- Hello everyone and welcome to Sunup.

I'm Lyndall Stout.

Joined today by my colleagues Kurtis Hair and Elizabeth Hokit.

And every year as we head into the holidays, we like to take a look back at some of our favorite and most memorable stories of the year.

And of course this year was not without its share of challenges in Oklahoma, everything from drought, we talked about that a lot.

And of course severe weather and we can't forget about the wildfires.

- Yeah, it seems like every year it's a story that we have to go and do.

And this year was actually kind of an interesting one 'cause me and you, we went out to Western Oklahoma and met our Vice president and dean of Agriculture, Jason Lusk as he flew a a plane to see the damage of it.

- All right, let's take a look at that story.

Flying a few thousand feet over the scarred landscape of Western Oklahoma OSU Agriculture Vice President and Dean.

Jason Lusk now has a unique perspective as he meets extension educator Dana Bay.

- Welcome to - Gage - Dana.

- Yeah, thanks for having me.

- You bet.

You bet.

And emergency management director Riley Lata.

- We're coordinating with all them, with all the other organizations who are trying the Cattleman's Association local businesses that we've got here that are helping coordinate the donations coming in for whether that be feed or livestock or clothing and things of that nature.

- The view from the air shows the scope of the fires, but it takes a conversation on the ground to truly understand what producers and landowners are dealing with.

- When our counties are in need, it, it's one of our responsibilities to be engaged and we have people out here in western Oklahoma that have experienced a lot of damage from the fire and our county educators are intimately involved in trying to help respond and get our, our farming and ranching families back up to speed.

So to come out here and see what's happening, see where the needs are, I think it's just an important part of our job and responsibility.

In OSU extension, tens of thousands of acres have been burned.

You can see homes that are destroyed and in in cities that were almost taken out.

And it really shows you the scale of the damage and that immensity of the need that that many farmers and ranchers have in this area.

- Just a few weeks ago, dormant grass hugged these western Oklahoma hills.

Now the high winds have carried the charred black remnants of grass away and it looks like someplace else entirely.

- We know in Ellis County I have nine families that lost their home that they were living in and we lost so much grass in this county, so many fences burned that we've had a hard time, you know, keeping livestock in that are still still alive because there's no fence left around them.

So producers are having to, to more or less keep feed in front of them so that they don't wander off.

It can be overwhelming but it's, it's also overwhelming the amount of response and it's heartwarming.

It's humbling to see the way that people have responded.

It's humbling to see the communities come together because a disaster catastrophe such as this brings people together.

It really does - Rain a blessing for 51 weeks of the year, but that 52nd week it can be quite the nuisance and it wouldn't be an Oklahoma wheat harvest if it wasn't doing the exact opposite of what wheat producers like Frank Pospisol want it to.

- We've got chances of rain coming off and on and luckily we've kind missed a few showers around and so we're looking for maybe some sunny days and a little bit of wind to dry things out.

- With storm clouds looming over the fields, it's hard to forget the effects it's had on the past few years.

- You know, we had a lot of 57, 58 pound wheat last - Year, not very much of it.

And there is some good wheat in the county depending upon exactly where the field was located and if you was under the right rain cloud, - If you're under the right rain cloud.

But if you're not you're gonna need a lot more help to beat the rain.

- I got a nephew and his wife and two daughters and a couple of part-time guys that come out after work and help me.

So yeah, kind of the skeleton crew - For Frank's nephew, Brad Hokit, wheat harvest has come to be his summer vacation.

- Yeah, this is my vacation.

I take time off of my regular job to come out here for a week or two to help Frank - And stick it back in and check it.

Help is hard.

I mean even in today's time period to find people that can operate a machine, drive a tractor and grain car and then transport this to the elevator.

Well when that you put all that together, it takes a lot of help to get all of it done.

They, they've gotta have help - All hands on deck or combine rather.

That's where I come in.

I've been coming to help with wheat harvest for as long as I can remember Frank, he's my great uncle and Brad, - Can you hand me that five eights, - Well that's my dad.

It was 10 80 before I was able to run the combine by myself.

I was the steering wheel operator then when I was about 14 years old I got a promotion.

My dad grew up coming out here and decided to give me and my sister the same opportunity.

