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Our friend and colleague Alan Crone from the News on 6 in Tulsa deserves the credit for the headline here as he called the weather pattern that was pushed in from the east across Oklahoma Saturday night into Sunday morning a "Crazy Ivan" which is a reference to the Movie "Hunt for the Red October" where the submarine skipper spoke of Russian Sub Commanders who would suddenly out of the blue make a major course change for no apparent reason in order to see if anyone was tracking them or not- this during the Cold War a few years back.

Alan writes this morning on his regular blog on the News on 6 website "This somewhat unusual weather pattern that brought us a pleasant cool down yesterday with scattered storms across eastern Oklahoma will remain through at least Tuesday, and possibly Wednesday, before the heat and humidity return for the second half of the week.    The large upper level low is now located west to southwest of the immediate area.  We'll continue to have a shot at periodic showers and storms circulating around the main upper level low for the next 36 to 48 hours before the low weakens more as it slides westward.

"The area that received the most rainfall yesterday was central and western OK where 1 to 2 inches of rain occurred as temps remained in the upper 60s and lower70s for afternoon highs."

Largest single rainfall location to this point from this system belongs to Kingfisher (based on Mesonet data) with 2.55 inches of rainfall on July 14th!?!!?! AND- lots of locations with much cooler than normal temps and rainfall of more than an inch of rainfall.  

Click here to take a look at a snapshot of the rainfall totals as of 6:30 AM this morning- and click here for the real time ever updating map from the Oklahoma Mesonet site.

Canola Crop Review and Canola Conferences Preview with Dr. Ron Sholar  

Dr. Ron Sholar of the Oklahoma Oilseed Commission says that winter canola crop performance for 2013 in Oklahoma was much the same as the wheat crop. "There were a few good fields of canola harvested in southwestern Oklahoma," he said, "but for the most part, dry planting conditions last fall, sparse rainfall over the winter and late-season freezes severely limited the canola harvest south of Interstate 40.


"North of the interstate, like the wheat crop, there was sufficient moisture to make a good crop, in some instances. there were outstanding yields."


Sholar explained average winter canola yield in southwestern Oklahoma was 1,000 pounds of seed per acre with some fields yielding as much as 1,500 pounds per acre.


"North of Interstate 40 in the north central and northwestern portions of Oklahoma, the yields were much better," he said. "Fields averaged 2,500 pounds of seed per acre up to 3,000 pounds per acre."  He added that while we didn't see any record breaking yields- the crop performed very well given the adverse weather conditions the crop faced since the planting window of last fall.

Dr. Sholar wants to invite anyone interested in winter canola production in the state to check out either one of the upcoming Winter Canola Conferences- one is planned this Wednesday at the new Enid Convention Hall and the second will be Thursday in Altus at Western Oklahoma State College.  

Click here to read more- to watch our video as seen on KWTV News9 this past Saturday or to have a chance to listen to our audio conversation with Ron about the crop and about the conferences.

USDA Extends Acreage Reporting Deadline Out to August Second

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan M. Garcia today announced an extension of the FSA acreage reporting deadline. Farmers and landowners have an additional 18 calendar days to submit their annual report of acreage to their local FSA county office with the deadline extended from Monday, July 15, 2013, to Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. Only the FSA reporting deadline has been extended. The acreage reporting requirement for crop insurance has not changed and remains July 15.

"We want to ensure our producers maintain their program benefits by filing their reports accurately and in a timely manner for all crops and land uses, including prevented and failed acreage," said Administrator Garcia.

Accurate acreage reports are necessary to determine and maintain eligibility for various programs, such as the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP); the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE); the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP); and the Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistant Program (NAP).

Acreage reports for FSA are considered timely this year when filed at the county office by the new applicable final crop reporting deadline of Aug. 2, 2013. Producers should contact their county FSA office if they are uncertain about reporting deadlines.

Read more by clicking here- including the explanation of why the FSA deadline can shift and the RMA deadline cannot.

