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

I'm Lyndall Stout.

The US District Court in Arizona recently reached a decision to vacate three dicamba labels, leaving many producers wondering what's next.

For some guidance, we turn to our OSU extension area agronomist, Josh Bushong.

- I'm Josh Bushong, OSU area agronomist, stationed in Nina, Oklahoma.

So we've been getting a lot of calls from farmers and producers with concerns about dicamba.

So dicamba is a herbicide.

We do have some dicamba products labeled for certain uses.

And so the recent rulings from a US district court in Tucson, Arizona, pulled or vacated those three labels for use in dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton.

So XtendFlex cotton and soybeans.

And those three products that they pulled the label on, or vacated the label on, were Xtendimax by Bayer, Eugenia by BASF, and Tavium by Syngenta.

All other dicamba products, and there's a lot of other dicamba products on the market for use in Oklahoma, but those are the only three that had their labels removed.

So that's February 6th, at the beginning of the month.

Few days later, we had Blayne Arthur, the Oklahoma Secretary of Ag, wrote a letter to EPA.

A lot of other farmer groups and commodity groups in other states submitted a lot of later letters of support for at least getting an existing stocks use order on these products, because at this year or stage in the in the season, we already have producers that already have product on their farm, already have commitments to purchase those products or have already purchased, just not received them.

So they've bought into those traded systems on soybeans and cotton.

So we were able to get that through.

February 14th, EEPA came back and said they would issue that existing stocks order.

So what does that mean?

Anything that the farmer already has that's already in the chain of custody that has been planned to use for this year can be sold still.

So you still have up till, I believe, the end of May to purchase those dicamba products.

So we can still use that technology as of right now for this year in soybeans and cotton.

Like I said, it's just those three products.

We've been using dicamba in Oklahoma for a long time, over half a century.

Dicamba originally got labeled, I believe in 1967, with BASF.

So we use this product, it's a general use product.

We can use it in pastures, corn, milo, a lot of other uses for it.

It's general use.

Anyone can buy it.

These three products that we use for overtop use in cotton and beans, like I said, for one, those varieties have that trait to have resistance to it.

We need this product.

We have a lot of weeds that have resistance, so we can't just rely on Roundup Ready with glyphosate.

So a lot of our broad leaf weeds, mares tail, pig weeds, tall water hemp.

There are some deadlines, like I said, you need to purchase it before the end of May.

For soybeans, the label does say the cutoff date is the end of June.

So in Oklahoma, where we do have some gold crop soybeans, that's gonna be out of the window for use in in soybeans after after wheat and cotton.

We do have the end of July to make those applications.

But there are some deadlines.

We still have this trait for this year, this growing season.

But if you do have any questions, feel free to get ahold of extension educator near you.

(upbeat music) - Hello, Wes Lee here with your Mesonet Weather Report.

We have been fortunate this winter to have received above average rainfall.

Maybe we are just spoiled, but it seems that precipitation has abruptly stopped.

The seven day rainfall map from Wednesday shows only trace amounts of moisture recorded.

For some areas, it has been quite a while since a significant rainfall has fallen.

In Alfalfa, Woods and Beaver counties, it has been one to two months since a quarter inch of rainfall was recorded.

Fortunately, our soil moisture is holding up pretty good in most of the state.

The 16 inch percent plant available water map shows nearly 100% in all areas outside of the northwest and panhandle.

Normally this time of year, when we see moisture levels like this, we expect it to be sufficient for quite a while.

That may not be the case this year if we continue to get spring temperatures during the winter months.

The highs on Wednesday afternoon had 80 showing up in many locations.

This extra heat has the soil evapotranspiration levels higher than they should be this time of year.

This map shows evapotranspiration for short crops like wheat on Tuesday.

They will have been higher than this on Wednesday.

To keep us spoiled, it is time for a mild cold front to arrive that brings with it some additional rainfall.

- Gary is up next with the newest drought map information.

- Thanks, Wes, and good morning, everyone.

Well, our national Drought Monitor map is looking much better, certainly much better than we were at this time last year, but let's take a look at that new map, see exactly where we are.

And we just have a couple of dollops, I guess it's a good word, dollops, of drought across South Central and Southwest Oklahoma.

