Fires Consume 90,000 Acres and Rising Across Oklahoma- The Costs to Oklahoma Agriculture Continue to be Counted 

Early AM Note- My best guess is that with some of the additional fires that were burning on Monday afternoon/evening- we have over 100,000 acres that have now burned across the state since the end of July. 

Firefighters continue to work on about two dozen fires spread across Oklahoma as of Monday afternoon, with at least 90,000 acres burned thus far since the 31st of July- that according to Michelle Finch-Walker with the Oklahoma Department of Agiculture's Forestry Services.

The largest fire over this past weekend was easily the Freedom Hills Fire, which forced the evacuation of Mannford. The acreage total for that fire alone was been estimated at 58,500 acres. According to the Forestry Services Fireblog, "Extreme fire behavior, critically dry fuels and extreme weather contributed to resistance to control." Finch-Walker adds that a shift in the wind allowed this fire to rapidly expand on Saturday, almost doubling its size in a matter of hours.

For cattle producers, one concern that State Secreatary of Agriculture Jim Reese raises is with the pasture and in many cases, their supply of hay burned up- ranchers need help in getting some hay for those animals who have survived the flames.

The cost to Oklahoma agriculture continues to be counted- but barns, pasture, hay, equipment, fences and cattle have all been lost.

You can listen to our Monday afternoon conversation with State Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese and Forestry Services Spokesperson Michelle Finch-Walker and find a link to their daily update by clicking here.

Payne County Ranchers Devastated by Wildfires Reflect Hurdles Faced By Burned-Out Producers Statewide 

Cattle producers in several counties in southern, northern, central, and northeastern Oklahoma have been devastated by wildfires in the last ten days. Two separate fires in Payne County have charred over 8,000 acres and have laid waste to about 20 homes and more than 100 outbuildings. County officials are still assessing the damage and say the total number of buildings lost is expected to push higher.

Nathan Anderson, OSU Extension Specialist for Payne County said several producers that he knows of have been severely impacted by the drought and the wildfires on top of it. He said some ranchers have lost almost everything, but surviving cattle are now without feed. He said some producers are electing to sell their remaining livestock because the wildfires not only destroyed any remaining pasture they had, but in many cases they destroyed barns and hay supplies.

Another problem confronting producers, Anderson said, is that fences have been destroyed across wide swaths of the area. What remains of multiple herds have been comingling, necessitating the ranchers to attempt to sort through them and reclaim their stock. Anderson said some producers don't have anywhere to take their cattle because their barns, corrals, and fences are now gone.

Click here to listen to more from Nathan Anderson on the effects of recent wildfires on ranchers.

Keeping Good Records Can Ease the Pain of a Disaster

In the latest edition of the Cow-Calf Newsletter, Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist, reviews an often overlooked topic when it comes to recovering from a disaster.

The devastating wild fires that have charred nearly 80,000 acres in Oklahoma in the last week have given cattle producers extra worries. Cleaning up after a wildfire is difficult enough. Losing valuable cattle and hay brings additional financial hardship to the situation.   

Cattle loss can occur in several scenarios. Livestock may be killed, lost, or stolen during a stormy situation. An accurate accounting of livestock and property is essential to a cattle operation's disaster preparedness. Keep a CURRENT inventory of all animals and the pastures where they are located. Individual animal ID tags on all animals have several other purposes, but can become extremely valuable if cattle become scattered or even stolen. During the upcoming fall calving season, update these records frequently to reflect the newborn calves that are arriving.   

If these records are computer based, consider having a "back-up" copy stored at a neighbor's or a relative's house. Hand written records can be photocopied and placed in two different locations. We do not like to think about the "unthinkable" situation of a direct hit on our home or livestock buildings, but tornados and wildfires occasionally do destroy these dwellings. After the disaster is over, that second set of records could prove to be very inexpensive and very helpful. 

Drought, Heat, Fire, Grasshoppers Assault Oklahoma Crops

Record-high temperatures, extreme drought conditions and wildfires pummeled the state last week.   Emergency management officials are still trying to get damage estimates on tens of thousands of acres that burned, affecting numerous ranching operators.

Pasture conditions declined further last week with three-fourths listed in poor or very poor condition. Heat, drought, and grasshoppers drove more cattle to the sale barn. Hay conditions continued to decline with 66 percent of alfalfa and 67 percent of other hated rated as poor to very poor.

A very early corn harvest began, but aflatoxin has been reported. Thirty-three percent of the corn crop was in fair condition. Thirty-seven percent of soybeans are rated fair, with 52 percent poor or very poor. Peanuts are holding with 64 percent listed as good and 26 percent in fair shape. Click here for the full Oklahoma Crop Weather report.

