As the fall season makes its way in, Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, caught up with the Agritourism and Farmers Market Coordinator at the Oklahoma Department of Ag, Micaela Halverson, to talk about pumpkin patches and mazes across the state.

“At Oklahoma Agritourism, we are promoting all of the pumpkin patches and mazes in the state,” Halverson said.

This year, Halverson said there will be around 40 pumpkin patches and mazes open for visitors to check out.

“You can find all of our farms and ranches, but specifically pumpkin patches and mazes, at oklahomaagritourism.com, and you can search by region, you can search by different activity that you are looking for, and find all of their information in one place on our website,” Halverson said.

Halverson added that Oklahoma Agritourism is also active on social media on Facebook and Instagram.



The vision of the Oklahoma Beef Council is to be a positive difference for Oklahoma's farming and ranching families and the greater beef community, and its mission is to enhance beef demand by strengthening consumer trust and exceeding consumer expectations. 

To learn more, visit www.oklabeef.org. Also, don't forget to like its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oklabeef for stories on Oklahoma's ranching families and great beef recipes. 

And Check out this video below that helps you learn more about the Beef Checkoff- .

Policy Update and More with OCA’s Michael Kelsey

In this episode of Beef Buzz, Iam featuring comments from Associate Farm Editor Reagan Calk’s visit with the Executive Vice President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, Michael Kelsey.

Kelsey gives an update on the latest work in Washington D.C. during the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce Fly-In, and more.

Kelsey said that one of the issues talked about at the fly-in was black vulture regulations in the Migratory Bird Act.

“There is a House Bill that would allow for more taking of those birds,” Kelsey said. “Right now, there is a permit that allows you to take five over a year. When you are in a calving season and you run out there and there are 30 birds, circling in the heifer pen, taking five is just not going to work.”

The Environmental Protection Agency has also issued a new decision regarding pesticide application that Kelsey said will have a big impact on the eastern side of the state.

“This new restriction is relative to the Endangered Species Act, and so it hits things like the American burying beetle and some other smaller species…what it would do is it would drastically prohibit the pesticide uses…,” Kelsey said.

Diamond Hats Name 2023 Ag Woman of the Year- Raise $287,000 to Support OYE

Over five hundred supporters of Oklahoma’s 4-H and FFA Programs gathered at the 2023 Diamond Hats Gala at the National Cowboy Museum and Western Heritage Center to raise money that the ladies will use to support exhibitors next March at the 2024 Oklahoma Youth Expo. The outcome of the evening was a record fundraising effort- with $287,000 announced as being raised from the Gala.

In and around the fund raising efforts that are a part of the evening- Diamond Hats President Darla Reuter announced that the 2023 Ag Woman of the year is Holly Carroll who lives with her husband Chris in Cashion. Hailing from a beef and tobacco farm in Central Kentucky, Carroll was active in both 4-H and then FFA. She served as the Kentucky State FFA President and then was later honored by the organization she loved with the Honorary American FFA Degree in 2022.

Presently, she holds the position of Director of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. In this capacity, she not only supports farmers and ranchers but also bridges the gap between those who produce food and the end user, the consumer as she helps foster greater awareness of agricultural production.

Monarch Tagging Activities Planned at Hackberry Flat

To celebrate the annual migration of monarch butterflies, the Oklahoma Wildlife Department is hosting monarch tagging and roost watches at Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Areanear Frederick Sept. 30 through Oct. 3.

“Monarchs have begun their extensive journey south. These amazing butterflies travel up to 3,000 miles to overwintering sites in Mexico,” said Cheyenne Gonzales, biologist with the Wildlife Department. “We will be tagging monarchs in the mornings, and quietly watching the butterflies roost in the evenings.”

The 2023 Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation Women’s Seminar, titled “Confidence Meets Purpose,” took place on September 21 in Stillwater, Okla. Following the event, Associate Farm Editor Reagan Calk caught up with OCF Executive Director Mariah Reimer about highlights from the seminar.

