Trey Lam, Garvin Conservation District board member and former President of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, has been named executive director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission by the five Commissioners following a special meeting today. He will officially enter service on November 17, 2014.


"Mr. Lam's extensive professional and personal experience in conservation along with 30 years' experience in operating his own farm make him the clear choice for this position," said Karl Jett, Commission Chairman.


Following in the footsteps of his father, who served on the Garvin District board for over 20 years, Lam is a lifelong conservationist who has taken his knowledge of Oklahoma's land and agriculture to the national stage as Oklahoma's representative on the National Association of Conservation Districts' board.


"Trey Lam is an outstanding choice to lead the Oklahoma Conservation Commission," said Jim Reese, Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture. "His leadership in conservation, the conservation districts and conservation programs will be a great asset for the Commission."   

Lam succeeds Mike Thralls, who retired last month after 17 years of service.  Click here to learn more about Lam and his leadership experience.

Oklahoma October Rain Brings Wheat Pasture and Stocker Demand

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


The formula is pretty simple. Winter wheat planting in Oklahoma this fall is ahead of normal pace and the best in several years. All that is lacking in many cases is a rain to get the wheat up or connect surface moisture with subsoil moisture and keep the wheat growing. Much of Oklahoma received rain the past few days, ranging from less than half an inch to more than 4 inches. Generally, the rain was just what was needed. In a few instances, the rain came very fast and hard and may result in a need to replant; but with moisture available that can be accomplished quickly. In any event, significant wheat pasture seems assured as a result. That, in turn, means that demand for a limited supply of stocker cattle will support calf prices at current levels or perhaps even higher.


The price for 450 pound, Medium and Large, number 1 steers last week in Oklahoma was $301.73/cwt. or $1358/head. For steers that are one hundred pounds heavier (550 pounds), the price was $273.60/cwt. or $1505/head. These purchase prices are sobering for many producers and lenders. However, current price levels for feeder cattle suggest that an attractive gross margin or value of gain is offered in the current market. Using the current price of $253.24/cwt. ($1773/head) for 700 pounds steers, results in a gross margin of $415/head or $1.66/pound of gain on 250 pounds of gain beginning with the 450 pound steer. Against the 550 pound beginning weight, an 800 pound steer is currently priced at $240.66/cwt. ($1925/head) with a gross margin of $420/head or a value of gain on 250 pounds of gain of $1.68/pound of gain.   

Starting with the 550 pound steer and using typical costs of production including death loss; feed cost of gain; labor; vet and medicine; interest; marketing and other expenses results in a breakeven in the range of $229-234/cwt for an 800 pound steer on March1, 2015. An even wider breakeven range is possible depending on the production and cost assumptions. Of course, producers should do personalized budgets using individual values and assumptions. A spreadsheet tool to aid producers with wheat stocker budgets can be downloaded by clicking here.  

Click here to read more on Peel's outlook for feeder calves.  

World Food Prize Events Underway This Week in Iowa 

Many of the world's top scientists, agricultural researchers, and government leaders are in America's Heartland this week for the annual World Food Prize events. Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, says much of the discussion will center around the effort to produce enough nutritional food to feed the world's anticipated population of 9 billion by 2050.


The events, planned for Des Moines, Iowa, will start with a presentation about the current trend lines of feeding the population of the world in the years ahead. "Lots of people talk about the challenge of doing it, but very few - almost no one talks about how are we doing? What's our trajectory? Are we going to get there? We have one of the really brilliant analytical agricultural economists, Dr. Ken Cassman, and he's going to say, 'no, it doesn't look like it,'" Quinn says.


Other experts will argue we are on course to meet the world's anticipated food demands 35 years from now. Most believe we're not going to meet the demand unless dramatic changes are made. Quinn says panelists will tackle some tough questions this week in Des Moines. "What do we need to do? What are the resources and research needed to identify those elements that can changes this trajectory?" 

The ebola outbreak will also be a hot topic.  Click here to learn more about the many different World Food Prize events that are going on all week. 

Build a Pond Once, The Right Way

If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right. This old adage rings true for pond construction as much as anything.


"You only get one chance to build a pond the right way," said Marley Beem, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension aquaculture specialist. "There are many, many ways in which a pond can be built wrong. None of which you will want to experience."


Many of these avoidable pond construction errors involve the dam. While it is cheaper to build the dam with steeper banks, pond owners are left with a short-lived pond with a weak and narrow dam.


"A dam with a broader base and gentler slopes will be stronger, less prone to erosion, less vulnerable to burrowing damage and easier to mow twice yearly to eliminate damaging trees and shrubs before they get established," Beem said.

