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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

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Oklahoma Has the Best Farm Income Story in the 7 States Served by the KC Fed- Missouri the Worst  

 

 

We are delighted to have the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association as a part of our great lineup of email sponsors. They do a tremendous job of representing cattle producers at the state capitol as well as in our nation's capitol. They seek to educate OCA members on the latest production techniques for maximum profitability and to communicate with the public on issues of importance to the beef industry.  Click here for their website to learn more about the OCA.

 

  

 

OSU Wheat Pathologist Offers Considerations to Make Before Planting Wheat This Fall

As we edge closer to Labor Day- it's time to time to finalize your planting strategies for the 2016 hard red winter wheat crop- and

Dr. Hunger says in a Thursday email- "Much of the winter wheat in Oklahoma is sown with the intent of being used as a dual-purpose crop. In this system wheat is grazed by cattle from late October to early March, and then harvested for grain in early summer. In a grain-only system, wheat is generally planted in October, but in a dual-purpose system wheat is planted in early to mid-September to maximize forage production. Planting wheat early significantly increases the likelihood that diseases such as mite-transmitted viruses, the aphid/barley yellow dwarf complex, and root and foot rots will be more prevalent and more severe. For more detailed information on planting date and seed treatment considerations on wheat, see CR-7088 (Effect of Planting Date and Seed Treatment on Diseases and Insect Pests of Wheat) Click Here.


Dr. Hunger also has a lot of information about mite-transmitted virus diseases that wheat producers here in the southern plains needs to digest. Most importantly, volunteer wheat needs to be killed ahead of planting in order to minimize these diseases in your wheat fields.  He adds seed treatments are not effective in controlling these virus diseases.


There's a lot of information and additional links to OSU Fact Sheets that you can review ahead of planting- our webstory from Dr. Hunger is available here. 

 

A New Way to Battle BRD- Zelnate by Bayer Animal Health

 

At the beginning of summer, I participated in a special media preview for a new animal health product that is being officially rolled out this month. The product is Zelnate, which is based on a totally new approach to help fight Bovine Respiratory Disease in Beef Cattle. Bayer HealthCare LLC is now introducing Zelnate to the US Beef Cattle industry and call it a DNA Immunostimulant.

Zelnate is effective in treating BRD due to Mannheimia haemolytica. Developed in alignment with Bayer's pursuit of 'Science for a Better Life,' Zelnate is the first immunostimulant that effectively reduces mortality and lung lesions by enhancing the animal's own immune system to help fight this infectious disease, potentially reducing the need for antibiotics.

 

"The economic impact of BRD is about $1 billion a year in the United States alone. High stress factors such as weaning, shipping, commingling or adverse environmental conditions can impair the immune system, making cattle more susceptible to illness," said Jim Sears, DVM, senior technical services veterinarian at Bayer. "An animal with a strong immune system will be better able to withstand infections, potentially reducing the need for therapeutics in disease treatment and prevention settings."

 

 

I talked with several Bayer officials at the preview for Zelnate that was held on the Perry Ranch in northeastern Kansas. I featured comments from Dr. Jim Sears, Dr. Jason Nickell and Todd Firkins on the Beef Buzz feature, which can be heard by clicking here.

Oklahoma Increases Import Requirements Due to Vesicular Stomatitis Outbreak

 

Oklahoma livestock owners need to be cautious in not bringing back any contagious diseases into the state. Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) has become a growing concern in several bordering states. Since the start of the outbreak, 215 VS cases have been confirmed in seven states. This includes Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. While no cases have been identified in Oklahoma, State Veterinarian Dr. Rod Hall said this is a disease that they want to keep out of the state. Because the symptoms of VS are similar to that of foot and mouth disease, Dr. Hall asks veterinarians and producers to monitor livestock. Vesicular Stomatitis symptoms include an animal not wanting to eat, drooling, blisters or ulcers in or around the mouth. VS can also cause soreness or lameness in the feet and cows can get lesions on their teats.


"So, anything like that, we would ask that they report that to us and then we can do some testing to determine if it is or if it is not (Vesicular Stomatitis)," Hall said.


Oklahoma has restrictions in place to protect the livestock coming into the state. For any county that has had any confirmed VS case, Dr. Hall said the state requires horses or other livestock to have a health certificate within five days, rather than the normal 30 days. The veterinarian that writes the health certificate for that animal to come into Oklahoma must provide a statement that the animal was not from a premises where VS has been diagnosed. The animal has to be examined by a veterinarian and the animal must be free of any lesions. 


I interviewed Dr. Hall about the VS situation. Click or tap here to listen to the full interview. As Oklahomans travel to the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado in the fall for elk hunting, Dr. Hall has several recommendations.

