U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced Tuesday the department's official decision not to list sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for at least the next five years.   Secretary Jewell made the announcement at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado. Jewell was joined by government officials, and conservation and wildlife leaders from across the country.


The successful rebound of sage grouse population and habitat can largely be attributed to the Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI) that was introduced in 2010. The initiative is a collaborative effort of USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Conservation Districts, state and federal agencies, and conservation, agriculture and wildlife organizations. It is a voluntary incentive-based approach that engages partners on public and private lands.
National Association of Conservation Districts President Lee McDaniel said the announcement has come as a result of the largest land conservation effort in U.S. history

"The Sage Grouse Initiative has been a hallmark example of how fruitful coordinated conservation efforts can be when landowners and operators are brought into the conservation planning process early on and are encouraged to participate through an incentive-based approach as opposed to one of imposing harsh regulatory limitations" McDaniel said. In the past five years, conservation easements have increased 18-fold in priority landscapes that are critical habit areas for sage grouse and roughly 4.4 million acres of habitat have been conserved.  Click here to read more NACD.

The American Farm Bureau is a strong supporter of meaningful recovery efforts and counts the decision as a testament to the great strides states and landowners can make when they work cooperatively to develop effective wildlife management plans.


"Conservation plans developed at the state and local levels provide the greatest opportunity for species success, and we believe today's decision endorses that approach," said AFBF President Bob Stallman. "Farmers and ranchers last year called on the federal government to allow time for these plans to work, and now we're seeing positive results and real success with the birds' populations across the Western states. State, local and industry partners have accomplished in just a few years a level of success largely unseen through 42 years of federal Endangered Species Act implementation."  Click here to read more from AFBF.

In addition to the listing decision, Secretary Jewell also signed the final sage grouse land-use plan put forth by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service affecting federal lands in 11 Western states.  The National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the Public Lands Council have adamantly opposed these restrictive plans, which impede on conservation efforts and range management practices already in place.

"The Administration came to the logical decision not to list the sage grouse, but went ahead and forced through their land use plans, which are just as concerning as a listing," said Brenda Richards, PLC president. "Instead of recognizing the stewardship that land users have voluntarily put in place, they are pushing forward their agenda which ignores multiple use on our lands."  Click here to read more NCBA and PLC.

U.S. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden Tuesday announced that $2.5 million in grants is now available for projects to educate new and underserved farmers about more than 20 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency programs that can provide financial, disaster or technical assistance to the agricultural community.


The grants will be awarded to nonprofits and public higher education institutions that develop proposals to improve farmer education on topics such as financial training, value-added production, recordkeeping, property inheritance, and crop production practices.


"We want to partner with nonprofits, colleges and universities who share USDA's priority of helping more Americans enter farming as a profession, whether they are new or underserved farmers, returning Service members, minorities, women, and urban producers or those who sell their crops locally," said Harden.


USDA will conduct four evaluation periods to review applications, with the deadlines of Nov. 20, 2015, Jan. 22, 2015, Mar. 18, 2016, and May 27, 2016. Awards between $20,000 and $100,000 per applicant will be available. Additional information is posted on the Web at www.fsa.usda.gov/outreach.  Click here to read more.

As we begin another market week, the cattle market continues to look mighty ugly. Oklahoma National Stockyards, a major trend setting market, had yearling steers and heifers $2 to $6 lower, along with steer and heifer calves $7 to $12 lower. Kansas State University Livestock Market Economist Glynn Tonsor said he has had lots of conversations in recent days with worried cattle producers. Cattlemen want to know if the cattle markets have hit their bottom.


"My general response of that is, I'm not sure if we've found the bottom or not, I'm not smart enough to peg the timing of that," Tonsor said. "But, I do think markets are like a pendulum."


Tonsor makes the analogy that markets are like an old grandfather clock that goes back and forth. He said economists are always trying to find that magic equilibrium, which never exists at one point in time. Supply and demand are pushing back and forth trying to find it. It begs the question, has the pendulum swung too far in this correction at the moment.


