Featured Story:

Rainfall was happening at the top of the state and at the bottom- and not so much anywhere in between- at least on Tuesday into Tuesday evening.  The rainfall map that we have on our website- click here to take a look- reflects the largest amounts of rain from the Tuesday batch of showers happened in south central Oklahoma along the Red river- Ardmore and a couple of other communities and the ranch land in that area receiving the benefit.


Looking ahead to the next couple of days- Alan Crone with the News on 6 writes in his daily outlook this morning "We're moving back into the hot category today and tomorrow before another storm system drives a cold front into the state Thursday night into early Friday bringing a round of storms to the region followed by temps in the 80s.  High temperatures today will be in the mid to upper 90s with readings nearing 100 tomorrow afternoon.  The fire danger will remain elevated both today and tomorrow and state wide burn bans remain in place.


"A warm front will scoot across the region this morning and should be positioned northeast of the state this afternoon.  This will bring the warm conditions back to the region along with south winds in the 10 to 20 mph range.  A few isolated storms may be possible later today with a few showers possible this morning across eastern or southeastern OK.  The NSSL and RAP indicate a few isolated storms forming in central OK this afternoon during the 4pm to 6pm time frame.  If they do form, they could be severe." 

Currently, chances of precipitation for Thursday and Thursday night stand from forty to sixty percent across a lot of Oklahoma- and temperatures seem to be relatively mild for mid August for the weekend- rain and temps in the 80s???- now that would be good news!  

Expedited Conservation Cost-Share Program Helps With Drought Recovery  

The Oklahoma Conservation Commission has announced Program Year 14 of the state's Locally-Led Conservation Cost-Share Program. The agency approved guidelines for the latest program at its Aug. 13 meeting. The program began in 1997 with the goal reducing soil erosion and improving water quality by providing financial assistance to landowners for applying soil and water conservation practices. Funding for Program Year 14 is a record $1.4 million. A few changes were made with the goal of going further to help landowners recover from the effects of the exceptional drought this year.

One change is that the program is being opened up earlier than most years. The Cost-Share Program overlaps years because it is designed to extend through two growing seasons to allow ample opportunity, under normal conditions, to install the conservation practices. In past years the program has opened at different times of the year from October to February, and the run for 16-24 months for completion of installation of the practices. Most years the program has begun in October. However, the first year of the Cost-Share Program, 1997, it began in August, also a year of exceptional drought. 

"This year's drought has unfortunately meant losses for many of the state's agricultural producers," said Governor Mary Fallin. "It's important we do everything we can to help them recover. The conservation cost-share program is a great way of assisting our farmers and ranchers as they respond to this difficult summer. I appreciate the Conservation Commission working to expedite the necessary funds."  

You can read more specifics about this program by clicking here. 

New Structure Brings Focus, Flexibility to Beef Checkoff

A newly-approved structure for joint beef checkoff committees endeavors to engage more cattle producers and beef importers who pay the checkoff in a more efficient decision-making process about investment of their hard-earned checkoff investments.

Adopted unanimously by both the Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB) and the Federation of State Beef Councils during the recent 2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver, the new structure effectively reduces the number of checkoff program committees - which are responsible for making recommendations to the Beef Promotion Operating Committee about programs to fund with checkoff dollars - from the current 13 to just four in 2013.

Each of those four new committees will be tied directly to core strategies identified in the 2011-2013 Beef Industry Long Range Plan, with subcommittees for the domestic market formed around the beef demand drivers identified in that same plan. As envisioned, committees will be flexible enough to change with adoption of a new long range plan, if those strategies and demand drivers change.

There's more to this story on our website. Click here to go there.

Adapting to the Constantly-Changing Global Marketplace Will Benefit Oklahoma Farmers

The global market place is a constantly changing landscape that must be carefully analyzed and adapted to says Dr. Patricia Rayas Duarte. Duarte spoke at the Oklahoma Wheat Commission's 2012 Wheat Review at Redlands Community College in El Reno.

