(bright music) - Hello, everyone, and welcome to SUNUP.

I'm Lyndall Stout.

A big week on the OSU campus with the arrival of hundreds of young people taking part in the 102nd State 4-H Roundup.

Artistic talent is definitely on full display at this stop.

Just one of the dozens of activities taking place, covering all sorts of topics.

4-H represents four personal development areas, head, heart, hands, and health, and is focused on priorities like civic engagement, healthy living, and science.

We'll have more from 4-H Roundup a little later in the show, but first we're talking about blister beetles in alfalfa and the importance of scouting this time of year with our extension alfalfa specialist, Kelly Seuhs.

- Hey, my name is Kelly Seuhs.

I'm an extension alfalfa specialist here at Oklahoma State University.

I'm gonna talk a little bit about some of the things we've been seeing this year in alfalfa.

Generally, when we talk about alfalfa scouting or alfalfa weevil scouting, we look at the alfalfa degree-day model that's based on the Oklahoma Mesonet, the mild winter that we had caused things to happen pretty quick, and growers were having to go out and put out sprays a little bit earlier than normal about two to three weeks earlier than normal.

We put out an application about the end of February and so usually we're talking about the middle to the end of March.

So it was two to three weeks early.

So the trouble with that is when you spray it, you have to put out an application that early, the residual doesn't last that long and so we have to have at least one or two more sprays before harvest time.

And so that was one of the issues.

The insecticide resistance issue we've been looking at for the last several years to a lot of our pyrethroids products where they're commonly used, they're very economical, pyrethroids like lambda-cyhalothrin, but the problem is overuse of these products tend to cause resistance and that's kind of what we're seeing.

And we've got about eight or so different products that we can use, but unfortunately, five of those products are pyrethroids.

And so the problem is if you start using one pyrethroid and build resistance to that one pyrethroid, they all use similar modes of action with that same classification.

So we tend to build up a resistance to that one particular class of product.

And so that's what we're seeing now.

What I'm getting, the calls most on right now is blister beetles.

We're in a pasture area right now where we see a lot of grasshoppers.

It tends to go in cycles where you see a lot of grasshoppers, you'll see a lot of blister beetles and we have gotten several calls this summer in the last two or three weeks of blister beetle activity.

It depends on the situation.

If you've got them coming into the border areas, if you're, you know, if you're selling for horse hay, things like that, really be concerned about your management keeping the weeds down, keeping flowering structures down, management around inside and outside the field and keeping those flowering structures 'cause blister beetles are really congregated on flowering structures.

Make sure you really do some good scouting and make sure that you're able to identify, hopefully, identify any kind of swarms that you may have in the field at that time and hit it with a short residual pyrethroid.

And within a few days, they should be gone.

We've got a new study coming on that started this year.

It's a multi-year study with several other universities and industry.

We're looking at, our current model looks at, for alfalfa weevil looks at the larval stage, when to start scouting.

We're looking at the adult stage and when to see, when that timing is, when adults emerge in the spring.

And the idea is if we can get a handle on that and maybe we can start applying things early before eggs are even laid in the alfalfa stems and even prevent the larva from hatching in the first place.

We've just got some preliminary data from our first year studies.

We're kind of, try to, testing things out a little bit to see what products worked and the timing of different things.

We're looking at stubble treatments as well as threshold treatments and so we're looking at some things like that.

We're gonna try to hone all that in and get some more trapping mechanisms in place for trapping adults next spring.

And hopefully, we'll have some more data, more conclusive data next spring.

If you need more information about any alfalfa pest, just go to the SUNUP website.

(bright music) - Hi, Wes Lee here with another edition of the Mesonet Weather Report.

The problem with Oklahoma summers is that when we get in a rut, we tend to stay there for a while.

Rainfall was great in June and the first half of July, but then the water taps turned off.

This five day rainfall map from Wednesday shows that just a few fractions of an inch of rain fell mainly in the northeast.

The prospects for rain continue to be slammed throughout the weekend and likely much longer.

This rain forecast map printed midweek includes all the rain expected through Sunday.

- You can clearly see the high pressure heat dome keeping Oklahoma and Texas dry.

The heat appears to be fully in control for now.

