No-Till Farming will Change the World, Ray Archuleta Says

Ray Archuleta says the earth is sick. It is in this condition, he says, in large measure due to our disregard of natural principles in our approach to agriculture.

Archuleta is a conservation agronomist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service and is a speaker at the No-Till Oklahoma Conference  continuing today in Norman. When he is not traveling the countryside, he teaches soil health and the principles of agroecology at the NRCS East National Technology Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.

I spoke with Archuleta about his promotion of these revolutionary ideas and what they can mean for farmers. 

"No-till is a wonderful tool, but what we're telling farmers, too, is that no-till is not enough. You've got to do it with covers and, more, we're trying to push the thought process 'farm in nature's image.' Nature doesn't till, so we don't want to till. But no-till is just a part of the big story."

Archuleta offered no-till conference attendees a number of principles to help guide their work. Principal among those was keeping the ground covered. He says the soil in forests is covered 24-7 with a diversity of plants and it is that architecture that he is trying to mimic both top and bottom.

"What you see on the top is what you're going to emulate on the bottom. So we want to see that massive root system and feed carbon into that soil ecosystem. That's what we want to do."

Archuleta said that process helps the soil to function.

"If we can increase soil function it means we are getting a better nutrient cycle; we're going to hold water better. For every one percent of organic matter that we build in the soil, we can hold anywhere from 17 to 25,000 more gallons per acre. That is huge. So, what we are saying is those covers will help stop the kinetic energy of raindrops-slow it down-so rain enters into the soil slowly. It protects it from the heat. It shades it; it keeps it cool. But, most importantly, it feeds the soil microbiology which runs the soil ecosystem."

Click here to listen to my interview with Ray Archuleta or to read the rest of this story.
 

Red Meat Exports Start 2014 on Positive Note 

U.S. beef, pork and lamb exports all opened the new year on a positive note, although market conditions suggest 2014 could be a challenging year for U.S. red meat exports, according to statistics released by the USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

Beef exports continued the strong performance set in 2013, rising 13 percent in volume and 16 percent in value for the month, bolstered by double-digit growth to Mexico, Japan and Hong Kong. Pork exports rose 3 percent in volume and 2 percent in value for the month, driven by growth to Mexico, while lamb exports increased 7 percent in volume and 9 percent in value.

While price is just one of many factors that affect red meat trade, higher U.S. pork and beef prices will create challenges for American red meat exports in the months ahead, particularly in markets where customers are more price sensitive.

"In pork, there are a number of recognized challenges on the production side as well as unresolved access issues," said Philip Seng, USMEF president and CEO. "In addition, we are also seeing increased competition in the form of higher marketing budgets and favorable prices for the EU, Brazil and Canada."
 

You'll find the rest of this story on our website by clicking here.

Above-normal temperatures and high winds are turning winter into spring rapidly Oklahoma State University Extension Wheat Specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards tells  us. The latest crop weather reports, however, indicate the condition of this year's crop is taking a turn for the worse.

"We're pretty short on moisture," Edwards said. "We still have some areas of the state that have good subsoil moisture, but we need some moisture-some topsoil moisture-in that top inch or two to really perk this crop up and bring it out of dormancy.

"And I've been a little bit surprised at that last cold snap. I didn't think we had that much freeze injury, but based on the calls and reports I've been getting, we have a lot more freeze injury out there than what I thought. It seems to be hitting in north central and northwest Oklahoma and is hitting the grazed wheat first or the hardest. Certainly we're not in a situation where I would count those acres out. I'm still taking a wait-and-see-approach. If there's green material out there they should go ahead and green back up if we get some moisture, but we were dinged up harder than what I thought with that last freeze event."

You can read more form Jeff Edwards or listen to our conversation by clicking here. 

History Can Teach Southern Plains Ranchers Valuable Lessons, Jay O'Brien Says

Texas rancher Jay O'Brien says he's not really so much a rancher as a farmer. His spread in the Texas Panhandle doesn't so much produce beef as it produces grass. That may not seem like an important distinction, but he says it makes all the difference in how the land is cared for and how ranches can be profitable in good times and in bad.