Duarte is a cereal chemist at Oklahoma State University, but she recently examined how the quality of Oklahoma wheat affects its marketability across the globe. She recently spent time in Israel and has closely examined the role Asian markets will play in the marketing of Oklahoma grain.

In her visit to Israel, Duarte said, officials say they perceive a downward trajectory in the quality of grain received from the United States. She said the Israelis are currently sourcing grain from the Black Sea region that is immaculately clean. When compared with shipments received from the U.S., officials said there was a vast difference.

Duarte took the perception as a challenge and examined the testing equipment used by the Israelis. Her sleuthing with the equipment's manufacturer showed the equipment to be out of date and not nearly as reliable as that which is currently available. Even so, Duarte said, the purchaser's perception of quality is ultimately what fuels buying decisions. She said it would be beneficial for U.S. grain marketers to examine our quality standards to ensure that only the highest quality wheat is delivered to foreign markets.

Click here to read more about emerging markets for Oklahoma wheat in the far east.

Feedlot Nutrition Pioneer Honored with Industry Achievement Award

Kenneth Eng, a widely-known pioneer in feedlot nutrition, will be the recipient of the 2012 Industry Achievement Award. Eng will be the first nutritionist so honored.

A native of Nebraska, Eng earned his PhD at Oklahoma State University and then went to Texas A&M to establish the country's first graduate program in feedlot management.

Eng went on to become a nutrition consultant to feedlots across the U.S. He said that in the beginning, seven independent consultants handled about 65 percent of the cattle in the country's feedlots.

He left the consulting business in the late 1980s to focus on his own beef production businesses.

"I was just lucky to be part of a talented group," Eng said. "We were, for various reasons, quite a ways ahead of our time at that time.

"If you had a good nutrition consultant at that time then, you were doing things that were at the forefront of the industry. And they were not widely accepted otherwise-steam-flaked grains, high-concentrate rations, higher protein levels, addition of feed fat and various additives. And they were not widely used then. It all seems simple now, but it was sort of new-well, it was new technology."

Click here to watch a video interview with Kenneth Eng.

It's Time to Prepare Before Helping During Calving Season, Selk Says

In the latest edition of the OSU Extension newsletter, Glenn Selk, extension animal scientist emeritus, says preparation is the key to positive calving outcomes.

The fall calving season will soon be underway on many Oklahoma and Southern Plains ranches. Before the first heifer starts in labor, now would be a good time to make the appropriate preparations for the upcoming calving season.

* Equipment: Before calving season starts do a walk-through of pens, chutes, and calving stalls. Make sure that all are clean, dry, strong, safe, and functioning correctly. This is a lot easier to do on a sunny afternoon than on a dark night when you need them.

* Protocol: Before calving season starts develop a plan of what to do, when to do it, who to call for help (along with phone numbers), and how to know when you need help. Make sure all family members or helpers are familiar with the plan. It may help to write it out and post copies in convenient places. Talk to the local veterinarian about the protocol and incorporate his/her suggestions. Make certain to call the veterinarian for professional assistance as soon as you identify a difficult birth that you are incapable of handling yourself. 

Selk has more suggestions to ensure a smooth calving season and you can read them by clicking here.

Express Ranches 'Big Event' Sale Scheduled for August 24 and 25

Express Ranches will be selling more than 2,000 head of cattle in the upcoming two-day Big Event Sale Friday and Saturday August 24th and 25th. The sale will take place at the ranch at 2202 North Eleventh Street in Yukon.

Approximately 1,500 commercial heifers and feeder calves from Express Ranch customers will sell on Friday starting at noon. Included in that sale will be 150 registered Angus females via video auction on RFD-TV.

Saturday's Big Event begins at 10 a.m. and will offer 500 head including elite donors, spring bred heifers, fall yearling ET heifers, fall calving two-year-olds, and spring-born show heifers and elite donor prospects.

For more information, click here, or call 800-664-3977.