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June 24th has arrived- and it's time to decide on who will represent the two political parties across the state of Oklahoma in the 2014 election cycle.  There are races from the local level to several statewide races to be decided today- and perhaps the featured race of the day was one folks started talking about late in 2013 and became official at the start of 2014.   

Senator Tom Coburn announced this past January that he would resign from his Senate seat at the end of 2014, leaving two years on his six year term.  Oklahoma Congressman James Lankford almost immediately jumped into the race as several other possible candidates decided not to face a possibly bruising Primary campaign- Lankford eventually saw one formiable opponent rise up in the person of Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon.  Shannon garnered early endorsements from several national Tea Party darlings- including Sarah Palin and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Congressman Lankford had an early lead which shrank with Shannon grabbing a lot of momentum during the spring- but Lankford got a quasi endorsement from Senator Coburn after third party groups went negative with ads against Lankford in support of Shannon.   

In recent days- Lankford has picked up several editorial endorsements- including that of the state's two largest newspapers- The Daily Oklahoman and the Tulsa World.  

A News9 poll of the Senate race has Lankford ahead by a 43 to 35 percent margin, with a significant number of undecideds outstanding.  The question mark for these two men- can Lankford stretch his lead to fifty percent plus one vote by the end of the day.  If not, these two candidates will face each other in an August runoff.  

Of the other statewide races- the two that are being really contested are the race for a Corporation Commission seat and the Education Superintendent race. There are only two candidates running to take the Corporation Commission seat now held by Patrice Douglas- she is running for the Lankford seat in Congress. Those two candidates for the seat being vacated by Douglas are Todd Hiett and Cliff Branan.  Whoever wins this primary race will win the seat as no Democrat filed to run. Hiett seems to be the farm and ranch favorite, with PAC donations for his campaign coming from PACs organized by the Oklahoma Cattlemen and Oklahoma Farm Bureau. 

In the Education Superintendent race, incumbent Janet Baressi is being challenged for the GOP nomination- and if she advances today in the primary- may find herself in an August runoff.  Democrats are hoping to advance a strong candidate in this statewide race as well as they have four candidates to challenge the GOP this fall.  

We will also be watching the Third Congressional District race as House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas ended up with two GOP Challengers in today's balloting.    

This evening- we will be posting election result updates on our website- and we will Tweet and Facebook and will offer coverage tomorrow morning in our daily email.  

The latest US crop report showed little has changed since a week ago.  In weekly report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service a few numbers moved around, but overall its still an excellent start to the growing season.  The US corn crop moved up one point in the excellent and fair category, while losing three points in the good category and one point in the poor category.  The report showed 18 percent of the crop is in excellent condition, 56 in good, 21 in fair, 4 in poor and one percent in very poor condition.  Ninety-five percent of the nation's soybeans have been planted, 90 percent has emerged and the crop condition is virtually unchanged from a week ago.  Fourteen percent of the crop is in excellent condition, 58 percent in good, 23 percent in fair four percent in poor and one percent in very poor condition.  


The best combined rating for corn and soybeans looks to be North Dakota.  Their corn crop rates 15 percent in excellent condition, 70 percent in good, 14 in fair and one percent in poor condition.  North Dakota's soybean crop is doing equally as well with 16 percent in excellent, 69 percent in good, 14 percent in fair and 1 percent in poor condition.  Neither crop has a very poor rating.  


Nationally 33 percent of the nation's winter wheat crop has been harvested.  Wheat harvest is running ahead of last year and the five year average.  Wheat crop condition remains unchanged with five percent of the crop is in excellent condition, 25 in good, 26 in fair, 22 in poor and 22 in very poor condition.


Pasture and range conditions remain nearly unchanged from a week ago, while slightly better than 2013 with 10 percent in excellent condition, 45 in good, 29 in fair, 11 in poor and five in very poor condition. 


 To read the full national crop progress report Click Here.      

Wheat Harvest Progress Throughout Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas 

Oklahoma's wheat and canola harvest is nearly complete. In the weekly crop progress report, wheat harvest is 74 percent complete, which ties the five year average. Canola harvest is 93 percent complete. The first cutting of alfalfa hay is 88 percent complete.   Range and pasture conditions continued to be rated mostly good to fair. Grasshopper populations continued to increase in various parts of the state.  Spring seeded crops continue to hold their condition. The corn crop has emerged with 80 percent rated in good to fair condition. Sorghum, soybeans, cotton and peanuts are all rated in the 90's for good to fair condition.  Click Here for the full Oklahoma report.

Wheat harvest continues in Texas. Sixty nine percent of the crop has been taken out with harvest continuing in the Blacklands and in many areas of the Southern Low Plains. Harvest is 15 percent ahead of last year and five percent ahead of the five-year average.   Pasture and range conditions are variable. In areas of the Trans-Pecos, pasture conditions deteriorated from lack of sufficient moisture. Cattle continued to improve in areas of the Northern Low Plains.  Click Here for the full Texas report.

 

Warm and dry conditions have prevailed in Kansas helping

wheat harvest to advance. Sunday brought wide - spread showers and cooler temperatures across most of the State, halting wheat harvest. A half to two inches of rain was common with some hail and wind damage reported. Winter wheat harvest is 24 percent complete, which is ahead of last year, but behind the five year average of 34.

