The 88th National Convention of the FFA Organization is still two months away- but many of the students that will be competing for national titles at what could be the last national convention to be held in Louisville already have punched their ticket and know that they will be there at the the end of October.

Two Chapters, Burlington and Elgin, have separated themselves from other chapters across the state here in 2015, as both have been tabbed as Three Star Chapters- but have also been named as national finalists in both the Model of Innovation and Model of Excellence Competitions. Only ten chapters nationally are selected in each of these areas- and only Oklahoma has two chapters in both of these areas of national recognition.

The ten finalists in these two categories that includes both of these Oklahoma chapters are the best of the best when it comes to the building of their chapter, encouraging members to strive for excellence and interacting with the community.

To read more about the chapters to be honored at this year's national convention, including a full list of the 15 Oklahoma three star chapters for 2015- click here.

 

The 31st anniversary of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association (OCA) and Oklahoma Ford Dealers Range Round-Up will be returning to the Lazy E Arena near Guthrie. The OCA Range Round-Up will be held on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29 with both performances at 7 p.m. Tickets can be bought at the door or reserved early online through the Lazy E website. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. to allow time for attendees to visit the trade show.


The OCA Range Round-Up set out on a mission back in 1985 to provide family entertainment, promote beef and raise money for charity. For the 19th year, the OCA Range Round-Up will benefit the Children's Hospital Foundation. OCA Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey said to date the Range Round-Up has contributed more than $404,000.00 to the charity. 
  

The event will still consist of twelve ranch teams consisting of 'real ranch' cowboys that compete in six different events that mirror real activities done on the ranch. This year's completing ranches include: Alfalfa County Land & Cattle, Cherokee, Okla.; Spur Ranch, Vinita, Okla.; Buford Ranches, LLC, Welch, Okla.; Davison & Sons Cattle Co., Arnett, Okla.; Wayland Cattle Co., Arnett, Okla.; Drummond Land & Cattle Co., Pawhuska, Okla; Gray G Bar Ranch, Grainola, OK; Hall Ranch, Comanche, Okla, Daube Cattle Co., Ardmore, Okla.; McCoy Ranch, Ada, Okla.; Beebe Livestock, Ada, Okla.; Kelly Ranch, Marlow, Okla.; Bearce Ranch, Marlow, Okla.; Treadwell Land & Cattle Co., Frederick, Okla.; McPhail Land & Cattle, Snyder, Okla.; Lazy Rafter Slash Ranch, Lenapah, Okla.; and Stierwalt Ranch & Cattle Co., Shidler, Okla.

Click here to read more or to listen to this full interview with Michael Kelsey and Dallas Henderson.  They will also join me on the "In the Field" segment this Saturday morning at 6:40 on KWTV News9 in Oklahoma City.

With drought recovery across the Southern Plains this year and lower wheat prices, more producers will consider planting wheat for cattle grazing. Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel said prospects for fall planting conditions are looking good for early planted wheat for fall grazing.


"So, I think we're going to have quite a bit of wheat pasture," Peel said. "Producers are thinking about planting now and they are going to be thinking about buying those stocker cattle here right away."


Cattle producers will be buying calves over the next month or two. The big unknown is how much producers will paying for calves this fall.


"I think today's market is probably a pretty good guide for prices at this point," Peel said. "I don't see a lot of change happening this fall. There's a little bit bigger calf supply coming to town this fall that could pressure prices. But I think this wheat pasture demand will sort of offset that, so I'm not really looking for a lot of change in these calf prices this fall."


I featured Peel on the Beef Buzz feature. Click or tap here to listen to this Beef Buzz feature.

The gluten free diet fad has caught the attention of many American consumers and caused a stomach ache for the wheat industry. That's been a tough battle to fight for Tim O'Connor, President of the Wheat Foods Council that works to grow domestic demand for wheat and wheat products. He said gluten free resembles other fads like low-cholesterol, low fat and low carbohydrate diets. O'Connor said the only way to combat these campaigns is with science and facts. The Wheat Foods Council also broadens the discussion by working with influencers,  small groups of people that interact with much larger segments of the population.   


"We keep them informed, we answer their questions, we debunk myths and we help them understand more about wheat and wheat products," O'Connor said. "They in turn, are then able to communicate that information very broadly on our behalf."

"We want to talk positively about wheat, we don't want to always be putting a shield up and defending against wheat," O'Connor said. "It's hard to score points when you're always playing defense, you have to play defense, but we need to play offense. It's time to play some offense."

I talked with O'Connor during the Oklahoma Wheat Review held on Tuesday at Redlands Community College in El Reno. Click or tap here to listen to my full interview.

