The Panhandle has been waiting a long time to see these rains come through. According to State Climatologist Gary McManus, we are seeing a 1000-year rainfall.

“That 7.52″ of rain in Goodwell- that fell since 10:50 p.m. last night (Tuesday night), so just around 8 hours,” McManus said. “In actuality, most of it fell between 10:50 p.m. and 6 a.m., but it won’t change the return interval much. The average 1000-year recurrence interval (an average precipitation recurrence interval of 1000 years means that a rainfall event of a certain magnitude is expected to occur, on average, once every 1000 years) in Goodwell, Oklahoma, over 6 hours is 6.78 inches, and the 12-hour 1000-year rain is 7.54 inches. The 8-hour 1000-year rainfall amount is approximately 7.2”

One of the challenges that the rains have brought is the stopping of wheat harvest in irrigated wheat fields. Most dryland wheat had already seen harvest in the hardest hit areas of heavy rainfall.

According to Mike Schulte with the Oklahoma Wheat Commission- wheat producers and industry folks are saying it may be next Monday before these fields will be able to support combines in them- assuming we get little or not rainfall. It's too early to tell what sort of quality and yield damage that the five to eight inches of rain did to those fields.

Those historic rains in the Guymon area have provided images never seen in the Texas County community- Mignon Lambley of Hooker has provided this shot from a drone- it's a picture that is truly worth a thousand words:



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Checkoff Investments Capitalize on Nutritional and International Value of U.S. Beef

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am back talking with the CEO of the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion Board, Greg Hanes, about key investments of the Beef Checkoff.

“Some of the highlights that are coming up is that this year, “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.” is the title sponsor at the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania, so that is a great opportunity to reach out to a wide audience and also a lot of youth, and really emphasize how important beef is for performance and your health and everything.”

Research conducted by the Beef Checkoff has been key in that message about beef’s nutritional value, Hanes said, especially in the development of infants and small children. Hanes said as always, there is work on the education front with teachers and curriculum administrators.

“They are actually building curriculums now where they can go and get this and show how beef is using technology and science every day in these courses,” Hanes said. “They also bring the teachers out to the farms and the fields so they can see how it is put into action.”

LMA Board Member Jake Parnell Talks about Producer Profitability

At the Livestock Market Association convention, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Intern Kate Munson spoke with LMA board member Jake Parnell about advocating for the agriculture industry and producer profitability. With an emphasis on producers telling their story, the Galt, California auction barn operator talked about how as a united front, cattle producers can come together to face the issues impacting the majority of ranchers rather than focusing on small disagreements.

As many groups within the cattle industry become caught up in disagreements on issues such as fed cattle marketing, animal disease traceability and more, Parnell emphasized the need for the industry to come together and fight for the issues that most can agree on, such as the death tax, for example.

“So many times in our industry, we spend all of our time arguing and fighting about the small percentage of things we disagree on,” Parnell said. “The one thing we all can agree on is that we want cattle producers to be profitable, to stay in business, and to continue to produce the purest, most wholesome-nutritious protein that they can for the United States food supply.”

Governor Kevin Stitt Pulls Mike Holder Nomination to A&M Board of Regents- and Nominates Jennifer Callahan

Governor Kevin Stitt continues to work on getting the seat on the A&M Board of Regents that has been held by Rick Davis of Guthrie filled. His efforts have brought him back around to attorney and rancher Jennifer Callahan.

A little more than a week after appointing Mike Holder to the board of regents, Stitt withdrew the nomination. Stitt also tried to appoint businesswoman Susan Bergen to the role during the legislative session, but the state Senate rejected the nomination.

Stitt then called a special session to discuss Holder's nomination, but the Senate didn't take up a hearing for the former Oklahoma State University golf coach and athletics director.

One of the challenges in replacing Davis is to find a candidate that can meet the state law requirement that a majority of the regents must be a farmer or rancher- "A majority of the members appointed by the Governor shall be farmers, who are actually engaged in farming and/or livestock growing as their principal business or occupation in earning a livelihood."

In our conversation with the Governor this past week- we asked about his consideration of Jennifer Callahan to become a regent. He saw her as a top tier candidate who was reluctant to per her name into the political muck of a Senate confirmation. That apparently has changed and the nomination for the regents position has been amended to advance Callahan's name to the Senate.

The ball seems to be back in the Senate's court.

In an effort to cut both grass and injury rates, the Childhood Agricultural Safety Network (CASN) is launching a national lawn mower safety campaign that asks if youth are ‘Mow Ready’? Despite improvements in engineering and safety features, pediatric lawn mower-related injury rates have remained constant over the past 40 years. Nearly 10,000 child/youth lawn mower injuries occur in the United States annually, including lacerations, burns and eye injuries. Approximately 5 percent of injuries result in amputation.

Mowing grass is a common chore for teenagers, both in the household and for hire.

On farms, mowing is often the first job involving machinery that is assigned to young people.

“Injuries associated with mowers can happen in an instant, so it is important to be safety prepared,” said Andrea Swenson, Ph.D., director of the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, which manages CASN.

The Childhood Agricultural Safety Network announced the lawn mower safety campaign at the International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health (ISASH) annual conference taking place this week in Portland, Ore.

Useful Apps for Regenerative Ranching

For many ranchers, sale day is their primary marker of progress. But the price called after the gavel drops or you shake hands on the deal doesn’t always tell the full story.

Noble Research Institute’s regenerative ranching manager Josh Gaskamp says a handful of simple, free smartphone applications can help streamline monitoring and measurement efforts on your way to your regenerative ranching goals.

“A lot of these are tools ranchers can use to track their progress,” Gaskamp says. “You get a snapshot in time that tells you what plants you’re seeing in your pasture, when you moved those cattle to what paddock, what the condition of your soil was before you started a new management practice.”

Whatever that data point is, if it is stored in your smartphone or a digital app, it’s easily accessible and searchable to track progress over time.

Gaskamp and several Noble regenerative ranching advisors share how they use these (mostly) free apps on the ranch...

Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association Announces Speaker List for the 72nd Annual Convention

The Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) proudly announces the speaker lineup for the highly anticipated 72nd Annual Convention and Trade Show on July 19-20 at the Embassy Suites Convention Center in Norman. Themed “Building our Beef Legacy,” this year’s event promises to be a dynamic gathering of industry leaders, producers, and enthusiasts eager to celebrate and advance Oklahoma’s vibrant cattle industry.

Kicking off the Convention in the Opening General Session will be Oklahoma State University’s Ferguson College of Agriculture Dean Jayson Lusk and College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Carlos Risco. They will share highlights from their respective colleges and how they are collaborating for the good of the Oklahoma beef cattle industry. 

The Closing Session on Saturday promises to be outstanding with a family legacy panel discussion with the Jim Davis Angus Ranch family and a Washington DC update with NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane.

“We are excited about our speakers and educational sessions for our 72nd Annual Convention and Trade Show,” said Dr. Troy Shelby, President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association. “These folks are experts in the respective fields and are set to provide excellent information and insight to our members attending Convention.”