Portions of coastal Texas and the Panhandle received scattered rains, but the state remains dry. Livestock is listed in mostly good condition, but ranchers are reducing their herds. For more Texas crop weather, click here. 

North Central and Northeast Kansas received some much needed rain and all of the State saw some relief from the sweltering temperatures.  Click here for the Kansas report.

Pasture, Corn and Soybean Ratings Continue Their Drought Related Decline

Half of the nation's corn crop was rated poor to very poor as of Sunday, Aug. 5, according to USDA's latest weekly Crop Progress report. That compares to 48% last week. The percentage of the soybeans rated poor to very poor increased to 39% from 37% last week.

Weekend rains were heavier than expected in some areas, which tipped the futures markets to the bearish side Monday. But that wasn't enough moisture to matter for much of the already-gone corn crop. Some soybean fields will benefit, and if the rains continue, we may see some improvement in crop ratings in coming weeks. John Sanow with DTN believes "it's not a matter of whether USDA will lower their current 146 bushels per acre estimate but rather by how much. This report should be considered bullish as a large drop in the harvested acreage number will have to be accounted for as well." This past Friday, Informa Economics lowered their guesstimate on the size of the 2012 corn crop to 120.7 bushels per acre, expecting a 10.388 billion bushel corn crop versus their July 2012 expectations of 12.49 billion bushels.

As for soybeans, the big question is how much did the recent rains really help the crop. DTN's Sanow says "How much this past weekend's rain will help is also put into question given 71% of the crop was reportedly setting pods as compared to the five-year average of 53% while 93% of the nation's crop was blooming."

For more on the national USDA Crop Progress Report, please click here.

Temple Grandin, Kit Pharo Headline Upcoming Southern Plains Beef Symposium

The 22nd Annual Southern Plains Beef Symposium kicks off at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Ardmore Convention Center. Leland McDaniel, Carter County extension education agent, says the one-day program will feature some of the finest speakers in the country.

"Our lineup this year, we've got a very interesting speaker agenda. Obviously many people have heard of Temple Grandin, probably the world's foremost animal behavior specialist. Most of our cattle handling designs, most of our modern cattle handling designs-or livestock handling designs I should say to include swine and other species as well-everything from the ranch to the feedlot and the packer facilities, most of them have their roots in some of Temple Grandin's work."

McDaniel says their second speaker, Kit Pharo, is a widely-known rancher from Colorado with a little different perspective on the cattle industry.

"Kit's message is really about being a low-cost producer. And he learned years ago what we've all been taught in college that there's a point of diminishing returns. And that maximum profitability doesn't always equate with maximum production. And so that's his message. And we wanted to challenge producers occasionally with some thinking that maybe's a little outside of conventional wisdom and we think he's got a good message to tell."

For more symposium information and a link to their registration page, click here.

This N That- Details on a Higher Cash Cattle market of Last Week and The Facts on This New Round of "Swine Flu"

We saw some of the best cash trade for fed cattle that we have had in several months this past week- as the Texas Cattle Feeders Association reported good volume and four dollars higher on the cash trade to $118.  Ed Czerwein with the USDA office in Amarillo has his regular weekly audio analysis that we post every Monday afternoon on our website- and he talks about that higher cash cattle trade as well as what is happening in the wholesale beef market as well. Click here to jump over to Ed's Monday update and take a listen!

Steve Meyer and Len Steiner boiled down the latest flap over swine flu in their Monday Daily Livestock Report- and we wanted to share that with you this morning as our parting shot-

"We can only hope that markets - and news reporters -
look at the facts of the new swine flu strain that grabbed some
headlines over the weekend. The Centers for Disease Control
announced on Friday that they have now identified 29 cases of H3N2v influenza in humans since July 2011. That total includes 12 new cases, 10 of which were found in Ohio. All of the 12 new cases were reported in people who had been in direct contact with pigs with the Ohio cases being associated with a fair. 

"The CDC reports that this strain has a gene from the H1N1
virus that caused all the undeserved problems for pork back in 2009. But so far there is no evidence that the H3N2v virus is spread from human to human. Normal flu symptoms of fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, muscle aches are reported. There have been three hospitalizations and all three of those people had high-risk characteristics  All reported victims have recovered fully.

"One point in the CDC information is critical: Influenza viruses
have not been shown to be transmissible to people through eating properly handled and prepared pork. Visitors to fairs or those working around pigs were warned to take normal flue prevention steps: watch animals for signs of illness, wash hands frequently, don't eat or drink in animal areas."