(upbeat music) - Hello everyone and welcome to "Sunup."

I'm Lyndall Stout.

We begin with a story unlike any other we've ever experienced, about a young man with some very big ideas and an even bigger heart.

"Sunup's" Curtis Hare introduces us to the one and only Reed Marcum.

- [Reporter] Just one more errand.

Well, for today.

Tomorrow's agenda for college freshman, Reed Marcum, will undoubtedly be full of something.

Whether it's a day full of this and thats for his job at the Oklahoma State 4-H office or hours of sitting in various classrooms or studying or maybe he'll get lucky and he'll draw a day where he gets to experience all of that and more.

Basically, downtime or really just anytime isn't something Reed has a lot of these days.

- Definitely overwhelming, challenging.

I have ADHD, anxiety.

I've had it for a long time and kinda being overwhelmed from moving to about 30, maybe 15 kids in a class to almost 100 in one of my classes up here.

- [Reporter] That's the funny thing about college.

It can take all your anxieties and insecurities and turn the dial on them up just a few notches.

But, nothin' new for those in this stage of life, and it's nothin' new for them to be quite guarded of how they're actually feeling.

That's why it's never not a good idea to rely on one sure fire method to get to the bottom of it.

A mother's intuition.

- Structure is what he's really struggling with.

He's used to a certain schedule at a certain time, those kinda things.

But, the way he manages things though, he is really good at it.

- [Reporter] What's been hard is he has officially entered the reality of moving on from something that's played a massive role in his life since the 5th grade, 4-H. - I joined mainly to find new friends and people that were like me, 'cause anxiety and ADHD ain't gonna stop me from coming outta my shell and going to meet new people.

- He wanted to be in a speech contest.

He had practiced for that and then he's like, I'm not doing it.

- [Reporter] But, one person who would go on to have an immense impact on Reed's life had other ideas.

His 4-H leader, Donna Curry, just outright refused to give Reed an easy out.

- She said, "Reed, you're gonna do this 4-H speech contest, "you're gonna do this 'cause you can do this."

No you know, they'll make fun of me and I'm not gonna do it.

Well she got him to do it and he won first place.

- [Reporter] To say Reed had a story 4-H career would be putting it mildly.

With the help and support from his family, especially his older brother Miles, he championed numerous projects in Pittsburg County winning several awards, including the 2024 National Youth in Action Award.

- The national award was my riding into the sunset.

I think that's the biggest honor anyone can receive in 4-H. - [Reporter] Now you're probably thinkin' we're at the end of this story and I'll say something poetic to sum up Reed's journey through 4-H before fading to black.

But the thing with Reed's story, well, let's just say there's a lot more ice under the tip of that burg, a lot more.

Many 4-H projects are aimed to help better their communities, but with Reed and his projects it's a little different.

You see, he has this desire to help people.

No not desire, a need, a deep, yearning need to help those who need it.

- Merry Christmas.

My name is Reed Marcum.

One of the very first things that I did was a homeless bag giveaway.

And I actually wanted to try and do something to help people get back on their feet.

And so I filled about 50 paper sacks full of all kinds of things, hiking materials, food, water.

- [Reporter] But, scrolling through Facebook one day Reed stumbled across a story that would inspire his next project.

- [Angie] Hudson Campbel was a little boy.

He had pediatric cancer.

We didn't know Hudson or his family.

- [Reed] But, to see him smile and his smile that could light up a dark room, it gave you hope.

- [Angie] So we were keepin' up with Hudson and everything and Hudson passed in 2018.

And he said, "Mom, I wanna do somethin' "for Hudson's family."

- [Reporter] So Reed started the Hudson Strong Silent Auction, raising over $7000 for Hudson's family.

- And then the second year he found out about a little girl, Kenna Mattcoda.

- [Reporter] Nine year old, Kenna Mattcoda, was born with a rare heart condition, and like Hudson, Reed didn't know her.

- And so he asked the Campbel's if he could do the auction again and split the cost so she could go on a Disney cruise.

- [Reporter] Unfortunately COVID hit and a Disney cruise was not a possibility, but Reed is Reed and a global pandemic wasn't gonna stop him from getting Kenna the princess party she deserved.

