Forty Five State Farm Bureaus Unite- Donate $100,000 to Build Storm Shelters in Oklahoma Schools  

In the aftermath of two EF-5 tornadoes that spun across central Oklahoma this past May, the Oklahoma Farming and Ranching Foundation coordinated the giving of monies by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau along with Farm Bureaus in 44 other states- pulling together $100,000 toward building storm shelters in Oklahoma schools. The donation was announced Wednesday at a news conference at the state capitol.

"The Oklahoma Farming and Ranching Foundation is going to donate $100,000 to Shelter Oklahoma Schools. It's an exciting day because these dollars are donated from the toil of the hands of farmers and ranchers all across this nation," said Farming and Ranching Foundation President Jeremy Rich.

"The Oklahoma Farm Bureau and Farm Bureaus all across this nation have been a part of this effort. Farmers and ranchers in 45 states have donated the dollars that we're able to present today."

Mike Spradling, president of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau said, "When we have a disaster or a need in a certain state, who first steps up? It's rural Oklahoma and from all across the nation as well. And that's exactly what happened. Forty-five of those states, and a lot of those states were not only states, but individuals, several individuals in each of those states, contributing their own personal dollars to be certain that when there was a state in need, certainly, they came to our rescue."

"We want to focus this $100,000 on rural schools in the state of Oklahoma," said Representative Mark McBride. He initiated the Shelter Oklahoma Schools initiative with several other lawmakers. "It's awesome that different states have chipped in to help us on this."

Click here to read more and to hear the announcement as made by Foundation President Jeremy Rich.  

USDA Inspectors in Poultry Plants Should Focus More on Food Safety Activities: GAO Report 

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued its report about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) proposal to modernize poultry inspection and the pilot program the proposal is based on, known as the HACCP-based Inspection Models Project (HIMP).

"The National Chicken Council (NCC) agrees with GAO's conclusions that strengths of the modernized poultry inspection system include giving plants responsibility and flexibility for ensuring food safety and quality and allowing USDA inspectors to focus more on food safety activities," said Ashley Peterson, Ph.D., NCC vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs.

"This proposal is about making food safer - period," Peterson said. "In an effort to continue our progress towards reducing foodborne illnesses, we believe that the poultry inspection system should be modernized to transition to a model that is more science and risk-based, from one that was implemented in 1957."

You can read more of this story on our website by clicking here. 

Farmers Report Record Drop in Soybean Yields

US farmers are reporting a lower nationwide bean yield. USDA estimated this year's crop at 42.6 bushels per acre in August. Allendale's Nationwide Producer Survey reveals a yield of 39.0 bushels per acre.

This represents the largest drop from USDA's August estimates to Allendale's Yield Survey in its 24 year history.

The Allendale Inc. Nationwide Producer Yield Survey suggests a projected US corn crop of 13.676 billion bushels and a soybean crop of 2.980 billion bushels. This estimate was based on producer calculated yields in 34 states. It was conducted from August 19-30.

Click here for more results from that survey.

Forrest Roberts: Proud of NCBA's Policies and Fiscal Responsibility

Forrest Roberts, chief executive officer of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, wears two hats: a policy hat and a Checkoff hat. That policy hat means that the organization is going to be political at times, make political statements and come out in favor of policy. But when it comes to the Checkoff hat, that particular hat means no lobbying allowed. It means working on improving demand for beef products as a contractor and overseer of state beef councils.

Roberts says it is a balancing act, but it is one he is very successful at doing.

"I am incredibly proud to represent this organization at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. I am incredibly confident that we have the appropriate compliance firewalls in place to be able to be an organization that focuses not around political agendas, but focuses around the outcomes that this industry absolutely needs us to be delivering. And those outcomes sometimes have a demand component and sometimes those outcomes have a policy component. But at the end of the day, the processes that we have put in place to look at how we manage dollars and resources that come to us rather it be through being a proud contractor to the Beef Checkoff program or from our members' resources that they invest in us, they expect us to be very fiscally responsible.

"I can tell you with complete confidence that we are doing the right things right and we are investing those funds in the right way."

Forrest joins me on today's Beef Buzz.  Click here to listen to our conversation or to read more of this story. 

Glenn Selk Asks, 'Why Not Be Pro-active with Marketing Strategy?'

Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist, writes in the latest Cow-Calf newsletter:

How many times have you heard it? "I raise good cattle, but I just take them to town and I take what they give me!" Many Oklahoma commercial cow calf ranchers do a great job of selecting, feeding, caring for, and taking to market top quality cattle, yet do very little, if anything, about promoting the products they sell. Perhaps most of us are not boastful by nature and hope that the quality of the calves we raise will speak for themselves. Nonetheless, doesn't it make sense that we would do everything in our power to assure that our calves bring top dollar at market time?

Several years ago I read of a commercial cow calf operator that "promotes" his calves. He is confident that his cattle are genetically sound and will perform well for the stocker operator or feedlot that purchases his calves. He pre-conditions the calves. They are properly vaccinated and weaned 45 days before he takes them to market. These management practices all have value to a potential buyer. Therefore, he makes certain that as many buyers as possible know when and where these calves will be offered for sale.

Click here to read more from Glenn Selk.     

K-State Study Shows Wheat Breeding Programs Increased Yields by 26 Percent over 26-Year Period

Any producer will tell you, growing a healthy, high-yielding wheat crop takes skill and hard work. Quality drought-tolerant varieties that are resistant to pests and disease are important. And cooperation from Mother Nature in terms of temperature and precipitation doesn't hurt, either.

To quantify the impact of genetic improvement in wheat, disease and climate change over a 26-year period, a team of researchers at Kansas State University examined wheat variety yield data from Kansas performance tests, along with location-specific weather and disease data.

Their results showed that from 1985 through 2011, wheat breeding programs boosted average wheat yields by 13 bushels per acre, or 0.51 bushel each year, for a total increase of 26 percent.

Simulations also found that a 1 degree Celsius increase (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in projected mean temperature was found to decrease wheat yields by 10.64 bushels per acre or nearly 21 percent.

You can read more of this story by clicking here.