Take Advantage of the Drought of 2011- Words of Wisdom from our Friend Glenn Selk

As drought conditions in southwestern Oklahoma continue, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist Glenn Selk says this is an excellent-if unwanted-opportunity for cattle producers to fine tune management practices for future gains.

The hot, dry weather of 2011 across the Southern Plains certainly created a hardship for commercial cow calf operations that are short of standing and stored forage. Water supplies also are limited in many areas. It is difficult to see a silver-lining to this "lack of clouds". However, some producers are using this as an opportunity to tighten the management and change the genetic makeup in their cow herd. Culling has been more rigorous in this situation than in most years. Therefore, this has been an uninvited opportunity to identify inefficient cows and remove them from the herd.

Although some areas of the country are "rebuilding" the cow herd, (just look at replacement heifers prices for proof), many in Oklahoma and Texas are limited by the lack of forage and surface water. Therefore cattle numbers on native pastures will be kept low to allow the range condition to improve with the better rainfall in 2012. (My fingers are crossed, I knocked on wood, and said another prayer!)   

Rather than blindly rebuilding numbers in the cow herd, why not use this as an opportunity to tighten the management in your cow herd?

To read Glenn Selk's recommendations for rebuilding drought-busted herds, click here. 

Crop Weather and Progress for the Week Ending March 11, 2012 

Conditions of all small grains and canola continued to be rated mostly good, with 12 percent of wheat and 9 percent of canola rated excellent, respectively. Wheat jointing was 39 percent complete by Sunday, 17 points ahead of last year, and well ahead of the five-year average. Canola blooming has begun, and was seven percent complete by week's end.  Twelve percent of winter wheat was in excellent condition, 54 percent was in good condition, 26 percent was listed as fair and only eight percent was poor or very poor.

Texas wheat conditions were listed as 43 percent in poor to very poor categories, 24 percent was good, 24 percent was poor and only nine percent was in excellent condition.

Forty-five percent of the the Kansas wheat crop was in good condition, with 36 percent in fair shape, 11 percent was in poor or very poor condition and only eight percent was in excellent condition.

Click here for the complete Crop Weather Update for Oklahoma. 

Boxed Beef Prices Drop Substantially and Finished Cattle End Three Dollars Lower

In this week's beef report, according to Ed Czerwien, USDA Market News Office in Amarillo, Texas, we saw the choice cut market drop substantially last week by $4.25 from the previous week, ending the week on March 9 at $193.84 cwt. The choice-select spread ended the week last Friday at less than one dollar. Just a note on that choice-select spread, this morning we were upside down with select up .38 over choice.

The finished cattle trade for the week ending March 9, we saw lower money in the cash market. Most sales were at the $127 cwt mark, a full $3.00 lower than the previous week. We did see $127 in Kansas for the week and $126 to $127 in the Texas-Oklahoma area with dressed deals in the North going for $201 to $202 cwt.   The average live weight of finished cattle in the Texas Panhandle last week was 1,232 pounds, which was down six pounds from the previous week.


Check out Ed Czerwien's full audio report by clicking here. 

Oklahoma House Approves Legislation to Improve Water Infrastructure, Planning

Four pieces of legislation that would pave the way for better management of water resources in the state were approved on Monday by the Oklahoma House of Representatives.    

House Speaker Kris Steele said, "As a package, these bills lay a solid water policy foundation that can be built upon for years to come. Planning for future water needs is a huge part of being a pro-growth state and is one of the greatest responsibilities we have today to Oklahomans of tomorrow. We know that with effective water management, Oklahoma can have more than enough water to sustain its growth for decades to come. I'm proud of my colleagues for taking this critical first step on an issue of such high importance to our state."

House Bill 2914 by state Rep. Phil Richardson would set up nine regional planning councils to give local citizens more input into the management of their water resources. The 15-member councils are to be divided up by major surface water basins, major groundwater basins, prominent water service territories, county boundaries and existing water planning areas. State officials would appoint some members of each council and local officials would select the remaining appointees.

