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The 2014 Oklahoma Hard Red Winter Wheat Harvest is officially "on hold" with multiple lines of storms rolling across Oklahoma, bringing rain to areas that had cracks in the field wider than a VW Beetle. According to Mark Hodges with Plains Grains, the state of Oklahoma is twelve percent harvested ahead of the start of these rains this past Thursday night and Friday. Additional lines of storms have come into Oklahoma's wheat belt on Saturday and Sunday, providing tremendous moisture for spring planted crops, but likely washing away a lot of the better test weight numbers for the wheat that was not harvested before the start of the monsoon like weather.

On Friday, we talked with Mike Schulte about the harvest to date. Schulte was pleased with the quality of the drought reduced crop to date, saying test weight and protein reports from the fields harvested have been really good. He added that the number of bushels that will be harvested in Oklahoma this year will likely be about where USDA pegged the crop in their May crop estimates at 62.7 million bushels- the smallest Oklahoma wheat crop since 1957.


Click here to listen to  the full conversation that we had with Schulte about the crop- the interview touched on the quality and quantity of the crop, plus early results from the test plots of OSU's Jeff Edwards and which varieties are looking good- plus they talked about international customers that are coming in to look at the 2014 HRW crop.  

Also in this story on our website, we have the brief update about the wheat harvest released by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission on Friday afternoon- and we have the video of our visit with Schulte that was seen on Saturday morning during our In the Field segment on KWTV News9.

Weekend Rainfall Blankets the State- We have Rainfall Maps   

Rainfall has piled up across Oklahoma since the middle of last week, especially starting Thursday evening, with waves of storms washing across Oklahoma Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. The latest wave of rainfall has concentrated on the southern half of the state and continues on Monday morning.


We have two graphics for you on our web this morning- click here and you will see the top one  shows rainfall since Wednesday morning of last week through 5:00 AM on this Monday morning. Only one Oklahoma Mesonet station- Vinita- has less than a half inch of rainfall for the period, with the heaviest amounts showing in south central Oklahoma- Acme, Bowlegs, Ada and Pauls Valley all showing more than five inches of rainfall over the last five days. 

The bottom graphic is for the past two weeks- and shows how wet June has turned out to be thus far. There are literally no Mesonet stations with less than an inch of rainfall for this period- and Porter in eastern Oklahoma has clocked 8.94 inches of rain in this two week period.

Alan Crone with the News on 6  writes that we are not done with the rainfall in the state as of yet. "The data suggest the upper level trough will slide across the area today and tonight and be moving across eastern OK Tuesday midday.  A few wrap around showers and storms may persist into the first half of Tuesday across eastern OK.  This will be relatively light showers with little in the way of significant accumulations. The actual coverage Tuesday is up for debate, but we'll stick with a 30-40% pop on the 7 day planner and positioned these near and east of Tulsa.  

"Wednesday appears dry, windy, and slightly breezy by afternoon with highs in the mid or upper 80s.   The upper air pattern will once again be supportive of storm complexes developing near and north of the area moving southeast by the end of the week.  The data suggests a system nearing Thursday morning, and for part of the weekend.  Our extended forecast will reflect this increase in probabilities for the Thursday morning time period and we'll keep a slight chance of storms for the Saturday night and Sunday morning slot across far northern OK and southern Kansas."  

Click here for Alan's complete blog of the Monday morning weather outlook.

Beef and Pork Exports Score Double Digit Gains in Latest Reporting Month

U.S. beef and pork exports continued their positive growth trend in April, increasing by double digits in volume and by an even healthier margin in value, according to statistics released by the USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).


Higher prices commanded in the global market have driven up per-head export values for both U.S. beef and pork, as international customers have, so far, been willing to pay higher prices for larger volumes.

The U.S. exported 99,297 mt of beef in April valued at $537.4 million, increases of 15 and 24 percent, respectively. Year-to-date, beef exports are up 10 percent in volume and 17 percent in value to 376,377 mt valued at $2.05 billion.


