Both KC Sheperd and Reagan Calk are in our nation's Capitol for a few days this week at the 2023 Washington Watch of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters- and having the chance to interact with the major agricultural newsmakers inside the Beltway.

Already- they have interviewed top lobbyists and others representing ag groups in Washington during a special Issues Forum on Monday afternoon.

Among the folks that KC talked with was our old friend Vince Peterson of US Wheat Associates- the marketing arm internationally for the US Wheat Industry. You can hear some of Vince's comments with KC in our Tuesday morning Farm and Ranch News with yours truly- available here.

Today- they will spend time at USDA and then Wednesday on Capitol Hill hearing from the Chairmen of the House and Senate Ag Committees and multiple other lawmakers. We will be sharing a lot of those stories in the days to come.

And KC broke away for a short time on Monday afternoon and caught up with our junior Senator for Oklahoma- Mark Wayne Mullin- that conversation will be featured later this week as well.



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Nationwide, winter wheat was rated 27 percent good to excellent, unchanged from the previous week and three percentage points behind last year’s good-to-excellent rating of 30 percent. That’s still the lowest rating for the crop in over three decades.

The southern plains hard red winter wheat crop continues to look awful- Oklahoma's good to excellent ratings dropped six points this week versus last to 13%- Kansas is up one point to 14% good to excellent while texas dropped one poinit to 16% versus 17% last Monday.

OKLAHOMA:

Winter wheat jointing reached 66 percent, up 14 points from the previous year but down 8 points from normal. Winter wheat headed reached 15 percent, up 15 points from the previous year and up 4 points from normal. Winter wheat conditions rated 13 percent good to excellent, 34 percent fair, and 53 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s ratings were 19 percent good to excellent, 34 percent fair, and 46 percent poor to very poor. 

Sorghum planted reached 8 percent, up 8 percent from a year ago and up 6 percent from the average.



Pasture and range conditions rated 13 percent good to excellent, 29 percent fair, and 58 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 11 percent good to excellent, 25 percent fair, and 64 percent poor to very poor. 

Introducing KaCee Cox of the Vinita FFA Chapter, Your 2023 Northeast Area Star in Agribusiness

During the month of April, the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and Oklahoma Farm Report are spotlighting the 17 Area Stars of Oklahoma FFA that are among the highest achievers in the organization.

The stars come from the five areas in four categories- Star in Ag Placement, Star in Agriscience, Star in Agribusiness, and Star in Agricultural Production.

One Star Finalist featured in the coming days from each of the categories will be named the State Star Award Winner during the 97th Oklahoma State FFA Convention coming up on May 2nd and 3rd in Tulsa, Okla.

This week, our coverage of the 2023 Oklahoma FFA Star Award Finalists begins with Agribusiness competitor KaCee Cox of the Vinita FFA chapter representing the Northeast Area.

Cox said her project involves the making and selling of pepper jelly. She began her project as an 8th grader when she decided to make peppery jelly for her local fall market.

“It started out as just jalapeno, then it went to strawberry pepper, to blueberry pepper, to blackberry pepper,” Cox said. “So, I make all four of those flavors.”

Cox is grateful for the help of her mother and her advisor during her project.

“This year, I made my biggest sale ever with 116 of the trio sacks, assorted,” Cox said. “The trio sack is just the jalapeno, strawberry or blueberry. Sometimes there will be a blackberry in there- it just depends on what the customer wants.”

Wednesday to be Another Critical Fire Danger Day in Oklahoma

Oklahoma is anticipating another crazy critical fire day on Wednesday.

Temperatures will range from the upper 70s to the low 90s in some regions while the winds will be 25-30 miles an hour with gusts in the 40 to 50 mph range, according to the Oklahoma Mesonet.

Humidity will plunge after sunrise tomorrow- and in some western locations could be in the single digits.

Click here for the Oklahoma Mesonet Ag Weather site to check specifics for your location.

Earth Day is Every Day on This Oklahoma Ranch

Editor's Note- Today is officially Earth Day- and we salute one of the true environmentalists you can find in Oklahoma- Chuck and Ruth Coffey!)

The Coffey family is committed to land, livestock and legacy.

Conserving natural resources is top of mind on the Double C Cattle Co. in Springer, Oklahoma, on Earth Day and every day.

Located in the Arbuckle Mountains, the Double C Cattle Co. is a five-generation ranch owned and operated by Chuck and Ruth Coffey. Their conservation efforts involve proper grazing management combined with prescribed fire to promote biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem.

