Oklahoma will benefit from Federal funding as part of the new USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Wednesday that more than $370 million in funding will be allocated for 115 high-impact projects across all 50 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. These projects will leverage an estimated $400 million more in partner contributions-for a total of nearly $800 million-to improve the nation's water quality, support wildlife habitat and enhance the environment.

"This is an entirely new approach to conservation efforts," said Vilsack. "These partnerships empower communities to set priorities and lead the way on conservation efforts important for their region. They also encourage private sector investment so we can make an impact that's well beyond what the Federal government could accomplish on its own. 

Four conservation projects have been funded in Oklahoma in conjunction with neighboring Kansas. USDA will address water quality concerns in the Elk City Lake Watershed, where recent blue green algae blooms and fish kills in the Lake have increased its priority for rehabilitation. Further details of the Oklahoma projects will be unveiled Friday morning at a special public ceremony in Elk City at the City Hall.   

The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts will receive funding for the Oklahoma Healthy Soils project. The project will focus on the implementation of soil health practices on cropland with an emphasis on establishing cover crop on-farm trials on a minimum of five to a maximum of 10 farms across the state of Oklahoma. The project will build upon ongoing research into practical concerns facing producers who may be contemplating incorporating cover crops into their agronomic production systems.

A project through Kansas State University will address water quality as surface water reservoirs in Kansas and Oklahoma have lost 40 percent of their storage capacity and are experiencing frequent algal blooms, owing mainly to stream bank erosion. The project aims to improve water quality through the implementation of forestry practices and the assessment of riparian systems in watersheds. The project aims to implement forestry best management practices on 25,000 acres. 

To learn more about this Conservation Partnership rollout, a part of the Conservation Title of the 2014 Farm Law- click here.  

AFBF President Bob Stallman Addresses Improving Beef Checkoff

Delegates at this year's American Farm Bureau Annual Convention in San Diego supported the current beef checkoff, the Promotion Research Act of 1985, which set up the current checkoff and the Federation of State Beef Councils. They also indicated they opposed any national beef checkoff program established under the Commodity Promotion Research and Information Act of 1996 and other changes to the selection process for the Cattlemen's Beef Board.


American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman believes the effort to come up with revisions to the beef checkoff is all about generating more revenue for beef promotion, research and education.


"Well what I would like to see and in fact I think it's the only way that we will make positive changes in terms of increasing resources for the beef checkoff, is for all of those groups that represent beef producers to get together and agree on a path forward in terms of modifying the current act that is in place," Stallman said. "But the primary goal of the beef checkoff working group, from our perspective, has been to figure out a way to increase the resources by increasing the checkoff rate." 


I featured Stallman on the Beef Buzz- heard on radio stations across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network.  Read more and have the opportunity to listen to Bob Stallman by clicking here. 

Last Call for Early Bird Discount for 20th Commodity Classic

Today is the last day to take advantage of the early bird registration discount, growers interested in attending Commodity Classic have one last chance to save. Discounted early bird registration ends tomorrow, Thursday, January 15, for the event, which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, February 26-28.   

 "Commodity Classic is on track to be bigger and better than ever this year," said National Corn Growers Association Commodity Classic Joint Venture Committee Co-chair Bart Schott. "I urge everyone to come to Phoenix to see how the educational opportunities and relationships formed can benefit their operation. For those who act quickly, they can do so at a significant savings as well. With so many offerings and events, the 20th Commodity Classic does truly offer a many chances for farmers to blaze a trail of success into the next growing season."


Full registration includes admission to:

-- All educational sessions including Learning Centers, Early Riser sessions, What's New sessions and Mini What's New sessions

-- The huge trade show, including box lunch on Thursday and Friday and a mid-morning snack on Saturday in the trade show

-- The General Session featuring top-notch speakers and the leadership of the commodity organizations

-- The banquet of the American Soybean Association or National Corn Growers Association (based on space availability and not guaranteed)

-- The Evening of Entertainment, featuring country music star Craig Morgan

-- The Opening Reception

Online registration and details about the event are available by clicking or tapping here.   

