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Reports from three different directions all point to combines rolling in wheat fields from north Texas into the southern third of Kansas.  

The report from Mark Hodges with Plains Grains offers an estimate of 28% harvest being done in Oklahoma, 31% in Texas and 10% complete already in Kansas. Hodges reports that for the state of Oklahoma- "Harvest in far southwestern Oklahoma is now 90% complete (south of Hwy 62 from Lawton to Altus) with the eastern part of that area not progressing as quickly. All parts of Oklahoma are now in some stage of harvest including far northwestern Oklahoma and the Panhandle."  Click here for the full report from Plains Grains, Inc. 

Mike Schulte and Debbie Wedel with the Oklahoma Wheat Commission have greater detail of the 2012 Oklahoma harvest in their Thursday afternoon report- one location that they mention in southern Oklahoma is Frederick- "Cassidy Grain in Frederick is 80% complete and are now taking wheat from local producers who have just got into the fields this week. The Custom Crews have headed North. Cassidy has taken in close to 2 million bushels with test weights ranging from 50 - 60. Moisture has held in the 9 to 10% range and yields are all over from 25 to 65 bushels per acre with an average of 35."

North of I-40, Mike Schulte reports that one location that is rolling and getting great results is Garber/Covington- "Harvest is just getting started in this area with good yields being reported so far. Test weights are averaging 61 lbs. Yields being reported at this point are showing an average in the mid-40's. One producer in this region reported a 160 acre field he had to have made 80 bushels per acre."

Click here for the full report from the Oklahoma Wheat Commission- sponsor of our 2012 wheat watch over this entire growing- harvesting cycle.

Finally, we have day two of the Kansas Wheat Harvest report- spotlighting Sumner County, right on the state line and the county you travel into from Oklahoma  when you ride I-35 from Oklahoma City to Wichita. Sumner is traditionally their largest wheat producing county in the state.  In Sumner County- "Curt Guinn, manager at the Farmers Coop Grain Association in Wellington, says yields early on are excellent, ranging from 55 to 65 bushels per acre. Test weights vary from 58 to 63 pounds per bushel and will likely average the 60 pound per bushel benchmark. Protein is averaging 11 at the Wellington location."  Click here for the complete Day Two report from Kansas Wheat.   

Is Oklahoma in the Midst of Flash Drought Development?

Associate State Climatologist Gary McManus looks at the data from the Oklahoma Mesonet and asks the question: "Is Oklahoma in the midst of a flash drought development. Here is his analysis:

In my opinion, that is exactly what we are seeing as exceedingly dry, warm and windy weather continues. A flash drought is exactly what its name implies -- a more rapid development of drought (monthly time scale) as compared to its normal time scale (seasonal). The distinction is very much akin to the difference between river flooding and flash flooding ... the time scale is the key.

The development of flash droughts normally occurs during the summer months, but in reality our warmth started early this year. We are well on our way to seeing the records for warmest January-May and March-May (spring) periods absolutely shattered.

All the necessary ingredients have been added to the mix for rapid onset of drought: lack of rainfall mixed with hot weather and lots of sunshine (at a time when the energy from the sun is nearing its peak for our part of the world). The impacts of those ingredients are accelerated by the windy conditions, the advanced growth of vegetation, as well as the stress placed on the environment by last year's devastating drought. 

Click here for more of Gary's analysis with charts from the Oklahoma Mesonet.

House Approves Substantial Bridge Repair Funding Measures

The House of Representatives voted recently to significantly reduce the backlog of bridges needing repair or replacement in Oklahoma.

"Road and bridge funding is not only a safety issue, but is also an economic development issue," said T.W. Shannon, a Lawton Republican who chairs the House Transportation Committee. "We have made some progress in this area in the last seven years, but this is a core service for Oklahomans that simply cannot wait any longer. I am very pleased that my colleagues in the House of Representatives agreed to focus our resources on a substantial increase in transportation funding so that our citizens will be safer and our businesses that rely on shipping goods and services on our roads can expand."      

