The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture and the International Food Information Council Foundation announced the global launch of "Bringing Biotechnology to Life," a free educational resource that aims to facilitate learning about agricultural biotechnology and its role in food production. The new curriculum was unveiled at the World Food Prize 2015 Borlaug Dialogue international symposium.


"'Bringing Biotechnology to Life' is a science-based classroom resource with applicable lessons related to agriculture," said Julie Tesch, executive director of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. "This resource is fact- and research-based and has been reviewed by an array of scientists, so the science behind it is very sound."


"Many consumers do not understand the impact biotechnology makes on agriculture and our lives," Tesch said. "Our goal is to have this resource provide students with the tools they need to make informed decisions about the practical uses of biotechnology. "


Noted Kimberly Reed, president of the IFIC Foundation, "We are honored to debut this educational resource at the World Food Prize symposium, where the world's foremost experts are convened to discuss cutting-edge issues in food security. As we mark the 101st anniversary of the birth of Dr. Norman Borlaug, father of the 'Green Revolution' and the man who saved a billion lives, we want to engage and inspire students as they consider future careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) to help us feed our growing planet."


The resource includes seven sequential lesson plans for educators which address national learning standards for 7th to 10th grade students.  Click here to read more and download the

Bringing Biotechnology to Life learning kit.

Oklahoma's wheat planting remains on schedule for mid-October. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Tuesday that the state's wheat planting reached 65 percent complete- behind last year's 77 percent. Overall planting progress was in-line with the five-year average. USDA reports 32 percent of the crop has emerged. Oklahoma Wheat Commission Executive Director Mike Schulte said planting has remained on track because of the dry weather pattern. He said some farmers have planted for 15 days straight without a weather interruption.


"Here in the past two weeks, we've had warmer temperatures and certainly windier weather and so that has really hurt us as far as the crop outlook," Schulte said. "The crop is starting to wilt in places. Producers certainly hoping for moisture here in the next week or two."


Wheat farmers throughout the state are dealing with Army cutworms. That's especially concerning in the earlier planted wheat crop. Schulte said some farmers have treated for Army cutworms multiple times in northern Oklahoma.

We also discuss efforts to increase demand for wheat, "The Truth about Wheat" television special that aired on OETA in September, as well as how the Oklahoma Wheat Commission has made the transition in becoming a quasi -state agency since July first.  Click or tap here to read more or to listen to the full interview.  

Mike joins me Saturday morning for my regular In the Field TV segment as seen on KWTV News9- at about 6:40 AM.

Op-Ed Written By: Suzy Friedman, director of agricultural sustainability for the Environmental Defense Fund, and Max Starbuck, director of market development for the National Corn Growers Association.

A diverse group of more than 400 businesses, associations, government agencies, science organizations, academic institutions and non-profit organizations released the first-ever report card evaluating the condition of one of our nation's most storied and central waterways. This effort, known as America's Watershed Initiative, was undertaken to provide information on the challenges facing the waters and lands that make up the 31-state Mississippi River Watershed and the 250 rivers that flow into it.


Click here for more information on the report card.


The overall mark was less than stellar, a D+. However, the process of grading has yielded a pathway to improvement.


Why the poor rating? The watershed continues to experience increased pressure from the demands of urbanization, agriculture, transportation and land development.  Click here to read more about how collaboration can improve the situation.

The "Waters of the U.S." (WOTUS) final rule was set to be implemented on August 28th- and literally at the last moment a stay was announced that partially stopped implementation by EPA.  On that day, The U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, postponing implementation of WOTUS in 13 states. That left the rule in affect in 37 states. About a week ago, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judges voted two to one to issue a temporary nationwide stay preventing implementation of WOTUS in all 50 states. National Cattlemen's Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall said this court ruling is a huge development for the cattle business, because what it stops enforcement and implementation of WOTUS.


"So, to be able to have this entire progress stopped and have that apply to all 50 states is a huge win for us, because right now our producers are not going to have to worry about EPA showing up and knocking on their front door," Woodall said.


While this is a victory, the battle over WOTUS is not over. Woodall said this is not a permanent solution or the end of this discussion. NCBA needs producers to get engaged in the process.


"You need to make sure you are contacting your members of Congress, especially your two Senators and tell them to act on S. 1140, which is the current legislation that would also engage here," Woodall said. "Because not only do we have to maintain our pressure on the legal case that we have filed, we also need to maintain our pressure on Congress. Because either one of these could ultimately provide us with the final victory that we are looking for."

I featured Colin Woodall on the Beef Buzz feature. Click or tap here to listen to today's Beef Buzz.

A cash reward up to $2,000 has been offered through the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) Operation Cow Thief for useful information leading to the arrest of suspect(s) responsible for multiple cattle thefts in the Woods County, Oklahoma area.


Bouziden Brothers and Sons have reported forty-one head of yearling steers missing from their property located in the Waynoka area of Woods County. The victims said the majority of the steers are black with a few red and Charolais steers mixed in the bunch. The steers are all branded with a "U" on their right hip. They also had purple custom ear tags with "Lackley Ranch" printed on them and blue Bayer fly tags in their left ears.


L&D Land and Cattle has reported eight cow/calf pairs and two calves missing from property located at County Road 460 and Choctaw Road of Woods County. The cattle are described as eight black cows weighing approximately 1,200 pounds each with "MD" brands on their right hip. They are each paired with unbranded/unmarked 500 pound calves.


Randy Dietz from Woods County has also reported that he is missing nine head of black unbranded steers. The steers weigh between 600 and 800 pounds and have ear notches in their right ear.

Click here for further information on how to provide a tip regarding this situation.

DuPont executives and employees released a letter Wednesday to Senator Pat Toomey stating their opposition to the Senator's legislative attempts to undermine the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).


Any attempts to repeal or "reform" the RFS would significantly harm the biofuels industry, devastate America's agriculture economy, and jeopardize future growth and development in advanced and cellulosic biofuels - the cleanest motor fuel in the world.


An excerpt from the letter is below:

"We implore you to reconsider your stance on the RFS and work with us to create the right incentives for the biofuels industry to move beyond current technologies. New investments will create jobs, reduce impacts to the environment, and reduce our reliance on foreign oil that will inevitably impact our economy and national security."


Click here to read the full letter.

From this past Saturday morning- we wanted to share with you the video of the conversation that we had with Harry Birdwell, who is the Secretary for the Commissioners of the Land Office.  Birdwell and his team are getting ready for the annual School Land Lease auctions that kick off next Monday in Beaver County.

You can see our on the air conversation that we had with Harry on KWTV News9 - and also hear our more in depth "off camera" audio visit- plus see the details of the auction sites with times and locations- all of that is available here.

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The Northwest Oklahoma Beef Conference is slated for Thursday, October 29th, at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center located at 111 West Purdue on the Garfield County Fairgrounds beginning at 8:00 am. This conference will provide Oklahoma Beef producers with the latest industry insights coupled with research-based information on several key beef management topics.

Details of the program and how to reserve your spot at this year's event can be read by clicking or tapping here.


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Our buddy Bryce Anderson with DTN posted a pic this morning that shows we may finally see some rainfall headed our way- here's that pic he shared on Twitter earlier this morning from National Weather Service experts:





One other picture we need to share about later today- NORTH winds are headed in and much cooler temps will result  tomorrow after close to record high temperatures happen today- Lacey Swope from News9 provides us with this graphic of show and tell- adding that wind gusts of 40 wph are possible when it hits your neck of the woods: