Meteorologist Travis Meyer Doesn't See Any Break in Brutally Dry Weather Anytime Soon 

What a difference a year makes. With the drought deepening with each passing week, it's hard to imagine that last fall was much different. Then, we had come off of a very dry summer, but we did get some rain in the fall. This year has been nothing but dry.

News On 6 Meteorologist Travis Meyer visited with me at the Tulsa Farm Show. He said this fall is definitely different than last year and it looks to continue for the foreseeable future.

"This year is just pounding and pounding and pounding on us. Until we get something significant-and, I mean, we keep looking, but there aren't any of those major storms. And I keep saying 'Oh, another 20- or 30 days. Maybe within the next two months if we keep thinking that we're going to see a big soaking event, it eventually has to happen.' We know that. But, right now this is absolutely even stunning to a meteorologist, such as myself."

Meyer said surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean are partly responsible for the dry conditions now being experienced in Oklahoma, but there are other factors as well.

"The biggest thing is always the jet stream. We've talked about that. TV weather guys have talked about that for 20 or 30 years. The big thing continues to be that the jet stream is cutting us off and it's kind of keeping all the storms to the north and to the east. And the eastern part of the country is starting to get very wet. And Louisiana, which was in a horrendous drought earlier in the summer, mid-summer, has now changed to where they have excessive amounts of water, so it's not that far away. But, if the jet stream doesn't change, we're not going to see any significant change."

You can listen to our conversation or read more of Travis Meyer's outlook for the future by clicking here.  

Insurance Commissioner John Doak Urges Rural Oklahomans To Be Safe and Be Prepared 

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak visited the Tulsa Farm show and watched the Livestock Handling Skills Competition.

Doak said safety should always be a top-of-mind issue for farmers and ranchers.

"This whole process here today, and I'm very proud of the kids from around the state that are in this program, the future of Oklahoma looks very bright. Rural Oklahoma is incredibly important to our state. But the safety aspects of what they're learning here today through this process it directly ties back to insurance and risk management. I'm very proud of how the kids are learning."

He said wildfires are a big concern of his especially as the drought continues to worsen.  He said the legislature, firefighters, insurance companies, and property owners all have a part to play in lessening the risk and reducing the impact of wildfires.

Click here to listen to our full conversation, or to read more of the commissioner's comments. 

 

Former House Ag Committee Chair Larry Combest Keynotes First Ever Oklahoma Wheat and Sorghum Conference

Former Chairman of the US House Ag Committee, Larry Combest, was the keynote speaker for the first ever joint meeting of the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association and the Oklahoma Sorghum Association held this past Saturday. We talked exclusively with the now retired longtime Texas lawmaker about the farm bill process that apparently depends on a grand deal between President Obama and Speaker John Boehner to avert the so called Fiscal Cliff. Ag leadership has urged the President and the Speaker to include a farm bill package in any such deal- as it would provide budget offsets of as much as $35 billion over a ten year period.


Combest calls this an opportunity for agriculture, saying that if we can take advantage of the pressure of the hard deadline that the fiscal issues demand of Congress, it's smart for House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas to do so.   Combest believes that the President and the House Speaker will cut some sort of deal- and that there is a "reasonable chance" that a five year farm bill could be part of a final deal- allowing the farm policy measure for the next five years to avoid a nasty House floor fight that could wreck the compromise assembled by Lucas and his ranking member, Collin Peterson, this past summer.   


We also talked with Combest about critics of US farm policy taking aim at Crop Insurance and the difference in Washington when he helped guide the 2002 Farm Bill through Congress versus the 2012 Farm Bill process. 

Click here to be able to listen to our conversation with the former Chairman as we talk farm policy here in 2012.

Alltech's Global 500 Establishes the Next Steps for Dairy and Beef Industries

Alltech's Global 500 closed Thursday after welcoming dairy and beef producers from 40 countries to Alltech's home in Lexington, Ky. Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech, closed Global with seven take-home messages.  Among them were:

1. The gene chip. What genes are switched on and off by certain nutrients? What is causing obesity? The gene chip is pinpointing again and again what is happening at a genetic level.

2. Closing the gap - There are two gaps that need to close. First, we must close the communication gap between ourselves and the consumer. Second, we must close the nutrition gap. Nutrition has not kept pace with genetics; the world is moving on and we need to catch up.

3. We have to start on the farm because it is there that we can make huge improvements. It is there that if we learn how to feed the plant that we can make a huge difference. One plant can give you a ton more grain per acre, a ton with higher starch and better protein, translating to more weight gain or more milk.

You'll find much more of this story and links to the presentations on our webpage.  Click here to go there.

 

Feral Hogs Running Wild Throughout the State

While they are not native to the United States, feral hogs have made Oklahoma their home, and farmers and ranchers have the damage on their property to prove it.

Much like white-tailed deer, hogs are quite secretive, making population estimates difficult. However, the Noble Foundation initiated a survey in 2007, which was conducted by Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services.

The survey estimated the population at approximately 500,000 or less, with a presence in all 77 Oklahoma counties.

Counties in the southeast portion of the state have bigger population numbers, but feral hogs have been leaving destruction in their paths throughout Oklahoma.

Click here to learn more about effective ways to trap and eliminate feral hogs.

Midwest Dairy Association Launches Pinterest Contest to Bring Holiday Inspiration Home

Real food lovers unite! Families gathering in the kitchen and around the dinner table this season have a resource for 100 percent real dairy recipes on Pinterest. Midwest Dairy Association, who works on behalf of more than 9,500 dairy farm families across 10 states, including dairy farmers in eastern Oklahoma, launched the Real Dairy Holidays Contest on Pinterest giving one lucky pinner the chance to win a KitchenAid stand mixer ($400 value). The contest runs through January 4, 2013.

Midwest Dairy's Pinterest pinboards feature a variety of delicious dairy recipes, from homestyle breakfasts to traditional desserts and the meals in between from DairyMakesSense.com. To help families create new holiday eating traditions, the site also showcases recipes from the kitchens and cookbooks of Midwest dairy farm moms, like Karen Bohnert and Susan Anglin.

Contestants will create pinboards and Tweets with recipes from the Midwest Dairy Association and post them on the internet.   Entries will be judged based on overall creativity, total number of pins, unique storytelling and variety of recipes chosen.

For complete rules and links to the Midwest Dairy Association page, click here.

 

This N That- Porter FFA Wins Livestock Handling Skills Contest, Tulsa Farm Show Pics and R-Calf Upset- Again

The 2012 Tulsa Farm Show hosted the annual FFA Livestock Handling Skills Contest on Friday, December 7th, with eight teams competing from across the state of Oklahoma. The Porter FFA Chapter team won the competition, scoring 300 out of a possible 328 points. Porter FFA members that were on their winning team included K.C. Barnes, Halle Barnes and Jaord McKinney.   

Click here to see a picture of the team at work- and for details of the other top placing teams.

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Speaking of the Tulsa Farm Show- we took about 150 pictures during this week's show- and you can take a look at them by clicking here.

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Bill Bullard, the top hired hand of the R-Calf organization- is mad as a wet hen over what he calls a possible conflict of interest with the Cattlemen's Beef Board- it seems that he believes it is wrong for a Checkoff Board officer to serve as an officer in a coalition that the Beef Checkoff has invested money into.  The group in question is the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance.  Bullard calls the potential conflict "outrageous." Click here to read more about the complaint brought forward by R-Calf.