- I didn't grow up on the farm but my grandparents had the farm and I spent all my summers out here.

I started getting to run equipment when I was probably about 14 and pretty much been helping every year at least during wheat harvest because that's when they need the most help.

- How long have I been harvesting wheat?

All my life.

Yeah.

So 50 some years - You don't really get these kinds of opportunities unless you grew up on a farm.

And what does that kind of opportunity mean?

Well I think my dad sums it up best.

- I felt privileged to be able to have the opportunity to be on the farm and to learn what it takes to farm and to produce the food that we eat.

And I just wanted to be able give that same opportunity to my kids to, to get an idea of what that was.

- An opportunity that will not be soon forgotten.

A family of four piling in a 1480 international harvester, a little girl learning to drive that very same combine.

Trips to the elevator with dad.

Gaining responsibility of more steering wheels and some slightly more questionable things.

Like I said earlier, unless you grew up on a farm, you probably don't have these kinds of memories.

But I didn't grow up on a farm.

I grew up in the city limits, two and a half hours away from here.

And looking back, I thank God for these experiences because without them I wouldn't be where I'm at today.

- We all love that story so much, Elizabeth, your very first harvest with Sunup and you really picked a good one.

- Oh yeah, that one was definitely really fun 'cause it was something that I've grown up doing and after getting to come and work for Sunup and then kind of getting to mesh those two together, spend time with my family, that was really special to me - And I'm sure they loved it too.

- Oh yeah, I'm super glad.

'cause I feel like they, they can see the importance that it actually had on my life.

Now - We also had a great time riding in the combine with Joe Coughlin near Tonkawa in Kay County and with the Schnifman family in Garfield County.

Two stops in one day for our camera crews and of course we had a lot of fun, but required an iced tea and a cheeseburger to keep us going.

Speaking of harvest wheat varieties developed by OSU scientists now account for 70% of acres planted in Oklahoma.

But the facilities those scientists work in are very outdated.

And what prompted a big announcement this summer?

$6 million from Oklahoma Grains Incorporated and the Oklahoma Wheat Commission to kickstart a fundraising effort to replace outdated greenhouses and labs at the agronomy research station near campus in Stillwater.

We'll keep you posted as it progresses.

Another big highlight of the year for OSU agriculture, the opening of new agricultural hall, a state-of-the-art facility for research extension and teaching that will serve for generations to come.

To mark the occasion, what else but a giant loaf of bread.

Our Sunup cameras were there as milling and baking specialist Renee Nelson brought it to life.

OSU and agriculture leaders broke the bread to kick off the celebration.

There were ribbon cuttings and tours and lots of festivities for the land grant mission.

Students seem to really love the new building and we hope you can visit the next time you're on campus as we continue to look back at some of our favorite segments and activities from the past 12 months.

Of course we're always inspired when we get to work with young people.

- Yeah and I had a great opportunity to work with a group of students from Hollis and get to see them at the, we went to the Capitol and see they got to see a chance how government works - And really from their kind of small town area, the hub of the hub of Oklahoma if you will.

- Yeah.

And for some of 'em that was their first trip to the city and really get to chance to see some career opportunities as well.

- Alright, let's take a look back at that story.

- There's really nothing like your first trip to the Oklahoma capitol.

For the hundreds of kids who toured the capitol every day walking past these towering white columns may feel like walking past a building that would be more at home in Rome than Oklahoma.

And like those kids, that wonderment is definitely not lost on these middle school students from Hollis though their mission today is definitely different from the regular end of the school year trip to the capitol.

- So today we have brought 18 students from Hollis, Oklahoma to the state capitol to learn what civic leadership and public service looks like.

These students have been a part of the Hollis Leaders class, which has been a pilot program partnership between Oklahoma State University through the Rural Renewal Initiative and Hollis Middle School focusing on civic leadership and entrepreneurship.

- This capital trip isn't just a few hour ordeal.

The group began their journey yesterday stopping at rural communities along the way to Oklahoma City to see the leadership of these communities in action.

- We then stopped in Oklahoma City downtown to look at remote working spaces because one of the ideas that the students have is trying to find a way to really advertise and incentivize people to move to Hollis and really trying to target those people who may work remotely.

