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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Tuesday February 1,
2011 A
service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind
Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance
Company!
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-- Greetings from Chilly Denver!
-- Obama Administration Rolls Out New Dietary Guidelines- It's All
About the Fruits and Veggies
-- Beef Industry Concerned that Guidelines Might Discourage Consumers
from Including Lean Beef in their Diet
-- Pork Industry Also Weighs in on Dietary Guidelines
-- Dairymax Scores a Touchdown for Dairy Farmers with Fuel Up to Play
60 with Local Pep Rally
-- Re-warming Methods for Severely Cold-stressed Newborn Calves
-- More Cold Tips- and a Good Report From the Heart Hospital
-- Let's Check the Markets!
Howdy Neighbors! Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update- click here to go to their AFR web site to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America! It is also great to have as an annual sponsor on our daily email
Johnston Enterprises- proud to be serving agriculture across
Oklahoma and around the world since 1893. One of the great success stories
of the Johnston brand is Wrangler Bermudagrass- the most widely planted
true cold-tolerant seeded forage bermudagrass in the United States. For
more on Johnston Enterprises- click
here for their brand new website! If you have received this by someone forwarding it to you, you are welcome to subscribe and get this weekday update sent to you directly by clicking here. | |
Greetings from Chilly Denver! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We decided
over the weekend that we needed to push our departure for the Cattle
Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show ahead by a day because of the
looming weather conditions. We got out before the first snow flake fell on
Monday afternoon- and arrived here in Denver where it is seven degrees
BELOW zero this morning- with the prospect that it could be 20 BELOW
tomorrow morning.
In Oklahoma- western counties have received a little bit of snow- but it appears that there will be a pretty good hunk of central and northeastern Oklahoma that will get six to 12 inches of the white stuff- and a lot of that snow will be blown around. Currently, wind gusts are above 30 miles an hour- and that is piling up the drifts. The live chat on News9- KWTV- has lots of people talking about eight to ten inches of snow already fallen by 7 AM- and drifts getting higher and higher. Blowing snow will possibly prove to be one of the biggest problems as the day continues on- Staphanie Malone from News9 has an update on what is going on in central Oklahoma from that perspective- click here to see her YouTube update. In norheast Oklahoma, you might want to check out Travis Meyer and his team on the News on 6- KOTV. The news people there did a good story on how rural electric coops were getting ready for today- click here to see that report with Craig Day. | |
Obama Administration Rolls Out New Dietary Guidelines- It's All About the Fruits and Veggies ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius on Monday announced the release of the
2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the federal government's latest
ideas on what we should all be eating. One of the key "talking points"
that came out of the event to roll these guidelines out is that your plate
at mealtime should be half fruits and vegetables. There was also mostly
emphasis on seafood when it came to protein sources.
"The 2010 Dietary Guidelines are being released at a time when the majority of adults and one in three children is overweight or obese and this is a crisis that we can no longer ignore," said Secretary Vilsack. "These new and improved dietary recommendations give individuals the information to make thoughtful choices of healthier foods in the right portions and to complement those choices with physical activity. The bottom line is that most Americans need to trim our waistlines to reduce the risk of developing diet-related chronic disease. Improving our eating habits is not only good for every individual and family, but also for our country." The new 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans focus on balancing
calories with physical activity, and encourage Americans to consume more
healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat
milk and milk products, seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, beans and
peas, and nuts and seeds, and to consume less sodium, saturated and trans
fats, added sugars, and refined grains. Click here for details about the Obama Administation's ideas on what you should be | |
Beef Industry Concerned that Guidelines Might Discourage Consumers from Including Lean Beef in their Diet ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The beef
industry was quick with reaction to the Obama Administration's release of
new dietary guidelines- emphasizing fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy
and seafood. The government guidelines did talk about choosing for foods
that are nutrient dense- and that is something that the meat industry was
quick to seize on.
Texas medical doctor and cattleman Richard Thorpe says consumers need to realize that lean beef - accompanied by an increase in fruits and vegetables - contributes to a well-balanced, nutrient dense diet. We featured comments with Dr. Thorpe about the guidelines this morning on our Radio Oklahoma Network Farm News Report- click here to jump to our podcast of today's report which will let you hear Thorpe commenting on this part of the story for the beef industry- and the concern that the Obama Administration has implied that Americans need to cut back on lean meats even more. Dr. Thorpe tells us that is simply not the case. According to Thorpe - U.S. consumers eat 1.7-ounces of U.S. beef daily on average. He says there is no scientific evidence to suggest Americans further limit their intake of lean beef. In fact - to stay healthy - he says we need to eat five to seven ounces from the meat and beans group each day. He says the National Cattlemen's Beef Association will continue educating all Americans about that important role lean beef plays in a healthy, well-balanced diet. Click here for our webstory with the reaction from the US Beef industry on the Dietary Guidelines | |
Pork Industry Also Weighs in on Dietary Guidelines ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The National
Pork Producers Council expressed support for federal dietary guidelines
released today whose goals are to reduce obesity, encourage the
consumption of nutrient-rich foods and increase physical activity. Many
cuts of pork, the organization pointed out, are lean, nutrient-dense
sources of protein. Click
here for the full National Pork Producers Council statement issued on
Monday afternoon.
