Category: Ag News

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 09:23:41 CDT

There is a new blog post out on the Southern Plains Perspective by Clay Pope talking about producers taking action to plan for weather extremes. Read below!

It’s amazing what you can find when you…

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 09:08:40 CDT

Mark Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist, offers herd health advice as part of the weekly series known as the "Cow Calf Corner" published electronically by …

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 09:04:51 CDT

In this edition of the National Milk Producers Federation’s Ceo’s Corner, Jim Mulhern, President and CEO of the NMPF talks about the Inflation Reduction Act as it relates to the dairy industry.

Whatever one’s opinion of the overall legislation, which passed Congress by the narrowest of margins, the Inflation Reduction Act that became law in August could be a milestone for dairy. It will provide important support for industrywide efforts by dairy farmers to succeed in a marketplace where sustainability is becoming an increasingly important part of value.

The law’s $20 billion in new spending for agriculture includes $8.45 billion in new funds for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which provides important technical assistance to dairy farmers targeted toward greenhouse gas reduction. It has $4.95 billion in new funds for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which funds locally developed, targeted partnership projects, emphasizing initiatives that incentivize or target reduced methane emissions. And those are just big-dollar (by federal standards) opportunities: smaller initiatives, such as $25 million annually for Conservation Innovation Trials with funding targeted toward initiatives that use animal feed and diet management to reduce enteric methane emissions, can make a big difference too.

But the law does more than just support our sustainability and climate goals, such as those embodied in our Net Zero Initiative and other important pledges. It also makes them more important to obtain. Having more resources to help reach goals will increase interest in our efforts from stakeholders, who range from Congress and regulators to corporations and consumers, desirous of seeing us attain them. As this industry seeks opportunities in a lower-carbon world, here are a few dynamics to watch as the nation – and dairy, as a part of that nation – moves forward.

· When dairy announced its Net Zero goal in 2050, it was a leader in agricultural efforts to reduce emissions. It still is. But a 2050 goal no longer sets us apart; the Inflation Reduction Act calls on the entire country to be net-zero by 2050. It also promises ambitious goals such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. We will need to increase our efforts to explore interim benchmarks for where we can be by 2030 and 2040. Often, dairy’s net-zero goal has been discussed as something to be achieved by “2050 or sooner.” Now that resources are being devoted to make 2050 a nationwide goal, overall net zero goals are going to get more emphasis.

· As the world undertakes the wide-scale efforts needed to fulfill these goals, it’s important to note that conservation programs haven’t always emphasized key areas of opportunity for dairy. However, the Inflation Reduction Act provides $100 million for Conservation Innovation Trials focused on feed management, which will be key to reducing enteric emissions, and directs that all of the new conservation funding in the bill be put toward climate smart practices that can yield meaningful environmental benefits. Dairy must seize the opportunity this funding offers, to quickly test what works and then develop scalable solutions to bring down emissions., This broader adaptation of best practices and innovations will become increasingly more important.

· Included in the legislation is a $900 per ton tax on methane produced by the oil and gas industry. This provision does not, repeat DOES NOT, affect agriculture. More than a year ago, back when it was part of the eventually stymied Build Back Better proposal, this idea was twisted into a rumored “cow tax” that caused great concern among livestock producers. There is no cow tax in the Inflation Reduction Act. We have been working for over a decade to make sure that doesn’t happen. Undoubtedly, activists who aren’t friends to agriculture will continue pushing for a cow tax, as they have been in Europe, but we’ll fight it. At the same time, given methane’s importance to short-term greenhouse gas reduction efforts, lowering animal methane emissions through new innovations and incentives is the best – and most effective – way for agriculture to help. Fortunately, as we’ve noted, the IRA provides resources intended to help dairy farmers do just that, and NMPF and its members look forward to collaborating with USDA to bring this potential to fruition.

While dairy is a small contributor to overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions – contributing less than two percent to the nation’s emissions – we have both the need and the desire to be part of the climate solution. Through the work that’s already been done in improving our already strong stewardship and positioning ourselves for a more sustainable future, the industry is well-prepared to both gather and harness the resources that will create business opportunities and better target federal support for the groundbreaking, innovative work that we do.

It’s important to be realistic about the challenges that lie ahead. But that’s just to make sure that they are faced effectively and turned to our industry’s advantage. Change is a constant in dairy farming, and so is improvement. Our previous work has positioned us well to take advantage of what the new climate/conservation funding can offer our industry. Now it’s time to seize it and make sure we maintain our world-leading position as agricultural stewards.    

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 09:01:13 CDT

By Trisha Gedon

Oklahoma teens get a reality check on adulting in an interactive, hands-on financial literacy program offered by Oklahoma State University Extension.
Reality Check helps teens understand fiscal responsibility by providing real-life scenarios in which they make financial decisions on matters regarding rent/mortgage, utilities, insurance and entertainment.