(cheering and clapping) Even taking the honors of donning the Mickey Mouse costume.

Today Reed's annual silent auction has raised a little over $180,000 to help those in need.

But, it would soon be Reed and his family who would need help.

- Reed lost his only sibling.

- [Reporter] Miles, who fully supported and actively encouraged Reed with his projects passed away in the Army.

- My brother played a huge part in my life.

He was one of the very first people I looked up to.

We were half brothers, but that didn't make us any less of brothers.

- [Reporter] Just a few short months later, another tragic blow.

- [Angie] He lost Ms. Donna Curry to a brain aneurism.

- It was devastating.

Donna was, she was family.

- [Reporter] Greg Owen is the OSU Extension 4-H educator in Pittsburg County and has worked closely with Reed throughout his tenure with the program.

He says losing Ms. Curry effected the entire community.

- [Curtis] Especially Reed.

- One of the things that he's really known for in his 4-H career is making these videos about his service projects.

Well, I didn't know this, that was her idea.

- She was my second mom.

She was the person that pushed me to join 4-H.

It's been a different past few years.

- [Curtis] But again, Reed is Reed.

He had two goals after that awful year, help people, and keep pushing forward.

For Reed's mom, that was clear, not even two weeks after Miles passed.

- The toy giveaway was about to happen.

And so we were like, "Reed, we don't have to do the toy giveaway."

"Yes we do, yes we do, we have to do this."

- [Curtis] The toy giveaway, the project that means the most to Reed.

Since 2016, Reed's Christmas toy giveaway has provided over 53,000 gifts for children.

A big number, but a number that is definitely gonna get bigger after today.

- Awesome, dude.

Merry Christmas, y'all.

- [Curtis] This year's event is by far the biggest yet.

They needed 45 extra volunteers just to handle traffic.

For those helping Reed today, the experience is simply amazing.

- For some, this might be the only gift they get, and to see these cars come through here and see the smiles on their faces, it really means a lot to us and to these other people that are helping.

- Knowing that we're just sharing joy and giving joy back to these kids who may otherwise not get that opportunity.

- [Curtis] It means a lot, but especially for these two families.

Michael and Kelly Campbell are the parents of Hudson, and Mitch and Alana Mattioda are Kenna's parents.

They all say Reed was and is truly their saving grace.

- He was an answer to our prayers, because we were grieving the loss of Hudson and he gave us a way to give back by honoring his memory.

He is an amazing kid.

- For Reed, the thousands of hedge cover pathways one can take through life lay right in front of him, but whichever one he takes will always lead him right back here to the toy giveaway, now dedicated to the memories of those who are gone.

Hudson, Kenna, Ms. Curry, and of course Miles.

- Hey, there's a good chance we won't be remembered a hundred years from now.

They won't know we existed, but if we make an impact on the planet and on our nation, that can be remembered.

They'll remember what you did.

- [Curtis] Keep pushing forward.

In Pittsburgh County, I'm Curtis Hare.

- We're happy to report Reed gave away 10,000 toys at that toy drive you just saw.

Add to that 30,000 book bags he's given away, and the nearly $200,000 raised for pediatric cancer.

That's what makes him a National Youth in Action Award winner for 4-H. Congratulations, Reed.

(upbeat music) - Good morning, everyone.

Wesley is off this week, so you have me flying solo.

We're gonna take a look back at the year 2023 thus far since this is our last Mesonet weather segment before the end of the year.

And we're also gonna take a look at what we're currently seeing with the drought.

So let's get right to that new drought monitor map.

Well, it's got some bad news in it.

We do see an expansion of the abnormally dry conditions.

That's the yellow on the map.

So we saw quite a bit out in the panhandle, quite a bit up in northeast Oklahoma, a little bit up in central and northwestern, Oklahoma.

But we did also have a little splotch of moderate drought up in northeast Oklahoma as well.

So unfortunately we did see that increase in drought.

However, with the rain falling, as I am recording this out in western Oklahoma, the rain falling, we should see some of this be improved as we get to the next week or two.

So that's the good news.

The bad news is for northeast Oklahoma, I'm afraid that drought and dry spell will continue.

Let's talk about that dry spell.