And then another tiny dollop up across far Northeast Oklahoma, centered again on Osage County.

And now that we're looking at these little tiny splotches, I guess you would say, we know that these are basically long-term deficits that are creating these drought areas.

So the short-term deficits, things like soil moisture and other matters related to that have certainly improved, so we're dealing with long-term deficits.

So more things like reservoirs, farm ponds, and things of that nature.

So certainly good news there.

Let's take a look at the first 20 days of February.

The rainfall.

When we look at this, it doesn't look too great.

Lots of green and blues on there, which normally is not so good across Oklahoma.

But when you're dealing with a month like February when it's normally very dry, this really doesn't turn out to be too bad.

So we go on our usual route, more in Southeastern and Central Oklahoma, less up to the Northwest.

However, as Wes showed you, we are starting to dry out in parts of the state.

And if we look over the next week or two, it does look like we might see a little bit below normal precipitation totals.

So again, for this time of year, not exactly disastrous, but it is something that we will have to keep our eye on.

Spring's just around the corner.

We're in a pretty good shape drought-wise.

Hopefully, we get some more momentum and get more of that drought out of there and keep it out this time.

That's it for this time.

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

(bright music) - Dr. Derrell Peel, our livestock marketing specialist, joins us now.

Derrell, feeder cattle prices have been moving higher in February.

Is this something seasonal, or you think it's something more?

- Well, last year, we saw a strong uptrend in feeder cattle prices through most of the year, especially for the lightweight calves.

And in fact, the first week of February, like a 500-pound steer calf in Oklahoma actually set a new all-time record-high price.

So it's the time of year seasonally when we would expect to see prices go up, but I think most of this is really the underlying general trend up in prices.

We're seeing all of the feeder cattle prices moving up at this point in time.

- Let's talk wheat pasture now.

First, are you seeing those cattle being marketed yet, and do you think we'll have a bigger run this year?

- Well, we know we had more cattle out on wheat this year, and so in total, yes, there will be more cattle moving.

I think they're beginning to move.

I haven't talked directly to the agronomist, but the indications are that probably, because of the warm conditions we've had, a lot of the wheat is probably reaching first hollow of stem a little bit earlier than usual, depending on where you are in the state, and what variety, and so on.

So I think we're beginning to see those cattle move.

In total, I think we'll move more cattle than we have the last year or two.

Whether or not they'll be bunched up in a really big run for a week or two, that happens some years, I think they'll be a little bit more strung out this year.

- What are you seeing so far with beef production this year?

- Well, again, if you go back to last year, beef production started to fall.

We had record beef production in 2022.

It was down 4.7% in 2023.

We're already down between four and 5% so far this year, and we're expecting beef production to continue falling for the year around that 5% mark.

So the longer-term liquidation that we've been in for the last several years is really beginning to sort of catch up with the beef industry.

We're gonna see beef production significantly smaller as we go through the year.

- Well, prices are already high for consumers.

What kind of guidance or forecast do you have on that end?

- Well, beef production is falling, so tighter supply suggests that we're certainly not gonna see any relief on these beef prices.

I do expect retail, wholesale and retail prices probably, to continue to push a little bit higher.

Obviously, there's resistance there to some extent, but as the supply tightens up, some consumers will make significant changes in their consumption behavior.

There won't be as much beef, so not everybody's gonna eat as much beef as they have been.

And that probably means that for the remainder, we're gonna use higher prices to figure out sort of who wants it the most and ration that smaller supply.

- In addition to being on "SUNUP" regularly, you are out and about all around the state and you were recently with the Cattleman's Group in Chickasha.

- Yeah, that's right.

That Chickasha Cattleman's Group has met early mornings, on Tuesday mornings for a long, long time, couple times a month.

And so I go down there two or three times a year typically.

I enjoy visiting with that group a lot.

They're always eager to hear what I think about cattle markets, but they also have a lot of questions and so on.

They're typical of a lot of producer audiences right now.

Obviously, liking the cattle market story we're telling right now with higher prices, but also a lot of questions about just exactly how it's gonna play out in the future.

How long will it last?

How high will it go?