House Bill 2248, by Shannon, would increase road funding in the coming fiscal year. Current law calls for an annual increase of $41.7 million in road funding. Shannon's bill would hike that amount to $59.7 million, directing an additional $18 million to the Rebuilding Oklahoma Access and Driver Safety Fund.

The bill directs that the fund continue receiving an additional $59.7 million each year until the total increase equals $575 million. 

You can read more about this story by clicking here.

Researcher Upends Global Warming Myths About Livestock With Solid Data

It has been one of the most enduring of memes in the environmentalists' psyops arsenal that raising livestock contributes unduly to global warming. Dr. Frank Mitloehner of the University of California at Davis says the data is not on the environmentalists' side. He spoke recently at the Alltech Symposium on the future of agriculture and shared his research on what the data actually say about the impact of livestock on global warming.

"The U.S. numbers for greenhouse gasses per unit of production are just about the lowest you can get. And the reason for that is that we have learned to use all these efficiencies. So we can produce the largest amount of product with the fewest inputs and that's what drives environmental impact. In that respect, we are probably one of the world's leaders," he said.

He said there are several factors that have led to the livestock industry's ability to lower its carbon footprint.

"We have learned to optimize our genetics. We have optimized the nutrition. We gave taken care of animal health, for example, by reducing parasite load per animal. We are feeding energy-dense diets and that is also reducing greenhouse gasses per steer or cow. And all of that is a concert that plays this piece of reducing environmental impact."

Read more or hear more from Dr. Mitloehner by clicking here.

Harvest Updates and Analyses Dominate SUNUP Lineup This Weekend

The progress of the 2012 wheat and canola harvests is the centerpiece of this week's SUNUP program. Reports include a rundown on the North Central Research Station Wheat Tour, a wheat harvest update, a progress report on the canola harvest with Josh Bushong, and a tour of the station's wheat variety test plots. Kim Anderson will have a full analysis of this week's grain markets and a discussion of what he learned on the Lahoma tour.

Anderson says wheat prices increased rapidly this week from $6.10 to $7.30 before settling into a range of $6.80 to $7.30 as buyers await more results from the hard red winter wheat crops around the world. He said ending stocks are not a big factor at the current time in price volatility since wheat ending stocks around the world are slightly above historical averages. He said he thinks the stocks-to-use ratio is currently the driving factor in the volatility we've seen.

Besides Kim Anderson's commentary- SUNUP has a busy lineup for this Memorial Day weekend- click here for a chance to review the full lineup as well as a chance to hear Kim's commentary right now before the markets close for the three day weekend. 

SUNUP can be seen Saturday morning at 7:30 on OETA.

USDA Joins Grill Sergeants for Safe Grilling Advice

U.S. Department of Agriculture experts are sharing advice on food safety for barbecuing with chefs from the US Army's "Grill Sergeants" cable TV program.

Outdoor grilling is a great tradition for all Americans-in and out of uniform. And whether you are a chef or a backyard barbecue, it's important to take precautions to prevent food borne illnesses.                                                                                        

Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety says warm weather can really be a factor in the increases in foodborne illness we see during the summer. That's because we see more moisture, we see hotter temperatures and bacteria multiply at higher rates with that warm weather. But there are some simple steps that people can take to "grill it safe."   They are: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill. 

Click here for more grilling tips from the Grill Sergeants.

Memorial Day Reminder- and Next Weekend- Kris Black Cream of the Crop Sale Coming 

This coming Monday is the first of the the "Big Three" grilling holidays for the summer season- and the meat industry is hoping for lots of steaks, burgers, chops and breasts are on those grills between now and Monday. The number of Americans who plan to fire up the grill for Memorial Day is up 10 percent from last year, according to a survey by grill manufacturer Weber-Stephen Products LLC.  All told, 71 percent of survey participants say they plan to grill for Memorial Day.