The Pork Board also weighed in, saying "The Guidelines show that animal proteins are essential to the diet, as meat provides vital nutrients such as heme iron and vitamin B12 which many Americans lack. Pork, in particular, is a lean, low-calorie, nutrient-rich protein which can help with weight control. In fact, recent studies show eating lean meats such as pork can lead to weight loss by reducing hunger sensations, helping people feel full and preserving lean muscle mass." The National Pork Producers Council's President, Sam Carney, adds that "The solution to the obesity problem is not a shift from animal-based foods to plant-based ones but rather a shift from nutrient-poor foods to nutrient-rich foods, emphasizing the consumption of lean meats, including pork, along with vegetables, nuts and beans." | |
Dairymax Scores a Touchdown for Dairy Farmers with Fuel Up to Play 60 with Local Pep Rally ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Putnam City
School District's Lake Park Elementary and its students celebrated the
Fuel Up to Play 60 program for this school year on Monday by holding a
school-wide pep rally to empower youth to take action to improve nutrition
and physical activity at their school and for their own health.
Former Oklahoma Sooner and current St. Louis Ram Sam Bradford made a special appearance at the school and spoke with the children about eating healthy and being active for 60 minutes a day. Lake Park was Sam's Elementary school growing up- and you could tell he enjoyed the morning as he spoke to the kids and helped lead them in some exercises. It was also interesting to watch all the OSU fans from the ag industry that were there and cheering Sam in this setting. Dairymax is the local Dairy industry representative group that is working with schools on the Fuel Up to Play 60 project- and dairy farmer Brett Morris of Ninnekah, Oklahoma represented the dairy families of Dairymax on stage on Monday. Click on our link below to learn more about the Fuel Up to Play 60 event- and hear from Brett Morris, Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese and Susan Allen with Dairymax. | |
Re-warming Methods for Severely Cold-stressed Newborn Calves ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Extension Beef
Cattle Specialist Dr. Glen Selk says that several years ago, an Oklahoma
rancher called to tell of the success he had noticed in using a warm water
bath to revive new born calves that had been severely cold stressed. A
quick check of the scientific data on that subject bears out his
observation.
Canadian animal scientists compared methods of reviving hypothermic or cold stressed baby calves. Heat production and rectal temperature were measured in 19 newborn calves during hypothermia (cold stress) and recovery when four different means of assistance were provided. Hypothermia of 86 degrees F. rectal temperature was induced by immersion in cold water. Calves were re-warmed in a 68 to 77 degrees F. air environment where thermal assistance was provided by added thermal insulation or by supplemental heat from infrared lamps. Other calves were re-warmed by immersion in warm water (100 degrees F.), with or without a 40cc drench of 20% ethanol in water. Normal rectal temperatures before cold stress were 103 degrees F. The time required to regain normal body temperature from a rectal temperature of 86 degrees F. was longer for calves with added insulation and those exposed to heat lamps than for the calves in the warm water and warm water plus ethanol treatments (90 and 92 vs 59 and 63, respectively). During recovery, the calves re-warmed with the added insulation and heat lamps produced more heat metabolically than the calves re-warmed in warm water. This represents energy that is lost from the calf's body that cannot be utilized for other important biological processes. Total heat production (energy lost) during recovery was nearly twice as great for the calves with added insulation, exposed to the heat lamps than for calves in warm water and in warm water plus an oral drench of ethanol, respectively. By immersion of hypothermic calves in warm (100 degrees F) water, normal body temperature was regained most rapidly and with minimal metabolic effort. | |
More Cold Tips- and a Good Report From the Heart Hospital ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In areas of
Oklahoma where we have blizzard conditions this morning- we note a
reminder from our state Vet that can save the life of some of the critters
in your care."Hypothermia and dehydration are two of the most common life-threatening conditions our outdoor animals face during this type of weather," said Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry State Veterinarian, Becky Brewer. "It's critical that animals be brought inside or at least are in a protected area with cover." Compared to most of our pets, livestock are a little tougher and more
acclimated to the cold but owners still need to increase their ration of
hay and supplemental feed during bitterly cold weather. Brewer suggests
adding a warm, sloppy bran mash or soaking pelleted feed in warm water to
increase water intake for horses. Before I was able to slip out of Oklahoma City yesterday afternoon ahead of the snow storm- I was able to get by the Oklahoma City Heart Hospital and say hello to Dean Bob Whitson, who had surgery on Sunday and was looking great when I stopped by. Dr. Whitson is the Dean and Vice President of the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University. If the weather cooperates, he hopes to be released Thursday or Friday of this week after bypass and valve replacement surgery. He expressed thanks to so many people who have been praying for him. | |
Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures and Big Iron Online Auctions 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- FREE! We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe. | |
Let's Check the Markets! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We've had
requests to include Canola prices for your convenience here- and we will
be doing so on a regular basis. Current cash price for Canola is $10.15
per bushel, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available
are $10.80 per bushel- delivered to local participating elevators that are
working with PCOM.
Here are some links we will leave in place on an ongoing basis- Click
on the name of the report to go to that link: | |
God Bless! You can reach us at the following: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: ron@oklahomafarmreport.com
phone: 405-473-6144
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