A diverse group of women attended the seminar, Reimer said, and had the chance to come together to build up their confidence, make connections and find their purpose.

A group of dynamic speakers, including auctioneer and motivational speaker Joni Nash, Emerge Consulting founder Amie Haar, OSU women’s basketball head coach Jacie Hoyt, and Callison Ranch owner Nikki Callison, offered unique and inspiring messages to seminar attendees.

“They all bring something different to the table, and they all touched on that confidence meets purpose, how to do that, and how to go about it very strategically,” Reimer said. “Something that is different about them is their perspectives, their stories, and what they bring to it.”

Renee Howard Wins Senior Division of 2023 Best of Wheat- 2023 Bread Baking Contest

Renee Howard from Headrick, OK in Jackson County, placed first in the White Bread Category of the Senior Division at the State “Best of Wheat” Bread Baking contest held on September 24th at the Oklahoma State Fair. Her light fluffy, fine textured entry with sizeable loaf volume of “White Bread” topped the Senior division also winning her the title of Grand Champion with her entry.

Tayler Spray from Sharon, OK in Woodward County, placed first in the Other Wheat Breads Category of the Junior Division at the State “Best of Wheat” Bread Baking contest. Her entry of “Tayler’s Punch Veggie Bread” had a beautiful display of Focaccia bread art, that also had an exquisite flavor and perfect bake consistency. This allowed her loaf to be tapped in the final round of competition giving her the title of the Junior division Grand Champion with her entry.  

The contest is an annual event sponsored by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission and Oklahoma State Fair. “We had 98 entries from 44 counties this year, all champion or reserve champion winners in the county contests,” said David Gammill, Chairman of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. “We had great attendance and always enjoy the opportunity to award the top bread bakers in the state.”

USDA Invests Nearly a Half Billion Dollars in the Food for Progress and McGovern Dole Programs

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the United States is investing $455 million to strengthen global food security and international capacity-building efforts. The investment will utilize more than 375,000 metric tons of U.S. commodities.

The commodities in the Food for Progress program will be sold in local and regional markets and proceeds will help strengthen short- and long-term food security through development of agricultural value chains and trade-promoting activities. Prior to investing in a project, USDA conducts numerous analyses to ensure that local production and markets will not be impacted, and U.S. commercial interests will not be affected. The commodities in the McGovern-Dole program will go directly to hungry school children to help address hunger and promote education.

“USDA’s McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program has been a pillar global school feeding program for more than two decades, benefitting over 31 million children and families in 48 countries, providing more than 5.5 billion school meals, and supporting programs through U.S.-donated commodities and technical and financial support,” said Vilsack. “Today, on behalf of the Biden Administration, USDA is reaffirming its commitment to strengthening global food security by awarding $230 million in new school feeding projects through the McGovern-Dole Program.”

Soil Sample Handling Practices can Affect Soil Nitrate Test Accuracy

The accuracy of a soil test is limited, in part, by the quality of the tested sample. For this reason, strong emphasis is placed on ensuring representative samples are collected in the field. However, these samples must also be handled properly after they have been collected.

Soils are home to a diverse population of microorganisms, many of which help decompose crop residue and cycle nutrients in soils. This nutrient cycling is crucial for crop production, but can skew soil test results if it continues in soil samples after they have been collected.

Microorganisms drive the soil nitrogen cycle

The nitrogen (N) cycle in soils is particularly complex and is strongly influenced by microbial activity and, therefore, temperature and soil moisture conditions. Bacteria and fungi consume organic material and use carbon as an energy source. During this process, N contained in the organic matter undergoes several transformations, ultimately converting it to ammonia. This conversion from organic-N to inorganic-N (NH4+, ammonium) is called “mineralization.” Plants can then take up the ammonium (NH4+), or converted to nitrate (NO3–) by certain bacteria through a process known as “nitrification”.