In the Midst of the Storm- A Million Dollar Rain

The storms over the weekend brought death, injury and destruction to Oklahoma- but they also brought valuable rain. Back in the day- oldtimers might have called them for many locations a "million dollar rain."

But overall- for Oklahoma agriculture- it might have been a Hundred Million Dollar rain.

Just playing with the numbers- let's use wheat- which is in a very critical growth stage. The last two years we have produced a dismal wheat crop- 2.5 million acres harvested on average in 2022 and 2023 and yields of just 27 to 28 bushels per acre- total production both years at 68 million bushels. This rain gives us hope for something closer to the 100 million bushels we produced in 2021 when we had a 40 bushel per acre crop and 2.7 million acres harvested. I'm not sure it gets us there- but for argument's sake- let's say it improved us by a couple of bushels per acre on a statewide basis- and if we use the 2.7 million acre harvested number and a value of those bushels at the current wheat price of $5.90 a bushel(based on Friday prices)- you get added value of over $31 million dollars to wheat farmers.

AND- there's lots of value to beef cattle producers where the rains fell- because pasture will improve a lot in the areas that received rain- and there are a lot of ponds that will be full going into May and June(and summer) just because of these rains .

AND- while some spring planted crops might have to be replanted if rains came too hard- the overall impact of this moisture will help tremendously.

The state map above is for the last three days- takes us back to Friday morning and while a lot of western Oklahoma missed out- the areas in a lot of northcentral Oklahoma that had slipped into severe drought got significant rainfall amounts. Click on the map above and you can check details on how much was received on a Mesonet station by station basis.

Thank you Lord for the rain.

Electronic ID is set to be the standard by the end of 2024 in the cattle business. By amending and strengthening its animal disease traceability regulations for certain cattle and bison, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is putting in place the technology, tools, and processes to help quickly pinpoint and respond to costly foreign animal diseases.

“Rapid traceability in a disease outbreak will not only limit how long farms are quarantined, keep more animals from getting sick, and help ranchers and farmers get back to selling their products more quickly – but will help keep our markets open,” said Dr. Michael Watson, APHIS Administrator. 

One of the most significant benefits of the rule for farmers and ranchers will be the enhanced ability of the United States to limit impacts of animal disease outbreaks to certain regions, which is the key to maintaining our foreign markets. By being able to readily prove disease-free status in non-affected regions of the United States, we will be able to request foreign trading partners recognize disease-free regions or zones instead of cutting off trade for the entire country.

Midwest Farm Shows is proud to produce the two best Farm Shows in the State of Oklahoma annually- the Tulsa Farm Show each December and the Oklahoma City Farm Show each April.

The Tulsa Farm Show is Oklahoma’s premier agricultural and ranching event- and returns to the SageNet Center (Expo Square) December, 6-7-8, 2024. 

Now is the ideal time to contact the Midwest Farm Show Office at 507-437-7969 and book space at the 2022 Tulsa Farm Show.  To learn more about the Tulsa Farm Show, click here. 

It was not a ringing endorsement by the nation's largest cattle producer group on Friday to the word from USDA that they will require an electronic ID tag on cattle over 18 months of age going across state lines.

Mark Eisele is the President of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and he offered the following statement to the move to EID: “USDA’s final traceability rule updates the existing requirement for animal identification that has been in place since 2013, switching from solely visual tags to tags that are both electronically and visually readable for certain classes of cattle moving interstate. Many producers are already familiar with using these visual tags and under the new rule, they will instead use electronic tags. NCBA has worked hard to secure $15 million in funding for producers to reduce the cost of implementing this change. We also remain committed to safeguarding producers’ private data and continuing to reduce the cost of ear tags for farmers and ranchers. Our industry faces a tremendous threat from the risk of a future foreign animal disease on American soil. To avoid devastating financial losses during a potential outbreak and to help producers quickly return to commerce, we need an efficient animal disease traceability system.” 

In contrast- R-Calf's Bill Bullard is mad as the dickens about EID and says they will fight USDA- “The USDA has slapped independent cattle producers, who have worked closely with the USDA in the past to very successfully control, contain, and eradicate foreign animal diseases, in the face.

“We will fight against the implementation of this disastrous rule that infringes on the freedoms and liberties of our nation’s independent cattle farmers and ranchers. This is government overreach at its worst."

Introducing Hanna Schmidt of the Mulhall-Orlando FFA Chapter, Your 2024 Northwest Area Star in Agriscience

This morning, our coverage of the 2024 Oklahoma FFA Star Award Finalists continues with Agriscience competitor Hanna Schmidt of the Mulhall-Orlando FFA chapter representing the Northwest Area.

Farm Director KC Sheperd interviewed all 18 Star finalists recently in Stillwater after they were judged in their respective areas- and you can hear KC talk with Hanna by clicking on the blue button at the bottom of this story.

