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The Kingfisher FFA Chapter returned to the final four in the Ag Issues Contest for the second year in a row this week here in Louisville at the 86th Annual FFA Convention and Expo.  The topic that the chapter chose this year is a hot one right now in and around Piedmont and Okarche- the right of landowners outside of the city limits of a community to contract with the wind energy industry and place windmills on their land.  

Team members included Micah Mueggenbor, Colton Smith, Sarah Gruntmier, Sydnee Gerkin, Jaryn Frey, Lane Holt and Brayden Foley.  We watched their presentation and it was a fair and balanced presentation- they handled their questions from the judges well and now the team waits- this is one of several team events that placings will be announced on Saturday. 

Speaking of Kingfisher- they also have a Parliamentary Procedure team- and they advanced to the Semi Finals yesterday afternoon- Lori Coats was a busy lady yesterday.

We wait on word from the Finals of the National Prepared Public Speaking contest- Tyler Schnaithman did a great job in representing Oklahoma on Thursday morning in the Final Four- we talked with him afterwards and also have a link to a copy of the speech he presented- click here to check that out.  As I mentioned in the story in the Blue-Green Gazette- if Tyler is declared the National Champion- that would be the fifth Public Speaking winner in as many years for Oklahoma FFA!

Honorary awards are handed out this morning.  That includes the Honorary American Degree being given to Scott and Melissa Eisenhauer, Kelly Barnes, Dr. Rob Terry and Jami Longacre.  The National VIP Award will be given to Dr. Dwight Stoddard from Stillwater.

This afternoon- the highlight will be the naming of more than 40 National winners in the Proficiency Awards- Oklahoma is third in the country in the number of Profiency award finalists- with 20 and we will be posting the winners as they are called- with stories to go upo on the Blue Green Gazette this afternoon and evening.

Finally- a couple of links for you- follow us on Twitter as we will be posting as events happen today here in Louisville- click here.

Stories are being posted on the Blue Green Gazette ongoing- click here. 

And- we are posting pictures as fast as our very slow internet will allow- click here for the Flickr set of pictures from the Nattional FFA Convention- these include pictures which allow you to see the convention from the point of view of some of our state officers.  Yesterday- Allison Christian and Bray Haven were my photographers of the day.

Postponed October Cattle on Feed Numbers Arrive- 8% Fewer on Feed 

The USDA made it- but just barely- in getting the postponed Cattle on Feed report for October released during the month of October. The Federal Government slowdown of earlier in the month caused the report not to be released on it's scheduled date- but USDA got the data from October first out on the final day of the month. Tom Leffler talked with RON's Jim Apel and his comments are the basis of today's Beef Buzz.

On feed totals are eight percent under that of October first of a year ago- placements were one percent up from 2012 while the marketings were a little higher than expected at six percent above September of last year.

Click here for more on the numbers and how Tom Leffler sees them as he looks under the hood at the data.

U.S. Cattlemen's Association Opposes Congressional Intervention In COOL

The United States Cattlemen's Association (USCA) joined the National Farmers Union (NFU), the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) in a joint letter sent to House and Senate Farm Bill conferees this week voicing strong support for U.S. country of origin labeling (COOL) and opposing any attempt to make modifications through the farm bill to the underlying COOL law or to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations which became final just a few months ago.

COOL opponents recently sent a letter to House and Senate Farm Bill conferees urging them to utilize COOL placeholder language in the House version of the farm bill as a mechanism to drastically change the law. The letter specifically references the need to insert language in the farm bill that will halt all current action regarding the program and negate the actions currently underway at the World Trade Organization (WTO).   

"USCA and its allies oppose any efforts to derail COOL," state Jon Wooster, USCA President. "The statutory process for addressing the prior WTO Appellate Body decision was followed by USDA, including consultations with Congress. The revised regulation addressed the core issues raised by the WTO decision following additional extensive comments by parties, including thousands of parties supporting the improved information that the revised regulations require. Certain groups have challenged the regulations in court and, to date, have not established any right to a delay in the implementation of the regulation."

Click here to read more.