Ron Cox, OSU Extension marriage and family specialist, recently hosted a group of teens on the OSU campus for the United We Can! program, which is geared toward minority families to increase parental involvement in school, youth academic achievement and self-sufficiency and to reduce negative behaviors. Part of their campus experience was participating in the Reality Check program.

“Reality Check gives the students a space in life with a set salary, and they must establish a budget based on their assigned income,” Cox said. “They have to consider expenses, such as housing, food, utilities, transportation, insurance, etc. Along with those general expenses, there’s also a category called chance, which represents those times when you get sick and go to the hospital, have an unexpected home repair or perhaps get an unexpected bonus at work. It’s all about living within your means, and sometimes, kids don’t get those lessons at home.”

Reality Check helps kids understand the value of a dollar and budgeting while developing necessary tools to understand what it’s like to be a financially responsible adult.

Brenda Miller, OSU Extension northeast district family and consumer sciences program specialist, said the goals of Reality Check are to give students a glimpse of their future in a fun way, help teens become aware of basic financial planning skills, goal setting, decision making and career planning, and clarify the need for young people to examine their attitudes about their futures and career expectations.

“Participants are given a worksheet indicating an occupation and a lifestyle status a 25-year-old person may experience,” Miller said. “They are assigned a job, such as a mechanic, banker or teacher, along with a salary and corresponding payroll deductions. They may be single, living with a roommate, married, have a stay-at-home spouse or X number of children. These are all possible situations they will face in a few years.”

Participants start at the bank booth to create a bank account and decide if they want to open a savings account. They visit approximately 20 other booths to complete a monthly budget. Depending on how much money they have, the students may need to adjust their housing or car expenditures in order to meet their budget.

Miller said it’s interesting to observe how the students react when they see the salaries they’ve been assigned.

“While $35,000 sounds like a lot of money to many teenagers, once they start paying their bills, they learn quickly they can’t afford that fancy sports car or eating out five times a week,” she said. “They may also discover they’re going to have to choose a less expensive housing option.”

Ruby Escalera, a student at East Central Middle School in Tulsa, said her experience with Reality Check will help her learn priorities as an adult.

“It made me realize I need to have a job with a higher income than what I was assigned,” she said. “My husband in this scenario didn’t work, so I was responsible for all the bills.”

Milton Ahamilton said he enjoyed the simulation of adult life.

“I was assigned a character who was an EMT, and we just went through all the responsibilities – car insurance, medical, housing, groceries, utilities – everyday stuff for adults,” Ahamilton said. “We had to figure out what things were going to cost according to our salary. I didn’t realize there was so much stuff to account for. This made me realize it’s extremely hard to be an adult.”

Cox said it can be hard for teens to get a firm grasp on finances, but OSU Extension programs like Reality Check can give kids a leg up on adult life.
“This program helps kids see what parents go through to take care of them,” he said. “It gives them a whole new perspective, and hopefully a whole new understanding.”

For additional information about bringing Reality Check to a local school, contact the nearest OSU Extension county office. Learn more about United We Can! and the student experience of Reality Check on this segment of OSU Agriculture’s SUNUP television show.

OSU Extension uses research-based information to help all Oklahomans solve local issues and concerns, promote leadership and manage resources wisely throughout the state’s 77 counties. Most information is available at little to no cost.

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 08:16:49 CDT

This coming Friday- the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association will honor six alumni of OSU with their 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award. This award recognize alumni who attain distinctive success in his…

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 08:07:24 CDT

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Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays has a pre-opening look at today’s agricultural Markets.

Click the audio tab below for today’s report.

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 13:03:52 CDT

Mondays, Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, offers his economic analysis of the beef cattle industry. This analysis is a part of the weekly series known as …

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 12:39:38 CDT

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Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, featured comments several weeks ago from Farm Director KC Sheperd’s visit with Dr. Rosslyn Biggs of OSU talking abo…

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 09:07:29 CDT

This coming Friday- the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association will honor six alumni of OSU with their 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award. This award recognize alumni who attain distinctive success in his or her chosen field or profession, perform outstanding service to their community or both. Service and contributions to the advancement of the university, the OSU Alumni Association or both may be considered.

The 2022 honorees will be recognized at a public reception Friday, September 9 inside the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center. All are welcome to attend, and registration is requested- click here to register.

The Ferguson College of Agriculture is well represented as three of the six honorees are from the College of Ag. One of the six is Dr. Robert Eugene Walton, who grew up in Shattuck, Oklahoma..

Dr. Robert Eugene Walton Sr. graduated from OSU (then Oklahoma A&M) in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in dairy science. He went on to receive his master’s degree in animal breeding and genetics from OSU in 1956 and his doctorate in animal breeding, genetics and statistics from Iowa State University.

During his time at OSU, Walton worked at the OSU Dairy Farm. He was elected as chancellor of Alpha Zeta, was a member of FarmHouse fraternity and competed on the dairy cattle judging team. Walton also attended Royal Agriculture College in Sweden as part of an exchange program.