“Our ranch goal is to optimize profitability while managing the land for the success of future generations,” Chuck Coffey said. “I hope that others will see and understand the importance of managing livestock, wildlife and the environment together as one big system because they all

simultaneously affect one another.”

They have established 20 solar wells that allow them to use parts of the ranch without a natural water

source. This allows greater grazing distribution and rotational grazing which leaves plant residuals and ground cover to protect the soil. They also use prescribed fire to remove invasive Eastern Red Cedars.

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am visiting with State Climatologist Gary McManus about La Niña and El Niño as the state of Oklahoma continues to suffer from detrimental drought conditions.

While La Niña has ended in the Pacific Ocean, McManus said we are still living under its impacts.

“We have had what is called a triple dip La Niña, so our third cool season in a row with La Niña,” McManus said. “It is very rare. It has only happened, I think, twice before in the accurate records. So, we are very glad that is leaving, because that does tend to bring us some warmer and dryer than normal weather in the cool season, so it would be nice to switch that around to even a normal pattern where we can get some normal rainfall for much of the state.”

The atmosphere is still slightly in-tune with La Niña impacts, McManus said, but it will slowly come into agreement with oceanic temperatures so weather patterns will resume normally.

“Summer in Oklahoma is not a time to relieve drought, unfortunately, so it is timed very poorly, but if we can get some very wet conditions going through the next couple of months as we are now in our normal spring rainy season, that would certainly do wonders for the northwestern half of the state and keep the southeastern half of the state out of drought,” McManus said.

The return of El Niño later in 2023 would be welcomed, McManus said, but it all depends on the strength of El Niño.

Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell Highlights Summer Agritourism Opportunities in the State

At Ag Day at the Capitol earlier this week, Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell and talked about the My Plate Initiative and different tourism options within the state.

The My Plate Initiative helps educate kids on how to eat healthy foods, Pinnell said, and promotes the products grown and raised in Oklahoma. It is another way for kids around the state to not only eat healthier, Pinnell added, but also learn about the food that is grown in the state.

“It combines two passions that we have at the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Tourism,” Pinnell said. “As much as we are talking about agritourism today, let’s talk about that industry, while, at the same time, trying to make sure kids are living healthy lifestyles inside the state.”

It is critical to develop healthy habits early on, Pinnell said, because it is harder to establish those habits as kids grow older.

“It will pay off big-time when they are older, and when they are living, working and playing and raising a family here in Oklahoma,” Pinnell said.

USDA Announces Grassland Conservation Reserve Program Signup for 2023

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that agricultural producers and private landowners can begin signing up for the Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) starting today and running through May 26, 2023. Among CRP enrollment opportunities, Grassland CRP is a unique working lands program, allowing producers and landowners to continue grazing and haying practices while conserving grasslands and promoting plant and animal biodiversity as well as healthier soil.

“Grassland CRP clearly demonstrates that agricultural productivity and conservation priorities can not only coexist but also complement and enhance one another,” said Zach Ducheneaux, Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). “The strength of this program lies in its many benefits — through annual rental payments, the program helps producers and landowners produce and maintain diverse wildlife habitat, sequester carbon in the soil, and support sound, sustainable grazing. These benefits help keep agricultural lands in production while delivering lasting climate outcomes.”

More than 3.1 million acres were accepted through the 2022 Grassland CRP signup from agricultural producers and private landowners. That signup—the highest ever for the program—reflects the continued success and value of investments in voluntary, producer-led, working lands conservation programs. The current total participation in Grassland CRP is 6.3 million acres, which is part of the 23 million acres enrolled in CRP opportunities overall.

OSU Agriculture celebrates topping-out milestone in new building

Construction of the New Frontiers Agricultural Hall reached a milestone in March as a bright orange beam with signatures was installed in the new home for Oklahoma State University Agriculture.

University officials joined the project’s construction partners in celebrating the topping-out milestone, said Randy Raper, assistant vice president of facilities for OSU Agriculture.



“Traditionally, a topping out is a time for the builders to celebrate one of the last beams or installation of the highest point in the construction process,” he said. “During the New Frontiers topping out, the American and OSU Agriculture flags attached to the signed beam flew over the construction site as it was placed as one of the highest beams in the facility.”



The topping-out beam is signed by more than 300 OSU Ferguson College of Agriculture faculty, staff, students and alumni as well as New Frontiers donors and university leaders. It is located on the south side of the building, representing numerous generations of OSU agriculturalists.