 

Rain System Proves Disappointing to Some Parts of Oklahoma

The big storm system that promised to dump 3-5 inches of rain on Oklahoma has only dumped that much in a few areas, says Associate State Climatologist Gary McManus.

The 3-5 inch amounts were confined to a narrow band from near Okemah up through southern Delaware County. But, every single Mesonet site received a bit of rainfall except for Erick down in Beckham County. Altus received nearly an inch with a 0.92 reading, bringing their total for the month up to a whopping 1.4 inches.

The statewide average for October, which is nearly finished save for those few showers left rotating around the upper-level low as it pulls off to the northeast, is now up to 3.13 inches, only a bit below normal with a deficit of 0.26 inches. Oddly enough, that's the 47th wettest October since 1895. And for a non-oddity, western Oklahoma once again ended up on the dry side from less than 20% to 80% of normal and eastern Oklahoma had the surplus from 120%-180% of normal. 

You can read more of this story and take a look at the latest Drought Monitor map by clicking here. 

Are You Getting Your Money's Worth When it Come to Vaccines?

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

Do you suffer from sticker shock when you order or pick up the vaccines for your herd health program? Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to lower these costs without putting your animals' health at risk, but you can do some things to ensure that you are getting your money's worth of protection.

The first thing to consider is that not all animals are created equal when it comes to their ability to mount an immune response. It would be nice if animals had a gauge, like a fuel gauge, that would read their level of immunity following vaccination so you could tell who was protected and who wasn't. The fact is you can't tell by looking so you must optimize your management to maximize the immune response. Animals that are on a poor plane of nutrition, especially for protein, copper, and zinc, cannot respond well to the vaccines you use. Very young and very old animals cannot respond strongly. Animals that are suffering from other health problems or that are convalescing are not able to respond well to your vaccination program. Stressed animals are limited in their ability to respond immunologically, so letting hauled or shipped cattle rest for several days before vaccinating and handling cattle quietly to minimize stress will pay big dividends when it comes to response to your vaccines.

You can read more of this story by clicking here.

Supply and Demand Report Could Move Markets Up or Down, Kim Anderson Says

Futures market traders are waiting for next week's release of the USDA supply and demand estimates. Oklahoma State University Extension Grain Marketing Specialist Kim Anderson takes a look at the report's potential impact in his preview of this week's SUNUP program.

"I think the market is just sitting back and waiting. There has been a lot of concern about what's going to be in that report.   Probably not many changes in U.S. wheat. I think the market's expecting world wheat production probably to decline 100 to 200 million bushels. The big concern is with corn and soybeans. The early estimates are that we're going to have higher corn yields and higher soybean yields and probably lower corn acres and soybean acres and the market's just, from reading between the lines, hasn't just figured out how that will wash out when that report is released.

"It's possible we could have a big move down. It's possible we could have a big move up. It's possible it could be like these other reports of the exports that came out and it didn't matter much what the market expected-there was no change in price. The market just kind of smiled it off. That could happen on the 8th, but there's a lot of uncertainty as we come into the 8th." 

Click here to listen to Kim Anderson's analysis and to find the full rundown of this week's SUNUP program.

American Ethanol to be Showcased in the Lone Star State by NASCAR

American Ethanol will be front-and-center at the Texas NASCAR race this weekend as spokesman Austin Dillon closes in on a championship and ethanol supporters from three states journey to the Lone Star State to educate and interact with fans about ethanol.

Dillon is known for his signature cowboy hat, but he wouldn't mind trading in his hat for a new one at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday. Because what else would they give you as a trophy in Texas except a cowboy hat and a boot trophy? Dillon, who has never finished outside the Top 10 at Texas Motor Speedway in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition, currently leads the series standings by eight points over Sam Hornish Jr. As always, he will proudly display the American Ethanol logo on the side of his car.

Corn farmers from Texas, Minnesota and North Dakota are funding the weekend-long event in part with their investment of checkoff dollars. They will also be on hand to distribute American Ethanol green starter flags throughout the campgrounds. More than 2,500 flags will be distributed over the course of the weekend and will be seen flying high over camp sites in the track infield and surrounding the track. 

Click here to read more.