O'Brien recently spoke at a "Surviving the Elements" symposium sponsored by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. The series of symposia takes a look at land and water issues facing residents of the Western United States. Week one of the series looked at history to determine what could be learned from earlier times.
 

"There is so much to learn from history, but, unfortunately, humans are not good at learning from history," he said.  "We all like to be optimists. We all like to think that everything is going to be OK. And, sometimes, we reach out a little far in our optimism and assume things that aren't necessarily true.

"As ranchers, we only have one real asset and that's the grass. And so we have to take care of that grass so that we can produce this high quality product, this beef, from this renewable resource of grass. And, if we don't take care of it, we won't be able to do as good of a job of producing beef."

O'Brien joins me on the latest Beef Buzz.  Click here to listen in or to read more of this story.

 

Website Offers Updated Information Important to Planting Decisions

The National Corn Growers Association released a revised version of its "Know Before Your Grow" website this week to offer growers updated information to help inform planting decisions in light of the release of new seed varieties currently unapproved in some export markets. The information provided allows growers to make informed decisions on potential marketing restrictions well before harvest.

"In a globalized agricultural economy, it is important that farmers understand the delicate balance that must be struck in trying to ensure access to the technologies necessary to combat production challenges while also ensuring export markets remain open to U.S. corn," said NCGA Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team Chair Jim Zimmerman. "In the case of China, the balance can prove challenging given that country's asynchronous approval system for biotech traits, and its current trend toward falling behind even the normal asynchronous approval timelines. While we must make robust efforts to maintain market access, be it through controlled limited release of new products or even delayed release, farmers should remain aware of the importance of these products to their operations as they face difficulties caused by biological stressors. Both biotechnology and export markets play a key role in maintaining profitability and making decisions based on solid information will be key moving forward."   

Click here to read more and to find a link to NCGA's "Know Before You Grow" decision tool.

OACD, Carl Albert Center Partner for 'Conservation Day at the Capitol'

The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) and the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center at the University of Oklahoma today announced that they will be working together to make 'Conservation Day at the Capitol' on March 24, 2014 a 'Take your Daughter (or son) to the Capitol Day'. According to OACD President Kim Farber, this new partnership is part of a larger effort on behalf of the Carl Albert Center to promote the consideration of public service as a career choice for all of Oklahoma's children, but especially a choice for young women.

"OACD is excited to be involved in this partnership," Farber said. "As the first woman President of OACD, I feel honored to have this chance to help spur the next generation of Oklahomans, especially our young girls, to consider the idea of working in public service and taking part in public involvement and community action. We work to protect and conserve our natural resources and there is no greater natural resource than our children."

Click here to read more.  

Pork Industry Earmarks Another Million Bucks for PEDv as 1.3 Million Pigs Die From Disease in January

The National Pork Board has announced additional funds earmarked for research in the fight against the further spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV), which was first identified in the United States last May. The funds - $650,000 through supplemental funding approved by the Pork Checkoff at last week's Board meeting and $500,000 through a new agreement with Genome Alberta, will provide new opportunities for research.


"This has become one of the most serious and devastating diseases our pig farmers have faced in decades," said Karen Richter, a Minnesota producer and president of the National Pork Board. "While it has absolutely no impact on food safety, it has clear implications for the pork industry in terms of supplying pork to consumers. Our No. 1 priority is to address PEDV."

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, PEDV has surfaced in 26 states. Steve Meyer, president of Paragon Economics and a Pork Checkoff consultant, estimates the loss of more than 5 million piglets in the past several months, with 1.3 million lost in January alone.


"Losses of this magnitude will ultimately have a consumer impact through a reduction in supply," Meyer said. "Some pork supply will be made up through producing higher market-weight hogs and through other loss mitigation actions, but today we are already seeing summer pork futures climb to record levels."

Read more about the PEDv battle- click here and check it out.