Highs on Tuesday were in the hundreds in the West and mostly high 90s in the East.

Add the humidity to this situation and you get a heat index, especially in the East, of another 10 degrees or so.

This map through Tuesday shows sites where we have seen 100 degree temperatures are really starting to stack up.

By the end of the week and probably over the next few weeks, there will be very few if any zeros on this map.

The rut should continue into and through next week as indicated by all of the red on this temperature forecast map.

Now here's Gary with more rain details.

- Thanks Wes, and good morning, everyone.

Well, a true Oklahoma summer actually showed up finally.

Lots of heat, as Wes mentioned.

Rainfall went away.

We got a lot of sunshine, some strong southwesterly winds.

What's that mean for the drought monitor?

Let's get straight to that new map and take a look.

Well, actually, our drought map looks pretty good.

We had a little bit of improvement up in far northwestern and north central Oklahoma, which got a good swath of rain last week.

Otherwise, we're holding steady.

No real pressure on the map just yet, even though we're starting to miss that rainfall a little bit.

Speaking of that rainfall or the lack thereof, we do see on the Mesonet map of the consecutive days with less than a quarter inch of rainfall, and we are starting to get up into about two weeks since we've had a good rain over about the southern half of the state.

Again, that northern half has had a rain last week, but we are starting to see a little bit more dry weather come in to the state over the last couple of weeks.

We can see that on the 14 day rainfall map, and again, that southern half or really two-thirds of the state, a little bit low on rainfall, generally less than a quarter-inch, less than a half-inch.

A little bit more or less here or there, but that northern half of the state got the good rains above an inch generally, in some cases above two to three inches.

So, the real problem areas aren't showing up just yet.

It's just getting dry.

Not too unusual for the latter part of July, of course.

Now, here's something interesting as we look at the difference between last year at this time and this year at this time.

Look at this Relative Greenness map from the Oklahoma Mesonet that we saw last year, July 26th, 2022.

Basically the western half the state in dire drought conditions due to that flash drought, especially the Panhandle.

Very dry out across this part of the state.

The eastern half of the state not too bad, but it was certainly getting drier and starting to head into drought.

Then we look at the map from this week.

What a difference a year makes, especially out in the Panhandle.

I'm not sure we've seen the Panhandle that green in any recent times in July, so certainly good news for those folks and also over much of the state.

Just a little bit of a dry area showing up down in far Southwest Oklahoma, and of course the wheat belt is also showing not as green because those crops have been harvested and we got a lot of bare fields out there.

So, but again, a big difference since last year at this time and we certainly welcome those rains that we've had.

That's it for this time.

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

(upbeat music) - The extreme heat has been in the news almost every day, which increases our chances for heat exhaustion.

For some help and guidance, we're joined now by Dr. Janice Hermann, who is our OSU Extension Nutrition Specialist.

And Janice, really the hydration is very important.

Talk about signs of dehydration.

- Well, signs of dehydration start really early.

Actually, once you are thirsty, that's a sign you're losing body water.

But thirst, fatigue, dry mouth.

It can also lead to confusion.

And with more severe water loss, you can have a decrease in your blood pressure as well as a reduced ability to maintain your body temperature, and eventually that can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

- Probably we need way more water than we realize, especially when it's this hot outside.

- Yes, the adequate intake for water for males is 3.7 liters, and for females is 2.7 liters, and that's just an adequate intake.

If you are physically active or you're out in hot, humid weather, your needs may be even higher.

- And sometimes we think, "Oh, I'll have a a sports drink "and that'll do it," but water really, you're supposed to start with water, and then when should you maybe add something else?

- Well, actually, you wanna drink fluids before you're out, while you're out, and after you're out.

And one little trick you can do is weigh yourself before you go out and do some activity and then weigh yourself after.

And so probably the difference in water loss is gonna be reflected in your weight, and you're gonna need about two cups of fluid for every pound loss.

- So where do sports drinks come in then?

- So most activities, less than an hour, plain, cool water is the best.

We absorb that really rapidly from the stomach, but.

- Whether you're doing sports or just being really active outside in the heat, beyond an hour you do lose some electrolytes when you perspire.

