Category: Ag News

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is offering college students a unique behind-the-scenes experience through its annual convention internship program. The 2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, the largest…

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is offering college students a unique behind-the-scenes experience through its annual convention internship program. The 2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, the largest…

Delayed planting in many states may cause high moisture corn to be a common challenge this harvest, requiring longer periods of grain drying than average. Due to increased uncertainty, the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) recomme…

By Trisha Gedon

When Dani McTague started taking art lessons at the age of 5, she didn’t know how much her love of art would impact others. Wanting to share her passion, the Pontotoc County 4-H’er developed a service project called Dani’s Dream – Sharing the Love of Art.

She puts together art bags to donate to children who may not otherwise have access to art supplies. The bags contain one big art project along with stickers, paints, colored pencils, card-making supplies, scissors and other items. No two bags are alike.

Becky Walker, Pontotoc County 4-H Youth Development educator with Oklahoma State University Extension, said she saw a similar project online and immediately thought of Dani.

“Dani loves arts and crafts, and this was a great fit for her,” Walker said. “My job as a 4-H educator is to guide them in their project work. When I know they’re passionate about something, it just goes from there. Community service is a big component of what we do in 4-H, and this project has been a great one for Dani.”
Once Walker introduced the concept to Dani, she was hooked.

“I got really excited when Becky told me about this. I started gathering up my own art supplies to donate right away,” Dani said. “I made three bags and then I ran out of supplies.”

With the help of her mom, Jayme, Dani created a Facebook page and developed an Amazon wish list to advertise her project to hopefully get some donations to create more art bags. To date, people from 32 states have donated supplies or made monetary donations. Dani posts pictures of the items she purchases and of the bags she donates on her Facebook page to keep those donors aware of how the project is progressing. She also makes a thank you card to send to each donor.

Once she started receiving donations, it was time to get organized. Dani started the art bag project using zipper storage bags but has since moved on to reusable cloth totes she and her grandmother make together. JOANN Fabrics and Crafts stores generously donates fabric for the bags. In addition, Dani and Jayme scour stores for discounted art supplies, especially following a holiday when themed items are 90% off the regular price.

“I never thought my project would get this big,” Dani said. “When I first started, my goal was to donate 100 bags. In just over two years, I’ve been able to donate 500 bags, thanks to everyone who has donated supplies or sent money for us to buy more things.”

She now has her sights set on donating 1,000 art bags. The bags are distributed to places like the Ronald McDonald House, Unity Point Counseling and Resource Center and OK Kids Korral, which is part of the Toby Keith Foundation.

“She even had a teacher from Arkansas contact us and ask for bags for her entire class,” Jayme said.

Tracy Whitacre, guest and volunteer coordinator with the Toby Keith Foundation, said the art bags Dani donated to children going through cancer treatments have been greatly appreciated.

“I see the kids using the art supplies and enjoy watching them have a good time,” Whitacre said. “The bags are great for the children. The art supplies give them something to do and help take their mind off their treatment.”

Dani has donated 25 bags to the foundation with plans to donate more during the holiday season.

Walker said not only is Dani doing a great job with her project, but she’s also developing skills she’ll use for the rest of her life.

“Dani made a display about her project, so she’s working on her public speaking skills. She leads an art project at all of our 4-H club meetings, which helps in building her leadership skills. She also works with our Cloverbuds and helps 4-H’ers with their county fair projects,” Walker said. “She’s pretty humble, but she’s a good role model by her actions. Her desire to help others says a lot about who she is.”

Dani agrees that there’s much more than art involved in this successful service project.

“This has helped me become less shy because I have to talk to people about my project. I think I’m more confident than I was two years ago when this started,” Dani said. “It has also helped me become more creative, and I can’t wait to donate more bags and bring joy to more people.”

For more information about the 4-H Youth Development program, contact the local OSU Extension county office.

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.

Weekly, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Nutrition Specialist Paul Beck offers his expertise on the beef cattle industry. This is a part of the weekly series known as the "Cow-Calf Corner" published electronically b…

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today announced his plans to introduce the Security and Oversight of International Landholdings (SOIL) Act in order to provide oversight and transparency of purchases of US agricultural land that threaten natio…

The drought has made it difficult for ranchers to stockpile hay for the winter season ahead.