For the month of April, total U.S. pork exports (muscle cuts plus variety meat) rose 11 percent over year-ago levels in volume to 192,924 metric tons (mt) valued at $596 million, a 26 percent increase. For the first four months of 2014, pork exports are up 11 percent in volume to 776,601 mt valued at $2.25 billion, a 14 percent rise.

Click here for a complete rundown of the highlights for both  pork and beef exports for this latest month reported.

Warning! Grasshopper Numbers Could Be Crazy This Summer- Tom Royer Says Treat Now

Parts of Oklahoma that have suffered from a lack of rainfall are likely to experience grasshopper infestations the likes of a Biblical plague this summer.


"It's just not the western parts of the state, there are pockets in eastern Oklahoma wherein the rain just has not fallen at the right time, even with recent rainfall in June," said Tom Royer, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension entomologist. "Agricultural producers need to be taking proper preventative steps between now and July 1."


Royer added waiting until a grasshopper sprouts wings makes effective control of the insects a "hit-and-miss" prospect, and a more expensive control endeavor at any rate.

"Be aware grasshoppers can eat 25 percent to 50 percent of their body weight in forage a day," he said. "In contrast, a steer will eat 1.5 percent to 2 percent of its body weight in forage a day."

Click here for Dr. Royer's recommendations about staying ahead of this Biblical pest here in 2014.

DOT Grants Exemption on Hours of Service for Livestock Truckers

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted a one-year exemption to the Hours-of-Service requirement for the transportation of livestock. The Hours-of-Service rules required all commercial motor vehicle operators, including livestock transporters, to take a 30-minute rest break for every eight hours of service. This is in addition to all scheduled stops not counting time for refueling and other breaks.


The National Cattlemen's Beef Association President and Victoria, Texas, cattleman, Bob McCan said the move alleviates many of the concerns of cattlemen and women as they face warmer temperatures this summer.


"This is great news for livestock producers and for the health of our herds," said McCan. "As we come into summer, cattle producers have expressed concerns to the DOT that these rules would jeopardize the health and safety of our cattle. For over a year this has been a major priority for the NCBA and our members, but we will continue to urge DOT to make this exemption permanent. This exemption is a common-sense move that keeps our herds and our nation's highways safe."


The hours of service exemption will be effective immediately. 

Click here for more including a link to the actual language being published in the Federal Register by the DOT.

Beef Board Chair Kim Brackett Talks Checkoff and Consumers

Arguably, the Beef Checkoff may be the most complicated and most scruntinized commodity checkoff in the United States. Established in the late 1980s by a producer referendum, the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion Board is a group of cattle industry leaders who have been nominated by their peers but selected by the US Secretary of Agriculture. The "Beef Board" does not directly do the work that is associated with the checkoff, but rather contracts with existing cattle industry groups to do the actual research, education and promotion to improve demand for US Beef.


Kim Brackett is the current Chairman of the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion Board and is a multi state cattle producer from Idaho and California. Brackett talked earlier this year with us about the checkoff itself, as well as the programs that she is most excited about in 2014. As we talked, this articulate cattle lady blew up some of the myths perpetuated about the checkoff and how it works to the advantage of some groups over others. 

At the end of this past week- we featured our earlier in the year conversation with Kim on the Beef Buzz. 

Click here to read more about our visit with Kim and to listen to parts of that conversation as dive into the inner workings of the Beef Checkoff.

Superior Livestock's Corn Belt Classic Sale Begins Tuesday Morning 

During the summer, there are several special, themed, sale events that Superior Video Livestock is known for- and one of the first is the 16th annual Corn Belt Classic, which is being originated from Council Bluffs, Iowa tomorrow and Wednesday.

While these special sales are  happening outside of their studios in Ft. Worth- they still are great opportunities to find some top notch cattle for your operation.

As always, the sale can be seen on RURAL TV at  channel 232 on the DISH Network  and via the internet on Superior Click to Bid.Com. 

The 2014 Corn Belt Classic will feature 67,500 cattle- and you can click here for the complete details about the offering on the Superior Livestock website.