Throughout her FFA career, Schmidt said she has had five different agriscience projects. Schmidt has researched and studied eastern red cedar trees, the FFA New Horizons Magazine, the importance of corn to agriculture, and more.

“For my final project, I did a project over ultraviolet radiation light and how pretreating each seed of corn effects the germination rate, the coleoptile and radical length,” Schmidt said.

Out of all of her projects, Schmidt said her favorite project is the one she conducted over the course of her Sophomore year of high school in which she studied how microtoxins impact the agriculture industry, specifically in corn.

After graduating high school, Schmidt said she plans to attend North Oklahoma College for two years, then transfer to Oklahoma State University to obtain a degree in Food Science.

Our coverage of the Stars and the 2024 State FFA Convention is powered by Hilliary Communications.

Gov. Kevin Stitt issued a state of emergency declaration for 12 counties across Oklahoma.

The counties included in that declaration include Carter, Cotton, Garfield, Hughes, Kay, Lincoln, Love, Murray, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Payne and Pontotoc counties.

The declaration was issued after storms spawned multiple tornadoes across Oklahoma on Saturday, from the mid-morning hours through overnight hours into Sunday. It suspends the rules for “size and weight permits of oversized vehicles transporting materials and supplies critical to recovery efforts, emergency relief, and power restoration.”

During a press conference Sunday afternoon, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said the damage to Sulphur was the “worst damage he’s seen” during his tenure as governor, and said one person was confirmed to have been killed as a result of the tornado.

At least three additional deaths across Oklahoma have been reported from the day and evening of storms on Saturday into early Sunday morning.

Read more in our story on the website that includes reaction from Speaker Charles McCall as well as the word from AG Drummond on the Anti Price Gouging rules in effect now in the affected areas.

I am talking with Hugh Aljoe of the Noble Research Institute about the latest on regenerative ranching efforts and courses offered to empower producers to improve their regenerative agriculture efforts.

“Our guys on the ranches have been tracking everything, monitoring everything from our soil health and changes over time, as well as the economics, just so we could put the whole story together,” Aljoe said.

For the past two years, Aljoe said the Noble Research Institute has been working toward developing instructionally designed education courses.

There are two courses now available to ranchers through the Noble Research Institute: The Noble Land Essentials and The Noble Grazing Essentials.

Aljoe said the Land Essentials course focuses on soil health. It is a two-day, hands-on, in-person course that teaches individuals the tools needed to monitor and improve the health of their land, livestock, and livelihood.

Noble Grazing Essentials is a 3-day, hands-on, in-person course that teaches individuals the tools needed to quickly assess forage production and carrying capacity to design and implement grazing plans that work for their land and livestock.

To learn more about the Noble Research Institute and regenerative agriculture, visit the website by CLICKING HERE.

Two members of the Oklahoma State University Agriculture administration have received one of the highest honors within the scientific community.

Jayson Lusk, vice president and dean of OSU Agriculture, and Scott Senseman, associate vice president of OSU Ag Research, have been named 2024 Honorary Fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Lusk was awarded for “distinguished contributions to the field of agricultural economics, particularly for research and the communication and interpretation of the science underpinning predictions of consumer food demand.”

Senseman was recognized for “distinguished contributions in research, teaching and administration in the field of agronomy, particularly in residue chemistry, mode of action and environmental fate of herbicides in agricultural systems.”

Raj Singh, a regents professor in materials science and engineering at OSU, also received the 2024 honor for “pioneering and game-changing scientific and technological contributions to the field of materials, particularly transformative processing and manufacturing of ceramic composites leading to technology insertion into commercial jet engines.”

ASA & Others Urge Support for Farm to Fly Act in Farm Bill

Agriculture groups, along with others representing the biofuels and aviation industries, are urging Congress to include meaningful sustainable aviation fuels provisions in the farm bill.

ASA and other stakeholders sent a letter to House and Senate Ag Committee leadership this week supporting inclusion of the Farm to Fly Act in the farm bill. The bipartisan legislation, which was originally introduced by Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), aims to create new markets for U.S. agricultural products and strengthen domestic energy resources. The bill focuses on fostering the development of SAF within existing USDA programs, ensuring clarity in eligibility criteria, and promoting collaboration.

“SAF, which can be produced from renewable biomass and agriculture-based feedstocks, presents an opportunity to expand U.S. markets for agricultural goods, bolster our nation’s rural economy and provide a renewable, low-emission domestic energy supply for the aviation sector,” the groups state in the letter.

Specifically, the Farm to Fly Act is intended to clarify eligibility for SAF within USDA Energy Programs, encourage collaboration in agency mission areas, and establish a common definition of SAF for effective contributions from U.S. crops. The legislation aligns with the aviation industry’s commitment to transitioning to sustainable fuels and addresses the growing demand for SAF. Read the letter here.