On Friday of last week, President Donald Trump made a shocking announcement that he had come to the decision that he would cancel the progressive Cuban trade policies enacted by his predecessor, Barrack Obama. The cancellation would be put into immediate effect, Trump said, and has thereby fulfilled another of his campaign promises - to hold a hardline against the Cuban dictatorship.

Mostly, the Trump embargo will focus on restricting any trade with Cuba that allows Castro's government to profit. It's estimated that 60 percent of the Cuban economy is controlled by its military.

The ag community, choked by low commodity prices and tightening financial forecasts, sees Trump's decision as a roadblock to a much-needed market for agricultural products. Several commodity groups sounded off after the President's announcement, pledging to continue their work with the Cuban people to provide them access to American made products, and to build upon a working relationship that has been developing over the years through the correct legal channels.

"We urge the administration to exercise caution in rolling out any new restrictions on doing business with Cuba that would limit our agricultural export opportunities. We should be doing more, not less, to encourage U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba. Our farmers and ranchers and the Cuban people would benefit from increased sales of high-quality, American-grown food and feed. The American Farm Bureau will continue to work with the administration and Congress to maintain and improve the conditions for agricultural trade with Cuba," said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. Read his full remarks here.

U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Tom Sleight, released a statement saying that, "The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) has worked in Cuba for nearly two decades to help capture grain demand and develop its livestock industry within the confines of U.S. policy. While the announcement today will make our efforts in Cuba more difficult - and almost certainly cost U.S. corn farmers sales in the short term - we have every intention of continuing our work there to build long-term, mutually-beneficial trade." To read Sleight's entire statement, click here.

"Wheat growers are facing significant economic hurdles and need more markets," said David Schemm, a wheat farmer from Sharon Springs, KS, and NAWG President. "NAWG supports the effort to end the embargo on Cuba because it is what is best for our farmers. And farmers like me know that agricultural trade is a proven way to foster stronger and more productive ties with folks who live outside the United States." Click here to read Schemm's complete statement.

As part of a continuing series of stories on Significant Women in Oklahoma Agriculture, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry and Oklahoma State University are recognizing and honoring the impact of countless women across all 77 counties of the state, from all aspects and areas of the agricultural industry. The honorees were nominated by their peers and selected by a committee of 14 industry professionals. This week Barbara Jacques of Shidler, Okla. is featured this week as a Significant Woman in Oklahoma Agriculture.



A life fully devoted reaps fully deserved rewards.


Barbara Jacques, an Oklahoma native and current Shidler resident, has fully devoted her life to promoting and educating others about the agricultural industry.


"I was one of these kids that grew up and just wanted to be on my horse every day, all day long," Jacques recalls. "If I got in trouble, my punishment was to be grounded off my horse, which was the most painful thing my parents could have ever done."


She laughed.


Barbara grew up around agriculture but didn't become completely consumed by it until she married a full-time rancher, Dave Jacques, in 1979. Together, the two established Seven D Ranch, which consists of a cow-calf operation, stocker cattle and a small hay operation. The Jacques continue to manage a cowherd and stocker operation for Dave's parents as well.


"I think that was something that was just in my blood," she said. "I can't imagine that I would've ever married anyone who wasn't in agriculture because that was what I loved and where I wanted my life to be."

Continue reading Barbara's story about her life and influence in Oklahoma's agriculture, by clicking or tapping here.

I had the opportunity to speak with Jimmy Emmons, a Dewey County farmer and president of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, about a new pilot project he has agreed to undertake on his operation, in partnership with the Oklahoma Conservations Partners and the Regional Food Bank.

This year, Emmons is one of four Oklahoma farmers that have signed on to plant and donate up to eight acres of cover crops to the Oklahoma Food Banks, to fight hunger while conserving natural resources.

"We know that improving the health of our soils is the key to being able to produce enough food to feed nine billion people by 2040," said Emmons. "This pilot program is an excellent example of how conservation is key to fighting hunger."