Click Here for the full Kansas report.

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, writes in the latest Cow/Calf Corner newsletter

Summer officially started this past weekend and cattle markets so far have shown little of the seasonal pressure that has been expected. Fed cattle prices have strengthened counter-seasonally the past three weeks and cattle slaughter has continued down year over year. Feedlot marketings are expected to increase in June but the sharp spike in feedlot supplies that was implied by earlier placements may not materialize that way. Strong fed markets in May likely pulled some cattle forward while others may get pushed into July thereby smoothing out the June peak. June marketings will increase and fed prices will likely drop back but perhaps with less pressure than earlier anticipated.


The June Cattle on Feed report showed May marketings down four percent but, with one less business day this year, daily average marketings were equal to one year ago. May placements were down seven percent, as expected, leading to a June 1 on-feed total down 2 percent from last year. Placements of cattle under 700 pounds was actually up nearly three percent compared to last year (including a ten percent increase in placements under 600 pounds). At the same time, placements of cattle over 700 pounds were down 12 percent indicating that feedlot supplies will tighten significantly into the fourth quarter of the year. May feedlot placements were heavily oriented to the Southern Plains with year over year increases in Texas and Kansas placements while Nebraska and Iowa placements were sharply lower than last year. This brings the June 1 Texas feedlot inventory above the Nebraska total for the first time since January.

Click Here to read more from Derrell Peel. 
 

Oklahoma Scores Key Victory against EPA Overreach at U.S. Supreme Court

Attorney General Scott Pruitt on Monday said Oklahoma and other states won a key victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in challenging the EPA's attempt to expand its authority under the Clean Air Act.


"Today's ruling by the Supreme Court is a major victory for Oklahoma and other states that challenged EPA overreach," Attorney General Scott Pruitt said. "While the EPA serves an important role in protecting our environment, the agency continues its aggressive drive to expand its authority over the lives of Americans. In its ruling, the Supreme Court noted that even the EPA recognized these regulations would be an 'unprecedented expansion of EPA authority that would have a profound effect on virtually every sector of the economy and touch every household in the land' while still only proving to be 'relatively ineffective at reducing greenhouse gas concentrations.' In this case, the EPA clearly overstepped its authority under the Clean Air Act as part of the administration's anti-fossil fuel agenda. In siding with Oklahoma, the Supreme Court has placed an important check on the EPA and preserved state authority under the Clean Air Act."


Oklahoma and other states together challenged the EPA's unprecedented move to make thousands of stationary sources such as schools, churches and shopping centers, comply with Clean Air Act regulations designed for existing power plants already regulated by the EPA. The lawsuit is Texas et al v. EPA.

 

Pregnant women who lived in close proximity to fields and farms where chemical pesticides were applied experienced a two-thirds increased risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental delay, a study by researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute has found. The associations were stronger when the exposures occurred during the second and third trimesters of the women's pregnancies.


The large, multisite California-based study examined associations between specific classes of pesticides, including organophosphates, pyrethroids and carbamates, applied during the study participants' pregnancies and later diagnoses of autism and developmental delay in their offspring. It is published online today in Environmental Health Perspectives.


"This study validates the results of earlier research that has reported associations between having a child with autism and prenatal exposure to agricultural chemicals in California," said lead study author Janie F. Shelton, a UC Davis graduate student who now consults with the United Nations. "While we still must investigate whether certain sub-groups are more vulnerable to exposures to these compounds than others, the message is very clear: Women who are pregnant should take special care to avoid contact with agricultural chemicals whenever possible." 

To learn more about this health study Click Here.  

Oklahoma 4-H Members Shine in Horse Training Project

The State 4-H Horse Show started with a bang on Thursday, June 20, 2014. 4-H members from across the state who qualified at their district level, traveled to Shawnee, OK to participate for top honors. 4-H horse members participate in a variety of disciplines from speed events to western pleasure, showmanship and trail. This year, eleven members from across Oklahoma participated in a different type of competition, the Oklahoma 4-H 2 -Year -Old Horse Training Project Class.


Many 4-H members who have prior experience in the horse show ring decided to take on this unique challenge in 2014. The 2 -Year- Old Horse Training Project provides an incentive activity for 4-H members to develop their training skills and encourages them to enhance their overall horsemanship skills. Members are responsible for the care, fitting and training of the project and may only consult with resource people such as professional trainers for advice and consul. Members are required to exhibit their horse in both a Western Pleasure Class and Showmanship Class at the state show.  

Two of the participants in this year's event were Madison Vance of Pawnee 4-H and Chaz Rufo of the Tulsa County 4-H Horse Club.
Rufo has previously participated in the 2 year old project winning Reserve Champion his first year of participation and was then named Champion in 2013.  Chaz's hard work paid off with him being named the Reserve Champion Overall in the 2 Year Old Horse Training Project for 2014.  Vance is the Pawnee Senior 4-H Club President and this was her first time to participate in the 2 year old project with a mare she raised, "Good N Glittery" but better known by her barn name of "Velma"   Her time and effort paid off with Madison being named the Champion Overall in the 2 Year old Horse Training Project with a win in both the Western Pleasure and Showmanship components of the event.