Let's look at the consecutive days with less than a quarter inch of rainfall.

From the Oklahoma, Mesonet, we can see out in the panhandle region, up to 71 days without a single day with a quarter of rain falling.

For much of the rest of the state up to about two weeks down in southwest Oklahoma, about 44, 45 days.

So a lot of this out in across the western third of the state will get erased, I think, maybe a little bit farther to the east, but it's gonna diminish quite rapidly.

How about we take a look back at the year thus far in rainfall and again, the totals across the western part of the state will increase from this map, but at least through December 13th, we did see, less than 20 inches out across much of the southwestern part of the state and out in the western panhandle.

It does increase as we normally expect as we get into central Oklahoma.

But then we get up into the forties and fifties, even as much as close to 64 inches down in Mccurtain County and far southeast Oklahoma.

So the colors look fine on this year to date rainfall map, but when you look at the departure from normal map, then things don't look so rosy.

We get up in the far north, central Oklahoma up into northeast Oklahoma.

We have deficits since January 1st, up to a foot even a little bit more at 12.5 inches in some cases, and down across southwestern and south central Oklahoma.

- [Reporter] Deficits of about 5 to 10 inches.

Although, again, I do think these deficits in Southwest Oklahoma be reduced after this current rainfall.

So probably good news for Southwest Oklahoma, and it doesn't look like great news for Northeast Oklahoma at this time.

How about temperatures?

Well, these are the statewide average temperatures as measured by the Mesonet.

We go from January 1st through the current period.

Normally, we see this type of pattern, lots of ups and downs.

One of the biggest features we saw was the cooler-than-normal temperatures through much of the summer, from June through about the first half of July.

But then you can see when we get into the second half of July and then through much of the rest of the year, very large fingers upwards showing those above normal temperatures.

Very few of those downward parts of the graph showing below normal temperatures.

So the second half of the year has been unusually warm, and that's exacerbated some of those drought conditions.

Well, the outlook shows, at least through the period right after Christmas, from the Climate prediction Center, we see increased odds for above normal temperatures.

So it looks like those warmer-than-normal conditions will continue.

Not necessarily hot, but for this time of the year, above normal, that could be high 50s, low 60s even, which would be above normal for this time of the year.

And for the precipitation, it does look like we might get in a little more, more moisture in here as we get later into the December and then closer to the new year.

So hopefully, that could hit some of those areas that miss the rainfall this time around.

So 2023 had just what we expect here in Oklahoma.

We can't expect anything but some pretty crazy weather.

Let's hope for some good moisture to end the year and get some of this drought outta here.

That's it for this time.

We'll see you next time on the Mesonet weather report.

- So today, we're gonna be talking about alternative forms of heating.

Here in Oklahoma, we've seen some of the electricity and natural gas prices come up in the past few weeks.

And so some folks are looking at using wood for heating.

And so there's a couple of different ways to do that.

One is the traditional fireplace, and the other is the wood stove.

The fireplace is essentially a structure.

So it's built into a wall and usually has quite a bit of masonry and things like that.

So to install one of these in a retrofit in a home would be very expensive, probably, easily 20 to 30, to $40,000.

The other thing is that it's quite often open to the rooms that it's trying to heat.

So that is a fireplace hazard.

The other issue with the fireplace is that we can get something called back drafting.

For instance, in my home, I've got a fireplace.

And so if I get the fireplace going and then the heater, for instance, comes on, or if I try to turn on the clothes dryer or one of the bathroom vents comes on, I'll actually start to backdraft smoke into the house.

Now on the other hand, you can have a wood stove, which is not a structure.

It's actually an appliance.

And one of the main advantages of the wood stove is that it's very efficient.

EPA estimates start at about 70% efficiency versus about 15 to 20 for the fireplace.

So your dollars for wood is going to go a lot further.

And then, because it's converting more of that into radiant energy, less pollution.

So less smoke, things like that.

And again, it can be placed in a variety of areas.

Now, because it stands away from the wall and it, itself, being an appliance, is usually made of metal.

So it has metal sides on it, and that is radiating heat as well.

And so you can actually heat up a small house like mine.

You could actually drive me outta the house with that wood stove.

