I talked with Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association Northwest District Vice President Tom Fanning, who has been watching the fire up close and is now involved in the relief effort that includes the Relief Fund that has been established by the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Foundation.

"I know that many of my friends, neighbors and fellow cattlemen could use some help in recovering from this devastating wildfire," said Fanning. "In addition to the relief fund, hay donations would also be tremendously helpful."

Fanning tells us that there have been several locations set up to accept donations of hay- click here to listen to my interview for those details. He says that if you have animals that need hay because of the fire- they are asking that you make the request for help through your local extension office.

"When unfortunate situations happen, it is humbling to see how generous folks can be to help those who are in need and we are happy to provide a place for those funds to be held," said Jeff Jaronek, Coordinator of the OFC, a charitable arm of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association. "We will coordinate with the Beaver, Ellis, Harper and Woodward County Extension to organize relief efforts in the area and to identify ranchers that are in need."

Also- We have been told by Michael Kelsey of the OCA that if you have been impacted by the fire- it is VERY important that you document your losses by taking pictures of the damage and/or the dead animals that have resulted from the fires. Kelsey says that taking pictures with your cell phone will be vital when you start filing for disaster assistance in the days ahead. Take those pictures as you first come across the damage or the dead or injured animals.

To find out how you can get involved and contribute to OCF's relief fund, or to donate hay, click or tap here.

Also- here is a graphic that shows hay drop off points that have been organized by Fanning and OSU Extension- this courtesy of Harper County Extension:

I had the chance to speak with State Forester George Geissler about wildfires scorching their way across the Northwestern part of the state. The total area in flames yesterday afternoon, when I spoke with him, was estimated at 400,000 acres. Today that number has grown exponentially as the fires continue to burn out of control. Geissler told me during our conversation at the time that the fire was "zero percent contained." With high winds expected today, he says this fire could continue to burn for days until the weather decides to cooperate. (Note- in checking on the ODAFF website early this morning- the number used this AM was 200,000 to 300,000 acres and no indication of the level of containment- we will be checking with them as the day wears on)

"With the type of conditions we've had," Geissler said citing recent dry, windy weather, "we're in what I call the 10 percent fires. There's 90 percent of fires where the training and tactics that all our rural volunteer fire departments and metro departments utilize that will work. We're in that 10 percent right now where conditions are such that those tactics won't work."

Geissler reports that there have been a few residential homes destroyed since the blaze ignited yesterday afternoon, and there has been significant loss of livestock. Currently, this is the largest active fire in the US. The fires are indeed burning so aggressively, firefighters on the ground are unable at this time to actively engage them. Instead, efforts are being focused to instead contain the fires and evacuate people and animals as is warranted, mostly in the Laverne vicinity.

You can listen to State Forester George Geissler updating me on the latest status of these wildfires, by clicking or tapping here.

BEYOND Oklahoma- these same conditions have caused huge fires in bordering counties of Texas and Kansas- the fire in the Texas Panhandle burning in Lipscomb and Ochiltree Counties has torched 295,000 acres while Clark County in Kansas has had 350,000 acres burned to this point.

Courtesy Jed Castles from News9- here's the latest fire danger map for Oklahoma- and it is not pretty:



The areas where we have had fires burning get no break from the weather today- maybe tomorrow.

In celebration of its 75th Anniversary, members and guests of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau dedicated a new courtyard on the Southeast corner of the organization's property at their headquarters in Oklahoma City. I caught OFB President Tom Buchanan briefly during the ceremony to ask him about the significance of yesterday's event.

"It's the 75th Anniversary of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, something we're very proud of and should be proud of - 75 years of history we have with this state," Buchanan said.

"Our organization for 75 years has been focused on the cow and the plow. Our motto is "Improving the lives of rural Oklahoma,' and there is quality of life along with that cow and plow. We're seeing very plainly in rural Oklahoma, education and healthcare are becoming very critical issues for quality of life in rural Oklahoma. So, our membership is looking at, is that something we should now be involved in and if we did, how would we do that?"

Click here to learn more about the courtyard and its design features, plus a chance to hear Buchanan's thoughts on OFB's past 75 years, and the next 75 years.

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry  continues to solidify its response should a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) be reported and confirmed in Oklahoma. However, as wild birds are on the move, the public is reminded that their biosecurity help is needed as well.


HPAI is a serious poultry disease and is highly contagious among birds. There have been no reported cases of HPAI in Oklahoma.


"There have been no documented cases of human illness from the particular strain that has been seen in the U.S.," assistant state veterinarian Dr. Michael Herrin said Tuesday. "There are multiple levels of protection that make it highly unlikely HPAI-infected poultry would ever enter the food chain and proper cooking kills the virus; which means our food supply is very safe."

The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H7 avian influenza of North American wild bird lineage in a commercial chicken breeder flock in Lincoln County, Tennessee. This is the first confirmed case of HPAI in commercial poultry in the United States this year. The flock of 73,500 is located within the Mississippi flyway.

To get all the facts on this threat to our chicken flocks, continue reading this story by clicking or tapping here.

Agricultural producer sentiment fell in February after three straight months of gains, according to the latest reading of the Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

The barometer dropped to 134 in February, a 19-point decrease from January's record high of 153. Even with the drop, the February reading is still the second-highest since data collection began in October 2015.

"The concern producers expressed about current economic conditions is consistent with other measures of conditions in the farm economy," said James Mintert, barometer principal investigator and director of Purdue's Center for Commercial Agriculture. "For example, during the recent annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, USDA projected net farm income in 2017 will fall to $62 billion, a 9 percent decrease from 2016 and a 50 percent drop from the peak net farm income set in 2013."

Click here to learn more about the drop in producer sentiment, indicated in the latest reading of the Ag Economy Barometer.

Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel, says he has observed a major market adjustment happening between light and heavy weight cattle at the auction barns. He explained to me what's driving this adjustment, and apparently squeezing profit margins in certain segments of the industry.


"We continue to see stronger prices for these light weight cattle and these adjustments have a particularly important implication for stocker producers," Peel said. "That means that stocker producers looking ahead to graze out wheat or for summer stockers, really need to think about margin squeezes that are happening there and maybe what that tells them about what kind of cattle they want to buy and how long they want to own them."


According to Peel, feed grain has become less expensive, bringing the cost of gain from about $0.80 in January to now $0.60, and feedlots are taking advantage of this opportunity to put pounds on light weight cattle. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of the stocker operation.


"Really for the first time in almost a year now," he noted, "I would say that feeder cattle markets are really reflecting the reality at the feedlot side in the sense that these feeder cattle or stocker value of gain prospects really reflect the cost of gain at the feedlots which has gotten cheaper and cheaper over time."


Listen to Peel and I discuss margin squeezes happening in the cattle market, on yesterday's Beef Buzz - click here.