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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2016 Oklahoma Youth Expo Begins the Second Century of Being the World's Largest Junior Livestock Show  

It is year one hundred and one for what is called the world's largest junior livestock show- and today, the breeding gilts begin to arrive at the 2016 edition of the Oklahoma Youth Expo, starting the ten days of the livestock show that has developed into a lot more. Tyler Norvell, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Youth Expo, says that despite the soft economy, entries were at record levels for the 2016 event.


"I couldn't believe it but we broke the entries record, the number of students record again- 17,000 entries, seventy one hundred kids. You know with the economy slowing down and coming off our hundred year anniversary that there was no way it would be up- but it was," and Norvell says it is all about people believing that young people learn so many life lessons from raising and caring for their animals. Norvell says that support for the District Shows ahead of this year's OYE has also been strong- and that encourages him as the 101st OYE begins its ten day run.

We talked with Tyler yesterday on the eve of the 101st Expo- and you can read more and listen to our conversation about details of this years OYE as well as what may lie ahead for the massive event- just click here.

Our coverage of the next ten days of the Oklahoma Youth Expo is being sponsored by ITC- Your Energy Superhighway. 

 

Oklahoma Cattlemen Submit Comments on Bacteria Levels of Red River in Southern Oklahoma 

The Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association submitted written comments this week to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality- in regards to work that the DEQ is doing on draft bacterial TMDLs in the lower Red River area. In the comments, the cattle organization expressed concern that the DEQ is putting too much blame on domesticated animals, like beef cattle, for high levels of bacteria in the river system.

In their comments, OCA told the DEQ that the blame for an elevated fecal bacteria count may well be from wildlife. "The Public Notice acknowledges the lack of data to estimate populations of wildlife and avian species other than deer. OCA believes this to be a significant deficiency that needs to be considered before summary statements can be made. At the producer meeting in early February, all participants indicated that the numbers of feral swine on their property and surrounding areas have significantly increased in the past decade. Further, feral swine are known to concentrate in creek and water areas during summer months, the primary sampling time period, in order to find relief from heat. This may compound their contribution to bacteria load."

Read the full set of comments submitted to DEQ from the Oklahoma Cattlemen by clicking here.

State Lawmaker Doug Cox Envisions Building Pipelines to Move Eastern Oklahoma Water Westward

The three northeastern counties that Oklahoma State lawmaker Doug Cox represents includes two of the three counties in the state of Oklahoma that have no oil or gas actitivity- and the crown jewel of his District is Grand Lake. That means that Doug Cox sits right in the middle of one of the excess water areas in Oklahoma. And, the Grove, Oklahoma State Representative believes that state officials would be smart to figure out how to move the surplus water from eastern Oklahoma into central and western counties of the state.


Cox appeared on the opening afternoon of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legislative Conference- and he told the 120 County Farm Bureau leaders that as clean water become more scarce, it becomes more important that Oklahoma plan for the future and consider ways to build pipelines to move water- and locations where it can be stored until needed in the western areas of the state.


Cox told Farm Bureau members in earlier years that he thought this all about getting water into areas where agriculture needs it- but now he believes moving water from east to west is essential for drinking water in our populated areas of the state as well.


Read more about his presentation- and also listen to our Q&A with Representative Cox after this appearance by clicking here.

January Meat Export Volumes up from Last Year, but Value Remains Lower

January exports of U.S. beef and pork were modestly higher than a year ago, but export value slipped for both products, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).


Beef exports increased 3 percent from a year ago to 82,301 metric tons (mt), but value was down 13 percent to $438.1 million. Exports to most Asian markets, which were impacted early last year by the West Coast port labor impasse, increased in January, but these gains were largely offset by lower volumes shipped to Western Hemisphere markets and the Middle East. January exports accounted for 12 percent of total beef production and 9 percent for muscle cuts only (steady with January 2015). Export value per head of fed slaughter was $239.88, down 11 percent from a year ago.


Pork exports increased 4 percent from a year ago to 167,010 mt, but value fell 11 percent to $404.7 million. Exports to China were up significantly from last year's low volumes, reflecting recent reinstatement of several U.S. plants and continued strong demand for imported pork in China.

More on the Export Numbers for the start of 2016 is available here.

