Ahead of the storm system that brought rain and ice to a lot of Oklahoma, close to 90% of the state was locked into some level of drought conditions- while drought was not totally vanquished in one pass- it will be interesting to see the reduction in the Drought Monitor map this coming Thursday morning. 

As of early this morning- here are the rainfall totals since last Friday morning- keeping in mind some of the Mesonet stations have not totally reflected the liquid totals from ice that fell in their locations-

Beaver County seems to get the grand prize numbers from this system- with just over three inches recorded. Moisture at this time of year has an excellent chance of soaking in before evaporation- so the rainfall received will go a long way to helping soil profiles in wheat and canola fields- as well as on our pasture and rangelands. 

In his most recent contribution to the weekly Cow/Calf Corner Newsletter, Dr. Derrell Peel, OSU extension livestock market economist, reviewed the most up-to-date wheat pasture and hay stocks reports from USDA.

"Amidst a slew of USDA reports last week was December 1 hay stocks, included in the January Crop Production report. Total U.S. hay stocks on December 1 were up 0.9 percent from one year ago; however, state totals differed widely. Texas, which has typically had the largest state hay stocks in the past fifteen years, was up a whopping 25 percent to the largest state level since 2007. Nearby, Oklahoma, with the third largest December hay stocks, was up 4.6 percent year over year along with Arkansas, up 11.4 percent and Kansas (fifth largest state stocks), up 3.9 percent from last year.

"Cash feeder cattle prices have started 2017 generally stronger, especially for calves. The combined Oklahoma weekly auction volume for the first full week of January was over 44,000 head, sharply higher than the 28,000 for the same week last year, which may reflect cattle sales due to poor wheat pasture conditions as well as cattle carried over from the end of 2016 for tax reasons. Some producers may be selling one set of stockers now, hoping to buy a second set for wheat graze-out, assuming wheat pasture conditions improve in the next few weeks."

For further analysis of the USDA reports released last week and their implications on the beef market, click here.

Over the years, animal rights activists have become more and more sophisticated in their approach to opposing production agriculture. At the same time, the general population has grown increasingly removed from the farm generation after generation. As activists continue to foster mistrust between consumers and producers, it has become more difficult for the ag industry to argue its side with a demographic that today, knows very little about what we do and therefor find the words of activists easier to believe. Hannah Thompson-Weeman of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, however, says we just made a powerful friend to help fight the battle against animal rights extremists.

"We found a really strong advocate in the anti-poverty community, who care just as much as we do about making sure that people have access to safe, affordable food," she said. "That partnership will hopefully foster more dialogue moving forward and speak about it from a different angle."

Animal rights groups advanced their agenda to hinder agriculture this past election season with a ballot initiative adding restrictions to ag production in Massachusetts that hurt, not only farmers in state, but surrounding states too, and ultimately the consumer as well. Thompson-Weeman says they were successful because they targeted a state with little ag-literacy. She says though, if we work together as an industry with groups that share our concerns, we can deter this from happening anymore.

"I think if we can find strategic ways to not spend a lot of money but still reach the right people and have a stronger, more unified message earlier in the dialogue," she said, "we can hopefully be successful in combatting these things moving forward."

Click here to read more of for you chance to listen to my whole conversation with Hannah, on yesterday's Beef Buzz.

Agricultural producers interested in learning how to maximize their canola production and profitability should register now to attend the Jan. 19 Canola College in Enid.

"It's a great opportunity to learn from and speak with leading experts in the field, and interact with more than 250 new or veteran canola producers and industry members," said Ron Sholar, Great Plains Canola Association (GPCA) executive director. "This will be the premier canola education and training event in the region for 2017."

Canola College sessions will focus on canola basics, advanced production practices, improvements in planting technology, risk management and canola economics, and weed, disease and insect management.

Registration will begin at 8 a.m. with the program kicking off at 9 a.m. and finishing at 3 p.m. The conference will take place at the Chisholm Trail EXPO Center, located at 111 W. Purdue St. on the north side of Enid. There is no cost to attend. For information about the workshop and how to register, click here.

In case you missed it - I sat down with Mark Hodges of Plains Grains last week for his perspective on our wheat crop's progress so far this year. He says it seems like we may be experiencing a repeat of last year.

"It's almost an instant replay if you go back the last two or three years," Hodges remarked. "We got a really good stand in most cases in the fall and then once we got that stand, we really didn't get any moisture up until either at harvest or right before harvest, which last year really benefited us a lot."

Hodges has observed that wheat planted later this fall, has not had as much growth as he would have liked to see. For wheat planted "on-time," though, there has been a respectable amount of growth seen there. However, he has collected reports from the country that to him suggest that the root systems for this year's crop are not growing deep enough to anchor the plants. If this is true with the dry weather we've experienced so far, he says that does not bode well. And, while it is difficult to distinguish changes in the crop's condition during the winter months, he says it will be imperative for the success of the crop later this year to capture some moisture over the next several weeks.

"It's extremely important," Hodges insisted. "We need it, not only for that moisture to be in the profile when the plant takes off again, but whatever root development we can get between now and when it starts to warm up when the plant really takes off is going to be extremely important."

By the way, our weekly In the Field segment did not air this past Saturday, but it did run on Sunday. If you missed it and would like to watch it now, or listen to an extended conversation between Hodges and I, click here.

The largest dairy show ever will kick off at the fifth annual Heart of America Dairy Expo, presented by Hiland Dairy Foods in Springfield, Missouri later this week.

"We will have our largest dairy trade show," says Expo Chairman and dairy farmer Ted Sheppard, Cabool, MO. With 66 exhibitors, including animal health, feed suppliers and dairy equipment, we remain the largest dairy specific trade show in the southern Midwest.

The Grand Opening of the trade show is Thursday January 19 at 6 p.m. with a buffet dinner and early bird seminar featuring Gary Sipiorski, well know dairy development manager from Wisconsin, presenting "How did the business of milking get to 2017 - who are we competing with?" sponsored by Milk Specialties Global.

The event runs through the weekend with a variety of programs sure to pique the interest of any farmer. For more information on the programs and attractions being featured at this year's event, or to learn how to register, click here.

In a statement released yesterday, both the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the Public Lands Council endorsed Congressman Ryan Zinke of Montana, urging Congress to confirm the Republican representative as US Secretary of the Interior under the Trump administration.

"During his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Zinke has consistently advocated for our western communities, economies, and ranchers," said Tracy Brunner, NCBA president. "He has demanded transparency and the inclusion of stakeholders when it comes to land management decisions, and has a strong understanding of the challenges that come with stewarding the West."

Western ranchers own approximately 120 million acres of the most productive private land in the West and manage nearly 250 million acres of public land. Ranchers who hold grazing permits on public land do vital work that benefits public land including the improvement of water sources, improvement of wildlife habitat, and maintaining the open space that Americans enjoy, yet are often targeted by outside interest groups.

Click here to continue reading the statement supporting Zinke for the cabinet post.