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Ahead of the 2013 Oklahoma FFA Convention that begins on Tuesday in downtown Oklahoma City, over 2,500 members in their Blue and Gold jackets competed in the state speech and career development events on the campus of Oklahoma State University this past Friday and Saturday. Leading the way was a high school senior from Garber High School, Tyler Schnaithman. Schnaithman competed in three state speech contests- and swept all three- the first time that has ever been accomplished by one student in one season. Pictured here with the hardware he picked up Friday night for his performance, Tyler won in Plant Science, Agricultural Policy and Extemporaneous. The Extemporaneous is a category which automatically qualifies him a spot in a national contest next fall at the 2013 national convention in Louisville, Kentucky, while he will be competing in the Prepared Speech finals on Tuesday at 12:30 pm. Schnaithman has elected to present his Plant Sciences speech instead of Ag Policy, as a speaker is only eligible to compete in one category in the state finals. 

We also have the majority of the CDE awards handed out over the weekend at the state contests held at OSU.  To view that list- click here for our report found as a part of the 2013 Oklahoma FFA Convention coverage
 

FFA Grow Like That! - Former Star Farmer of America Travis Schnaithman 

The theme of the 2013 Oklahoma FFA Convention which starts today is "FFA, Grow Like That!" There are thousands of former FFA members that serve as role models for current and future FFA students.

During April and May, the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network is producing a series of radio announcements spotlighting a half dozen of these high achievers. Our final profile of those former FFA members who have distinguished themselves following their FFA experiences is Travis Schnaithman. 

Schnaithman is a fifth-generation farmer on his family's farm in Garfield County near Garber. He was the Oklahoma Star Farmer in 2005, Oklahoma State FFA President in 2007, and was the Star Farmer of America in 2008. He said joining was a continuation of a distinguished family legacy.

"Really, a lot of the mentors I looked up to in high school and junior high were FFA members. And, also, my grandpa was a former ag teacher, my dad was in FFA and it just seemed like the natural thing to do."

You can read more about Travis and the other past FFA members spotlighted this spring by clicking on their names below:

Travis Schnaithman

Cortney Cowley

Keith Kisling

Monica Wilke

Josh Brecheen

Harry Birdwell

Cow Herd Liquidation Continues, Beef Production Down, Derrell Peel Says

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, writes in the latest Cow-Calf Newsletter:

Total beef production for the year to date is down 1.3 percent and total slaughter is down 2.1 percent compared to the same period last year. Both beef production and slaughter have been larger in recent weeks and the year to date total is down less than expected. A significant part of larger than expected total slaughter is the result of increased cow slaughter. Year to date slaughter of steers, heifers and bulls are all down from last year. Only cow slaughter is up; 1.2 percent so far this year. Several factors are at work including unexpected beef herd liquidation and structural change in the North American dairy industry.

After five weeks of year-over-year increases, beef cow slaughter in the U.S. is only down 2.1 percent for the year to date. Unexpected beef herd liquidation is implied by the fact that beef cow slaughter has been up nearly 14 percent year over year for the last five weeks. It appears that winter has been just too much for some producers. Hay is extremely expensive and in short supply and apparently beyond the reach of some producers recently. With improvement in drought conditions in many regions recently, warm weather and the beginning of forage growth should result in beef cow slaughter falling sharply in the coming weeks. However, the damage may be done as far as herd inventory goes.

Click here for more from Derrell Peel.   

 

Nationally, the crop progress and weather condition story remains the lack of progress in planting the 2013 corn crop.  Only five percent of the corn crop has now been planted as of this past weekend- that's just one percent of the crop being put in the ground this past week.  The five year average for corn planting by this date is 31%, while we had close to half of the crop in the ground by this date in 2012. 

The three "I" states have barely begun planting, with Indiana and Illinois having planted only one percent each, while Iowa has planted just two percent of their expected acreage this spring. Minnesota has yet to begin corn planting for all practical purposes with a goose egg in the planting tables for that state, as well as the Dakotas.  Back to the heart of the Corn Belt- Illinois had 76% planted at this point in 2012 while Indiana had 67% planted by this point- versus that one percent USDA has reported on Monday afternoon. Click here for the national planting progress report as released on Monday afternoon by NASS.

