The Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association this week, is one step closer to making a secondary, state beef checkoff in Oklahoma a reality.

Earlier this week, the OCA attended a hearing at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture to determine whether or not the organization is qualified to represent cattle producers in Oklahoma. State Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese is currently deliberating his verdict. If he decides in the affirmative, the OCA will then have the authority to hold a referendum for Oklahoma beef producers to vote and ultimately decide whether or not to supplement the current national Beef Checkoff with an additional dollar.

Michael Kelsey, OCA executive vice president, visited me in studio this week, and he says he expects Reese will agree with the testimony of this week's hearing and grant the OCA the right to hold the referendum, a goal he and his staff have been working on for two years now.

"Our members said, 'Hey we want to do that too,'" Kelsey recounted. "We knew even before then - to supplement the national program was just going to be really difficult."

Nonetheless, Kelsey set out to begin the task and now, two years later, he is much closer to his goal. Supposing Reese grants OCA the authority it seeks, the referendum will happen on November 1st of this year, and should that pass,
the Oklahoma Beef Council will be charged with collecting the extra dollar on cattle sold in state. The money collected will be used to augment the promotional budget of the Beef Council on the state level, nationally or even internationally.

"Every bit of this assessment is controlled by Oklahomans," Kelsey pointed out, noting that all members of the OBC are residents of the state and added, "If a producer doesn't like the program, if they're unhappy with it - they don't even have to supply a reason - they can just request, and 100% of that dollar will be refunded."

Click here to read more about the process of organizing the state beef checkoff referendum, and listen to Kelsey and I talk in-depth about how this auxiliary funding will help promote within our state's borders and beyond.

 

Plains Grains releases a weekly harvest update during the hard red winter wheat harvest season- the following is the latest report issued by their Executive Director, Mark Hodges, on Thursday evening, June 15th:

"Harvest of the 2017 HRW wheat crop is in full swing for producers in the south central 1/4 of Kansas. Mostly favorable days for drying (above 95 degree temperatures (35 degrees C) with wind), has allowed harvest to move northward beyond the Kansas/Oklahoma state line this week, even with a few scattered rain showers. Harvest is in full swing in northern Oklahoma, rapidly winding down in central Oklahoma and is complete in the southern half of Oklahoma. Harvest ranges from just starting to a few days away in far northwest Oklahoma and far northwest Texas.

Oklahoma is now 68% harvested- Texas 74% done and Kansas underway at 12% cut out.

Click or tap here for Mark's complete report on harvest to this point in the southern Hard Red Winter Wheat belt.

Audrey Harmon is the State Coordinator for the Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom program- and she is helping lead a tour in northeast Oklahoma this week, showing a group of Oklahoma educators about agriculture and how the food we eat is produced. Audrey is blogging for us on the Oklahoma Farm Report- and here is her report from the third and final day:

"The Ag on Rt 66 tour, with Ag in the Classroom, wrapped up on Thursday as educators made their way back to Kellyville. The day started with a tour of J&M Mushroom Farm in Miami. Everyone was amazed at how much science is involved in growing mushrooms. The tour was amazing and the best part was getting to visit with the 2017 Governors Achievement in Agriculture Award winner, Virgil Jurgensmeyer, a former educator and owner of J&M Mushroom Farm.

"Next the teachers toured the Coleman Theatre, a famous Rt 66 tour destination. While the teachers were amazed at the intricate details of the architecture, they were surprised to learn that even this theatre has an agriculture connection. It was one of the first "air conditioned" buildings with air that was circulated over frozen straw bales in the basement."

Stops were also made in Claremore, the Port of Catoosa and at a local Blackberry farm before the 2017 tour came to a close.  Click or tap here to read Audrey's complete report of day 3 of the Ag in the Classroom Tour.

I want to tip our hat to two of our great supporters that advertise with us and make our email, website and radio reports available to you- and are huge supporters of this annual tour that AITC conducts as they showcase agriculture to educators in our state.

The Oklahoma Beef Council and Oklahoma AgCredit both invest into the Ag in the Classroom Summer Tour- and we are very proud to be working with both of them as they support what we do as well.

