virtually all of the Oklahoma Panhandle.


Gary McManus, State Climatologist for Oklahoma, says in his latest Mesonet Ticker "We now see 14% of the state in that D1 drought, all up in the NW, and 35% of the state in at least D0 (abnormally dry) conditions. We continue with the growing deficits and days without significant rain in that area of the state." One week ago, drought was seen in eight percent of Oklahoma- all in those same western areas.

While these areas of drought are not being shown as targets for large amounts of rain- at least some precipitation seems to be in the cards this weekend- Saturday night into Easter Sunday and then again next week, middle of the week.

Click here to see the latest Drought Monitor in full detail and to take a look at the national rain map for the next seven days.

Fire Relief Getting Organized in Kansas for Ranchers Punched in the Face by Anderson Creek Fire 

 
By the numbers-
Acres burned in Oklahoma and Kansas- 397,420
Cattle Lost- ???
Hay Bales Burned- ???
Miles of Fence Destroyed- ???

That top number probably is not done- while the word is that the fire on the Oklahoma side of the border is contained- the certainty of that is lot less certain- and given that we return to EXTREME Fire Danger today with winds to pick up substantially- that number of acres burned may jump higher.

We checked with Michael Kelsey last night and he indicated he knew of a couple of loads of hay from the Pawnee County area was heading to Woods County yesterday- and it's likely some organized help for ranchers on the Oklahoma side of the state line will be happening.

In Kansas- with close to 300,000 acres burned in two counties- they have organized some help already- and here is the statement from the Kansas Livestock Association on what they have got going to this point:

OSU's Kim Anderson Calls Potential Freeze Damage to Southern Plains Wheat a Non Event in the Markets

Sorry wheat farmers- this past weekend's freeze and potentially more cold weather that could hurt the southern plains hard red winter wheat crop has not mattered when it comes to wheat prices.  OSU Grain Marketing Economist Dr. Kim Anderson says massive global supplies of wheat trump any harm that temps below thirty two degrees may have done- at least to this point.


Anderson tells SUNUP Hostess Lyndall Stout that "actually it has been a non event on the market, if you look at the Kansas City May contract prices, they are a dime lower than they were before the freeze. It is such a small area as you look at the potential world crop- any damage is essentially insignificant."


Anderson talks about where we are on the size he expects for the current year world crop- and the likely increase in global stocks which is keeping a lid on US and world wheat prices.  He says if you are looking for a sizable rally in wheat prices that would get us back to a cost of production breakeven- that would probably take a market shock in the form of a drop of seven to eight percent in the global wheat production this year to spark a rally.

Click or tap here to jump to our web story where you can listen to Kim Anderson's complete wheat market analysis as we hit the three Easter Holiday Weekend.

And at the link above- you can check out the lineup for SUNUP that returns to OETA this weekend.

Pork Checkoff Teams with Haylie Duff to Offer a Fresh Take on Easter

 
This Easter, the Pork Checkoff is showing pork lovers how they can freshen up familiar favorites for a one-of-a-kind Easter menu.

"Easter is a holiday where ham reigns supreme," said Randy Brown, chair of the Pork Checkoff Domestic Marketing Committee and a pork producer from Nevada, Ohio. "It is also a time when cooks can unlock and explore new flavors. Pork makes that easy to accomplish because it has unlimited possibilities."

The Pork Checkoff is teaming up with Haylie Duff - actress, cookbook author and host of "The Real Girl's Kitchen" on the Cooking Channel - to inspire consumers and help them re-envision their Easter celebrations. Each of Duff's new recipes incorporate timeless Easter ingredients, such as ham, fresh herbs and potatoes, into creative, modern preparations.

Click here to read more about the recipe ideas of Duff that include pork for Easter.

Oklahoma Senator Inhofe Tells EPA to Stick to the Science on Neonicotinoid Insecticides

 

Oklahoma U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe is telling the EPA to tread with care as it moves forward with public hearings on whether to possibly ban certain insecticides known as "neonics"' that might be harming the bee populations in the U.S. He suggests there could be over-reaction by the agency to the calls of environmentalists.