In Oklahoma, the wheat and canola crops suffered more setbacks with a freeze occurring last Wednesday.  Temperature records were broken in multiple locations for April 24th.

Wheat heading was only 21 percent complete, 44 points behind normal.  Crop conditions sank into poorer than ever territory- a week ago, the crop was rated 36% poor to very poor- Monday's report showed 41% of the Oklahoma wheat crop in poor to very poor condition. 

 Canola was rated mostly good to fair with 42 percent rated poor to very poor. Canola blooming was 90 percent complete by the end of the week, compared to 100 percent at this time last year.  Click here for the full Oklahoma report. 

In Kansas, the wheat crop was 53 percent jointed, behind 100 percent a year ago and 78 percent average. The wheat crop was 1 percent headed, well behind 70 percent a year ago, and 19 percent average. The condition of the crop was rated as 18 percent very poor, 21 percent poor, 34 percent fair, 25 percent good, and 2 percent excellent.  The Kansas report is available by clicking here.  

Freezing temperatures in Texas compounded earlier damage. Producers in areas of the Plains, the Cross-Timbers, and the Blacklands prepared to bale freeze damaged wheat. Sixty-eight percent of the crop was listed in poor or very poor shape, 25 percent was in fair condition and seven percent was rate good.  You can read the full Texas report by clicking here.

Frank Lucas: Crop Insurance is a Sound Investment to Ensure a Stable and Affordable Food Supply

This week during The Ag Minute, Rep. Frank Lucas discusses the importance of crop insurance for farmers all across the country to help them manage risk. 

Today, Lucas says, crop insurance covers 128 crops, 282 million acres, and serves as a good example of a private-public partnership where producers pay a premium for coverage. During a series of hearings on farm policy last year, farmers explained that crop insurance is an essential risk management tool that should be preserved.

"Farmers borrow more money in a single year than most Americans will borrow in a lifetime just to produce a crop. The recent drought across the country can attest to the fact that when a farmer loses a crop due to a natural disaster, it's likely that every farmer in that area is suffering the same loss. 

"Without crop insurance, these farmers would have no way to recover from these devastating conditions unless the government would step in to provide immediate, unplanned, and unbudgeted disaster assistance. With crop insurance, farmers are able to plan for disasters by paying for coverage. This coverage doesn't make them whole, but rather helps them survive.

Click here to read more or to listen to Frank Lucas's Ag Minute.

 

Profitability May be Just Around the Corner for Feedlots, LMIC Director Says

Jim Robb, Director of the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver, indicates that the "break-evens" for the feedlot industry are finally moving in a positive direction.

"I think that really is an important turning point in our monthly calculations for the month of March. Corn prices have moderated some, especially late in the month and into April, but feeder cattle prices have had 23, 24 months of consecutive losses in our calculated numbers on cattle feeding returns. We seem to be turning a bit of a corner. We had a little bit softer on the corn market, but, importantly, we've had some ratcheting down in feeder cattle prices and really bringing those much more in line with the level of cattle feeding returns and profitability.

"In fact, for the last several days as we've calculated these up, they've continued to decline and our break-evens for cattle placed in early April are in the upper 120s per hundredweight. That includes all costs of production--much more realistic than we had just a few weeks ago when we were in the mid-130s and, at the beginning of March, we were in the lower 140s per hundredweight."

Jim is my guest on the current Beef Buzz.  Click here to listen or to read more.

 

Oklahoma Forestry Conducting Inventory in Latimer and Pittsburg Counties

What type of forest or woodlands is present in Latimer and Pittsburg counties? What tree species? Is our forest healthy?

These and many other questions will be answered as a Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) crew from Oklahoma Forestry Services begins collecting data on plots across the county this month. Foresters began this important data collection in 2009. Each subsequent year, foresters continue gathering information about the amount of land under forest cover, the type of forests and tree species that are present, tree size, invasive species and forest health issues.

"Healthy forests and woodlands provide Oklahoma with many valuable goods and services," said State Forester George Geissler. "We are collecting information about our forests in all 77 counties which will improve our planning and management strategies and ensure our citizens receive the greatest benefit possible."

You'll find more of this story on our website by clicking here.