 

 

 

USDA Commits $20 Million to Innovative Conservation Projects 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced this week the availability of up to $20 million in competitive grants through the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. The program aims to spark the development and adoption of cutting-edge conservation technologies and approaches for farmers, ranchers and other landowners.

"The Conservation Innovation Grant program has an impressive track record of fostering innovative conservation tools and strategies," said Vilsack. "Successes in the program can translate into new opportunities for historically underserved landowners, help resolve pressing water conservation challenges and leverage new investments in conservation partnerships with farmers, ranchers and other stakeholders."

This Grant Program is part of the EQIP program- and more details about what the USDA wants to accomplish are available here.

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Cattlemen's Beef Board Being Led by a Texan Passionate About the Beef Industry and the Beef Checkoff

Our part of the country have the reins of the national beef checkoff program, with the Chair and Vice Chair hailing from Texas and Oklahoma.

We are featuring on the Beef Buzz over the next couple of days a conversation that we had recently with Anne Anderson of Austin, Texas- the 2016 Chair of the Cattlemen's Beef Board.

She explained to us that she "truly believes that the industry needs the beef checkoff." She cited several of the challenges the beef cattle industry has faced in recent years- and pointed out how checkoff monies have been used to respond to criticism about the industry and problems that only the beef checkoff funding was able to address.

You can read more and listen to part one of our multi day Beef Buzz spotlight on Anne Anderson- it's available here.


You may be asking yourself- who's the Okie in the Beef Board leadership?  Well, we will be featuring him in the days ahead- Brett Morris out of Ninekah is serving as the Vice Chairman of the CBB this year.

This N That- Rainfall Totals, Hall- Coyote Hills Sale This Saturday and GMO Labeling Update

Heavy rainfall over the last 24 hours or so has been seen in southeastern Oklahoma, with at least four Oklahoma Mesonet locations in the southeast reporting totals greater than three inches. As we write this email and get ready to ship it out- it continues to rain in Little Dixie.  Outside of the southeast- we got pretty good rains until you get into the northwestern corner of the state into the Panhandle- and totals there are mostly at zero.

The wet spot in western areas was the Mesonet station at Bessie- recording 3.01 inches of rain!

What's Ahead?  Jed Castles with News9 shows us a nine day- two things jump out- another round of rain is possible on Friday and look at those temps next week- it appears that Roy Lee Lindsey and the Hog boys and girls at the OYE Barrow Show will have to keep reminding exhibitors to keep those piggies cool- 80s and a massive number of market hogs may not mix well next Tuesday.  Anyway- here's the map:



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Coming this Saturday- March 12th- is the HALL-COYOTE HILLS RANCH Limousin &Lim-Flex Bull Sale
The sale will start at 1:00 PM at the Ranch- located 1 mile west , 2 miles south and 1 mile west of Chattanooga, OK on Hwy 5


The Hall and Coyote Hills folks will be offering 100 Limousin & LIM-FLEX Bulls- Details to be seen on their website by clicking or tapping here or you can call 580.597.3006 for more information.

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Democrats are pushing hard to get the word "mandatory" inserted in some form or fashion into the Voluntary GMO Labeling proposal that came out of the Senate Ag Committee last week.

It is reported that Senate Ag Committee Chair Pat Roberts is meeting today with ranking member Debbie Stabenow to try to finish their deal and get a vote before the end of next week- Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is apparently on board in moving forward with a vote on this measure if a deal can be struck.

Robb Fraley of Monsanto tweeted a link to a blog on The Hill website that addresses what continues to be the key argument for labeling- fear. 

In the Blog, Conspiracy Theories Run Amok, Joseph Perrone writes "Anti-GMO activists claim the government should require labels on GMOs because they haven't been well studied and could pose health risks. There's simply no credible research to support this point of view. Major health and science organizations around the world, including the World Health Organization, National Academy of Sciences, and American Medical Association declare there's no evidence GMOs pose any risk to our health or the environment."

Read more by clicking here- that will give you something to do while we wait and see if the Senate can get their act together on this effort to stop Vermont from implementing their mandatory label law this coming July- I have shaken my Eight Ball and it continues to say "The Future is Uncertain."
 

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment,  American Farmers & Ranchers, Stillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma AgCredit,  the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association, Pioneer Cellular, Farm Assure and  KIS Futures for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites out and let these folks know you appreciate the support of this daily email, as their sponsorship helps us keep this arriving in your inbox on a regular basis- at NO Charge!

 

 

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