It would just get that warm.

Maybe a half to a third of the cost in wood versus a fireplace.

(upbeat music) - I'm Kim Anderson, and this is tailgate talk on "Market Monitor."

And let me tell you about a farmer from a small town.

Now, this person was raised on a farm here in Oklahoma in the mid 60s, came to Oklahoma State University.

They bought some used machinery and rented 160 acres of crop land.

Now, that small town farmer harvests crops from over 11,000 acres.

Let me tell you what it takes to be a farmer.

You gotta manage land, labor, and capital.

The operating loan on that farm is probably over $3 million a year.

Millions of dollars of equipment must be purchased and rent.

But let's talk about the land.

All land is not created equal.

Each parcel land, it has the productivity for a different crop.

And so the farmers gotta select the crops that matches the productivity of that land.

They've got to maintain the fertility of the land.

They gotta select tillage practices that will keep that land in production for a long time.

They've got to fight Mother Nature.

They've got the storms.

They've got insects.

They've got weeds.

They've got diseases.

They've got funguses.

- They've got to have knowledge about all of those topics and know how to manage 'em and to produce a quality product that the market wants.

The knowledge and management ability of a farmer just boggles my mind.

Farmers feed and clothe people in Oklahoma, in the United States and around the world.

The economies in the US and around the world depend on farmers and ranchers and agriculture to feed and clothe us, and I'm glad to know small town farmers.

I'll see you next week on "SUNUP Market Monitor".

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To take part, just scan this QR code.

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

I'm Mark Johnson, and this week's topic follows up our most recent topic.

We're talking about ways to improve reproductive efficiency in our cow-calf operation.

Last week, we addressed how significant that percent calf crop weaned is relative just to the sheer weaning weight of calves.

And so, how do we go about improving that?

Well, first, let's address it from a genetic standpoint, and we know that reproductive traits are low inheritability.

The upside to that is that they respond in a really favorable way to heterosis, and the genetic component of everything, all traits that we measure in beef cattle production, can be split into two components.

There is the additive genetic component, the impact of individual genes, and then there's the gene combination value in the way the genes pair up based on the mating of sire and dam.

So one of the things, and probably the first thing we can do, to improve reproductive efficiency and percent calf crop weaned is to consider a crossbreeding program where we've got a crossbred cow, so that we're capitalizing on that maternal heterosis on the bottom side of the pedigree because the crossbred cow holds an advantage in reproductive fitness over a purebred cow.

Now, that's not to say that selection for additive genetic merit in the breeds that we decide to incorporate into making that crossbred cow, and in particular the sires we select within those breeds, that we shouldn't pay a lot of attention to additive genetic merit, or particularly take a close look at expected progeny differences that fall under that maternal heading in whatever breeds we're considering.

Genetic change is cumulative and permanent when we think about additive genetic improvement.

If we pay attention in bull selection to things like a heifer pregnancy EPD, a maternal calving ease, maybe it's a a bioeconomic index like Dollar Maternal or Dollar Wean, possibly a Baldy Maternal Index or a Brahman Maternal Index.

Depends on which breed you're looking at, but consider those EPDs that fall under that maternal heading and selection pressure put on those numbers in our sire selection is still gonna help us make genetic improvement even though those reproductive traits are low inheritability.

The other part we want to consider is management.

And when we get into the management aspect, there's really two big components here.

One is a good herd health program.

I always encourage producers to have a good relationship with a veterinarian that can guide 'em through putting a herd health protocol together because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to getting the right vaccinations into the cow herd, the right boosters that ensure that cows get pregnant in a timely fashion and stay pregnant, carry those pregnancies to term and end up weaning a healthy calf all within a 365-day window.

The other part of management is just nutrition.

Now, I didn't mention deworming and parasite control relative to herd health.

But when it comes to the deworming and parasite control, it kind of falls into herd health as well as nutrition.

Sometimes a proper deworming is a really inexpensive form of feed, but the thing to keep in mind, and particularly this time of year, going into a spring calving season, that if we've got those bred heifers and cows in a body condition score of about 5.5 to 6 going into calving season, they've got the body energy reserves that they need.