Emmons has come up with an experimental cocktail mix of plant species, that will cover his ground and at the same time, grow a variety of nutritious fruits and vegetables that will eventually be gleaned and donated to the Regional Food Bank. Emmons has developed many mixes over time, searching for what works best in his fields. He says the orginal mix for this project included approximately 15 different species, including melon, okra, squash, broccoli, cauliflour, kale and a variety of other greens.

Emmons will coordinate with the Food Bank volunteers to glean the produce when it becomes ripe for picking. He hopes to learn from the project and discover if this model could potentially be implemented on a larger scale in order to feed more people and advance the soil conservation movement.

"We'll learn from that and see how that is and maybe adjust the mix if there's problems," he said. "If not, maybe we'll add to it."

You can read more about this pilot project with local farmers and the Regional Food Bank, or listen to my entire conversation with Emmons, by clicking or tapping here.

China may be in the spotlight right now, with its government and ours in the US having come to terms on the protocols that will allow our beef products access to their markets. But, currently, the US already has several major export markets already in place. Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel spoke recently with me, about how important international trade is for our beef industry.


"The fact is, in the US, we don't utilize well, all of the products that come from the beef industry," Peel said. "Some of them have lower demand and yet most beef products are perishable. So, when you have low valued products priced in a way to get them consumed, you're detracting away from demand that would rather focus on higher valued products."


On the other side of the world, however, products not suited for our domestic market, may actually be in higher demand and have a higher value in foreign markets. The ability to export these cuts, allows US beef producers to salvage the carcass value elsewhere, that might have been lost if it were sold domestically. This has been the case for the major markets we're already exporting to, like China and South Korea. But it didn't happen overnight says Peel.


"There's a lot of potential in this market overtime. But, I think it will take some time," Peel insisted referencing China. "That's a process that will grow over time as you try to build market share."


Listen to Dr. Peel and I discuss the importance of international trade for our beef industry, on Friday's Beef Buzz - click here.

A few weeks ago, the online cattle trading site, FedCattleExchange.com, launched an upgraded, redesigned trading platform to better serve its customers. Unfortunately, since the launch there have been a few technical issues with the new platform.

Customer service is the number one concern of the folks behind the website and therefore, the site managers announced last week that they have decided to return to their trusted original platform - just until the bugs are worked out with the new platform.

"The goal of the Fed Cattle Exchange remains the same, to provide the industry with more transactions to consider when determining the average cash price of market-ready fed cattle," reads a statement from the Fed Cattle Exchange. "By increasing transparency in the cash cattle market the industry hopes to reduce volatility in futures contracts. The need for assistance in fed cattle price discovery is very evident. Competitive bidding is the most effective means of determining market value and more open negotiated trading of fed cattle is beneficial to the entire beef industry; Fed Cattle Exchange brings both of these components to the marketplace and the team behind this effort remains dedicated to that cause.


As a thank you for your patience during this transition, the Fed Cattle Exchange has announced that they are waving the listing fees for all consignments for the reminder of the month of June 2017.

For more details on this temporary adjustment period, you can read the full announcement from the Fed Cattle Exchange on our website, by clicking here.

During the prolonged drought a few years ago, the water supplies of Oklahoma City were strained to meet the needs of the area's citizens.

To help prepare the city for any similar challenges in the future, OSU researchers are teaming up with their OU counterparts to develop a socio-ecological model for the city, using what's called the ENVISION framework.

"ENVISION is a software platform that allows users to integrate models and data in one place to show changes in a chosen geographic area over time," said Tracy Boyer, associate professor in OSU's Department of Agricultural Economics. "Our project modifies this platform to look at water and land use given climate variability and varied policies on land use, population and water pricing."

Boyer is leading the team with the goal to develop sustainable natural resource supplies that support a vibrant economy with healthy and productive citizens. There is a need to develop robust knowledge about social and ecological systems, which will be used to empower city planners and other decision makers to effectively adapt to climate variability and climate change.

The project is being funded through a National Science Foundation Grant.

Boyer says that the citizens will ultimately benefit from their municipal resources being better planned for - click here to continue reading and find out how.