Click here to read more about these four important water resource measures which passed the Oklahoma House. 

First Grand Champion Selected for OYE Premium Sale- Grand Goat Shown by Braden Schovanec of Garber FFA

The second major show day for the Oklahoma Youth Expo was a busy one, with three species all parading before several judges. Two champions were named on Monday, with the first of the market animal champions selected for the Premium Sale next Monday (the 19th). The Grand Champion Market Goat was shown by Braden Schovanec of the Garber FFA Chapter, after being the winner in Division three earlier in the afternoon.   The Reserve Grand Champion Market Goat was the Division One Champion- shown by Ashton Heffington of the Dickson 4-H club. 

Over in Barn 6, the Purebred Gilt show was held- and hundreds of young people and their hogs paraded before the judges- when the final selection was made- it was the Duroc Champion that was called the Supreme Champion of the 2012 Show. She was shown by Ashtyn Ayers of the Oktaha 4-H. The Reserve Supreme Champion Gilt was the top Yorkshire of the day- shown by Cole McKinney of the Spiro FFA. 

Results from the gilt and beef heifers were a little slow coming out of the office- but we will have them up for you at the Blue Green Gazette section of our website later this morning.  And- you can click here for our summary of Day Two of the actual showing of animals at the OYE- which includes a short audio visit I had with Bradenabout his lamb.

Finally- we have already posted almost 300 pictures from Sunday and Monday on our 2012 OYE photo set on Flickr- click here for a chance to go and see some of the finest young people and their animals to be found anywhere in the state of Oklahoma.  

Noble Foundation Scientists Move Closer to Solving Pasture Bloat Problem

Livestock love alfalfa. Alfalfa doesn't always love them back.   

As a crop, alfalfa is worth about $8 billion each year to the United States economy because of its role in domestic beef cattle and dairy industries, as well as exports. Agricultural producers value the legume because it can grow without nitrogen fertilizer by virtue of a symbiosis it forms with bacteria called rhizobia. The bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3) that is used for plant growth.

There's just one problem: livestock which graze extensively on alfalfa often develop pasture bloat, a form of severe indigestion where gas collects in the rumen and cannot be expelled. Extreme bloat can kill an animal. Less severe bloat can still reduce weight gains, lower milk production, reduce feed efficiency and increase labor costs.

Noble Foundation researchers have been studying condensed tannins as a bloat remedy. This naturally-occurring class of chemical compounds possesses the ability to reduce bloat in livestock. Humans may be more familiar with the role of condensed tannins in red wine, where they provide the drink's bitter taste.

Tannins are naturally found in small amounts in the seed coat of alfalfa. Unfortunately, seeds include only trace amounts of tannins, and livestock consume too little of the compound to be effective. Researchers have been looking at ways to engineer plants with tannins in the leaves and stems so animals could ingest much more of these compounds.

Read more about the Noble Foundation's tannin research by clicking here.

Beef Industry Voices Sounding Off on 'Pink Slime' Myths

Organizations representing beef producers are letting their voices be heard on a controversy which has stirred up main stream Americans at fast food restaurants and meat counters across the country.

At issue is a product called Finely Textured Lean Beef (FTLB) produced by Beef Products Incorporated. BPI produces the product by taking beef trimmings and heating them slightly before spinning them in a centrifuge to remove fat. Before being flash frozen and packaged, the FTLB is exposed to ammonia gas to kill germs, the same process used when packaging cheese, chocolates, puddings and baked goods.

An ABC news report in early March continually referred to the product as "pink slime" and claims "it is used in 70 percent of the ground beef sold at supermarkets and up to 25 percent of each American hamburger patty, by some estimates."

The ABC report, and others, highlight claims from industry critics insinuating the product is somehow unsafe or nutritionally deficient, though never providing any evidence to support their assertions. The USDA doesn't require meat labels to indicate FTLB has been added to ground beef because the product is 100 percent beef.