So that when that spike of nutritional needs goes up, particularly for protein and energy once they begin lactation, they are still gonna turn around and rebreed in a timely fashion.

We know we've only got about 80 to 85 days after they calve that they need to be rebred, so they can repeat that process within that 12-month window.

And we never wanna forget that the cows that breed back sooner and accordingly, calve earlier, are gonna have a heavier older calf by the time we actually get to weaning, which results in more pay weight or more weight going into the next segment of production for those calves that we're gonna be weaning off that following year.

I hope this helps, and thanks for joining us this week on "Cow-Calf Corner".

Happy holidays to everyone.

- Finally today, find out why Lionel Bentley was selected as a 2023 distinguished alumnus in the Ferguson College of Agriculture.

(inspirational music) - You could not be around Lionel without laughing and smiling and knowing how true, genuine he was and how he impacted the people around him.

- [Narrator] Lionel Bentley was born on his family's peanut farm in Gracemont, Oklahoma.

After high school, he enrolled at Oklahoma State University.

- Well, his degree was in agriculture with agronomy and turfgrass feed minors.

But that was a natural for him to choose that because of being raised on a farm and having a knowledge somewhat even before he went to OSU of the soil and the country environment.

- [Narrator] Shortly after graduating with a degree in agronomy, he met his soulmate, Lou.

The two would marry in 1972.

- Oh gosh, those two fed off each other.

She's as crazy as he is and wanted to do just as much fun things as he did.

And them together was a comedy act.

And people enjoyed watching those two interact with one another.

They had 49 great years together.

- [Narrator] That same year, the City of Norman hired Lionel as an assistant park superintendent.

He would later be promoted to the director of the Parks and Recreation Department.

- And he was instrumental in having an ordinance created so that when a development, a new housing development was established, it was in that ordinance that they had to provide a park.

And he was very proud of that.

And then he helped found the Norman Park Foundation, which took helping that area in Norman of parks to have excess funds to do things that the city could not otherwise provide for.

- [Narrator] And as if he didn't have enough to do, Lionel also started Bentley Turf Farms in his hometown of Gracemont in 1972.

The company was so successful, he retired in 1984 to become a full-time sod farmer and then moved the operation to Washington, Oklahoma.

- It seemed like it had always kinda been in his plan.

That I think by the time he had gotten his first job, I believe, in Oklahoma City after graduation, he had already hatched in his head that he was gonna have a sod farm.

- Some of his friends who were working at the Parks and Recreation Department would volunteer to go down there and help him with turf.

I think we actually cost him more money than we saved him.

- And Lionel was always interested in learning and trying things.

And it didn't matter if something failed because that was a learning opportunity in itself.

- [Narrator] Lionel also was a driving force behind helping the Oklahoma turf industry, serving on the board and as president of several professional organizations.

One such organization was the Oklahoma Turfgrass Research Foundation, which inducted him into its 2021 Hall of Fame.

In 2022, Lionel passed away.

In memory of all he did, the City of Norman is naming a local park after him.

And his love of Lou, golf, and OSU is celebrated on his local golf course.

- We also put a bench out at the golf course, and it's a beautiful bench, has the OSU logo and all that on it.

I go out there on Thursday nights, and before I play, I sit there and talk to him for a little bit.

- [Narrator] The Bentleys also will continue to be a part of the industry through the OSU Bentley Turf Center funded by Lou.

- Lionel was a big supporter of research and education on turfgrass research, and it's great to see Lou continue that legacy and support in the Bentley Turfgrass, where we can continue the long legacy of doing outstanding research and education about turfgrass.

- One very pleasant surprise to me has been his continued involvement in working with the OSU agricultural people through the years.

I had no idea.

I mean, he never talked about it.

And so that was a very refreshing reward to hear what he has done and contributed in that area.

And just one more reason to make me proud of him.

- [Narrator] Celebrating Lionel Bentley, 2023 Ferguson College of Agriculture Distinguished Alumnus.

- That'll do it for our show this week.

Remember, you can see us anytime at sunup.okstate.edu, and also follow us on YouTube and social media.

I'm Lyndall Stout.

Have a great week, everyone, and remember, Oklahoma agriculture starts at "SUNUP."

(gentle country music)