In a letter to Jim Jones, assistant administrator of the Office of Pesticide Programs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee expressed concern with a series of risk assessments being conducted by the EPA on the neonicotinoid insecticides.


"Indeed, the limited findings of your imidacloprid risk assessment have already prompted misleading and sensationalist headlines from the media and calls by well-funded environmental activist groups to outright ban neonicotinoid insecticides," wrote the Senator.

He also said the Natural Resources Defense Council has flooded the comment document with a mass generated letter that urges the EPA to speed up its scheduled for registration review and cancel any uses of imidacloprid that pose high risks to bees and other pollinators.

Bottom line, according to the Senator in his letter to EPA- stick to the science in its review.

Read more by clicking here.

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

State Conservationist Gary O'Neill Says Water Quality Improvements Come from Participants in EQIP and CSP

 
Oklahoma has successfully treated water pollution issues on more acres than any other state according to new data collected by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC) Water Quality Division, which is funded by EPA. Since 2007, voluntary conservation by farmers and ranchers has resulted in 55 Oklahoma streams being removed from Oklahoma's list of impaired water bodies.

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides technical and financial assistance for farmers and ranchers to implement conservation practices on their land. Among many other benefits, practices such as no-till and cover crops reduce soil and chemical runoff to nearby streams, thereby improving water quality.

"By investing in soil health, landowners have a direct hand in improving our water quality," said Gary O'Neill, State Conservationist for NRCS in Oklahoma. "The tremendous successes we're seeing in Oklahoma are proof voluntary conservation by private citizens is effective at addressing environmental issues."

During the Conservation Day celebration at the State Capitol, I talked with Gary O'Neill about this successful outcome from hundreds of stakeholders who partner with USDA through cost share programs and have helped achieve this movement of removing Oklahoma waterways from the EPA Impaired Stream list.

Click here to read more and to listen to our visit with Gary.

Red Flags Flying in Oklahoma Again- But Rain Coming Saturday Night 

 
As you know- we have mainly three National Weather Service Offices that we deal with in Oklahoma- Norman, Tulsa and Amarillo.

Only one of the three have Red Flags hoisted for later today- from the Norman office- twenty three Oklahoma Counties named as being Red Flag worthy today-

HARPER- WOODS- ALFALFA- GRANT- ELLIS- WOODWARD-MAJOR- GARFIELD-  ROGER MILLS- DEWEY- CUSTER- BLAINE- KINGFISHER- BECKHAM- WASHITA- CADDO- CANADIAN- HARMON- GREER- KIOWA- JACKSON- TILLMAN-COMANCHE

The expectations are for the following conditions to make it another EXTREME FIRE DANGER day from noon til 8 PM tonight-

WIND...SOUTH 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS 30 TO 40 MPH.

HUMIDITY...12 TO 27 PERCENT.

TEMPERATURE...67 TO 75 DEGREES.

MEANWHILE- the nine day forecast for Oklahoma, courtesy of Jed Castles with News9 in OKC, looks like we could be seeing some decent rains in central and western Oklahoma by Saturday evening and into Easter Sunday morning.

While forecasts in the Panhandle are calling for high twenties by Monday morning- the next freeze event we fearing may not be as pronounced as an early this week forecast had suggested.

Here's the Easter Weekend forecast graphic for you to digest:

Good Friday is Here- and that Means Easter Sunday is Coming!

Now, the Easter bunny and Easter Egg Hunts are a part of this holiday weekend- but the world has been unsuccessful in pushing the core reason for the Easter holiday to the dumpster- and that core reason is God's answer for sin in this world- his willingness to allow his Son to carry sin to the grave (that's Good Friday) and then on the third day- that grave was opened- and the Son was gone- that's Easter!   

Now, the Son is not MIA- but he is Alive and offers everyone the chance to have a relationship with the one true living God.   

That's why I will go to my church and celebrate this coming Sunday morning.  And that truth, while inconvenient for the secular world, is ALIVE and well and stands forever.   

It's my hope that you will celebrate as well. If you want to talk about my hope and why I celebrate-  drop me an email- would love to tell you more.

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