- And these are things that we don't know exact answers to, but we can sure talk about kind of the situation we're in.

We've gotten the inventory numbers recently, so we have a lot of things to talk about in terms of what we expect going forward.

- Okay.

You're, a guy who puts a lot of miles on the old Subaru, right?

- That's for sure.

- All right.

Darryl, thanks a lot.

- You bet.

- We'll see you next time.

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

This week's topic is the steps to assisting that heifer or cow that we have determined needs help in the calving process.

Last week we reviewed the three stages of parturition, and you can refer back to that one as far as timelines and stage two that we can use as a rule of thumb relative to when we should offer assistance.

This week we address more.

We know that we need to provide some help, so how do we go about it to make this constructive, positive and lead to a good outcome?

In a perfect world we'd have a sheltered, well-lit barn.

We'd have a head catch, a halter, some sort of restraint for the cow.

We're gonna have two buckets of warm water, we're gonna have one with some disinfectant in it that we're actually gonna be carrying our OB chains and our handle in, and we're gonna have another one here that we're going to use along with some soap to actually clean up that cow and heifer, as well as our hands and arms before we start the examination process.

We're gonna need to have some OB lube, some OB sleeves, something that facilitates this process as much as possible.

And we may be short of any of those things when the moment comes to bear that we need to start the examination of the process, but in a perfect world we'd like to have all those things, and cleanliness is extremely important.

There are times we may provide assistance and save the calf.

If we introduce too much bacteria into that reproductive tract, we suffer the long-term consequence of slowing down rebreeding, or potentially delayed or a cow ever getting bred back at all.

So we'd like to have that set of equipment on hand and have it at our disposal.

At the point we start the examination, if we've got that sleeve and we've got some lube, we're gonna go through and do a pelvic examination.

First thing we wanna look for is to confirm that this heifer or cow has got a fully dilated cervix, and as we reach in to try to feel the front feet and the head of that calf, if we pass through and really don't encounter anything it's a good sign that we've got full dilation there, and that the cow is actually ready for that calf delivery.

If we encounter a little more there along the way, it can be a sign that maybe more time needs to be given.

And if we can feel front feet, if we can feel the head of that calf just behind those front feet, and the head of that calf is basically up against the vertebrae or the spine of that cow, we know we're dealing with a normal presentation.

That is a good sign that we can move forward in this process and attempt to help, or potentially pull that calf.

If we've got an abnormal presentation, if those aren't the things we're feeling, a front leg back, a head back, potentially we're feeling rear legs or a tail.

If we've got something abnormal, it increases the likelihood we're gonna have to get some professional assistance.

And another thing that we want to have on hand or in our phone that's in our pocket is the phone number of our veterinarian that we've got a good working relationship with, because abnormal presentations, or if we encounter a fetus that just we're certain it is too big to actually get delivered, we're gonna likely need to contact our veterinarian and get some assistance in that case.

So let's say we got a normal presentation, we've determined we got a fully dilated heifer or cow, and we've got enough space in here to actually get this calf out.

We proceed to hooking up OB chains, we're gonna try to pull with this with our handles, initially.

If we have to resort to a calf jack, we wanna be careful.

We wanna be gentle all the way through this process.

Again, getting carried away with a calf puller can lead to some injury for the cow and the calf, we refer to some excellent sources of material that can go into more detail as far as ways to go about getting that calf out.

So I hope this helps.

Things to think about relative to the equipment we want on hand, and those actually steps in the process as we start that examination and potentially move forward with helping or assisting pull or deliver that calf, and getting it out alive.

Thanks for joining us on "Cow Calf Corner".

(upbeat music) - It's that time in the show where we check in on the crop markets with our crop marketing specialist, Dr. Kim Anderson.

So Kim, let's start off, what's happening with wheat right now?

- Wheat's just continuing to go in the tank.

When you go back a month ago, not quite a month, we were up at $5,81 for wheat prices.

We got down to 5,17 last week and the first of this week, then we gained a few cents to get it up about $5,30.

You look at the forward contract for the July 24, June, July delivery, about $5,25, so- - They've continued to go down.

