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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

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Half Million Acre Anderson Creek Fire Gradually Coming Under Control in Oklahoma and Kansas

 
Snow in Woods County up into Barber and Comanche Counties in Kansas helped the Anderson Creek fire situation on Easter Sunday morning- but fire officials in both states say we are not out of the woods yet.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Oklahoma Department of Ag released the following statement regarding the Anderson Creek Fire-

"Continued efforts by firefighters contributed to increased containment for the Anderson Creek Fire. Oklahoma Forestry Services officials report the 397,420 acre fire is now 45 percent contained with 370 personnel battling the large fire that covers three counties across Oklahoma and Kansas. Containment is now estimated at 40 percent for the portion of the fire in Woods County, OK. Kansas officials are reporting the fire to be 31 percent contained in Barber County and 90 percent contained in Comanche County."

A lot of hay has been donated- and the best donation now is probably cash which will help with the rebuilding of fence and other priorities once the fire is totally contained.

A relief fund has been established by the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Foundation (OCF) to help Woods County Cattlemen who have been affected by the Anderson Creek Fire.

If you would like to donate to this relief effort, you can do so by mail or online. OCF is a charitable arm of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association (OCA). Make checks payable to Oklahoma Cattlemen's Foundation and put "Fire Relief" in the memo line and send to P.O. Box 82395., Oklahoma City, OK 73148. To donate online, visit the OCA website by clicking here.

Click here for our most recent summary of the fire- and check back on our website for Monday updates as they become available from both Oklahoma and Kansas officials.

Talking About the OSU Wheat Variety Success Story with Mark Hodges In the Field 

 
Last month, Oklahoma Genetics, Inc. presented a royalty check for $643,739.89 from seed sales of wheat varieties developed by Oklahoma State University's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources to OSU President Burns Hargis and the OSU Agricultural Experiment Station. In presenting the largest check ever given by OGI to OSU, OGI Executive Director Mark Hodges credited the OSU Wheat Improvement Team and its lead researcher, Brett Carver, for not only breeding high quality varieties, but building key relationships with producers, as well as those on the milling and baking side of the industry.


"Wheat breeding is not just a science, it's an art, and Dr. Carver has made a concentrated effort to address the needs of the entire wheat industry," Hodges said. "We've come up with some very unique marketing strategies to be successful, but without the breeder we'd have nothing."

On Saturday morning, Mark Hodges joined us for our In the Field TV segment that is seen on KWTV News9.  In case you missed it, we have the video of our conversation with Mark that you can see by clicking here.  And, in that same webstory, we have a more indepth look at what is happening in the OSU Wheat Breeding Program and how Oklahoma Genetics is working to expand the number of acres being planted in the southern plains with OSU Wheat Varieties.

Derrell Peel Sees Seasonal Price Strength in Cattle Markets- and More Herd Rebuilding in 2016 in US Mama Cow Herds

 
While drought has now reentered Oklahoma in northwestern counties of the state, Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel is not overly worried about a repeat of the liquidation of the southern plains beef cow herd that we saw about four years ago because of our most recent multi year drought. Peel says in this edition of the Beef Buzz that it is still a little early in the growing season for the warm season grasses that are most predominant in northwestern Oklahoma and the Panhandle to be actively growing, so the dryness is something for ranchers in the region to monitor.


We also talked with Dr. Peel about beef cow herd rebuilding, who says that 2015 was probably the largest year for herd rebuilding, with rebuilding continuing at a slower pace in 2016. Peel also discussed the early spring cattle market, saying we are seeing some grilling demand in our wholesale beef trade, which bodes well for seasonal increases in cash cattle markets.

Click here for this Beef Buzz with Dr. Peel- a daily feature heard on great radio stations across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network.

Chinese Subsidies Now Costing US Wheat Farmers $653 Million Annually

 

Over the past few years, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) have demonstrated how the policies of a few advanced developing countries are distorting world wheat trade and hurting farmers in the United States and other wheat exporting countries.

In 2015, an Iowa State University study sponsored by USW showed that China's excessive wheat subsidies alone were costing U.S. farmers almost $550 million per year. Now, just one year later, a January 2016 update of the study demonstrated that the decline in world prices has increased the projected annual loss in U.S. wheat farm revenue from China's policies by 16 percent to $653 million.

US Wheat Associates President Alan Tracy contends that the Chinese subsidies are in violation of the WTO trade rules- and says that US Wheat and the National Association of Wheat Growers continue to have a conversation with the Obama Administration's Trade People about a possible dispute to be filed about the Chinese.

Click here to read more about these huge subsidies- and what it means to US Wheat Farmers.

TSCRA Returning to Ft. Worth for Their 139th Annual Cattle Raisers Convention

 
The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) reminds those involved in the beef cattle business that the 139th annual Cattle Raisers Convention, the biggest ranching industry event in Texas and Oklahoma, is scheduled for April 8 - 10, 2016 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas.


Peter Zeihan, geopolitical strategist and author of "The Accidental Superpower: The Next Generation of American Preeminence and the Coming Global Disorder," will be the keynote speaker at the opening general session. Zeihan will discuss how economics, demographics, history and culture work to create global complexities and how these complexities may impact ranchers in the future.

More details about the 2016 Convention are available here.

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Mama Cows with Twins Can Mean Freemartinism- Glenn Selk Explains

 
The following article is a part of the weekly series Cow Calf Corner as published electronically by Dr. Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist. This week, Dr. Selk offers a warning to cattle producers who have had twins in their spring calving season.


"As producers finish this (or any) calving season it is very important to record any multiple births that may have occurred. Estimates of the percentage of beef cattle births that produce twins vary. One estimate (Gilmore) puts the percentage at about 0.5% or 1 in every 200 births. Approximately one-half of the sets of twins should contain both a bull and a heifer calf.    Make sure to write down these calf numbers of twin births while they are still nursing the cow. Be certain to not retain the heifer born twin to a bull as a replacement female.


"Freemartinism is recognized as one of the most severe forms of sexual abnormality among cattle.   This condition causes infertility in most of the female cattle born twin to a male. When a heifer twin shares the uterus with a bull fetus, they also share the placental membranes connecting the fetuses with the dam."

Read more about Freemartinism from Dr. Selk by clicking here.

Calendar This Week Jampacked- Oklahoma Ag Day, Soil Health, Lucas Town Halls and More

 

Our website's Calendar page is full of events planned for this week- click here to jump to the March Page of the Calendar to see the overview of what is happening- and click on the name of each event below to get the specifics of each event.

Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association District Meetings- Tonight in Stillwater and tomorrow in Woodward.

Soil Health and Cover Crop Conferences- Wednesday in Alva and Thursday in El Reno.

Ag Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol- Wednesday

17th Annual Crop Clinic in Goodwell on Tuesday

Southwest Oklahoma Cotton and Sorghum Meeting- Wednesday in Duke

Congressman Frank Lucas Town Halls on Wednesday- Shattuck, Buffalo, Woodward and Taloga

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