Oklahoma was well represented at the 2015 National FFA Convention- with William Maltbie of Burlington leading the long list of top achievers from the state- being named the American Star in Agribusiness on Thursday evening during the Stars Pageant in Freedom Hall. The four Stars are the highest awards given to four different FFA members who have the top Supervised Ag Experience programs in the four different categories for that year. Maltbie is no stranger to the National Convention stage- having had his name called three different times before 2015 as a National Proficiency Award winner. Our story from last Thursday evening about this four time National Champion can be read and you can hear our conversation with him by clicking or tapping here.

We have details of the five National Champions in the Proficiency Awards in our second story- before we go there- let's also salute  the five teams that placed in the national Career Development Event series.

At the top of that list is the Ag Issues Team from Kingfisher.  We wrote about these young men and ladies before the convention- they have a great topic- Drones and the Pros and Cons of them being a part of Oklahoma Agriculture. They made the Final Four round held on Thursday and defeated the California team that was talking about ag in their state and discussed ways to deal with their water crisis from an ag perspective.

I have watched this contest the last few years- and it is one of my favorites as the FFA members really sink their teeth into topics and events that are really shaping the future of US agriculture. Learn more about the Kingfisher entry- here's a link to our earlier story on their Ag Issues team for 2015. Team members, by the way were Holly Barrow, Taylor Chapman Anna Crosswhite, Jace Karns, Kaci Pennington and Addison Themer.

Three Oklahoma teams were Runners Up National Champions in 2015- Locust Grove for Horse Evaluation and Kingfisher with both Livestock Judging and Parliamentary Procedure. Locust Grove team members include Colt Cunningham, Corey Pell, Trisha Meyer, and Rhett Pursley- Trisha was the High Individual of the entire Horse judging contest!

As for the Livestock Judging team from Kingfisher- Sydnee Gerken led the team and was the number one individual in the entire contest- giving Oklahoma two high individuals in these two judging contests near and dear to the heart of many Oklahomans. The Kingfisher Livestock Judging team includes Brayden Foley, Micah Mueggenborg, Sydnee Gerken, and Jason Murray.

Members of the Kingfisher Parli Pro team include Brooke Cameron, Colton Smith, Jaryn Frey, Sarah Gruntmeir, Emily Murray, and Lane Holt.

Finally- the Tuttle FFA placed fourth nationally in the Meats Judging Contest- Team members include Emily Boyer, Samantha Burdick, Craig Dodson, and Jarrod Halphen. Emily was the Second High Individual of the entire contest.


Click here for our complete overview of the top winners with links back to more information on these and other contests that Oklahoma FFA members did well in.

We thank ITC, Your Energy Superhighway, the Oklahoma FFA Alumni and the Oklahoma FFA Association for their support in helping us cover the 2015 National FFA convention- Oklahoma is one of the elite states in the US in the organization- and once again members from our state proved that to be the case.

 

 

Here in 2015, Oklahoma had 16 finalists vying for national honors in the Proficiency categories- and five of them were named national champions on Friday afternoon in Freedom Hall at the 88th National Convention. Oklahoma was tied for the third most National winners this year, with only Ohio (9) and Georgia (6) claiming more.

Placement proficiency awards are given to those whose SAEs are related to employment, apprenticeships, or internships at an agribusiness or agriculture-related organization. Entrepreneurship proficiency awards are given to those whose SAEs are related to ownership of an agribusiness or agriculture-related organization. Proficiency awards are given out at the local, state and national levels.

Click on the name of the FFA member that we have listed below to read more about their project area that was selected by the judges to be the best in the nation:

Megan Trantham, Boise City FFA- Agricultural Sales- Entrepreneurship.


Blake Goss, Leedey FFA- Turf Grass Management- Entrepreneurship.


Bayli Hyde, Burlington FFA- Home and/or Community Development- Entrepreneurship/Placement


Leza Stemple, Vinita FFA- Poultry Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement


Kaylee Brunker, Perkins Tryon FFA- Sheep Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement

Funeral services for Dr. Marvin and Bonnie Stone are being held this morning at the First Congregational Church in Flagler, Colorado. 

The Stones lost their lives on Homecoming morning in Stillwater as a car plowed into the Homecoming Parade killing them and two more- as well as causing injuries to about 50 others.

The Obituary for Dr. Stone can be read here and the one for his wife Bonnie is available here.

Dr. Stone was one of the architects of the Greenseeker technology developed at OSU- and one of his colleagues on that project, Dr. Bill Raun, has posted a website of pictures and comments to honor Marvin- Click here to take a look.

There will be a memorial service tomorrow evening to honor all of those impacted by the events Saturday a week ago- details on that from OSU's website can be read here.

Our friends at Ag Communications have produced a video honoring the Stones- and you can take a look at it by clicking on the picture here:


Our thanks to Dr. Ron Elliott for pulling all of these links together and allowing us to share them  with you.

One more link- There was established a scholarship about nine years ago in honor of Dr. Stone and Bonnie- and we are told that this would be an appropriate place to give to if you would like to offer a memorial gift in their honor- you can go and get more information and give by clicking here.