- So, you know, here in the state with good moisture, great weather right now, great growing conditions, you know ,the wheat's about to start waking up, so what do you think's gonna happen to prices with this good-looking wheat that a lot of producers have?

- I really think it's gonna go back up.

We go back a couple months.

I said the expected harvest price was $5.75 a bushel.

Now remember, I had a range on there from 4.75 to about 7.50.

- We're gonna hold you to that, by the way.

- Oh, I still think we're gonna get back up into that 5.65-70 range.

So you look at the average Oklahoma price for June, July, and August, it's $5.80.

You look at the stocks to use ratio for the world, for the US, for hard red winter wheat, they're all at average, and average stocks to use implies average prices to me.

Now the Black Sea, Russia is gonna produce over 3.4 billion bushels, probably another record crop this year.

You look to United States, U.S. production, 1.9 billion bushels.

We've been producing 1.65 to 1.7, 1.8 last year.

So this is a relatively good crop coming up.

So that's gonna put some pressure on prices, but I still think we're gonna be up around that 5.75, and I stick with my range, 4.75 to 7.50.

- So what about corn and beans?

- They've both been going down just like wheat.

You go back, oh, late December, something like that, you had 4.70 corn.

It got down to 4.02 and just knocking on the door.

that $4 level looks like it might be building a floor here.

You go out to harvest at $4.36, and 4.80 is your average.

You look at the stocks to use ratio.

It's projected to be 17%.

Your average is 10.

You're looking at for '24/'25 crop year, a 2.5 billion bushel ending stocks for corn.

And that's a lot of corn, and that's why you've got prices down here.

Soybeans, oh, down around $11.

A while back, we were talking about would it break 12?

It's down around 11 now.

The average is 10.80.

You look at the stocks to use ratio projected for '24/'25, about 10%.

Your average is around eight.

So you'd expect prices to be down around this 11 to 10.80.

And for forward contracting beans, it's 10.80.

- So given all that, with prices declining, even though with good weather, great looking wheat, what is your advice to producers?

- Right now, go fishing or go hunting or go golfing or whatever.

Don't watch the markets or listen to a market economist.

Just wait and see what happens between now and harvest 'cause a lot is gonna happen to all those prices before we can get it in the bin or get it in the bell.

- Well, if they're gonna go golfing, just gimme a call 'cause I'm ready to go.

- Will do.

- All right, thanks, Kim.

Dr. Kim Anderson, Grain Marketing Specialist here at Oklahoma State University.

(upbeat music) - Scrapie is a progressive chronic disease of the central nervous system of sheep and goats.

It is the oldest of a group of disease that are referred to as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

Some other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are mad cow disease in cattle, chronic wasting disease in deer.

There's even human forms of this disease, as well as some other species of animals that are infected by these that are part of this family.

Scrapies is found in all states in the United States.

Unlike mad cow disease, scrapies is not zoonotic.

You cannot get scrapies from consuming meat from sheep or goats.

The disease is not completely understood, but evidence exists that scrapie is caused by a protein, and we refer to that protein as a prion.

We believe that this disease is transmitted by ingestion of the protein or the prion.

Most likely young lambs and kids are exposed to this prion from infected animals.

We know that we can find it in birthing fluids, placentas, milk, colostrum.

It's also in bodily fluids, such as nasal secretions, saliva, feces, and urines.

So typically, a farmer may see that this animal is incoordinated, may have some head tremors.

You're going to see that these animals typically have good appetites, but they continually lose weight, and this intense pruritus or this itching that they have.

In the end, most of these animals are unable to stand up.

They'll have seizures.

They'll typically be blind and unable to swallow.

Once you begin to see these clinical signs, most of these animals will die within six months.

Producers should only use those breeding animals that are known to be resistant to scrapie.

By doing this, hopefully, eventually, you will have a flock of sheep and goats that are completely resistant to the disease.

Maintain a close flock as possible.

Make sure that we are keeping things clean, especially the birthing areas.

Dispose of placenta in a timely fashion.

Make sure that.

- To manage manure, keep the manure picked up.

Be careful about letting people on your property, as they may be able to spread this protein on your property.

If you have an adult sheep or goat that dies, or has to be euthanized, please get that animal tested for scrapies.