From 2015 AFBF Meeting- Crop Outlook Sees Lower Corn Prices with Shrinking Demand From Biofuels 

The crop demand outlook for the 2014/15 marketing year is a mixed bag, according to Patrick Westhoff, director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.  Westhoff gave attendees of the American Farm Bureau Federation's 96th Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show a glimpse into how this year's bumper crop and low prices will impact farmers and ranchers as they head into 2015.  On a macro level, China will continue to be a significant source of demand growth, but Westhoff noted that the anticipated gross domestic product increase of the world's most populous country is waning. 

"China of course is a huge source of demand growth," said Westhoff. "The good news is it's growth, but the bad news is it's not as fast as it has been. They're looking at 6.5 percent growth next year." 

One area representing more promise for corn and soybeans is feed demand from both the domestic and international livestock sectors.  You can hear his full presentation from the San Diego meeting by clicking or tapping here.   

Selk Talks About the Stages of Calving as Spring Calving Season Nears 

Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist, writes in the latest Cow-Calf Newsletter.


As the spring calving season approaches, an increased understanding of the parturition process is helpful. The more we understand about the physiology of the process, the more likely we are to make sound decisions about providing assistance. Parturition or "calving" is generally considered to occur in three stages.


Stage 1: The first stage of parturition is dilation of the cervix. The normal cervix is tightly closed right up until the cervical plug is completely dissolved. In stage 1, cervical dilation begins some 2 to 24 hours before the completion of parturition (2 to 6 hours would be most common). During this time the "progesterone block" is no longer present and the uterine muscles are becoming more sensitive to all factors that increase the rate and strength of contractions. At the beginning, the contractile forces primarily influence the relaxation of the cervix but uterine muscular activity is still rather quiet. Stage 1 is likely to go completely unnoticed, but there may be some behavioral differences such as isolation or discomfort. At the end of stage one, there may be come behavioral changes such as elevation of the tail, switching of the tail and increased mucous discharge. Also relaxation (softening) of the pelvic ligaments near the pinbones may become visually evident, giving a "sunken" appearance on each side of the tailhead. Checking for complete cervical dilation is important before forced extraction ("pulling") of the calf is attempted.  


Click here to learn more about stages 2 and 3 of calving.  

Award winning broadcast journalist Jerry Bohnen has spent years learning and understanding how to cover the energy business here in the southern plains-  Click here to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.

Grant Funds Available for Oklahoma Farmers Markets

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry is accepting applications for grants to assist existing farmers markets.


Applicable markets must be registered with ODAFF as Oklahoma Grown. Markets registered as Oklahoma Grown for the last three consecutive years are eligible for a maximum of $3500. Markets registered for less than three years are eligible for a maximum of $2000.


The program emphasizes advertising and marketing, and grant funds may be used for specialty crop signage, marketing promotion, advertising and newsletter publishing. The 2015 Oklahoma Grown Farmers' Market Specialty Crop Grant program currently has $55,000 available.


Grant applications must be postmarked by February 2. For additional information and grant forms contact Ashley Bender at (405) 522-4330.  

Five Words to Make You Smile

I really like Twitter for the constant flow of information that gushes from people or entities that you choose to follow.  On my account, Ron_on_RON, I follow a wide variety of farm groups, agribusinesses, farmers and ranchers, commentators and more.   

Daily- there is a real mix of serious stuff out there balanced with a fair amount of silly.  A lot of times- the silly stuff comes with a hashtag so you can search and see everything that is being posted under those words.   

Yesterday- SILLY grabbed center stage as the hashtag #FiveWordsToRuinADateWithAFarmer started appearing.  The idea was to come up with a a five word statement that would do what the hashtag suggested.  Some guys offered some pretty funny posts- but the ladies were the ones that really got into this hashtag.

Here are a few of the better ones:

Let's go eat at Chipolte.

We should donate to HSUS 

I Support the PETA organization.

Sorry I don't eat meat.

My ex's Tractor was bigger.

Who is this "John Deere"?

Loving this dry summer weather

I only eat gluten free!

But, it's just calving season.

Love those cheap milk prices!

It's Just a Cattle Show.

Chicken Fried Steak isn't Chicken?

Do you feed them straw?

Wow- are those pigs real? 

Well- you get the idea- go to Twitter and search with the hashtag above and you'll see a ton more.