 

Click here for more pond construction tips from OSU.  You can also get assistance from the Natural Resource Conservation Service. 

Body Condition Scoring Helps Producers Plan Ahead for Cow Needs

Body condition is one of the best determinants of a cow's reproductive potential. When producers try to add body condition to their own cowherd, it can be difficult and expensive to do so. As a result it's important producers know their body condition scores of their herd. Kansas State University Extension Livestock Specialist Sandy Johnson says by recording body conditions scores now that can save producers in the long term.


"It's often when we are closest to things that you don't see some of the changes that are occurring and the changes typically will be rather slow," Johnson said. "If we make a concerted effort to just take a few moments, score those cows when we're checking them." 


Body condition is typically scored on a scale of one to nine. A score of a one means the cow exhibits very little fat deposits or muscling. A score of a nine means the cow is very fat to the point that animal mobility can be impaired by excessive fat. An ideal score is a score of five or six where the cow has good balance of muscling and fat.   By regularly recording body condition scores of your individual mamma cows that can help producers plan for needed changes in nutritional requirements for both that individual cow and the total mamma cowherd. Johnson recommends checking cows often enough so producers can track body condition changes over time.   

Today's Beef Buzz features comments from Johnson- Click or tap here to hear her comments as well as to read more on the key times to monitor cow body condition.  

Boxed Beef Values Storm Higher in Latest Reporting Week

In the weekly boxed beef trade for week ending October 11, Ed Czerwien of the US Department of Agriculture Market News in Amarillo, Texas reports the daily spot choice box beef cutout ended the week last Friday at $247.67 which was a whopping $9.35 higher than the previous week. Each day was better all week long which was quite an improvement from the previous week. There were 890 loads sold for the week in the daily box beef cutout, which was almost 200 loads less than the previous week and was about 15 percent of the total volume.


The comprehensive or weekly average choice cutout which includes all types of sales was $243.48 which was $4.77 higher. The total reported box beef volume was 6,641 loads which was 307 loads less than the previous week but good volume again especially when you add the previous out-front sales from a month ago.


Exports were at 635 loads which was 115 loads less than last week and continues to show the influence of the increasing value of the dollar compared to a couple of months ago.  The formula sales were at 3,507 loads which was about the same as last week but about 53 percent of the total loads sold. Once again as prices jump and other types of sales drop off in volume the formula sales hold their own and increase as a percentage of total sales.  Click here to read more about the out-front sales and cow cutout values.   

This N That- English Farmer Worries About the Day When the Farmer is Guilty Until Proven Innocent- AND Pretty Colors Across Oklahoma 

Ian Pigott is a farmer not far from London, where 13 million people work and live- and he worries a lot about how those urban consumers view farmers and farming.  

Ian does more than worry- he has been proactive to deal with the gap between perception and reality about how farmers raise the food needed by a hungry world.

As a result, he will be honored tonight with an award named after former AFBF President Dean Kleckner at a Global Farm Awards Banquet in Des Moines that is a part of the World Food Prize celebration going on this week.  

Pigott says he believes "We are in danger of returning to an era where the farmer is guilty until proven innocent."  That belief has spurred him to engaging with consumers in several ways to tell about the good things farmers are doing to feed and clothe them.

For example- In 2006, Pigott founded Open Farm Sunday. It's a day where more than 400 farmers throw open their gates and welcome consumers, free of charge. This takes place annually the second Sunday in June and so far, more than 1.5 million consumers have participated.

According to Pigott, Open Farm Sunday has three objectives:

-- In welcoming visitors, we show ourselves as an industry that's open and proud.

-- It's a great story that appeals to the national media.

-- It creates a united platform for all sectors of farming to stand together with one goal - promoting farming as it is. 

Ian Pigott will receive the 2014 Kleckner Trade & Technology Advancement Award at a Global Farmer Awards Dinner hosted by Truth About Trade & Technology and CropLife International. The award has been given annually since 2007 and recognizes a global farmer who exemplifies strong leadership, vision and resolve in advancing the rights of all farmers to choose the technology and tools that will improve the quality, quantity and availability of agricultural products around the world.  

It seems to me that we need a lot more Ian Pigotts. 

**********

Finally- our friend Jed Castles of News9 in OKC has produced a very colorful Oklahoma map showing rainfall since last Thursday across Oklahoma- most areas got an inch and a half or more of the wet stuff with the exception of a couple of counties in southwestern Oklahoma.   

It should set up the canola and wheat planted to get very well established ahead of the winter season- and there was runoff in many areas that has resulted in some nice "pond filling" that brings a smile to cattle producers.

Here's that map posted by Jed: