Freeze Damage Apparent in Oklahoma Wheat Crop, Yield Potential Way Down, Jeff Edwards Says 

It's been about ten days now since a late freeze hit the state of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University Wheat Specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards said we are just now seeing evidence of damage to the wheat crop. He spoke with me at the OSU Wheat Field Day event in Chickasha. 

"It's really unusual what we're seeing, though. It's the opposite of what we expected. Normally when we have a freeze event like that we expect the wheat that is the farthest along to be hit the hardest. But what we are seeing is that wheat that was in the boot or just poking out the top of the boot at the time of that freeze event seems to have made it through it fairly well. The smaller wheat that had around two nodes or two joints at the time of the freeze really got hit hard. The other wheat that got hit hard would be the drought-stressed wheat and we have a lot of that in the state for sure this year."

Edwards said moisture tends to moderate temperatures down low to the ground and buffer the wheat against the cold, but in drought-stricken areas that did not happen. Also, a thick foliage canopy can provide additional protection, but the sparse canopy in drought-stricken areas left the plant with little protection. Edwards said there is little to no chance that fields hit by this double whammy can recover.

Statewide, the wheat crop needs rain. Edwards said that the best prospects for a decent crop if rain comes soon are in the Enid area. Had adequate rain fallen a month ago, Edwards said there was potential for yields of 70 bushels to the acre. If we get rain soon, he believes it still has the potential for 40 bushels to the acre. Without timely, repeated rains, it could fall as low as 20 or 30 bushels to the acre.

At this point, Edwards said he doesn't see how this year's crop in Oklahoma will bring in more than 100 million bushels. He said he also thought the same about last year's yield and was proven wrong.

"I hope I'm wrong again this year, but I just don't see how we can even get close to 100 million. I think we'll be well below 100 million bushels."

Click here to read more or to listen to our conversation.

USDA: United States Cattle on Feed Number Falls 1 Percent- the Key is Smaller Placements  

Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.9 million head on April 1, 2014, according to the latest USDA Cattle on Feed report. The inventory was 1 percent below April 1, 2013. The inventory included 7.07 million steers and steer calves, up 2 percent from the previous year. This group accounted for 65 percent of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 3.71 million head, down 6 percent from 2013.

Placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.80 million, 5 percent below 2013. Net placements were 1.73 million head. During March, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 425,000, 600-699 pounds were 290,000, 700-799 pounds were 465,000, and 800 pounds and greater were 615,000.

Click here to read more, to find a link to the latest Cattle on Feed report or to listen to an analysis by Tom Leffler.

 

Canola Crop Needs Rain- But Still Has Potential- Gene Neuens

As has been the case in recent years, the new crop on the block, winter canola, came through a cold, dry winter in good shape. A failure to receive any significant moisture since it started growing again in the spring raises new questions about the crop's future.

Gene Neuens, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Producers Cooperative Oil Mill oilseed field representative, says there is a lot of potential in the 2014 crop, if it will start raining soon.

"It is very dry across all of western Oklahoma," he said. "I just completed a two day tour of winter canola growing west of I35 and a good, soaking rain is needed everywhere.

You can read the rest of this story by clicking here.

 

Oklahoma FFA Interscholastic Contests See Cream of the Crop Rise to the Top- We Have Results!

The 2014 State of Oklahoma FFA Interscholastic Events were held on campus at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater this past Friday night and Saturday, with the winners of many of the contests to walk across the stage at the 2014 State FFA Convention this week in downtown Oklahoma City.

There were a total of 25 Team Contests- and we have the results of all of them for in the Blue Green Gazette- click here to be able to see a list of the top teams and top individuals in all of these categories.

We also have a full rundown of the Public Speech Contests and their top winners as well. Two National Qualifiers have been set- Gatlin Squires of Kingfisher will represent Oklahoma FFA in the National Extemporaneous Contest this coming October in Louisville, while Kale Parker of Indianola FFA will represent Oklahoma FFA in the National Creed Contest.

The only unfinished business from the weekend is in the prepared public speaking competition, where the winners in six different categories will compete midday on Tuesday for the overall Prepared Public Speaking title- the winner securing the right to represent Oklahoma in the National Prepared Public Speaking contest this coming October in Louisville.

Click here to see lists of the top winners in each of the speech contests held in Stillwater on Friday evening. 

Our coverage of the 2014 Oklahoma FFA state contests and the 88th Annual Convention is brought to you in part by your Oklahoma Ford Dealers, a Platinum Level Title Sponsor of the 2014 Convention!

Millennials in Crisis: What's Agriculture's Response Plan?

Is your company prepared to tackle a crisis? The Animal Agriculture Alliance announced today that its upcoming 13th annual Stakeholders Summit will include an interactive crisis management simulation hosted by crisis experts representing media, regulatory and management perspectives. The Summit, themed "Cracking the Millennial Code," will provide attendees with the opportunity to participate in a simulated crisis, in real time; and provide participants the opportunity to interact and ask questions of renowned crisis communications experts.

"I think most companies and organizations have robust crisis management plans in place, but I don't know how many of those plans address the channels of information most likely to be accessed by millennials" said Alliance President and CEO Kay Johnson Smith of the Stakeholders Summit, to be held May 8-9th just outside Washington, D.C. "These channels include Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere. When you bring social media into a crisis-it opens up a whole new can of worms, and that's exactly what our expert panelists are going to address."

The panel will be moderated by Eliot Hoff, of APCO Worldwide. Hoff, a senior director and founder of APCO's New York office, leads APCO's crisis communication practice in North America. Hoff manages crisis communication for some of the world's largest food and consumer products companies and has expertise in product recalls, manufacturing and marketing issues, and other areas critical to the reputation of any business. 

Click here to read more.

 

Five Regional Winners Selected in Monsanto's America's Farmers 'Mom of the Year' Contest

Monsanto and the American Agri-Women announced the regional winners in the 2014 America's Farmers Mom of the Year Contest. These amazing farm moms have significantly and positively impacted their communities. Now they need America's support through online voting to determine who will be named "National Farm Mom of the Year."

"There are so many tremendous stories of strength, perseverance, dedication and leadership that it makes it difficult to narrow it down to just a few winners," says Jessica Simmons, Corporate Marketing for Monsanto. "Every farm mom deserves to be recognized for the work she does. But with the help of the American Agri-Women, we are proud to present this year's five regional winners."

The 2014 regional winners of the America's Farmers Mom of the Year contest, include:

*   Northwest Region: Jennifer Holle (Mandan, N.D.)
*   Southwest Region: Heather Dineen (Waxahachie, Texas)
*   Midwest Region: Stephanie Essick (Dickens, Iowa)
*   Northeast Region: Kristen Nickerson (Worton, Md.)
*   Southeast Region: Bethany Pugh (Engelhard, N.C.)

You can read more and how to vote for your favorite finalist by clicking here.

 

Weekend Storms Bring Damage and Minimal Rainfall Into the State- Dry Ahead

Lots of pictures were seen on Facebook on Sunday afternoon of dirt flying around in southwestern Kansas, western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle- these areas were well west of the dryline which spawned several deadly tornadoes Sunday afternoon and evening.  

The lack of rainfall in most of central and western Oklahoma is a major disappointment for crops that on the brink of collapse without a life giving rain.  Now- the forecast appears dry until perhaps sometime next week- eight to ten days away.

Click here to see the real time three day Mesonet Rainfall map as of this morning- it shows a very thin line in central Oklahoma did get as much as an inch of rain and the fields that received that moisture was able to soak some of it up- the problem was that it came very fast and hard and runoff was  significant .