- Hollis leader Hannah Chris says the class has taught her so much about the different ways you can help.

- So our leadership class is sixth and eighth grade boys and girls who we're trying to become leaders of halls and help benefit the community and and the help with economic development in our town.

Sculpted by - Senator - Ima, - Today's agenda started with an appetizer of the tour of the building, learning about art history and a quick lesson on how our state government works.

1982.

But the main course was hearing from the folks who do this job daily.

- It is possible, it doesn't matter where you're from, - I mean dedicated people like our Secretary of Agriculture, Blaine Arthur, who put into perspective just how important civics and agriculture are to everyone.

- This is a very great opportunity.

- Secretary Arthur says experiences like this one are invaluable.

- They start asking questions about, are you passing a bill that impacts me?

Do I maybe want to be a legislator?

Do I want to come with a group and talk about what's important to us in education or athletics or transportation?

So I think just the exposure to it is tremendous, especially students from areas that are a little further away from Oklahoma City and especially from a rural area.

I think that makes them realize that people care about what happens in their hometown and wanna make good decisions for 'em.

Yes sir.

- So our goal with bringing the students to the capitol today is to help them to see that they're not forgotten about and Hollis that the people they elect to represent them here in Oklahoma City really do care about the issues and the problems and challenges that they see in their community.

- It's fun to get to go and do these things where we get to learn more about our state and it's fun to learn more about our community and town and just get to help.

It's fun to be a part of getting to help our community be - Better.

And I think that's one of the things the students are taking back.

Just conversations that I've heard as we've eaten mills or been on the bus is honestly coming to Oklahoma City, coming to the capitol has given them an even stronger appreciation for where they come from - And who knows, maybe one of these young minds was sparked today and a calling for civic duty was found.

Yes sir.

Have you ever been to - Halls?

I I've been to Halls, stayed in a little motel right - There, but if not a little learning can go a long way.

- Sports, - We want your feedback.

The annual Sunup Viewer survey is underway and your input is important.

What do you like about the show?

What topics do you think we should cover in the future and what would you like to see more or less of on Sunup?

All ideas are welcomed.

This survey runs throughout December and will only take about five minutes of your time.

Just scan the QR code on your screen or find the link on the Sunup website.

Thank you for watching and thank you in advance for your feedback.

It's tough to tell.

What's more fun today?

The mini Mesonet weather station demo.

It's called a Tipping Renegade with a calving simulator whole hard or maybe it's the baby Goats, chickens, calves and a horse just to name a few.

Welcome to the kids event, part of career day at Millwood Elementary School in Oklahoma City.

- They're getting a glimpse of the variety that is agriculture, whether it's through livestock production ag or we're seeing some more hands-on activities for our indoor portion.

- Hands-on learning about agriculture.

The brainchild of Dr. Courtney Brown, OSU extension, ag leadership specialist.

- But then my experience as well as research shows that if we're not getting this programming in front of the kids early, then they aren't gonna make the natural connection - In-person connections with experts from Oklahoma State University and Langston University, opening eyes about career possibilities and where food comes from that's egg develops inside the chicken four H educator Mindy Aragon translates the science to the day to day and of course these cute soft baby chicks bring it full circle.

A lot to see, a lot to do and a lot to take in and it's causing problems for the fish.

But that's the point.

- Agriculture is important for students for the simple fact, like we everyday life depends on agriculture.

You have farming, we have the horses, the livestock, just everyday life revolves around different aspects of agriculture, - Farming and ranching.

Realities like the simulated birth of a calf in a setting designed for fun, full steady - Pressure.

Well for the most part, most of these kids today have never seen an animal actually have a baby.

So it's kind of fun to see their reaction.

Most of them are pretty squirmish about it, so hopefully we're doing something here that brings them a little bit closer to agriculture - And it appears they are judging by the smiles, giggles and lots of questions and comments.

- I love peanut butter and jelly and I actually never knew where it really come from and like the process of how it's made and I never knew like how bread was actually made and like the weed and all the stuff that's inside of it.

Having - The information in front of individuals so they can make those informed decisions is really important.

And I feel it's really important for us as agriculturalists to take on that responsibility to go into spaces that don't have that continuous connection to the producer or to the companies.