"I tend to be one that thinks demand signals aren't as bad, as they are being portrayed as," Tonsor said. "That's not to say, I don't think there's global economic concerns. I think there are, but I think they are being magnified more than they should be and that's weighed on the markets more in the last several weeks, than what we might otherwise anticipate."


This audio was provided by Kansas State University, as Tonsor was interviewed by Eric Atkinson of Agriculture Today. Click or tap here to listen to today's Beef Buzz.

One man can change the world. Lloyd Noble did - twice - and his vision continues to benefit agriculture 70 years later.


In the 1920s and '30s, Lloyd Noble helped revolutionize the oil and gas drilling industry. He used his financial success to benefit agriculture in the Southern Great Plains. The Dust Bowl had ravaged Oklahoma's once-productive land, and the loss of the agricultural foundation eroded the economy and threatened the long-term viability of the region.


Noble became a founding father of today's land stewardship movement, focusing his energy and resources on strengthening land management and soil conservation. He realized Oklahoma's (and the nation's) future prosperity hinged on caring for the soil and improving agriculture, so he established The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation on Sept. 19, 1945, with the mission to advance agriculture through education, research, and direct interaction with farmers, ranchers and land managers. Noble also understood that communities could be strengthened through targeted giving, so from even the earliest days, he made philanthropy an essential activity of the Noble Foundation.


On Sept. 19, 2015, the Noble Foundation will mark its 70th anniversary and launch a year of activities for employees and the public. The Noble Foundation employees kicked off the 70th anniversary celebration today with an organization-wide reception.  Click here to read more about the accomplishes through almost seven decades of the Noble Foundation. 

An economic think tank associated with Creighton University in Omaha regularly releases a couple of reports on economic conditions in the middle part of the country.  They issue a report called the Rural Mainstreet Index- Bank CEOs from ten states are polled on their perceptions of the economic conditions in their small midwest communities- the latest index released last Thursday shows farmland values fell for the 22nd straight month, while farm equipment sales in the ten state region "remain near record lows." Oklahoma is not a part of the ten states surveyed by the Creighton folks for this Rural Mainstreet Index- our neighbors to the north- Kansas, Colorado and Missouri are among the states surveyed.

A second monthly report that is generated by Dr. Ernie Goss at Creighton does include our state- as well as Arkansas- and the latest numbers from the Mid American States report for August of this year paints a gloomy picture for Oklahoma and much of the region. 

The summary for Oklahoma for August- as released the first of this month by Goss says "The August Business Conditions Index for Oklahoma slumped below growth neutral for a fourth straight month. The index from a monthly survey of supply managers in the state, dipped to a weak 48.1 from 48.3 in July. Components of the August survey of supply managers were new orders at 51.4, production or sales at 46.0, delivery lead time at 52.4, inventories at 40.4, and employment at 50.4."

The researcher adds "According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oklahoma has lost approximately 5,000, or 3.6 percent, of its manufacturing jobs since January 2015. The strong dollar and weakness in the state's energy sector weighed primarily on Oklahoma's manufacturing sector, particularly metal producers. Only Wyoming and North Dakota are more dependent on the two U.S. industries experiencing significant pullbacks in economic activity - agriculture and energy. Creighton's survey results over the past several months have pointed to economic losses for the overall state economy for the rest of 2015."

The next Mid American States report based on September data will be out October first.

Our own Leslie Smith recently talked with Dr. Goss and the audio of her conversation is available here.

I wanted to remind you of the Jackson County Cotton Tour that is happening later this morning- Here are the details and tour stop directions:

Stop One:


For more information contact Gary Strickland, Jackson County Extension Educator at 580-482-0823.

Our thanks to Jerry Goodson with the Southwest Research and Extension Center in Altus for this tour info.



As we greet the fall of 2015 this morning- The News on 6 Weather Guy, Travis Meyer, offered a great graphic yesterday evening illustrating the moisture in the northeastern part of the state- we wanted to share it with you- knowing that some parts of the state were not as fortunate when it came to measureable precipitation: