The fires in northwest Oklahoma are 10% contained- according to the latest Fire Situation report released midday yesterday. You can read the complete report as found on the Oklahoma Department of Ag Forestry website by clicking here.

The Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association is leading the charge to assist farmers and ranchers affected by the wildfires burning their way through the Northwestern part of the state. OCA Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey is reaching out to the ag community this week asking for donations and assistance to help our neighbors get back on their feet. Yesterday, Kelsey and other state leaders released some information for anyone interested in contributing to the relief efforts already under way.

"As you know by now, many ranchers are in dire need of feed resources," Kelsey stated. "Primarily hay for their cattle to survive until the grass begins to grow later this year. To that end, many ranchers from other parts of the state are donating hay to send to their neighbors up in the northwest.


"The current bottleneck in that process is trucking. We desperately need trucking in order to transport that hay to the northwest."

If you are aware of trucking resources, please share that information with the OCA, or click here for a list of Hay Drop locations. 

Also, Kelsey adds that for the next two weeks the Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards will offer folks the opportunity to donate to the fire relief fund on sale days. Folks can drop a check made out to the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Foundation off at the main office of the Oklahoma City Stockyards. 100% of the funds will go to relief efforts for ranchers affected by the devastating fires.

Congressman Frank Lucas also released a list of resources for those individuals who have lost livestock or property. He encourages folks to safely assess their losses and get in touch with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office.

The Congressman provided a comprehensive document outlining applicable federal assistance programs can be found online here.

For the latest update on the efforts to contain the wildfires, listen to Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese and State Forester George Geissler brief me on the situation yesterday morning, by clicking here.

 

The Department Head of the Animal Science Department at Oklahoma State University, Dr. Clint Rusk, loves attending the Oklahoma Youth Expo and interacting with many of the thousands of young  4-H and FFA members who are showing livestock at what is called the "World's Largest Junior Livestock Show."


I talked with Dr. Rusk between classes at the breeding gilt show on the first day of the 2017 OYE- and Rusk acknowledged that while the judge was busy sorting which of the gilts were the best in each class- the young people were being showcased as they handled their animals.

Click here to read more from my conversation with Dr.Rusk- and for a chance to hear our visit.

Thursday was the first day of showing animals at the 2017 OYE- and the only active show ring was for the Purebred Gilts- six of the breeds were shown on Thursday- topping the breeds were:

Berkshires:
Champion- Ty Goss, Leedey FFA

Chester:
Champion- Alexis Griswold, Payne County 4-H

Hampshire:
Champion- Gage Milner, Duke FFA

Herefords:
Champion- Daniel Stanley, Hulbert FFA

Spots:
Champion- Anna Franke, Covington-Douglas FFA


Yorkshires:
Champion- Rachel Rumsey, Prague FFA

Click here for more details about day one of the Purebred show- and a list of the Reserves from each of the breeds.

Our coverage of the 2017 OYE is a service of ITC, your energy superhighway- click here for their website where you can learn more about their efforts to deliver power in the high plains.

BY THE WAY- we posted the first of our pictures into our FLICKR album of pics- click here and go check them out!

Earlier this week, I spoke with Oklahoma Farm Bureau's Vice President of Public Policy and Corporate Communications John Collison about what the leaders of the organization are thinking in terms of the messaging and ideas the organization will be taking to state lawmakers this legislative session. Collison says, OFB members at this time, are simply asking a lot of questions, trying to get a handle on issues that directly touch rural Oklahoma.


Currently, Collison says OFB is looking into issues outside the normal realm of what the organization typically lobbies for, as many basic social issues become higher priority for rural Oklahomans.


"These are issues that we've got to figure out," Collison insisted. "We need to make sure they have a vision and a plan. Our counties need to come up with that plan, that vision for these leaders. Let's help them, help us."

You can listen to Collison's full remarks on OFB's current policy focus, by clicking here.

Adam Dougherty, of USDA/NRCS and a Tennessee farmer, shared with local producers about implementing no-til practices like those utilized on his own operation, during the No-til Oklahoma Conference in Shawnee. Daugherty told me he hopes his advice will help producers take their own no-til efforts to the next level. He says although fields already under no-til management may look as though they are functioning well, there is still much to be desired in terms of soil health.

"We're starving these systems of carbon," Daugherty insisted. "For us, to get these systems functioning to a higher level the way they were designed to function, was to start implementing cover crop systems onto these fields."


Daugherty explains that on his operation he employs a very diverse combination of cover crops, sometimes planting nearly a dozen different crops at once, and has found tremendous success in mimicking the ecological diversity of nature.


"The results that we're seeing in these fields and the rate at which they're transforming is really what's surprising us," he exclaimed. "Everybody wants to say it won't work in their neck of the woods and my response then is - I ask them if the sun shines where they're from. As long as the sun shines, this system will work."

Continue reading this story and find out what effects after five years, this system is having on Dougherty's operation. Click here to keep reading or to listen to my conversation with Adam.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) 115th Anniversary Convention concluded on Tuesday following the adoption of the organization's policy book and special orders of business. Nearly 500 family farmers and ranchers convened in San Diego both to engage in thoughtful policy deliberations, as well as to learn from agricultural experts and each another.


Leading the delegation from Oklahoma was the President of the American Farmers and Ranchers, Terry Detrick of Ames, Oklahoma. Shortly after Detrick returned to Oklahoma- I caught up with Detrick and talked with him about his perspective of the policy sessions.

A key measure that Detrick and the AFR delegation championed was the first of the Special Orders listed below- addressing Family Farming and Crisis Relief. Detrick is a huge fan of the Ag Mediation Program and this special order urges Congress to include authorization in the next farm bill to fund Ag Mediation efforts at the national level.

Click or tap here to read more about the policies adopted by the NFU- and to hear my visit with Detrick on the policy going ons in San Diego this week by NFU.

 
It was steady to higher money this week for the Superior Livestock Video Auction that happened on Thursday- Weaned Steer Calves were steady to $5 higher than the last Superior sale two weeks ago- while yearling steers were up $2 to $4 per hundred.

Click here for the complete rundown of the sale for March 9th.

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The Hall-Coyote Hills Ranch will be holding their 2017 spring bull sale tomorrow at the Ranch west and south of Chattanooga, Oklahoma.

Sale time is 1:00 PM and they will be offering 80 fall yearlings and 20 spring yearling bulls.

For more information- you can call Ken Holloway at 580-581-7652 or click or tap here for the Hall-Coyote Hills website- where you can see the online catalog.

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Our friends at the Apache Livestock Auction have a special cow sale planned for tomorrow at noon in Apache. 

They will have on offer over 800 head- for more information- call 888-926-9696 or go to the Apache Auction website by clicking or tapping here.
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Finally- saw Megan Albright of the AFR yesterday at the OYE Breeding Gilt show- and she was busy beating the drum for people to sign up to donate blood on Saturday at State Fair Park.

Blood donations will be the focus in 2017 for the Women's Committee of AFR- hoping to have a blood drive in every community across the state between now and the end of the year.

They only have a limited number of slots for folks to give blood on Saturday- so get online by clicking here if you want to sign up.

Click here for the flyer that is online that give you all the details- you can give blood and you get a limited edition OYE-AFR Tee Shirt for your time and effort!