Looking Back at 2014- a Second Name to Remember- Dr. Thomas Coon

The second name that we wanted to spotlight on this final day of 2014 is the name of the man who turned in his green and started buying a wardrobe of orange the middle of this year- the Dean and Vice President of the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University, Dr. Thomas Coon.

In his second week on the job at OSU, Dr. Thomas Coon sat down with yours truly and talked extensively about his academic and research journey that has led to Stillwater and the opportunity to lead the Division of Ag at OSU. We also talked about his vision for DASNR and how that fits into being the Land Grant in the state that really serves all segments of the population. 

Coon comes to OSU from Michigan State University, where he was director of Extension and a professor in the department of fisheries and wildlife. At Michigan State, he directed more than 600 staff and faculty on campus and in Michigan's 83 counties. 

Tom has truly hit the ground running hard- and has been in many of our 77 counties since arriving in Stillwater.  

It has been a delight to get to know him- and to see how he has embraced Oklahoma in his new role.

From that day back in July- here's our interview with Dr. Coon- click here and enjoy!

One of the things that we enjoy the most about covering the world of farming and ranching in our state and region is the opportunity to see the young men and ladies who are in 4-H and FFA in our state- and how they have grown over the years into the incredibly talented young farmers and ranchers in Oklahoma.   

One of those high achieving FFA members won the oldest and definitely the most prestigious award that the Future Farmers of America and now the FFA hand out each year at their national convention- the Star Farmer of America award.  In October, that award was won by Zach Weichel of the Cordell FFA Chapter.   

Weichel was competing for the honor of having the top farm program in America this year against three northern states FFA members- two with Dairy operations and one large diversified farm operation in North Dakota. What may have set Weichel apart was the fact that he bought land as a teenager and built his own operation from there.  

In a conversation that we had with Zach after he had heard his name on stage as Star Farmer that he was told in a mock interview session the week before the national convention to be ready to explain the "wheat pasture" concept to judges from other parts of the US- who would not be familiar with that system. Weichel says that proved to be good advice as he did have to explain the concept of planting wheat earlier than you would for just grain production- running cattle on that pasture late fall and into the winter and then pulling the cattle at first hollow stem. The practical knowledge of his stocker operation impressed the judges and helped secure the Star Farmer title for this Washita County farmer.  

Zach was the Star Farmer of Oklahoma back in 2012- and told us this fall in Louisville at the National Convention that it is his desire to go back to the farm and build on what he has started during his FFA career.  Click here to read our story from November and hear our interview with him on that first Saturday morning in November 

Best of 2014 Beef Buzzes- Frank Mitloehner Talks US Livestock's Carbon Footprint  

Earlier in 2014, we were in California and had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Frank Mitloehner of the University of California Davis. Dr. Mitloehner is one of the leading researchers in the US as well as globally when it comes to the carbon footprint for cattle, both beef and dairy.

In an encore edition of the Beef Buzz, we look back to when Dr. Mitloehner became internationally acclaimed when he disagreed with the United Nation's over greenhouse emissions of cattle. He disagreed with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation's report titled "Livestock's Long Shadow". In 2009, Dr. Mitloehner wrote a rebuttal paper in discussing their assumptions and calculations. The initial report from the FAO showed livestock had a much larger impact on the environment than what is being reported today. Dr. Mitloehner said in that report the FAO estimated the global impact of livestock was 18 percent. Since the initial report, Dr. Mitloehner said their numbers are been revised downward. The FAO has since corrected that number to 14 percent. That is a global average. 

Read more and have the opportunity to listen to this Beef Buzz by clicking here.  We also have a link to our complete interview that we did with Mitloehner back in August of this year.

Crop Life America Applauds USDA Report that Reaffirms Food Safety in the U.S.

Pesticide residues detected on a variety of recently sampled food products are below the tolerances established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and "do not pose a safety concern," according to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The 2013 Pesticide Data Program (PDP) Annual Summary, officially released on Dec. 19, 2014, shows that over 99 percent of the products sampled through PDP had residues below the EPA tolerances.

The PDP collected 9,990 food samples for testing in 2013 including fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, infant formula, butter and salmon. Of that total only .23 percent were found to have residue levels exceeding the allowed tolerance. Pesticide residue tolerances, or limits, are set at levels 100 to 1,000 times lower than what is considered potentially dangerous for human health.

"The PDP Annual Summary reaffirms the effectiveness of our government's regulatory system," said Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CropLife America (CLA). "CLA commends the program for continuing to publish clear, scientific information on the safety of our food that is grown both domestically and imported." 

For more on Crop Life's take about this PDP annual summary, click or tap here.

In Case You Missed It- FSA Has Fresh Info to Help You Decide About Updating Program Yields for New Farm Programs 

Just ahead of Christmas- U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Val Dolcini offered farmers new information to update program payment yields that will help them better select protections offered by the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. The new programs, established by the 2014 Farm Bill, are cornerstones of the commodity farm safety, offering farmers protection when market forces cause substantial drops in crop prices and revenues.


"The Farm Bill provided landowners with the option of updating their farm program payment yields. This is the first time that many producers have been able to update yields since 1986," said Dolcini. "We've worked with the Risk Management Agency to make available certified yield data that producers can use to better calculate how the new safety net programs can offer the best protection against market swings."


Producers can check with their local FSA county office to see if data is available for them. This data belongs to the producer and only the producer associated with the crop insurance records will be provided this service. Updating yield history or reallocating base acres can occur until Feb. 27, 2015. 

More details are available here.  

Happy New Year!!!  

On this final day of 2014, we do want to remind you that Thursday will be a day of rest(or at least recovery) for traders and those interested in the Futures markets- as well as the Equity markets as well. Once the markets close this afternoon at their regular time- they will not resume trading until Friday morning on the first trading day of 2015.  

We are also coming to an end of the two weeks hiatus for most livestock auction markets, with feeder cattle markets like Oklahoma National Stockyards, Tulsa Stockyards and the Joplin Market all will have their first sale of the new year this coming Monday, January 5th. 

As we wrap up 2014, it is my pleasure to say a HUGE Thank You to each of you that read and find our daily email useful- not to mention our website, our Facebook page, our Twitter feed and our reports on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and our TV partners, News9 and News on 6.  Without your interest- we would be muttering to ourselves.   

Here in 2014- there has been joy for many and sadness as well. As i sat with our family on Christmas afternoon and we reflected on the joy of that first Christmas- yes, I talked a bit about Bernie the Shepherd- I mentioned we had a taste of both joy and sorrow in our family these past twelve months- the bittersweet in February as my dad graduated to heaven and then a couple of months later- the arrival of a grandbaby- life does go on and it's that game changing event  that Bernie saw some 2,000 years ago that helps us handle all of the ups and downs that life is about.  

It's my prayer for each of you that God will bless your 2015- and that you take that blessing seriously- and share the bounty that He provides in the days ahead with others that need a little help, or encouragement or maybe even simply a few minutes of your time and attention.  
 

We will have an email on Friday morning- and radio updates as well- so- we'll be in touch early in the new year!!!!!