This week on SUNUP - Oklahoma State University Extension Grain Market Economist Dr. Kim Anderson joins host Lyndall Stout for another conversation, examining the current wheat harvest conditions and price outlooks. Anderson says wheat prices in the state took a hit and then quickly recovered some at the start of this week.


Anderson says this was a knee-jerk reaction in the market triggered by another year of high production around the world. However, after the crop condition report from USDA came out Monday, revealing HRS wheat was in much worse condition than the markets thought, the prices improved.


Anderson has been monitoring the pulse of the July KC Contract, hoping it climbs above the $4.50 level, which for the moment it seems to have dipped down.


"It's critical that we hold that $4.50 level," Anderson said. "We've got to hold $4.50."


Cautiously optimistic about prices, Anderson says if the July contract could inch up to $4.70 - $4.75, he is confident prices could have a clear shot at reaching $5.00 later in the year.


His advice though to farmers is not to get greedy. He advises wheat growers to stagger their selloff of their grain, a third at a time, and to take advantage of rallies when they happen.

You can watch their visit tomorrow or Sunday on SUNUP- but you can hear Kim's comments right now, and check out the whole line-up for this week's episode, by clicking here.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt appeared before the House Appropriations Interior Subcommittee this week, to discuss the President's FY18 budget request for the agency.

Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole is a member of the subcommittee and took the opportunity to question Pruitt on the controversial agro-chemical, glyphosate, and its impact on human health, referring to purported carcinogens.

The Congressman cited a recent revelation that scientist, Dr. Aaron Blair, chair of the controversial IARC Monograph 112, withheld evidence that would have exonerated glyphosate.

 "In the past, it's been, I think had a label that it might have carcinogens in it," Cole said, "but I understand that there is a new study that has not yet been released called the Agricultural Health Study- it's over at the Health and Human Services and for some reason it has been held for two years, and it comes to a very different conclusion."

Currently the Administrator is reviewing glyphosate. Congressman Cole requested Pruitt include the aforementioned study in his review, to which Pruitt replied -

"I will and I will say that I've had interagency discussions with Secretary Purdue at the Department of Agriculture and Secretary Price at HHS. It is important that we collaborate and work together around these issues and we will do that and report back."

For more on this story, including a look at the reports being reviewed, click here.

While the prospect of having the opportunity to now export beef into China is very exciting news, National Cattlemen's Beef Association's Kent Bacus tells me, we are going to have to spend some money to get the job done.


"We certainly recognize that the costs of production are going to be higher when it comes to producing beef for China," Bacus said, explaining that at first, there will be limited cattle that are eligible for export to China. "That's obviously going to mean that our prices are going to be higher but you also have to keep in mind that China has a very diverse market and they have a very large market - a lot of unmet potential."


Bacus says that China represents 1.4 billion people with a middle class that is larger than the entire US population, all hungry for high-end beef.


"They've become the second largest beef importer in the world," he said. "While this is a smaller percentage of our cattle, there's still going to be a lot of opportunities that develop in years to come."


Listen to Bacus and I discuss the opportunities and challenges present as the US begins to develop its customer base in China's marketplace, on yesterday's Beef Buzz - click here.

Beef Specialist Glenn Selk offers some important advice to cattle producers in this week's edition of the Cow/Calf Corner newsletter.

"During hot summer months, the water needed for a cow herd often determines several other management decisions. To best assess the adequacy of water quantities in surface water or from wells or "rural water" supplies, it first is necessary to have an idea of the amount needed for cattle of different sizes and stages of production that you may have during the summer on the ranch," he writes.

Selk suggests the amount of water required can be estimated by the production stage and the weight of the cattle.

"For instance, a lactating cow needs 2 gallons of water per 100 pounds of body weight," he explains. "A non-lactating cow or bull needs just 1 gallon of water per 100 pounds of body weight.

"If you are estimating water needs for your cattle, be honest about the weight of the cows in the herd. Many cows today weigh 1200 pounds or more (some a lot more). Therefore expect that most spring calving cows will need at least 24 gallons per day for themselves and another 5 to 10 gallons of water for their calf.

"Also recognize that some summer days in Oklahoma get even hotter than the 90 degrees. On days with extreme heat, expect the water usage to go up even further."

Click over to our website for more of Selk's advice in reference to keeping your cattle properly hydrated this summer.