(upbeat music) - Good morning, Oklahoma.

I'm Kurtis Hair and welcome to "SUNUP."

Well, the kiddos are back in school and those fall months are on the horizon, which means wheat planting time is just around the corner.

Well, "SUNUP's" Elizabeth Hokit caught up with Dr. Amanda Silva, who has advice on wheat planting, as well as sharing some of her data from her recent variety trials.

- We're here now with Dr. Amanda Silva.

So, Amanda, you've had some wheat variety trials going on this past summer.

Talk to us a little bit about what you've been finding with those.

- Sure, yes, we had about 13 locations of variety trials planted around the state, but in total 40 experiments happening in Oklahoma.

And out of those, I would say the most interesting this year was the comparison we have with the standard and intensive management just because those, we get very good observations on the varieties when they receive fungicide and they receive nitrogen.

And in those, farmers can look at our website for Chickasha, Lahoma, Apache, and they can really see, especially for Lahoma, we had a huge increase of up to 40 bushels for when you apply fungicide and when you apply nitrogen.

And of course, those very large responses to intensive management were based on varieties' susceptibility to stripe rust.

So, the most susceptible varieties had more gain with the fungicide application.

Those are one of the trials that we are doing in Oklahoma that is very informative for producers and really highlight the importance for farmers to know what are the disease resistance package of the varieties that they are growing.

- Yeah, people might start thinking about going ahead and planting right now.

Is there any differences in varieties that might help people that are in more of a drought situation versus they've got a lot of rain recently?

Talk a little bit about that.

- I think the most difference there farmers can look is actually the date of planting as, you know, we have some farmers that will try to plant early to get forage production in wheat.

And so they really need to pay attention at the sensitivity of germination in hot soils as those characteristics vary between varieties.

Coleoptile length could be another trait for them to look at.

Another thing that they can be looking at is the ability of the varieties to germinate fast, not only in hot soils, but how quick that variety is out of the gate, especially as we start delaying planting.

So, last year, we had a good fall, so farmers were, in most case, able to plant in time.

Some cases in the state was little bit dry and so planting date was delayed, and in those situations, I would really try to find some varieties that are quicker in germination, especially as we delay planting.

- Yeah, so talk a little bit about the yields of your different variety trials.

- So, yields vary, especially if you were in a very dry condition, but in general I would say it was a little bit better than I expected.

We had very good yields, up to 80 bushels in the trials.

We also had some 40 bushels, even lower than that.

And so it depends.

But some things that farmers can be looking at is really the comparison of management, in how those varieties respond to intensive management.

Also, in El Reno, where we have grain-only and dual-purpose trials in the same field, so they can really learn how those varieties handle being grazed.

So, that's a very good opportunity there.

And we really see a reduction in yield with the grazing, depending on the year, depending on the scenario.

Last year we did, and it was large.

Probably we had some other things happening in our trials, but to have such a large range in reduction in yield, but that varies too.

- So, what about producers that may be just grazing their wheat instead of doing dual-purpose?

What kind of things should they be looking at?

- For those producers, they'll be looking at forage overall.

Now, if they are in a dual-purpose, then they will be looking at forage, but they will also be looking at the ability of the variety to recover the grazing.

So, the canopy removal.

So, that is really important especially, and I mean that in the spring, right?

So, after you remove cattle, so can that variety really build up the canopy fast and well?

And so those are, I would say the recovery is almost like even more important than forage to have in a variety because forage we may manage with seeding rates sometimes.

And so that's one of the traits that I'll be looking at.

- So, lastly, Amanda, I know we've went through a lot of stuff already, but producers may be in a little bit of different situation with the weather this year maybe than they were last year.

What are some recommendations for planting this year that you might have?

- Well, we always like to remind them about controlling volunteer wheat.

That is really important to protect our crop from virus diseases.

And soil testing, knowing what is the fertility of the field they are.

Of course, variety selection is a big one.

And so use the data we provide in our website from the variety trials.

Those are trials that are run by our program and on farmer's fields, so, really realistic for different conditions in Oklahoma, and that could really, really help them to make decisions on a variety to plant.

- All right, thanks, Amanda.

And for more information about those variety trials, just go to sunup.okstate.edu.

- Welcome to the Mesonet Weather Report, I'm Wes Lee.

After a slightly cooler than normal July, August has been a real scorcher.

Early last week, a cool front finally moved in, giving parts of the state a much needed break.

Highs on Tuesday were a pleasant 80s and low 90s in the East.

The problem was that it didn't treat the whole state fairly and stopped before reaching the overheated Southwest.

This is reiterated when looking at the lows on Wednesday morning.

Here you can see the Southwest started the day off about 15 degrees above the Northeast.

Being the hottest part of the state is not uncommon for the Southwest.

