As Issac Passes Just to the East of Ft. Smith- Oklahoma on the Wrong Side for Rainfall  

You could almost wave at what is left of Issac as he passes by Oklahoma early on this Friday morning- the National Weather Service has the center of the storm that has a lot of rain associated with it just about 50 miles east of Ft. Smith, Arkansas and 95 miles west of Little Rock.  Unfortunately for those that were hoping for some decent rains for our state from Issac- that looks to be close to impossible.  Radar shows as I write this morning a few bands rolling back over into northeastern Oklahoma- but not much.  It appears larger amounts of precipitation are happening in Arkansas and up into places like Springfield, Mo. this morning- and the rain making system is still expected to pull a lot of Gulf moisture up into the Missiissippi River Valley and over into the Ohio River Valley as Labor Day weekend continues. Click here for the Advisory 41 on Issac, as issued this morning at 4 AM central.   

With Issac set to run away from Oklahoma this morning- hot and dry is now in place for most of the state through the middle part of next week.  Our friend Alan Crone with the News on 6 in Tulsa writes "The mid-level ridge of high pressure is expected to crank up this weekend into early next week bringing the heat back to the region.  Surface winds from the south-southwest will also add to the heat potential with highs Sunday and Monday approaching 100.  The fire danger will also be increasing and state wide burn bans will remain in place."  Click here for his complete Friday morning blog entry.

Meanwhile, the latest Drought Monitor has been released- and while the entire state remains under at least the minimal level of drought- moderate drought, the amount of "exceptional" drought has declined in the latest week from 48% down to 37%- mostly in the western half of the state- the part of the state that will be ignored by Issac.

The cumulative effect of the last two weekend's rainfall events was enough to draw some of the state out of exceptional drought. Unfortunately, those that missed out on those two rainfall events were drawn into the U.S. Drought Monitor's worst drought category. Parts of northeastern and central Oklahoma improved from exceptional drought to extreme drought, including the state's two most populous cities in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Click here to see yesterday's Issac rainfall expectations as well as the latest Drought Monitor maps. 

NRCS' Ogallala Aquifer Initiative Helps Landowners Conserve Water and Playas

Water-or the lack of it-is of primary concern for many people living in the western Great Plains, especially as drought conditions continue. The effects of the drought can be seen across the landscape, but what isn't visible is the steep decline in the Ogallala Aquifer-which underlies about 225,000 square miles throughout parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming-and the efforts to counteract it through irrigation system improvements as well as playa conservation.

"The water decline in the aquifer is extreme in some portions, especially down south in Texas and New Mexico," says Craig Derickson, State Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Nebraska.

Last year, with little or no precipitation, coupled with increased pumping of the aquifer to sustain crops, water levels in the Texas Panhandle were reduced by an average of two and a half feet. That may not seem like much, but the problem is that water is being withdrawn from the aquifer at a much greater rate than the recharge. A 2007 study by the Environmental Protection Agency found that the recharge rate is approximately one inch per year, with a net overdraft of two and a half inches per year. When compared against a two and a half foot decline, the loss of water is enormous. In large areas of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, the water level in the aquifer has declined by 50 to 175 feet since pumping began in the late 40s.

To read more about the Ogallala initiative, click here.

Similar Conditions Yield Different Results--What a Difference a Year Makes, Panhandle Agronomist Says

Crop conditions across the Panhandle and northwestern Oklahoma this year have not been much better than last year, but Rick Kochenower, OSU Extension area agronomist based in Goodwell, says production this year has been marginally better. He spoke with Ron Hays at the 2012 Great Plains Canola Conference at Kansas State University.

"Our irrigated corn, for the most part, is going to be pretty decent this year. We had some guys that had well issues and that kind of stuff. We're not having the massive loss like we did last year. We just didn't have those temperatures of 114 and 40 mile-an-hour winds to kind of cook everything like we did that one day last year in June. So, actually, the outlook for the irrigated corn is probably an average crop or slightly above.

