Interest in Growing Canola Continues to Grow, Jeff Scott Says 

Jeff Scott, president of the Great Plains Canola Association, had a tough year as a canola producer this year. Mother Nature threw everything at his operation this season and he was only able to harvest about 50 percent of his planted acres due to wind, drought, and freeze losses. Still, he was encouraged by the yields on the acres they did harvest which came in at 30 to 36 bushels per acre.

Despite the vagaries of the weather, Scott said interest in producing canola across Oklahoma is growing by leaps and bounds. He spoke with me at the Oklahoma-Kansas Winter Canola Conference held in Enid Wednesday. 

"I keep wondering when we're going to hit a point of saturation. With the number of conferences we're having, the number of meetings we're having, are we oversaturating people? And I walk into a program like this today and we've got 340 seats at tables and the walls lined with people as well as vendors in the back room manning booths. And, so, there's still great turnout, great participation. And I think the interest in this crop is increasing and I'd like to see between 400,000 and 500,000 acres go in the ground this fall throughout the region."

Scott said seed could be a limiting factor in planting that many acres, but seed companies have increased production after having tight supplies over the last couple of years and should be able to help farmers plant that many acres.

You can read more and hear the full interview by clicking here.

OKFB Recognizes 84 Legislators for Supporting Rural Oklahoma 

Oklahoma Farm Bureau announces 84 state legislators will receive initiation into OKFB's 100 Percent Club. The award is based on a 100 percent voting record on key Farm Bureau legislative measures during the 2013 Oklahoma legislative session.

"We want to recognize these legislators for their outstanding support and leadership this year," said John Collison, OKFB vice president of public policy and media affairs.

Collison said the bills used to score the legislators exemplified Farm Bureau's mission of improving the lives of rural Oklahomans.

"Farm Bureau is a grass roots organization with a strong belief in protecting personal property rights, keeping taxes low and boosting agricultural and rural business," Collison said. 

You can read the names of all the honorees by clicking here.

Drug Therapy Resistance Increasing In BRD Cases

Dave Sparks DVM, Oklahoma State UniversityArea Extension Veterinarian, writes in the latest Cow-Calf Newsletter: 

A survey of records of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) cases at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory showed that drug resistance in Mannheimia hemolytica, one of the primary organisms associated with BRD, increased over the three year period from 2009 to 2011. Researchers found that over that period a high percentage of the organisms recovered from cattle lungs were resistant to several of the drugs typically used to treat that pathogen. Six antimicrobial drugs were tested. Using the parameter of resistance to at least three of the six drugs as a definition of multi-drug resistance they found that 63% of the bacteria were multi-drug resistant in 2011 compared to 46% in 2010 and 42% in 2009. 

Several factors are known to contribute to the development of drug resistant organisms. These include use of antimicrobial drugs when they are not indicated, improper dosing, and failure to follow label directions. Perhaps the greatest factor is discontinuance of the therapy when improvement is seen rather than maintaining drug levels throughout a full recommended course of treatment.   To prevent or delay the development of resistance, always follow closely the label as well as your veterinarian's directions.  

Click here to read more from Dave Sparks.

Another Extension is Not Good Enough- NCBA Says Get Farm Bill Done Now

With the passage of the House version of the 2013 farm bill--without the nutrition title--Kristina Butts, Executive Director for Legislative Affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, says it's time for lawmakers to get the process wrapped up and sent to the President's desk for his signature.  

Butts is my guest on the latest Beef Buzz, and she said the clock is ticking.  The current extension to the old farm bill will expire September 30th.

There are several key provisions in the new bill that Butts says are vitally important to cattle producers.  She says the disaster assistance title and the conservation title are just two of the key provisions livestock producers are counting on to make it through the conference committee and into the final version of the bill.

You can hear my full conversation with Kristina by clicking here.

NCGA President's Award Presented to USDA Secretary Vilsack

National Corn Growers Association President Pam Johnson presented NCGA's President's Award to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The President's Award is given annually at NCGA's Corn Congress meeting in Washington to a leader who has worked to advance issues important to corn growers and agriculture.

"Secretary Vilsack is a perfect recipient for the NCGA President's Award," Johnson said. "He has been a steadfast supporter and advocate for American agriculture and I am proud to call him a friend of corn. During his tenure we have seen him work tirelessly to promote agricultural exports, create a more vibrant rural economy and strengthen the role of farmers."

Vilsack currently serves as the nation's 30th Secretary of Agriculture. As leader of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, he is working hard to strengthen the American agricultural economy, build vibrant rural communities and secure a stronger future for the American middle class.

Read more by clicking here.

Oklahoma Canola Industry Honors Mark Broyles

The canola industry in Oklahoma lost one of its leading lights with the death of Mark Broyles last fall. Broyles saw the potential of canola as a rotational crop to help clean up weed problems in wheat fields early on. As a Canola Extension Specialist with Oklahoma State University, Broyles worked tirelessly to adapt the crop to the state and to help producers be successful in growing it.

At Wednesday's Oklahoma-Kansas Winter Canola Conference in Enid, Broyles was inducted into the Great Plains Canola Association Hall of Fame. Jeff Scott, president of the association presented the award to the family of Mark Broyles.

Dr. Ron Sholar, executive director of the Great Plains Canola Association said it was very fitting to honor Broyles with this award.

"The Great Plains Canola Association Hall of Fame has inducted only two folks ahead of Mark, but it was a unanimous decision by the board and certainly supported by the growers and industry itself here in Oklahoma that no one has done more to create and sustain the canola industry in this region than Mark Broyles. So, it was just such a natural thing to do."

You can read more and listen to Ron Sholar's comments by clicking here.

This N That- Rainfall Totals for the Week Impress and Cattle on Feed Numbers are Released Friday Afternoon

The rain that has fallen since Sunday morning has been a tremendous blessing across a lot of the state- only a few counties in the east and a few in west central and northwestern Oklahoma have missed out.  

Click here for the latest maps for both Oklahoma and for the broader view of the entire south central and southeastern US- Texas has piled up even bigger rainfall totals from this Crazy ivan system.

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On Friday afternoon at 2 PM central time- we will have the next Cattle on Feed set of numbers available for review from USDA. According to Rich Nelson with Allendale- USDA will likely keep cattle on feed numbers under that of a year ago. "June Placements are expected to 10.7% lower than last year. Available feeder supplies are smaller than last year. USDA's feedlot margin computation suggests 26 months in a row of losses. Cash corn in Western Kansas rose from $6.98 per bushel in May to $7.16 in June. Cash cattle prices fell from $125 in May to $121 in June. Cattle placed in June will be marketed from November through February.

"Allendale anticipates a Marketing total 4.7% lower than June of 2012. There was one less weekday in June 2013 than June 2012.

"Total Cattle on Feed as of July 1 will be 4.0% smaller than last year. This would be smaller than the June 1 survey which showed 3.1% fewer cattle."