This year, you can see how much hotter the West has been versus the East.

Harmon, Greer and Jackson Counties topped the chart with more than 40 days above 100.

The last week or two, they have really been cooking for nine or 10 days in a row above the century point as of midweek.

Forecasts show they should continue that streak at least through this weekend.

To compound that even further is that they are the driest part of the state as well.

This map shows they are about one to two months or more away from the last quarter inch or more rain event.

Here's hoping they get some relief soon.

Now here's Gary showing that drought is getting a little worse each week.

- Thanks, Wes, and good morning, everyone.

Well, it's a good morning everywhere except in Southwest Oklahoma.

Let's take a look at the new drought monitor map and I'll show you what I'm talking about.

Once again, we saw drought expand across Southwest Oklahoma, farther to the east this time, and, you know, when we look at the overall drought picture, we just continue to take one step forward, two steps back.

And now even across South Central and Southeastern Oklahoma, we have expanded moderate drought.

So by and large, drought is still expanding versus retracting across the state.

And we can take a look at the rainfall statistics and that'll show you exactly why.

So we take a look at the Mesonet's consecutive days with less than a quarter inch of rainfall map, and we can see once again parts of South Central, southwestern Oklahoma, you know, some places 46 days without a quarter inch of rainfall.

And you look over there in far Southwest Oklahoma, 79 days, and then, even down in far Southeastern Oklahoma, 29 to 42 days.

So again, just these dry spells continue to add up and they continue to hurt the soil moisture in those areas as well.

Let's take a look at the 60-day rainfall map from the Mesonet.

You know, all you have to do is look at the colors.

When you see those greens and blues down across the southern tier of the state, that's the area that we're really concerned about, where that drought continues to develop.

Other areas of the state, pretty good rainfall amounts, although there are still scattered areas that are a little bit less than others.

But it does show up a little bit better on the departure from normal rainfall map for that same 60-day period.

Again, across the Red River region down in the southern part of the state, you know, we have deficits from two to four inches, close to five inches in some areas, but still, when you're dealing with all that heat down in that region, it just makes those drought areas a little bit worse over time.

Finally, let's take a look at the seasonal drought outlook from the Climate Prediction Center.

This is for August 15th through November 30th, so the next three-month period.

At the end of November 30th, the Climate Prediction Center expects drought to have expanded across Southern Oklahoma, Eastern and Northeastern Oklahoma, and then, once again, across North Central into the panhandle.

So that would certainly not be good news for Oklahoma if that occurs.

With La Nina on the way and possible drier weather on the way, we really do need as much rainfall as we can before we hit that period.

That's it for this time.

We'll see you next time on the Mesonet Weather Report.

(upbeat music) - Hey, it's that time in the show to check in on the livestock markets with our livestock marketing specialist, Dr. Derrell Peel.

So, Derrell, summer's almost over, so how would you assess cattle and beef markets so far?

- You know, I would say cattle and beef markets have really been just kind of marking time through the summer here.

It's been the summer doldrums and so, we've been just kind of flat through the markets.

Now, obviously, there was a big stock market shock a few weeks ago that had a pretty big impact on feeder and live cattle futures and subsequently then on cash markets.

Again, I think sort of taking advantage of the sort of flat markets through the summer, it dropped those cash markets down a little bit, but we're mostly past that, it'll be kind of a slow rebuild out of that as we go forward.

- What about beef production overall?

- You know, beef production is down somewhat this year, but not down as much as we expected it to be.

So coming into the year, we thought beef production would be down another 4.5%, it's only down about 1.5% so far this year, and almost all of that is due to decreased cow slaughter.

So it's really coming on the non-fed beef side.

Fed beef production, steer and heifer slaughters not down all that much, plus the carcass weights have been exceptionally heavy this year.

So fed beef production is actually up on a year-over-year basis.

- So what do you expect with all this as we head into the fall?

- Well, I think coming into the fall, we'll see some additional strength come back in these markets.

I sort of expect boxed beef to start picking up a little bit as we come into the fall.

I think fed cattle markets will probably pick back up a little bit, and so the markets, part of that's just kinda seasonal this time of the year.

But I do think the fundamentals will come back a little bit more strongly, supporting this market as we move forward.

- And again, as the herd starts to get rebuilding, as we've been talking about for the past couple of times we've had you on the show, if that starts to happen, how's that gonna change things?

- Well, when we see heifer retention, that's gonna add significant strength to the market and we're still kinda waiting to see for that as we go forward.

- What about calf markets?

- Well, as we come into the fall, normally, from a seasonal standpoint, we would expect to see calf prices drop through September to a low in October or maybe early November.

I'm not sure that'll happen this year.

Again, these markets are down a little bit from that stock market volatility.

I really expect to see these markets actually gain a little bit of strength going forward.

