Dr. Tom Coon Excited About Progress in OSU’s New Frontiers Project

At the OGI Wheat Meeting, Farm Director, KC Sheperd, caught up with the Vice President, Dean and Director for the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University, Dr. Thomas Coon. Sheperd and Coon talked about new things to come for OSU agriculture.

Regarding his retirement soon, Coon talked about the impact OSU has made on his life.

“It has been a fun experience for me, mostly because of the people,” Coon said.

Coon also gave an update on OSU’s New Frontiers Agricultural Hall.

“We have poured a lot of concrete,” Coon said. “I don’t know the exact amount, but we are pretty well done with concrete. Maybe a couple more spots for it to go, but the structure is there.”

The building will be three stories, Coon said, and it is still on schedule to be completed in July of 2024. Many other structures for the ag college have been given the funds to improve, Coon added, including the equine and dairy centers and more.

A new and improved Agronomy Research Station for OSU is the next big project planned, Coon said, which will include new greenhouses, classroom laboratory building, wheat quality lab, and more.

“I think it positions not just our wheat program, but our agronomy program- our soils program- for the next 50 years,” Coon said. “This is giving them the platform that they need to really continue to be the innovators that they have been and really help to advance Oklahoma agriculture to where we need it to be in 2050.”



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Sara Place Believes Cattle Feeders Can Be an Integral Part of Climate Solution

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am visiting with Colorado State University Feedlot Systems Specialist, Dr. Sara Place, about how cattle feeders can be part of the climate solution.

“I am at Colorado State University, part of a group called AgNext, and we are 100 percent focused on sustainable solutions in animal ag and solutions that are scalable, practical and keep in mind the producer economics first and foremost,” Place said.

There are opportunities to reduce methane, Place said, because it has a short life cycle.

“Basically, our climate bang-for-buck is higher for methane because of that short life-cycle,” Place said. “It responds more to what we do. So that is part of that opportunity on the cattle side of things is we know we manage these landscapes, these grazing lands, an incredible wildlife habitat that stores carbon, and the other opportunity is if we can cut methane emissions.”



Place talked about how cattle can be fed and finished out on a grain-based diet to cut methane emissions significantly. While methane emissions from cattle are natural, Place added, those emissions are also a loss of feed calories.

“As we feed higher grain diets, more energy-dense diets, we lower methane emissions and we actually increase the efficiency of feed conversion,” Place said.

Congressman Tom Cole Speaks on the Nation’s Rising National Debt and Inflation

At the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Leadership Conference, Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to talk with Congressman Tom Cole about the way the current administration is tackling the rising national debt and inflation, and what he would like to see for the oil and gas industry.

Oklahomans have many concerns, Cole said, but their biggest concerns are inflation, security at the southern border, scrutiny of oil and gas industry, and the war in Russia and Ukraine.

“Why in the world are we the bad guys when we are giving the country energy security and providing reasonably priced fuel, and even though it is higher than it was, the reality is, it is cheaper than any place else in the world,” Cole said.

As Americans are being faced with inflation, Cole talked about his concerns with the way this administration is handling the issue.

“I think they started a fire,” Cole said. “When this administration came to office, inflation was running at 1.4 percent. It peaked at 9.1 and it is still running between six and seven percent and doesn’t look like it is coming down fast anytime soon.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Class XX of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program continued their international experience in Israel and visited Netafim. Netafim is the global leader in smart irrigation solutions for a sustainable future. They pioneered the drip irrigation revolution, creating low-flow agricultural irrigation. Drip irrigation is twice as efficient as flood irrigation.

They have 1,000 employees in Israel and 4,000 in 18 locations across the world. They utilize state-of-the-art drippers to advanced automated systems for agriculture, greenhouses, and landscaping. You cannot buy their systems – you pay for their service. They provide recommendations for 90 crops and the thicker dripper systems can last 20 years – spacing of drippers is between 4-39 inches. The spacing is determined by the soil type, crop, and specific amount of water needed for that crop. They have surface and sub-surface installations. A Smartphone app can monitor for leaks through flow and moisture meters, and send an alert.

During the visit, I had the opportunity to talk to Dubi Raz, Vice President for Agronomy for Netafim. They discussed the importance of drip irrigation technology and how that has changed the game in countries like Israel. They also talked about how Israel has been able to stretch their water supplies to support huge ag production by being the number one waterwater recyling country in the world.

