Water Plan Seeks Balanced Approach to Meeting Needs for Next 50 Years 

There's no bigger issue in Oklahoma than water. With the drought of 2011 and 2012 now beginning to stretch into a third year, the question of adequate water supplies is again front and center.

J.D. Strong, executive director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, recently spoke to the Oklahoma Agribusiness Retailers Association about the recently completed Oklahoma Water Plan. He spoke with me about progress on the five-year-long plan developed at a cost of over $11 million dollars.

He said that water is so important to every individual and industry that getting all parties to the table to rationally discuss the issue is not always easy.

"No question that water forms some very strong allies, but it also forms strong enemies. And folks tend to coalesce around their common water uses, but we have a variety of water users across the state-whether it's energy, oil and gas, whether it's agriculture, municipal drinking water. Tourism and recreation is another big water user in the state that is often overlooked. It's a struggle to get folks around the table to talk about how we can ensure that we meet all of those water needs with the finite amount of water that we have in the state. And it will obviously become more difficult as the state continues to grow."

He says the complexity is magnified enormously as the drought continues to hammer farmers and ranchers in the western half of the state.

You can read more or listen to our full interview by clicking here. 

Stillwater Auctioneer Wins Final WLAC Qualifying Event in Davenport, Washington 

Dustin Focht of Stillwater, Okla., won top honors at the final qualifying event for the 2013 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship (WLAC). The event was held October 29, in Davenport, Wash. For placing first, Focht received a custom-designed Gist belt buckle and $1,000 cash.

Focht, who auctioneers weekly for three livestock markets in Oklahoma and Kansas, faced a tough field of competition that included 17 auctioneers from across the U.S. and one entry from Australia. When not on the auction block he enjoys golfing and supporting his alma mater, Oklahoma State University, attending sporting events with his wife, Julie, and six-year-old daughter, Jacie. Focht is sponsored by Cherokee Sales Co., Cherokee, Okla.

Focht is one of six Oklahoma auctioneers who qualified for the semi-finals of the WLAC.  The other qualifiers are:  Robb Taylor of Perkins, Bryan Little of Tulsa, Ashley Noland of Hollis, Tracy Sullivan of Prague, and Mike Godberson of Pawnee. 

Click here to read more.

 

OFB President Previews Upcoming Convention and Trade Show

The annual convention and trade show of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau is scheduled for the end of next week and OFB President Mike Spradling sat down with me to preview the convention and talk about some other important issues. 

Spradling said the convention is the culmination of a lot of work by a lot of farm bureau members all across the state. One of the main purposes of the convention is to set policy for the organization for the coming year.

"Not only state policy, but national as well. Of course, we've got some things we're looking at. We all have a concern about water in the state of Oklahoma and that's certainly going to be on the minds of our delegates. Another thing this year coming up we know there's going to be a lot of tax exemptions, maybe, going away if something's not done on the federal level. The death tax is certainly one of those things we're really interested in. Something has to be done before that happens.

"At the same time, we're looking, also, to see what we can do to be certain we get a farm bill finished. It's probably not likely it's going to happen this year so we may have to start this whole process all over." 

You can hear our full conversation or read more of this story by clicking here.

 

Thick-Cut Pork, Branded Pork Highlighted in Japan

Japan already is the top value market for U.S. pork, but the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) is targeting growth opportunities for branded and thick-cut products in two new initiatives designed to increase sales of American pork.

Thick-cut pork chops and roasts are a staple of the American dinner table, but thinly sliced meats are more the standard for chefs and homemakers in Japan. To introduce consumers to new pork cooking techniques that work for larger cuts, USMEF-Japan hired popular cooking instructor Rika Yukimasa to develop U.S. pork recipes - including some for microwave cooking - that will be introduced during a two-month promotion that runs through the end of 2012.

"While pork is a popular choice for Japanese meals, thick-cut pork is not familiar to Japanese consumers or retailers," said Takemichi Yamashoji, senior marketing director for USMEF-Japan.

You can read more of this story on our web page.  Click here to go there.

Marketing Goals, Drought Considerations Impact Wise Bull Selection

The 2011 drought which extended into 2012 has had an impact on many decisions that cow-calf producers have had to think about in the Southern Great Plains. Cow-calf specialist Bob Weaber of Kansas State University stresses the importance of making sire selections based on the producer's production goals, keeping in mind the impact of the continuing drought on resources.

"This last two-year cycle has really got people thinking back again about improving herd production efficiency and the benefits that heterosis brings to our commercial cow-calf sector particularly in terms of building cows that are more fit for our production environment."

Weaber says drought should figure into the bull-selection process, but producers need to consider their marketing end goals as well.

"If you sell calves on the rail in a grid-marketing system or value-based marketing system, end product traits like marbling, carcass weight, yield, and grade are relatively more important than growth traits to weaning, for instance."

You can hear more from Bob Weaber on the latest Beef Buzz by clicking here.

 

Cherokee County 4-H Meat Judging Team Takes 2nd Place at National Competition

The Cherokee County 4-H meat judging team represented Oklahoma well in the recent American Royal National 4-H Meat Judging and Identification Contest. This contest is held every year in conjunction with the American Royal Livestock Show.

The three-member team, comprised of Hallie Barnes, K.C. Barnes and Trico Blue, placed 2nd nationally at the competition that took place at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan. They are members of the Cherokee County Riders 4-H Club.

With a score of 2,154 points, the trio was a mere two points behind the Texas team that placed first. In addition to their 2nd place overall finish, the team also won multiple divisions in the contest, including beef judging, retail judging, total judging and reasons. The team placed 3rd in meat identification and 5th in pork judging.

Click here to learn more about the competition and how individual team members placed.  

This N That- Okie to Lead Texas Cattle Feeders in 2013, OSU Outlook Conference This Friday and ALO Reception- Also on Friday.

While the name remains the Texas Cattle Feeders Association- for the next two years- they will have an Oklahoma cattle feeder as their Chairman- TCFA represents feedlots in not just Texas, but also New Mexico and Oklahoma- and in 2013 and 2014, their Chairmen hail from the Oklahoma Panhandle. In 2013, that chore will be handled by Walt Olson. He is manager of the Tri-State Feedyard in Turpin. The Chairman Elect in the coming year, which will make him Chairman in 2014, is Jason Hitch of Hitch Enterprises in Guymon.  TCFA had a very successful convention this past week in San Antonio, which included the election of their officers and board members for the coming year.

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Insights about trends and expectations regarding agriculture and rural economies will be the focus of the Rural Economic Outlook Conference taking place Nov. 9 on Oklahoma State University's Stillwater campus. The time for preregistration has come and gone- but you can register at the door for $75- they have a great program lined up- click here for the actual agenda lined up for this coming Friday.

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The second annual Ag Leadership Oklahoma reception at the Oklahoma Farm Bureau convention will be held this coming Friday evening at Cox Convention Center in downtown OKC- Rooms 1,2 and 3.  The reception is open to ANY and ALL OALP graduates as well as the current class- and is set for 5 to 7 pm- you don't have to be a member of Farm Bureau to come and participate and catch up with your OALP classmates and those from the other classes from down through the years.