- Loads of curiosity combined with real connections leave a lasting impression.

- I'm just here facilitating, but they're making the magic happen for the kids and that's what it's all about.

- We definitely love seeing the, the sense of wonder and discovery their faces really set it all.

And this was the first story that you and I got a chance to work on together with you as a a full-time person on Sunup.

- Yeah and it was a really great first story to work on too because it was so cool to see these kids who grew up in the middle of the city who have never got to experience things like that and just the light on their faces to be able to experience for it for the first time was really cool.

- A lot of topics were covered.

Hats off to the organizers and and all the, the folks who came to present and then of course truly understanding, connecting the dots of where our food comes from.

- Oh yeah, there was so many things that they got to see there.

There was live animals, they got to pet and brush the horses, they got to see where our food comes from.

Like peanut butter and jelly.

The Mesonet people were there showing the equipment that they used.

There was just a ton of really cool stuff - And let's hope they can do it again sometime soon.

Yeah.

And now to a project that was very near and dear to my heart in 2024, A clothing drive for Dress for Success in Oklahoma City.

This has been such a special project for me and I'm so happy with the turnout and all the people who took part and I wanna say a very big thank you.

We've been talking about how this was a year of first for a lot of things and of course Audra Boyer, our intern joined us this year for our first internship.

Audra is a sophomore majoring in agribusiness and ag communications.

- Yes ma'am.

- What was your favorite thing so far?

- So far I've learned a lot being here.

There's some stuff I knew previously from high school doing like my broadcasting team.

But I've learned a lot more within here, like with video editing and how the camera equipment works and just getting 'em to learn with all of them.

It's been a great time - And you got to really dive right in and and editing as you mentioned and at and out shooting video.

So what's some of your favorite footage that you've captured so far?

- Probably my favorite segments I get to work on is Cow Calf Corner with Mark Johnson.

He is a great guy.

I mean I grew up watching this show so I've seen his segments before but now to be like a part of 'em, like filming them myself, like he it, that's been really great for me.

- Yeah, a lot of personalities too.

Yeah.

And Kurtis, you had a a a big year your your big trip to Scotland.

- It was my first time anywhere out of the country and me and Darryl Peel followed a group of study abroad students to Scotland.

It was one of the best experiences, the busiest experience I probably had in my life.

Had some really great food, some food that was maybe a little, some needed, some seasoning, maybe some good beer and just really got to meet a lot of great people.

- We asked Audra her favorite thing.

If you could narrow down your Scotland experience, what was your favorite takeaway?

- It's gonna be tough, but I think my favorite takeaway or the favorite thing I got to do was the royal mile, which is really a stretch of mile that is straight uphill.

That's basically kinda like San Francisco Hill all the way up to Edinburgh Castle and it's kind of like stepping back in time sort of.

But it was really, really incredible.

- Love hearing all these stories.

And now a few words to wrap up the year from OSU Agriculture Vice President and Dean, Dr. Jason Lusk.

- As we look over the course of last year, I wanna congratulate you on your many successes and on your resiliency and making it through 2024.

We've got more than 70,000 farmers and ranchers in the state of Oklahoma and I want to thank you for what you do in providing the food and fiber for the citizens of this country and people abroad.

It's been a challenging year with drought and weather conditions in many parts of the state, but I'm optimistic about the future.

Part of that optimism is in the people that we have in the state of Oklahoma, many of which include our people that work in OSU agriculture, thank you to our county extension educators that work throughout the state to our field experiment station superintendents to do research in our 16 research locations throughout the state.

We're proud of the work that you do and we're we're excited about the impacts that we have in the state of Oklahoma to our friends and alums.

We wanna say thank you for your support of OSU agriculture.

We're so proud of the many accomplishments of our students, our faculty and staff.

On behalf of OSU Agriculture, I wanna wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year's.

- A lot of people really love a good cup of coffee in the morning or really anytime of day and you had a lot of fun on the coffee topic in Fairview.

- Oh yeah, I love coffee.

And it was a really fun story just getting to see the community there.

The way she was kind of integrated into the community, how she's bringing the community around her.

- And you got a new friend out of the deal too.

