Oklahoma Wheat Planting Getting Underway

As the public prepares for the Labor Day holiday weekend, farmers are making plans for planting their 2015 winter wheat crop. September first through the beginning of November is the normal planting window for wheat in the state. Oklahoma Wheat Commission Executive Director Mike Schulte said with the recent moisture farmers have an opportunity to plant the crop earlier this fall- if they are interested in having wheat pasture..


"Many parts of the state have received rain," Schulte said. "I think there are producers out there that are still hoping they will continue to receive rain this weekend and going on into next week, which will maybe help them with their management decisions." 


With hot temperatures and limited moisture in August, Schulte said farmers are still being very cautious as the state continues to remain in drought. Depending on the timing of rain, farmers will be weighing their options in planting a dual-purpose wheat crop for grazing or in planting later for a grain only crop. While its hard to predict the weather, he is optimistic that the state won't see a repeat of 2014 where the state produced about half the size of a normal year's crop due to devastating dryness.   

Click here to read or to LISTEN to more- including details about the Oklahoma Wheat Commission's involvement in Septemberfest at the Governor's Mansion and the Junior Wheat Show.

AND ICYMI- we have posted the video here on our website of Mike talking with us on Saturday morning during our In the Field segment as seen on KWTV News9 in Oklahoma City.

EPA Downplays Maps as Showing Reach of WOTUS

EPA Associate Administrator for External Affairs, Tom Reynolds wrote the following blog post that addresses what EPA is calling the  "misinformation" being spread about the agency's proposal to protect our nation's water bodies.


"Since releasing our proposal in March to better protect clean water, there have been some questions raised in the press, most recently about maps that use data developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Fish & Wildlife Service and show locations and flow patterns of many of the nation's waterways.


"Before discussing the truth about the history and purpose of the maps, let's review some basic facts. The Clean Water Act was passed by Congress to protect our nation's water bodies from pollution. This law has nothing to do with land use or private property rights, and our proposal does not do anything to change that. The idea that EPA can use the Clean Water Act to execute a land grab or intrude on private property rights is simply false.


"We want people to have the facts about our proposal to protect clean water and the critical nature of streams and wetlands to our health, communities, and economy. We've already worked to ditch many of the myths and misunderstandings in circulation relating to our effort to protect clean water. Now here is the truth about these maps, which you can see for yourself here."
  

Click or tap here to read Reynold's opinion on when and why EPA developed the maps to show the impact the Clean Water Act.  

NCBA Upset with Idea of Letting Fresh Beef in from Argentina

The United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Inspection Service published a proposed rule in the Federal Register today to allow the importation of beef from a region in Argentina. National Cattlemen's Beef Association President Bob McCan, cattleman from Victoria, Texas, issued the following statement:


"The National Cattlemen's Beef Association is deeply concerned by today's announcement by the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to add the Patagonia areas of Argentina to the list of regions considered free of Foot-and-Mouth disease and to subsequently allow the importation of live cattle and fresh or frozen beef into the United States from this region. Our extreme concern is only further magnified by the associated proposed rule to allow chilled or frozen beef to be imported from the region of Northern Argentina. Northern Argentina is a region that is not recognized as being free of Foot-and-Mouth Disease by APHIS. We strongly believe that these recent actions by APHIS present a significant risk to the health and well-being of the nation's cattle herd through the possible introduction of FMD virus.


"FMD is an extremely contagious viral disease of cloven-hooved animals and many wildlife species. This disease is considered to be one of the most economically devastating livestock diseases in the world and an outbreak of FMD could ultimately threaten the entire U.S. economy as well jeopardize our national food security.
  

Click here to read more on NCBA's concerns in importing live cattle and fresh and frozen beef into the US.  

USDA Awards Grant to Study Water Efficiency In Cattle Production

Earlier this year Oklahoma State University received a million dollar grant from the US Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to look at climate change in cattle production. I talked with Lead researcher Dr. Megan Rolf, animal science assistant professor with OSU's Division of Agriculture about the multi year research project. 


"The first thing we start out with is just following the Beef Improvement Federation guidelines on feed intake trials," Rolf said. "So we take them in there, we a acclimate them to the facility we make sure they learn to use the watering system and the bunk system where the feed is."