Dr. Robert E. Walton served as president and general manager of American Breeders Service (ABS), De Forest, Wisconsin from 1967 until 1992 . Walton joined ABS in 1962 as a dairy geneticist. In 1965, he was named director of the marketing and breeding division. He was promoted to his current position in 1967. Prior to joining ABS, he was an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky and also while still in college he worked as estate manager for Westhide Farms, Hereford, England. At ABS, his original responsibility was to design and implement the first progeny-testing program for dairy cattle. This included the selection of sires and dams for 100 young sires each year. The program also included the sampling of young sires in 800 herds, representing 100,000 cows in 25 states. The final phase was the selection of the top 20 percent of the program graduates, based on genetic transmitting ability for higher levels of milk production.

Walton also developed the original ABS Program -Estimated Daughter Superiority System. Subsequently, in 1965 USDA adopted the same system. It was renamed Predicted difference and is used nationwide by the entire A.I. industry. Walton vigorously promoted the use of frozen semen as a means of making good genetic material available on a massive scale including remote areas where normal technician service was not economically feasible. This promotion led to the development of A.I. training schools and direct sales of semen to cattlemen and ranchers who breed their own cows. While at ABS, Walton was responsible for the design and implementation of the Genetic Mating Service (GMS). This professional computer application for commercial dairy herds determines and manages the specific genetic inputs for each herd. The ABS program grew to include the annual enrollment of more than 500,000 dairy cows.

Walton has earned many accolades throughout of his career. His most notable accomplishments include receiving the OSU Distinguished Animal Science Alumnus Award, founding director of Holstein Foundation, founding director of World Beef Expo, Distinguished Service Award from Wisconsin FFA, World Dairy Expo Industry Person of the Year, Distinguished Service Award from the American Dairy Science Association, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Cattleman’s Association. Walton also received the Iowa State Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2022.

In 2021, Dr. Walton finished part one of this autobiography, View from the Bull’s Eye.

Walton is a life member of the OSU Alumni Association.

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 09:00:13 CDT

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Farm Director, KC Sheperd, had the chance to catch up with the Professional Development Coordinator for Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom, Melody Aufill as she fills KC in on resources Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom has to offer and talks about Read an Accurate Ag Book Week taking place this week.

“Ag in the classroom is a really great program and I am one of the state coordinators along with Emily Ague, who serves southwest Oklahoma, and Annie Davis who serves northeast Oklahoma,” Aufill said. “I kind of do the other sections.”

Aufill said Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a three-way partnership between the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, the State Department of Education and OSU Extension. The Department of Agriculture is where they are based, she added.

“We have been trying to educate teachers about agriculture so they can educate their students,” Aufill said.

Aufill said by visiting agclassroom.org/ok, teachers can access resources and lessons. The nice thing about Ag in the Classroom, Aufill said is you can implement it as much or as little as you would like.

There are lessons on the website to assist in the teaching of any skill or subject including categories such as main idea or scientific principles, Aufill said. The activities and lessons, she added, are aligned to Oklahoma academic standards.

There are also recipes on the website, Aufill said, to help students make the connection to where their food comes from. For teachers in urban areas who feel like Ag in the Classroom would not make sense in their classroom because of location and students, Aufill said the lessons fit in anywhere.

“Everyone eats every day, and we all wear clothes, so we should know where our food comes from,” Aufull said. “We need to know about those farmers who raise and grow our food and our clothing.”

This week, September 6-9, Ag in the Classroom will have “Read an Accurate Ag Book Week” where teachers and anyone interested can sign up and read to students.

“We will also have some zoom options,” Aufill said. “Last year the Lieutenant Governor read a book and teachers could sign up to hear him read a book to their students.”

There are plenty of ways for anyone to participate in the “Read an Accurate Ag Book Week”, so Aufill encourages anyone who is interested in agriculture to reach out to a local classroom or a local school and see if they can participate.

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, will be participating in “Read an Accurate Ag Book” week on Wednesday via zoom!

Don’t know how to get started? Here are a few suggestions:

Teachers /Librarians/Early Childhood Centers etc. – register to read to your classroom, snap a picture, post on social media #okagclass & #readagbooks2022, or email a picture

Parents – ask to register the teacher of your child, kindly ask to be a guest reader, or ask a community member to read

Schools – read an accurate agriculture book week “school wide,” bring in community members to read, SRO school resource officers, retired teachers, FFA members, High Schools groups, or request a guest reader

Classrooms – Register and join a ZOOM “reader” we will spotlight during the week.

We will have a drawing for bushels of books for those who complete the steps below!
(2 classrooms, 1 FFA Chapter, 1 4H, and 1 FCCLA)

1. Register at https://forms.gle/3Q6ZHFhzB61DU7Qs5
2. Read an “Accurate Ag Book”
3. Post a picture on FB/Insta using
#okagclass & #readagbooks2022
OR email, emily.ague@ag.ok.gov

Register at:
https://forms.gle/3Q6ZHFhzB61DU7Qs5

Click the LISTEN BAR below to listen to KC’s conversation with Melody Aufill on Oklahoma Ag in the classroom and the upcoming conference.