And so after an hour, then maybe the sports drinks that have some electrolytes would be helpful.

- What about people who say I don't like the taste of those sports drinks?

Are there options for them?

- So you can just flavor your water with lemon or lime but also there are hydration packets that you can add to water that provide electrolytes that can be beneficial.

- You mentioned some of the signs of, you know, dehydration.

What are some of the signs that we're getting into some more serious territory in terms of our health?

- So like if you're stumbling, you're confused, you're dizzy, you feel faint, you have flushed red skin, muscle cramping, nausea, vomiting, an increase in the respiratory rate and heart rate, a throbbing headache.

And if particularly if you stop sweating and you then you're rapidly, those are signs that you really need to get some help.

- Last but not least, who is most at risk for heat exhaustion and dehydration?

- Well, young children are particularly at risk because they actually have a higher percent body water than adults and they're often not aware that they need water or drinking fluids regularly.

Older adults are particularly at risk because there are several things that occur with aging that put them at higher risk.

Older adults may not feel thirsty, the kidneys are less able to conserve water.

As we get older, we have less muscle and more fat, and a lot of water is in muscle.

So when you lose muscle you're losing that reserve of water.

And then again, older adults may self-limit water intake due to concerns of incontinence or mobility.

- Well, great information Janice.

Thanks for spending a few minutes with us.

Very important information this time of year and we're not even into August yet.

Okay, we'll see you again soon.

(upbeat music) - Our OSU Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, Dr. Derrell Peel is finally back on signup.

So Darrell, the USDA just recently released their latest July cattle report.

So what did that report tell us about cattle inventory?

- Yeah, so this is our mid-year, you know, sort of check on where we are with the, you know, the bigger cattle inventory.

All of the numbers were down as expected.

We're still getting smaller as an industry.

So, you know, the total cattle inventory was down, the beef cow herd was down.

Beef replacement heifers were down.

We calculate the feeder supply from various inventory categories plus using the on feed numbers.

That's down.

The only number that wasn't actually a negative on a year over year basis was the dairy cow herd, was just even with a year ago.

So continually tighter numbers.

- So here in Oklahoma, a lot has changed since the last time you were on this summer.

So has there been any changes in liquidation at all?

- Well, you know, that's one of the questions of this report was would it show that we've kind of stopped liquidation?

Are we thinking about transitioning into a a herd rebuilding or a herd expansion?

And the short answer is we can't see it in the data yet.

Certainly we've seen a lot of improvement in drought conditions in some areas.

We do still have some drought in other regions.

Kansas, Nebraska, over into Missouri now, still has some drought.

But I think, you know, I think we're probably physically at a point where we're not seeing so much liquidation from the drought impacts.

But the numbers would say at this point that we have not started any process of retaining heifers or other things that would be required to rebuild the herd.

- So the monthly cattle on feed report also came out.

So what was in there?

- Well, you know, we look at the on feed inventory it was down about 2.2%.

We did have a big placement number for June which was a little bit of a surprise.

And again, what that says is we keep seeing cattle move into the feedlots.

Some of that may still be drought related.

I think a lot of it just has to do with the fact that feedlots are scrambling to try to keep their inventories as high as they can knowing that there's tighter cattle numbers ahead.

So, you know, the cattle on feed report really reinforced the mid-year cattle inventory report particularly since the quarterly breakdown of heifers on feed was actually equal to a year ago.

So that tells me that we're still putting heifers in the feed lot.

We're not retaining 'em yet.

- Yeah, you know, it's no surprise to anyone that, you know, cattle or beef prices have really risen sharply over the past, what, 8, 9, 10 months, something like that.

Maybe the last year even.

So what is this gonna be like, you know, going forward as we kind of go into the fall and kind of finish out the rest of this year?

- Well, you know the market's raising prices, you know, for cattle.

As we get into tighter numbers, ultimately that's gonna translate into, particularly for the cow calf sector incentives to rebuild the herd.

The reports tell us, the inventory numbers tell us, that we're not doing that yet.

So we expect to continue to see as cattle numbers get tighter, we'll continue to see a trend up in prices even to higher levels.

We're gonna set new records across the board for all cattle, we already have for fed cattle, but the feeder cattle will do that as well as we go forward.