Hay yields are much lower in 2022 than they were last year, and in areas of the state with the worst drought, hay season is non-existent.

“Producers don’t have anything to bale up,” said Gary Strickland, Jackson County Oklahoma State University Extension director and agriculture educator. “They may have gotten one cutting of alfalfa, and maybe a second if it was under irrigation.”

In the dryland fields of the southwest region, summer forages, such as sudan grasses and pearl millets, have emerged with very little growth. Strickland took a tour of five regional counties a couple weeks ago and found field after field of burnt up grasses from the drought and extreme heat.

“The feeding toxicities associated with sudan grasses and sorghum in drought is also a concern,” Strickland said. “We’ve had very little wheat straw hay baled up due to the high wheat acre abandonment, and irrigated Bermudagrass is not producing the tonnage it would normally produce.”

Dryland Bermudagrass needs rain and cooler temperatures to recover before winter. The current environment of relentless heat into the evening hours has not allowed grasses to repair overnight from the heat of the day.

“A lot of producers say they don’t have the hay to support their herds, and they have had to take cattle off pastures earlier than usual to prevent cattle from grazing perennial grasses too low,” he said.

Southwestern Oklahoma is not the only area in crisis.

“Our producers are talking about feeding hay in the middle of August instead of starting in the middle of October,” said Chad Webb, Noble County OSU Extension director and agriculture educator. “That’s two months of feeding with less hay.”

The strain of high input costs and low forage supplies is tough on ranchers. Less hay is available to purchase in drought years, and hay prices can contribute to steep input costs. Webb said some ranchers in his county are considering planting wheat for winter forage. Others are reducing their operation’s stocking rates to levels that can be sustained through the rest of the summer and into fall.

Paul Beck, OSU Extension beef nutrition specialist, offered the following tips for developing a sustainable herd plan for winter:

• For producers who usually keep or purchase stocker calves, sell them early or market them to a grow yard or feedlot. When forage production is limited, these calves can reduce the culling of cows.

• Sell replacement heifers. These females will not provide a marketable calf for over a year.

• Cull the herd to a reasonable number by selling cows that are old, less productive or that require higher nutrient levels.

• Cross-fence the farm now before starting to feed hay. Subdividing the farm allows pastures to rest and recover through rotational grazing.

• Determine how much hay you have and how much can be fed daily for the expected feeding period. Feeding as little as 10 pounds daily per cow may require the purchase of additional hay or roughage.

• Test hay and other roughage sources to determine protein and energy amounts. OSU Extension specialist Brian Arnall discusses baling summer crops for an alternative forage on OSU Agriculture’s television show, SUNUP.

• Consider planting warm season annuals as a grazing crop in the late summer to fill early fall forage gaps. Warm season annuals can produce 4 to 5 tons of dry matter per acre in 45 days when planted in late summer.

• Plant cool season annual grasses in pastures.

• Balance a supplement or feeding program that makes sense for the operation.

• Consider feeding monensin to beef cows. It has been shown to decrease forage intake 8% without impacting cow bodyweight or body condition.

Learn more about preparing cattle for extended periods of drought through the OSU Extension Rancher’s Thursday Lunchtime Series webinars.

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.

Oklahoma CattleWomen, Inc. Distributes Annual Scholarships

The Oklahoma CattleWomen, Inc. distributed its 2022 scholarships at the Oklahoma Cattle Convention, July 22 and 23 in Norman, Okla. The inaugural Nancy Buckminster Memorial Sch…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture are now putting the Daily Cash Grain Report into a PDF format – we are saving that PDF and archiving them for today’s specific report. To see today’s update, click on the PDF report link at the bottom of this story.

In addition to the PDF of the daily report, you can also listen to the Cash Grain Report by calling 405-621-5533. Push 2 for the grain report.

Click here:

The leader of a program that promotes safety on the farm and in rural areas is encouraging drivers to remain alert in areas where farm equipment is likely to be on the roads.

Tawnie Larson, the state’s coordinator of the Rollover…