"Dry land production out there on sorghum there's going to be some spots that actually got a rain. And then, for the most part, it's going to be a write off on the dry land sorghum this year out in the Panhandle.

He said moisture is an issue as wheat planting time approaches, and most producers are hoping for a rain before they sow.

Rick has a lot more to say and you can read more or listen to the interview by clicking here. 

Genetically Modified and Organic Crop Farmers Can Coexist- Lets Be Good Neighbors

The Advisory Committee on 21st Century Biotechnology in Agriculture (AC21 for short) is getting close to a final report to US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Oklahoma wheat producer Keith Kisling of Burlington has represented the wheat industry on this Advisory group, which was called together by the Secretary in an effort to discover whether natural and organic crop producers deserved compensation (and how it could be delivered) from producers using genetically modified crops that might contaminate open pollinated plants.

Kisling said that he did represent the wheat industry, which at this time has no genetically modified varieties, but as Kisling told us- "we know it's coming and we know it's going to happen eventually, maybe sooner rather than later- I dont' know, but they say in the next ten years" that the wheat industry will have a "GE" release of wheat- "GE" standing for genetically enhanced. He felt his role on the Committee was to reviwe what other crops that have well established GE releases are doing in trying to make sure traditional and organic crops are not being damaged by the GE plant materials.

Kisling tells us that the bottom line of the five meetings that the group had over the last year or so- is that farmers on both sides of this discussion want to work out a non regulatory solution- that being a good neighbor with set backs, adjusted planting dates and other management practices likely to be the best solution in these different approaches to production coexist out in the country.  

You can catch our full interview or read highlights of our conversation by clicking here. 

R-CALF USA Demands Suspension of NCBA Beef Checkoff Contracts Before Callicrate Lawsuit Proceeds Further

In a strongly worded letter, R-CALF USA demands U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack permanently suspend all contracts between the Beef Checkoff Program (Beef Checkoff) and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) before the Michael Callicrate v. USDA et al. lawsuit proceeds any further.

The group's letter explains that R-CALF USA urged Vilsack to suspend all contracts between the Beef Checkoff and NCBA in eight separate letters sent to Vilsack over the past two years. Those requests were based on evidence the group submitted that demonstrates the NCBA had unlawfully misused hundreds of thousands of Beef Checkoff dollars.

The group wrote that Vilsack has abrogated his responsibility to preserve the integrity of the Beef Checkoff and, instead, has played the role of NCBA's patsy:

"You have continued to allow the Beef Checkoff to unlawfully award tens of millions of dollars to NCBA, which enabled that organization to continue its unlawful use of Beef Checkoff funds to successfully undermine your Administration's stated goals concerning country-of-origin labeling (COOL) and the competition rule proposed by the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), just to name two." 

You'll find more of this story on our website as well as links to R-CALF's letter and the Callicrate lawsuit.  Click here to go there.

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Grants to Support Beginning Farmers and Ranchers across 24 States

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $18 million in grants to organizations across 24 states that will help beginning farmers and ranchers with the training and resources needed to run productive, sustainable farms. Under the Secretary's leadership since 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has driven a number of efforts meant to spur interest in agriculture and provide the necessary support to young, beginning and socially-disadvantaged producers. At the Farm Progress Show today in Boone, Iowa, Vilsack said investing in beginning farmers, ranchers and producers is not only a smart investment, but one that is vital to our nation's national and economic security.

In the first year of USDA's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, three-year grants supported training for 5,000 beginning farmers and ranchers. In 2011, grants supported training for more than 38,000. For example, the Appalachian Sustainable Agricultural Project in Western North Carolina has directly assisted 865 farmers across 20 rural counties. Of the total participants, 46 percent were women. In addition, a group of seven organizations is working in rural communities in Arkansas and Oklahoma to educate, train, and foster mentorships for a variety of target groups, including military veterans. In the first year, the project created 32 mentorship opportunities and completed 12 internships with experienced farmers.

Click here for the full story and a link to a complete list of the projects funded by USDA.