Cattlemen having a growing number of expected progeny differences or (EPDs) for herd selection. EPD's are a very useful tool that allow cattlemen to compare one sire to another within a breed. There are also comparisons between breeds that have established. It seems like in recent years that there are increasing number of EPD's for cattlemen to consider. Dr. Tonya Amen, Genetic Service Director for Angus Genetics, Inc. said there are more EPD's out there than ever before.


The earliest EPD's measured growth traits, where data is easy to collect and the trait is moderately heritable. As time has gone on, Amen said they began to measure carcass traits and incorporate ultrasound data. The next phase has been to measure reproductive traits.


The American Angus Association continues to develop new EPD's. Amen said the association will be releasing an EPD for tenderness very soon. The association is also developing EPD's for regional characteristics. This includes addressing High Altitude Disease and heat tolerance.


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


I caught up with Amen at the recent Cattlemen's Boot Camp at Oklahoma State University. Click or tap here to hear the full interview.

Thursday morning in a colloquy on the Senate floor, Senate leadership committed to working with House leadership to reverse crop insurance cuts that are included as part of the Bipartisan Budget Agreement currently before the Senate as part of an omnibus appropriations bill, due in December.  The following is a statement from National Association of Wheat Growers President, Brett Blankenship, wheat grower from Washtucna, Wash.


"After days of expressing concern over cuts to crop insurance to members of Congress, we are pleased that House and Senate leadership have committed to reversing the cuts currently proposed in the budget agreement. Crop insurance is an essential part of the farm safety net, and it needs to stay as such. It is encouraging to see leadership listening to grower concerns and keeping crop insurance in tact as a risk management tool for growers. I also want to thank Chairman Conaway, Ranking Member Peterson, Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow for their tireless efforts to defend crop insurance."


Earlier this week, the Administration and Congressional leadership announced a bipartisan budget deal that would both raise discretionary spending caps by $80 billion for FY 2016 and FY 2017 and it would increase the debt limit until March 15, 2017. As one of the offsets for the increase in discretionary spending, the deal also included a $3 billion cut, over ten years, to crop insurance. Following significant pushback from the agricultural community and many Members of Congress, Congressional leadership committed to reversing the crop insurance cuts when Congress turns to an omnibus appropriations bill later this year.

  

DuPont celebrated the opening of its cellulosic biofuel facility Friday in Nevada, Iowa, with a ceremony including Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad and many other dignitaries. This biorefinery is the world's largest cellulosic ethanol plant, with the capacity to produce 30 million gallons per year of clean fuel that offers a 90 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as compared to gasoline.


The raw material used to produce the ethanol is corn stover - the stalks, leaves and cobs left in a field after harvest. The facility will demonstrate at commercial scale that non-food feedstocks from agriculture can be the renewable raw material to power the future energy demands of society. Cellulosic ethanol will further diversify the transportation fuel mix just as wind and solar are expanding the renewable options for power generation.


DuPont brings an unparalleled combination of science competencies and almost 90 years of agronomy expertise in Iowa to develop both a pioneering clean fuel and biomass supply chain. Vital to the supply chain and the entire operation of the Nevada biorefinery are close to 500 local farmers, who will provide the annual 375,000 dry tons of stover needed to produce this cellulosic ethanol from within a 30-mile radius of the facility. In addition to providing a brand-new revenue stream for these growers, the plant will create 85 full-time jobs at the plant and more than 150 seasonal local jobs in Iowa.  Click here to read more about this Nevada, Iowa, facility and cellulosic ethanol production.

 

According to Gary McManus, the Oklahoma State Climatologist, "Statewide, the Oklahoma Mesonet recorded an average of 3.43 inches, 0.11 inches below normal but still ranked as the 42nd wettest October since records began in 1895. To demonstrate the contrast in fortunes, south central Oklahoma recorded an average of 6.41 inches while the north central region received 1.61inches. Those values rank as the 16th wettest and 45th driest on record for those areas, respectively.

"The Panhandle more than doubled the northeast's meager total with an average of 3.89 inches, 2.19 inches above normal and ranked as its ninth wettest October on record. Madill led the Mesonet during October with 9.67 inches while Breckenridge had the lowest total of 0.9 inches.

"The National Weather Service's (NWS) cooperative observer at Madill reported 11.13 inches for the month. October's statewide average brought the year-to-date total up to 41.95 inches, 10.02 inches above normal and the fifth wettest January-October on record. That total stood about 2.4 inches behind 1915's record total of 44.27 inches. Tishomingo leads 2015's totals on the Mesonet thus far with 67.4 inches with McAlester close behind at 66.1 inches."

Looking ahead into November- "The NWS Climate Prediction Center's precipitation outlook for November continued to reflect the influence of El Nino with increased odds of above normal precipitation across the Southern Plains and Oklahoma."

The full ticker- graphics and all- can be seen by clicking here.

For this week- chances of rain are back in the forecast for much of Oklahoma by Thursday- click here for central and western Oklahoma's forecast courtesy of David Payne and his team at News9- meanwhile- here is the link to the forecast developed for Eastern Oklahoma from Travis Meyer and company at the News on 6.