And there's several factors that will kind of determine maybe how much that happens.

One will be this question of whether or not producers begin holding back heifers.

If they do, that's gonna tighten up supplies this fall.

Here in the Central and Southern Plains, the question of whether we get wheat planted and we have prospects for wheat grazing, that'll put a lot of stocker demand if those prospects develop.

And so that would tend to support calf prices.

So I really expect to see the highest prices of the year, probably in the fourth quarter of the year for calves.

Awesome, well, we look to check back in with you in a couple weeks, Derrell.

All right, Derrell Peel, livestock marketing specialist here at Oklahoma State University.

- [Narrator] Big news this past week for the Wheat Improvement Program at OSU in the form of $6 million in gifts to help pay for new greenhouses.

Current facilities were built in the '50s and '60s and do not meet the needs of today's scientists.

Oklahoma Grains Incorporated has pledged 5 million and the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, $1 million, to build the $10 million Agronomy Discovery Center at the Agronomy Farm on the perimeter of campus in Stillwater.

OSU scientists have commercialized 36 new varieties in the past 25 years.

OSU wheat is now planted on seven out of 10 acres in the state.

- Well, locking a gate might seem easy, but as Dr. Dave Lalman explains, there's a lot more to it than you think.

(bright music) - You ever get a call in the middle of the night, and the highway patrol or your neighbor tells you that your cow or horse are out in the middle of the highway?

Not a good call to get.

So, let's talk just a second about how to latch a gate.

And so this is an issue that we deal with a lot here at the university with training students that don't have much experience with this, and I'd be interested to hear your on how to latch a gate.

But if we've got a metal gate and a chain mechanism, and you latch the gate like this, you can see that the tail is available for the animal to access.

And especially in confined animals, horses, cattle, what have you, they like to play with the end of that chain.

And next thing you know, they've got it unlatched.

Instead, all you have to do is take the chain under the gate latch, flip it over toward you, away from the animals, and it's very difficult for them to get that unlatched.

That's my tip on how to latch a gate.

(bright upbeat music) - Good morning, Oklahoma, and welcome to "Cow-Calf Corner."

This week's topic, we get into some issues that are potentially a hidden defect in beef carcasses, particularly from that of bulls or cull cows, and some information that we get from our most recent National Beef Quality Audit.

We started doing these national audits back in the early '90s, and there's been a great success story for our industry that a lot of things that were identified there 30 to 35 years ago with regard to the consistency of beef, the product, the quality of it, fewer injection site blemishes from giving vaccinations or antibiotics in the wrong spot.

We've made a tremendous amount of improvement in a lot of ways based on what we've learned every few years of doing these audits.

One of the things that showed up in the early '90s was foreign objects in beef carcasses.

And there are a lot of different things that may end up in a beef carcass, but the one we get into in more detail today is a result of people actually working cattle with shotguns.

It's the incidents of buckshot or birdshot that we find in those beef carcasses.

We saw this at a fairly high level, 30, 35 years ago, and our 2022 audit indicates that we're still dealing with this at a fairly high level.

What is the issue to having birdshot in a beef carcass?

- Well, virtually all the packers and further processors indicate that they are finding this at a much higher level than any other kind of foreign object that might end up in a beef carcass.

And to get to the bottom line, the issue is people that are working cattle and using shotguns.

And so we're gonna just say, that is inappropriate, it's inhumane, and no matter how frustrated you may get in trying to round up herd bulls or a set of waspy cows, using shotguns to work 'em is not an acceptable practice, whether it's accidental or on purpose.

That birdshot does not bounce off and go away.

It ends up in a carcass and leads to a lotta concern.

It's not only the economic loss in the processing industry.

It is the potential that somebody chips a tooth eating a burger patty that's made out of it.

It decreases consumer confidence in our product as a result of this.

And so we need to share the word, whether it's producer meetings, word of mouth, or through education.

We need to share the word that we don't (laughing) need to be using shotguns when working cattle, because this is a blemish on our industry.

And for all the positives that have came out of our National Beef Quality Audits over the years, this is one that we are still seeing a problem with that we as an industry need to address.

Hope this helps.

Share the word and thanks for being with us on Cow-Calf Corner.

(light country music) - [Narrator] Did you know OSU Extension supports Oklahoma farmers and ranchers with mental health resources and programming?

If you or anyone you know is experiencing mental health challenges, call the Comprehensive Crisis Response Lifeline at 988 or go online to the OSU Extension website dealing with farm stress.

For more information about local resources, suicide prevention, finances, or disaster recovery, just go to sunup.okstate.edu.

(light country music continues) - You may have heard about a recall for ready-to-eat meat products manufactured by the Boar's Head Provision Company due to possible listeria contamination.