What will I do with all these apples? Too much of a good thing was the dilemma facing Gina Hollingsworth. The overflowing supply of apples in her refrigerator needed to be used before they turned rotten. She baked apple cakes, muffins and everything she could think of before finally concocting a recipe for gourmet apple spread.


Hollingsworth knew she had a winning recipe when she couldn't keep up with demand at local craft shows and fairs. That's when she realized she had a new business on her hands.  She decided to call her business Southern Okie to blend her Kentucky roots with love of her newly-adopted state of Oklahoma. Both have been important to her success.


The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) helped Southern Okie get established as a Made In Oklahoma company. This program promotes locally made products at state fairs and area grocery stores. ODAFF's international marketing program helped Hollingsworth meet international buyers and move to a world stage.  Click here to read more on how Southern Okie has made valuable connections in foreign countries that want to import her original gourmet apple spread.

Global supplies of wheat have swung like a pendulum over the last five years. On this weekend's edition of SUNUP, Oklahoma State University Grain Marketing Specialist Kim Anderson said a lot has changed since 2010 when wheat prices in Oklahoma were at $3.50 in mid-June and world production was expected to be at 24.7 billion bushels, a near record. From that point, he said every report lowered the world wheat production estimate. With lower production, the price of wheat started going up. The U.S. was also competitive on the global market in having the U.S. dollar index in the 75 - 80 point range. Anderson said wheat prices went from $3.50 in June to $6.20 on September 1 and they were at $8.90 by February.


This year the exact opposite is happening. Now nearly every report coming out is raising world wheat production. Anderson said higher production has been reported in Europe, Germany, France, Russia, Ukraine, Australia and Argentina. He said around the world every report raises production and the price of wheat goes down. This time around, the U.S. dollar index isn't so friendly. Anderson said the U.S. dollar index is around 96 - 97 points, which is about 20 to 25 percent higher than in 2010. That makes wheat prices another $1.25 - $1.50 lower right now.


Farmers still have wheat to move. In visiting with area grain elevators, Anderson said they have a higher percentage of wheat in the bins for the 2015 harvest than a year ago. He said there is still a lot of wheat in the bin for farmers to sell, which is also negative for Oklahoma prices.


SUNUP Host Lyndall Stout asks Anderson about marketing the 2015 crop.  Click or tap here to read more or to listen to the full interview.  You can also find the lineup for this weekend's edition of SUNUP.

The Renewable Fuels Association is always watching for anyone that is saying a discouraging word about ethanol- and they picked up on an attack by the AMA- no, not a group of Doctors- but rather, the American Motorcyclists Association.

The group that represents guys and gals on two wheels have been saying unkind things about E15- and the RFA has decided to take them to task:

"Once again, the AMA is engaging in scare tactics and spreading misinformation about E15. It's nothing we haven't heard before," said Robert White, RFA Vice President of Industry Relations. "AMA's claims that E15 will suddenly become available at every fuel station in the country and replace E10, so that there will no longer be any legal fuel for motorcycles to use, are patently false.

"E15 has been on the market for three years and no motorcycle has misfueled using the higher ethanol blend or has been denied a warranty claim. Plus, the AMA ignores the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that the fuel dispenser label clearly identify what vehicles can and cannot use E15. Does the AMA believe that motorcyclists can't read?"

More on this can be had by clicking here.

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The Pro Farmer Midwestern Crop Tour came to a conclusion Thursday Night. The Eastern and Western legs met up in Rochester, Minnesota, where the final state numbers were given.

The Iowa number for the 2015 corn crop came in at 180 bushels per acre- three bushels less than what USDA predicted last week in their August Crop Report.  The Minnesota numbers were also released and showed a 191 bushel per acre estimate in the southern crop districts of Minnesota. 

Chip Flory, with ProFarmer, pointed out that while the 191 is six bushels greater than the USDA August number- the historical number that the Tour pegs for Minnesota has to be reduced by 12 bushels to make it apples and apples with the USDA statewide numbers.

So- if you adjust Minnesota down to 179 bushels- that makes both of these states come in under USDA estimates on the corn crop for 2015.

Being the good marketing people that they are- ProFarmer is waiting until this afternoon to offer their guess about the overall size of the US corn crop- but most followers of the Tour believe they will come in around 164 or 165 bushels per acre- less than the 168 bushel per acre guess of USDA in the August crop report.

Farm Broadcast Colleague Todd Gleason has recorded a podcast that will be heard on WILL radio in Illinois this weekend- and includes several of the crop scouts from the tour- you may want to take a listen to Todd and the gang by clicking here.