From Congress to Courtrooms NCBA is Defending You

By Todd Wilkinson, NCBA President

Today, cattlemen and women across the United States face turbulent times. The return of long standing issues like “Waters of the United States,” and new Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings are just two examples of misguided, ineffective, and poorly implemented policies coming from federal regulators in Washington.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is leading the fight against these harmful regulations, not only in the halls of Congress and federal agencies, but in the courtroom as well. Currently, NCBA is engaged in two lawsuits against federal authorities: the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently announced Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) final rule and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) listing of the lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

On December 30, 2022, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers announced the final “Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’” rule. Scheduled to take effect in March 2023, this rule will create new uncertainty for farmers, ranchers, and landowners across the country. Immediately after the final rule was released, NCBA and a coalition of national associations filed a lawsuit to stop the rule from taking effect. Rather than clarifying the WOTUS definition, this new rule allows EPA inspectors and the Army Corps of Engineers to exert federal authority over small creeks or ponds that might only hold water right after a rainstorm—a far cry from the oceans, large lakes, and rivers that traditionally fall under the EPA’s purview. Worst of all, the rule would impact our ability to effectively manage water features on our property, including ditches and isolated ponds. Imagine having to get a federal permit before building a new stock pond or road across your pasture. This is unacceptable, which is why we are in federal court to make sure this rule is dead in the water.

Newton Passes Farm Freedom Bills in Oklahoma House Committees

Rep. Carl Newton advanced two pieces of legislation out of House Committees on Tuesday that would expand freedoms and protections for state farmers and ranchers.

House Bill 1962 would allow any person age 14 to 16 who lives or is employed on a farm to apply for a farm permit authorizing them to operate any Class D motor vehicle while going directly to or from work or school. The only passengers allowed in the vehicle would be licensed drivers or siblings. The bill passed the House Public Safety Committee unanimously.

House Bill 1966 would allow a person that already has a commercial license to apply pesticides to do so to their own property without having to reapply for a private license, while other uses would still require licensing, examination and other fees to be paid to the State Board of Agriculture. Further, the measure also reorganizes areas of existing law. The bill passed in the House Agriculture Committee.

“Our farming communities are really hurting, and they need these expanded freedoms to be able to provide the food and other crops that we count so necessary to daily life,” Newton said.

AFR Elects Leadership, Celebrates a Great Year

American Farmers & Ranchers/Oklahoma Farmers Union (AFR/OFU) hosted the organization’s 118th annual state convention at the Embassy Suites & Conference Center – Norman Feb. 17-19. The event features educational speakers and entertainment, the annual business meeting of Oklahoma Farmers Union and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company, discussion and adoption of AFR legislative policy and officer elections. This year’s convention theme was “Honor Tradition, Embrace Change.”

This year, three seats on the AFR Board of Directors—District 1 Northwest Independent Director, District 3 Northeast Agent Director and District 4 Southeast Independent Director—were up for re-election.

Roger Edenborough, Goodwell, was elected AFR District 1 Northwest Independent Director and will serve a three-year term. Edenborough graduated from Goodwell High School. He attended Oklahoma Panhandle State University and was named a partner in Edenborough and Edenborough, CPAs, in 1992. He served 19 years on the Goodwell Public Schools Board of Directors and 11 years on the Oklahoma State School Board Association, serving as OSSBA President in 2016-2017. Edenborough has served on the board of trustees for Panhandle Telephone Cooperative for 27 years and currently serves on the Goodwell Town Council. He and his wife, Shelley, have three daughters.

William Lane, Grove, was elected AFR District 3 Northeast Agent Director and will serve a three-year term. He graduated from Jay High School and attended NEO and Oklahoma State University on as part of collegiate livestock judging teams. He graduated from OSU in 1996. He was also a member of Class 10 of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program. Lane is a third-generation AFR Insurance agent. He began his insurance career in 1998 and currently owns an agency in Gentry, Ark. He also helps his family with their AFR Insurance agency in Langley, Okla. Lane owns a small purebred Shorthorn cattle operation, which produces nationally-successful show genetics. Lane and his wife, Jennifer, live in Grove. Together, they have five children.