The cattle will spend 21 days adjusting to the facility before the trial begins. Rolf said for the next 70 days OSU will measure the amount of weight the cattle gain, the amount of water drank, and the amount of feed eaten during that 70 day period.


To date research on water usage by cattle has been limited. OSU's Willard Sparks beef research center is equipped with Instatech, which allows researchers to collect individual animal water intake on a large number of animals. Rolf said the first step will be understanding those relationships, then using that information to determine how to manage cattle better and how genetics or genomics could be used to make progress in more efficiently using natural resources. 

Click here to listen to my interview with Megan or to learn more about the project and how OSU will be working with the Oklahoma Mesonet to expand the Cattle Comfort Index.  

CROPLAN Offering Answer Plots Field Research

CROPLAN by Winfield will offer farmers the opportunity to see the latest genetics through their Answer Plots field research. This fall CROPLAN will have four different Oklahoma locations. Each field plot will be four to five acres in size with half planted to wheat and the other half planted to canola.   Winfield Solutions seed and agronomy advisor Justin Stejskal said Answer Plots allow farmers to see the latest genetics from CROPLAN seed.


"Looking at various different things as far as response to nitrogen by a variety, response to population, response to seed treatments, response to a plant growth regulator," Stejskal said. "..We can get close to a thousand different data points on every plot we have out there."


The Answer Plots are fairly involved with a whole system approach to their research trials. With Oklahoma receiving more precipitation than recent years, Stejskal said they are hoping to get some good data from this years trials. 


CROPLAN has Answer Plots research fields across the country, Stejskal said these research fields are designed to allow farmers to see the development of the wheat and canola throughout the growing season. Click here to read more about the four Answer Plots being offered in Oklahoma or to listen to my interview with
Justin Stejskal.  

Septemberfest Offers Fun Ag Activities on Sept. 6 at Governor's Mansion

Preparations are underway for the 18th annual Septemberfest to be held this coming Saturday, September 6, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the grounds of the Governor's Mansion and the Oklahoma History Center. Hosted by Governor Mary Fallin and First Gentleman Wade Christensen, Septemberfest is a free event for the whole family.


"Septemberfest is a beloved fall tradition for many Oklahoma families," said Governor Fallin. "The First Gentleman and I are excited to open the Governor's Mansion and its beautiful grounds to Oklahomans from across our great state as we proudly host the 18th annual Septemberfest."


As a celebration of what makes Oklahoma unique, the event features over 50 attractions for people of all ages. A chalk artist, clowns, face-painting, puppet making, inflatables, carriage rides, live music, chuck wagon cooking, laser tag, museum exhibits, reading on the lawn, live animals and first responder equipment will be on display. Tours of the Oklahoma Governor's Mansion will also be available throughout the day.


The Ag Venue is a popular section of Septemberfest coordinated by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. It will invite kids to pet alpacas and enjoy pony rides. Free goodies including cinnamon rolls, watermelon, milk, beef hot dogs, peanuts and popcorn will be provided to everyone by agricultural commodity groups.   The Oklahoma Conservation Commission will host an interactive water quality activity and there will be a naturalist from Oklahoma State Parks.  Click here to read more about Septemberfest, which is free and open to the public.

FREE BQA Certifications from September 1- October 31

Beef Quality Assurance certification gives producers tools to provide the safest and highest quality beef to consumers.  For the third time, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) is supporting the checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program by sponsoring all online certifications this fall for producers who enroll from September 1-October 31.


Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. BIVI will pick up the $25-$50 certification fee for beef or dairy producers who are interested in becoming certified or recertified during this period. Click here to take advantage of the open certification period.


The BQA program is important to the cattle industry as it gives producers a set of best practices for producing a safe and high quality beef product. And for dairy producers, this offering is also beneficial as a large percentage of dairy calves and market cows make their way into the food chain.


The BQA certification modules are customized to fit the specific needs of each segment of the cattle industry - cow-calf, stocker, feedyard and dairy operations. The program covers best management practices such as proper handling and administration of vaccinations and other products, eliminating injection site blemishes, and better cattle-handling principles.  Click here to read more about FREE BQA certification.