 

Oklahoma Farmer Finds Cover Crops Save Moisture, Improve Soil Health and Increase Profitability

 

Cover crops are increasing in popularity in the Southern Plains region. Farmers are finding more benefits to growing cover crops than just providing ground cover and conserving soil moisture. Caddo County farmer Alan Mindemann said cover crops are effective in improving soil health and organic matter.


In farming around Apache, Oklahoma, Mindemann said a lot of the native soils had about four percent organic matter. In the tilled areas, he said a lot of the organic matter has fallen to one percent or lower. His operation has been in continuous no-till for the past 20 years. He said he has been able to increase his organic matter to about three percent. This has improved his productivity, nutrient efficiency and the soil's water holding capacity.


"We've seen tremendous results in crops," Mindemann said. "We can easily grow two crops in one year, we can plant things after wheat harvest and because of the moisture holding capacity of my soils, I can catch and use almost all of the rainfall that I get."


In planting cover crops, Mindemann often plants a "cocktail" or a variety of different cover crops at one time. In trying to mimic native range, he recommends planting a mixture of legumes, grasses and broad leaf varieties to help develop the biology in the soil.  Click here to listen to my full interview with Mindemann about the benefits of cover crops.

 

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Congressman Lucas Announces August Town Hall Meetings

 

Congressman Frank Lucas is pleased to announce upcoming town hall meetings to be held in Major, Grant, Alfalfa, Woods, Beaver, Texas, Cimarron, Noble, Kay and Osage counties on August 18th through August 28th. All residents of these locations are invited to attend a meeting and express their opinions. Congressman Lucas will be discussing current events in Washington, taking questions about issues important to constituents of the Third Congressional District, and asking for opinions and input on legislation currently before Congress.

Meetings are being held on Tuesday, August 18 in Fairview, Wednesday, August 19 in Medford, Cherokee, Alva, Thursday, August 20 in Beaver and Friday, August 21 in Guymon and Boise City.  More town hall meetings will be held on Thursday, August 27 in Perry and Friday, August 28 in Blackwell and Skiatook.  Click here for the full details of all the town hall meetings.

 

This N That- Blessings From the Field, Superior Big Horn and LeeAnna Joining Us for In the Field 

Reservations are now being accepted Blessings from the Field- a "Field to Table Dining Extravaganza to benefit Ag Leadership Oklahoma" (the Alumni group made up of graduates of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program).

This culinary adventure will be happening Sunday evening, September 13 at the Home Place Country Estate in Meno, Oklahoma.

The Executive Chef of the Hal Smith Food Group, Brad Johnson, will be preparing a four course meal with wines being paired for the meal by Jake Regier of Mahogany Prime Steakhouse. 

Proceeds from the evening will be used by ALO to directly benefit the ongoing mission of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program.

Tickets are $125 and you can learn more about this wonderful evening of food and fellowship as we celebrate Oklahoma Agriculture by clicking here.

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Superior Livestock's Big Horn Classic will be underway starting Monday morning, August 17- and Monday and Tuesday will be days that will include cattle from our part of the country.

The sale will kick off each morning at 9:00 AM central time, with Superior Sunrise on the air 30 minutes before that- the sale to be seen all week long on DISH network channel 232 or on the Superior Click to Bid webpage.

Calves from the southeast,  south central, midwest and nearby southwestern states will be featured on Monday, while yearlings from those same regions will be featured on Tuesday.

On Monday- they will start with Florida and Georgia calves, then North Carolina and Louisiana calves- followed by Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma purchased calves- then Oklahoma and Texas calves on Cows.  After that, Superior will feature Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma weaned home raised calves.
Monday's sale will continue with Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri weaned calves- Kansas and Iowa calves on cows and finally weaned calves and calves on cows from New Mexico and Arizona.

Over 30,000 head will be sold on Monday- for details- click here for the Superior website or call them at 1-800-422-2117.

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We invite you to join us Saturday morning on KWTV News9 for our In the Field conversation- this week featuring LeeAnna McNally with the Oklahoma Farm Bureau public affairs staff- we will be talking with her about the August Area Meetings that the general farm group is holding this month- and will highlight some of the topics being discussed by Farm Bureau members across the state.

If you miss it- we will be posting it on our website later in the day and will include a link on Monday in the morning email. 

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows,  P & K Equipment, American Farmers & Ranchers, Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, CROPLAN by Winfield, Stillwater Milling Company, Pioneer Cellular, National Livestock Credit Corporation and  KIS Futures for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites out and let these folks know you appreciate the support of this daily email, as their sponsorship helps us keep this arriving in your inbox on a regular basis- FREE!

 

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