Now, the USDA and Veterinary Services will do this.

We'll collect these samples, and test it for no charge to you.

If you have one of these animals, please contact our state veterinarian, Dr. Rod Hall at 405-522-6141, or contact veterinary services at 405-254-1797.

For more information, if you'll just go to the Sunup website we'll post some of this information for you.

- Finally today, find out what makes Osage County's Eddie Fields a distinguished alumnus in the Ferguson College of Agriculture.

Video production manager Craig Woods put together this story.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] For rancher and former Oklahoma legislator Eddie Fields, Oklahoma State University has always been essential to his family's legacy.

- My uncle graduated from OSU in '62, my dad graduated in '66.

I graduated in '90 along with my wife, and then my wife went back and got her teaching degree in '93.

And then I've had two daughters that graduated from OSU in the last several years.

And my youngest daughter's a sophomore there.

- [Narrator] He graduated from Wynonna High School before heading to OSU for a degree in animal science.

At OSU Eddie joined the livestock judging team, went to Japan, worked at the purebred center, and even got to see President Bush at graduation, all experiences that would be important in his future.

But meeting his wife in the animal science reading room influenced his life the most.

- She was having to take an ecology class that was offered through animal science to meet one of her humanities degrees, 'cause she was a sociology major.

And so met her in there playing cards in between classes.

We graduated in May 5th of '90 and got married May 12th of '90.

- [Narrator] Eddie and Christina returned to the Fields Ranch, started by his grandparents in 1952, but he wanted to do more to help his community and the agriculture industry.

- I served as a page in high school in the House of Representatives in my senior year, and so just kind of the stuff I'd seen going on, the good and the bad, kind of put a bug into me that at some point in my life I would love to be able to serve.

- [Narrator] Eddie became state representative for Osage and Tulsa Counties in 2008.

Two years later, he was elected to the state senate for District 10.

- Eddie is, in my opinion, a very humble, quiet person.

I guess to some people not typical of what you would expect in the legislature, but great characteristics to have, and I think that's why he served Oklahoma well.

- When I was in the house, I was on the Ag Committee, and then when I got elected to the Senate in 2010, I was fortunate enough to be a freshman senator and get a committee chairmanship, which was AG and Rural Development.

- [Narrator] Eddie's experience at OSU, particularly with his livestock judging team, benefited his new occupation.

- Gave me confidence in myself that I could do that, which later helped me in my legislative career as well.

- [Narrator] While he's happy to be back on the ranch, he's proud of his accomplishments.

- I miss the policy side of it.

I don't miss the headaches.

That's one of the things my parents and grandparents instilled in me was make your mark and make a difference in somebody else's lives.

And so I was built...

I was able to do that in 10 years of public service in the legislature.

- Sometimes cattle producers and legislators are like oil and water, they don't always mix.

But Eddie's really been able to bring his expertise in cattle production into the legislative process, and really bridge that communication gap.

- He's a great rancher.

He's still involved heavily in the Cattleman's Association, and different kinds of programs and organizations.

And those things are very, very important, because, again, he can bring his expertise that he learned in the legislature back to those organizations, and help them fulfill their commitments to the livestock producers of Oklahoma.

- Two of my three girls right now still got cattle here on the ranch that I helped manage and maintain for 'em.

And so they've got a hand in things.

And so that's the difficult part trying to find that transition from one generation to the next.

- It's interesting to look now at his family and his daughters as they've grown up, because when we first served in the legislature he would bring 'em to the floor, and they were just real small girls at the time.

And so it's been fun to watch them grow up as well.

- [Narrator] And what does it mean to receive this honor?

- It's an honor and a privilege to be able to represent OSU and the Ferguson College of Ag.

And it's probably the highlight of my professional career from that standpoint, and I've been in public service for 26 years now.

It's humbling.

- [Narrator] Celebrating Eddie Fields, 2023 Ferguson College of Agriculture Distinguished Alumnus.

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

A reminder, you can see us anytime on our website, and also follow us on YouTube and social media.

I'm Lyndell Stout.

Have a great week everyone.

And remember, Oklahoma Agriculture starts at Sunup.

(upbeat music) (gentle music)