So today, I thought I'd share a little bit of info about what listeria is and some steps that you can take at home to help reduce the chance of contracting foodborne illness.

Listeria monocytogenes is a species of disease-causing bacteria that can be found in animals, soil, water, decaying vegetation, and many other environments.

It is also capable of surviving and growing at refrigeration temperatures.

When people eat contaminated food with Listeria monocytogenes, they may develop a disease known as listeriosis.

Mild cases of listeriosis may include symptoms such as: fever, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

More severe forms of listeriosis may include symptoms such as: loss of balance, confusion, and convulsions.

Listeriosis can even be fatal to at-risk groups, such as pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.

There have been many different foods associated with outbreaks of listeriosis in the US.

These include: deli meats, unpasteurized milk and cheese, ice cream, hot dogs, raw or smoked fish and other seafood, raw or undercooked poultry, raw or processed vegetables, and raw or processed fruit.

Symptoms of listeriosis may develop anywhere from a few hours up to three days after eating contaminated food.

So the FDA suggests the following steps to help reduce the chance of contracting a foodborne illness at home.

Number one: set refrigerator temperatures to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or four degrees Celsius and freezer temperatures to zero degrees Fahrenheit or minus 18 degrees Celsius.

Number two: wash and sanitize any surfaces or utensils that may have come in contact with raw food.

(water sloshing) Number three: immediately wipe up spills that occur inside refrigerators and clean the inside of refrigerators regularly.

Number four: wash hands with warm soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food.

(water sloshing) And finally, number five: when feeding pets, be careful to avoid cross-contamination.

Make sure to wash food containers that pets have eaten from as soon as they've finished.

Additionally, owners should wash their hands after feeding pets.

(water sloshing) So just a little bit of info about foodborne illness.

For more information, please visit sunup.okstate.edu or food.okstate.edu.

(light country music) - Finally today, if you're involved or would like to join the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network, program coordinator Paul Vining has some updates for ya.

- I'm Paul Vining.

I coordinate the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network, OQBN, here at OSU.

And I just wanted to bring a brief update about the program and talk a little bit about, first, what it is and then our upcoming sale dates for this fall and then following spring.

The Oklahoma Quality Beef Network is a partnership with the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association.

It's a beef calf preconditioning program, and we have a few requirements for calves to enter the program, and then we have some sanctioned special sales that the calves can participate in.

The goal of the OQBN program is to provide value-added marketing opportunities for beef calf producers.

So our requirements to participate in OQBN are: the calves must be weaned for at least 45 days, bull calves must be castrated, horned calves must be dehorned, all prior to the sale.

- We require two rounds of respiratory vaccination and two rounds of vaccination for Blackleg.

We also require BQA certification, and we provide third-party verification.

BQA certification can be completed online, or often there's a training in your area.

If you have any questions or need any help with that BQA certification, just give me a call and we can make sure and work with that.

So don't let that hold you up.

If you're interested in participating in a OQBN sale, the easiest way to do so is to navigate to our webpage.

Just Google OQBN, and then our webpage should pop up.

It'll probably be linked in this video as well.

And navigate to our ear tag order form and then place your ear tag order.

Ear tags are $2.50 a piece.

Once the tags are mailed to you, we will actually have a third-party verification via an extension educator.

The third-party verification, I'll take care of that.

I'll contact a extension educator in your area, and they'll contact you, set up a date to come out, and verify those calves, just verify that they've had all the right vaccinations, that they've got the correct ear tags in that you've ordered, and they should be good to go.

For this year, we'll be offering 12 special sanctioned sales at different sale locations around the state.

So we have several different locations, El Reno, McAlester, Blackwell, Perkins, and for this year, we're actually gonna have an online sale in partnership with Big Iron Auctions.

So we're gonna try something a little bit new if you're interested in that.

Just prior to the sale date, we'll be sure and contact you and provide any updated information if there's any weather-related delays or anything like that.

And we'll make sure that you're set to go and that you have all the instruction that you need prior to delivering your calves before sale day.

If you have any questions, you can contact your local extension office and they should be able to provide any detail.

My information's online, just give me a call any time, and we'll be glad to get you set up.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Are weeds wreaking havoc in your pond this summer?

Kay County extension is hosting a pond management training with Dr. Marley Beem, OSU Extension Natural Resource Specialist.

Come learn how to effectively manage your pond this summer, and be sure to bring any problem weeds for identification and specific management strategies.

The event is from six to 8:00 PM this Wednesday, August 28th at the Pioneer Technology Center in Ponca City.

For more information, go to sunup.okstate.edu.

(upbeat music continues) - Well that about wraps it up for us today.

Now remember, if you saw something on the show you'd like, you can always just visit our website or follow us on YouTube and social media.

I'm Curtis Hare, and remember, Oklahoma agriculture, it starts at sunup.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (soft music)