AFR President Terry Detrick Hopeful Farm Bill Turns Into Farm Law

American Farmers & Ranchers/Oklahoma Farmers Union (AFR/OFU) President Terry Detrick made the following statement following the passage of H.R. 2642, the 2013 House Farm Bill:

"This week, the House of Representatives only unified effort was their ability to stand against each other! I am disappointed the House leadership was forced to disregard a long-held tradition of our nation in order to unify their party in passing a farm bill. I am hopeful that our system of government that has served us well for more than 200 years will work out in the long run.


"Right now, farm policy is at the mercy of a Congress that is predominately non-agricultural and has little idea what it takes to successfully produce our nation's food supply. By separating the agriculture/nutrition coalition and removing the 1949 law that provided enough leverage to periodically mandate action on farm policy, conditions are ripe to dismantle the most efficient food production and supply system in the world.


"I continue to hope that the final conference committee version of the farm bill will be something workable for all agriculture producers and food consumers-a goal still achievable before this vital legislation is brought to a final vote before the House and Senate."

Read more by clicking here of Detrick's take on the House action last week on the 2013 Five Year Farm Bill.

Lawmakers Propose Legislation to Establish Tax Exempt Ag Research Organizations

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Sen. John Thune (R-SD), a Member of the Committee, today introduced a bipartisan bill with Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) that will help spur new agricultural research by leveraging private dollars to create charitable partnerships between universities and private entities. The bill, the Charitable Agricultural Research Act, amends the tax code to allow for the creation of new charitable, tax-exempt agricultural research organizations, which are similar to medical research organizations that have been successfully supporting innovation in medical sciences since the 1950s.  

"In the current tight budget environment Congress needs to enact innovative legislation, such as this bill, which will encourage private donors to help meet shortfalls in agriculture research funding," Sen. Thune said. "I am pleased to introduce this bill with Chairwoman Stabenow as it will provide a new investment tool for donors wishing to dedicate their own resources to agriculture research. Production agriculture's current economic strength is a direct result of research that-among other things-has increased crop yields, made livestock healthier, and made food safer. Our bill will facilitate the transfer of much-needed private funding to agricultural research."

This concept has been championed by several groups in Oklahoma in the recent past- being urged on by the Noble Foundation- one of the truly unique non profits in the country when it comes to ag research and interaction with farmers and ranchers in their service area.  To read more about these bills being dropped into the hopper up in our nation's capitol- click here.  

OCA to host a Tornado Relief Supply Drive at the OCA Convention

At this year's 61st Annual Oklahoma Cattlemens Association Convention and Trade Show in Midwest City, the OCA is hosting a tornado relief supply and food drive that will benefit those affected by the May Tornado that hit the Shawnee/McLoud area. All of the items collected are going directly to the Emmanuel Baptist Church in McLoud. We will have a designated area in the convention center where you can make donations and drop off items.


The Emmanuel Baptist Church in McLoud has been helping the victims in their area since the disastrous tornado hit. They feed 200-300 people three meals a day, hand out supplies to continue the work and have a food pantry where people can purchase items at a much discounted price. Items in need are: Gatorade, bottled water, work gloves, gas cans, canned fruits and vegetables, other non-perishable food items, gift cards to Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart and gas cards. They also accept fresh fruits and veggies to provide the workers at each meal they serve. Volunteers are always welcome to help with prepping, cooking and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can go to the church's website by clicking here  for more details.   

Dates, by the way, for the OCA meeting are July 25-27- next week- in Midwest City. 

Over 200,000 Cattle Sold This Past Week by Superior During Their Week in the Rockies

The latest Superior Video Livestock Auction is now behind us- and they ended up offering over 200,000 head of cattle from across the US during their Week in the Rockies XV held all of last week.

We have received a recap of the sale from the Superior folks- click here to take a look at what calves, yearlings and more were selling for in the internet/satellite auction.