- So as we go forward, what are some things that producers should be looking at with their, you know, production systems as they're heading into the fall and the end of the year?

- Yeah, you know, depending on your situation going into this, some producers are still trying to, kind of on the defensive from a drought standpoint.

Maybe they're trying to heal up either financially or letting their, you know, forage resources heal up a little bit.

But certainly when we look at where we're at, we're gonna have an extended period here of tight cattle numbers, strong prices, not just for the next few months, but really for the next two to four years.

So, you know, producers have an opportunity here to think a little bit more strategically, if you will, get themselves positioned as best they can, depending on their circumstances, to be able to take advantage of that situation.

- Alrighty Darryl, it was great to have you back on Sun Up and we'll see you again in a couple weeks.

- Sounds good.

- All right, thanks Darryl.

Dr. Darryl Peele, livestock marketing specialist, here at Oklahoma State University.

(country music) - Dr. Kim Anderson, our crop marketing specialist, joins us now.

Kim, Russia and Ukraine continue to lead the market news.

What are some of the big takeaways that you're observing?

- I think before we look at Russia and Ukraine, you gotta look at the bottom line and that is, that we're harvesting a record 29.3 billion bushel crop.

I think we need to look at our prices determined on the world market and that price is determined by export demand.

You look at the news stories, Russia closed down the ocean grain corridor through the Black Sea area, that essentially stopped exports coming out of Ukraine.

And we saw a price impact in that.

Another story that came out this week was about the solidarity lanes.

The European Union said that they should create solidarity lanes.

This is mostly a land movement of Ukrainian export goods, moving them to exports.

Now that'll increase price and a negative on that one, it'll get stuff outta Ukraine on the market and that'll be good.

But it also gives Russia an advantage on the wheat market.

And so looking at the supply of wheat, we got it there.

It's just gotta get in the market.

- Let's get a little more perspective on why Russia and Ukraine, the wheat situation has such a big impact on prices.

- Well, it's like I said, what's important is, that 7.8 billion bushels of wheat go on the export market.

And if you look at the percentages of all of that wheat, you've got Russia at 22%, you've got Ukraine at 8%.

You know, you've got almost 30% of all wheat, Ukraine and Russia.

You can look at the other countries, small amount, that wheat is getting out there.

But if you look at bread flour wheat, Russia's got 37% of that market and Ukraine 8%.

Now we removed a major part of that 8% of Ukraine's off, and we've seen that price increase.

Now, one thing, news deal I didn't talk about, was Ukraine said, Russia is assuming that all ocean vessels coming into our ports carry military goods.

We're gonna assume the same on Russia and we're gonna target ships going into their ports.

And that's why we saw that big price increase early this week.

- So many moves and counter moves and then they do it all again.

Hypothetically speaking, where do you think prices would be if we didn't have this war in the first place?

- Well if you go back to '17 and '18, we saw Covid come in, that got us about a $3 increase.

The war came in, that got us another 4, then backed off.

Overall, I'd say the war got our prices up around $10.

When we got the Russian and Ukraine wheat back on the market, prices got down around 7.50, 7.75 to 8.

You look at what's going on, since the first of the year to June 1, Oklahoma prices average $7.85.

June and July prices $7.82.

So I think with the wheat coming in the market, the way with the war right now, that's where prices would be.

Take Ukraine out, we got that price up to 8.50.

It's come back down since then.

So without the war, I think we would see prices in the $6.50 to $7 range.

But that's my best guess.

- As we've been talking about, its 4-H roundup week.

And you do some programming with young people as well.

- Yes, last week we did the state 4-H and FFA state wheat show.

The 4-H participants, they entered five pounds of wheat.

And on that contest, we give away over $8,000 in 4-H scholarships and probably another $1,000 in cash awards.

That's a great program for these farm kids to learn the importance of producing a quality wheat product.

- For sure.

Okay, Kim, thanks a lot.

We'll see you next week.

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

I'm Mark Johnson, and this week's topic is on the importance of water.

Water is really the most critical nutrient that we have for beef cattle.

If we think about beef animals, water is over 50% of their weight.

It's involved in the regulation of temperature.