- Yeah, it was also really cool being able to talk to her and we've been staying in touch and we're actually really good friends now.

Wonderful.

Well to friendship then coffee and community.

Great by themselves, but even better together.

That's what Amelia Winans known by her customers as Millie is all about.

- Millie is, she's just sunshine.

She's just, she's one of those people that when you see her, she just makes your day better.

- I know what you get.

I got you.

- She's so positive about life and just such a sweet person.

Well - Thank you.

I like - What's - So special - About this 22-year-old?

Well for starters, most people this age or any age for that matter, aren't up and out the door before sunrise to open up their small businesses.

- I sort of pulling up here in the spring of 2022 and looking around and being like, okay, like Fairview's a cute little town but there's no place to get coffee.

And the more that I kind of went around it was talking to the community about that.

It seemed like it was really a need that people wanted here in a town fueled by farmers - And football.

Something was still missing - Coffee.

- So what exactly made Millie decide to open this coffee shop?

- I was living in Phoenix, Arizona and if you know anything about that area, it was a huge city and the city just got to be too much.

So I moved here with my family.

My parents actually found the land and they bought it sight unseen without knowing anything about Oklahoma.

- We started talking about things she would miss back in Phoenix and one of them kept coming up was she was gonna be missing her favorite coffee shop.

- Anyone I would talk to told me to start my own coffee shop.

It got to the point where it was like a, almost like a running gag - That summer we found the trailer, fixed the trailer up and within six months of us being here, she opened the trailer - Every step of the way.

What made it so easy is I had the community kind of just rallying around me.

We kind of just rallied around my dream.

Kind of made it their dream as well.

Small businesses are important, they support - Families, they support the town.

We just, we're just fortunate with what we have here and any of this kind of business that we can support to keep here.

We're all in support of that.

- So where exactly is Millie's coffee camper?

Not where most people would expect.

- So when Farm Ranch reached out to me for an event, I kind of used it as like a time to scope if I could be here.

And sure enough, after that event they reached out to me and offered me a permanent parking spot and I just never left their parking lot.

- Introducing this kind of coffee to the farm and ranch regulars had its challenges.

- Your generational farmers Black coffee.

That's it.

This is, they call it a foo drink, so I get made fun of a little bit.

- Americano please.

We kind of started with a black cup of coffee for a lot of them and then we built up to now a few of them will come by and we'll get an ice latte in the, in the hot Oklahoma summers.

I think it's so funny to see these old timers and they're beat up farm trucks, pull away with their ice lattes.

- You mean my raspberry vanilla mocha with an extra shot and whipped cream.

- I honestly live for that.

- Totally a good drink.

Coffee and community.

Looks like Millie ended up finding both in Fairview.

- Great story, Elizabeth.

And as we wind down today, I wanna say thank you to both of you and and how much I enjoy working with both of you day in and day out.

And of course a big thank you to our Sunup viewers for watching.

And now our annual holiday gift to you, the best outtakes from Sunup from throughout the year.

- Happy - Happy holidays.

Happy holidays.

For more information on either of these diseases, you can go to the sunup website, which is sunup.OKstate.edu.

For more information on this program and others then at Sunup then it - You want a mic test?

I can do it.

Ready makeup.

- Can we get a clap for him?

Somebody?

- Perfect.

Was my mic on?

- Yep, it's on.

Ah.

Whether it's Halloween trunk or treat or any number of fall activities this time of year, candy is likely in abundance this year.

Candy is likely in abundance this year.

Like that.

It's likely in abundance.

Ah, great.

Excellent.

Clapper.

Thank I was completely distracted by the cats.

Okay.

Lost my train of thought.

- Am I in the right spot?

You're perfect.

What if I need to hump over like this?

My back kind of hurts.

- Is it my senior portraits?

Yeah.

Ah, - Can you hear it?

- So I hope you all have a safe and ha.

Hello.

- Thriller night.

Probably just shy.

Five minutes with 20 seconds of blubber in the middle.

- A reminder, you can see us anytime met, blah blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

You want me to nod some more?

Yeah.

- So tell us more about - Your favorite - Now I'm ready.

- Test mic.

Test check one, two.

Mike, are you there?

Hello, - Mike.

Oh, say, can you.