Something that's extremely critical this time of year because it's definitely warmed up in Oklahoma as we tape here in late July.

It's involved in dealing with all kinds of stress, in particularly.

- Heat stress.

And so we take a little time this week to talk about some ballpark estimates of just how much water, a cow actually needs that's in production.

And the interesting thing about water, and water requirements for a cow from day to day, it's gonna be influenced a lot by her stage of production, whether or not she's a dry or lactating cow.

And even as we think about those different stages, does she milk really heavy?

Does she milk really light is also gonna influence her daily water requirements.

The mature size of that cow and just how big she is, is gonna play a role in how much water she needs each day.

And we get into the type of grass, that we see cows running on.

And this time of year, as we look at, whether it's Bermuda grass, whether native grass pastures, that dry matter content of that forage gets a lot higher, and there's less moisture.

We may be grazing the same pastures, and the same grasses that two or three months ago, might have been a much higher moisture content, than those are as a more mature grass right now.

And cows can meet their water requirements just by ingesting straight sources of water as well, to some extent by that moisture content that's in whatever feed that they're consuming.

So that plays a role as well.

It gets interesting thinking, about all those different things, just how much water a cow is gonna consume.

We can reference an OSU fact sheet, that came out a few years ago and come up with some pretty good estimates, of just how much water a mature cow needs day to day.

The other thing that's gonna influence the water intake of cows, is just the temperature.

And we're gonna talk a little more, about heat stress in next week's episode.

But on a 90 degree day, a 1,300 pound dry cow needs about 14 gallons of water a day.

A 1,500 pound cow that milks pretty heavy, maybe is giving 30, 35 pounds of milk a day, is gonna need well over 20 pounds of water in a typical day, the more the heat and humidity goes up, those requirements get even higher.

As we see that temperature go down, those requirements actually are reduced a little bit.

And so it's the time of year that we typically get more concerned about things that may cause heat stress.

We need to keep an eye on our water sources.

We've dealt with some dry conditions, in Oklahoma the last couple years.

I know in a lot of cases, we may still have stock water ponds that are a little bit low.

So take into consideration what your cows need, as far as daily water requirements.

Some general rules of thumb to keep in mind, for every 10 degrees the temperature goes up, over 40 degrees Fahrenheit, you're gonna bump the daily water requirement, of a cow by about a gallon.

For every, each additional gallon of milk that a cow gives, you're gonna bump her daily water requirements, by about a gallon of as well, it's almost a one-to-one relationship, relative to the amount of milk produced, and the amount of water that a cow is gonna need.

So those are the drivers, the things that influence it.

Obviously, an important time of year, with the temperatures heating up here in Oklahoma, to keep in mind what those daily water requirements, of beef cows are gonna be.

Thanks for joining us this week.

- Finally today, a beachy theme, for the 102nd State 4H Roundup.

This year, young people were encouraged to surf the waves of 4H success.

(children talking) - [Abby] All this week is the State 4H Roundup, so we are having different contests, different workshops.

We're gonna hear from lots of amazing speakers, and get to elect our new state leadership council.

- [Becky] So Roundup is something that, especially in my county, we work towards that all year long.

We build excitement for, this is a trip for some kids, that get to get to come to Roundup, but some of my greatest memories with 4H, is is coming to State Roundup.

I actually lived here in Stillwater, so it wasn't a big trip for me, but I did enjoy coming and seeing all my friends and meeting all kinds of people that I'm still in contact with today.

And, you know, Roundup is a highlight for 4H and any counties, I just say get involved in it.

Get your teens here, especially for our teens.

'cause there's such competition for their time anyway.

And 4H Roundup is a great draw for that age group.

- [Abby] I would say to just get outta your comfort zone.

Try something new.

When I first started in 4H, I was a shy little girl who wouldn't talk to anybody, like, would not talk to anybody.

But it's really shown me being able to get outta my comfort zone that I actually love talking to people, and I love giving speeches, so I just say to try something new, get outta your comfort zone.

- 4H is the largest youth development program, in the United States, empowering more than 6 million young people in every county across the country, including right here in Oklahoma.

And 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.

From 4H Roundup, I'm Lyell Stout.

We'll see you next time at SUNUP.