- Hello everyone and welcome to Sunup.

I'm Lyndall Stout.

We often talk about the importance of soil testing for your farming operation, and for the most part, those conversations happen above the ground.

But today's Sunup's Kurtis Hair is digging a little deeper with our OSU extension Soil and Water Conservation specialist, Dr. Daniel Adamson.

- You know, we never really get the opportunity to look at what's really going on below our feet here under the soil.

And Daniel, we actually have a great representation of exactly what is happening right here out in Stillwater, - Right?

Yeah.

So Kurtis, we were able to host the state land judging competition out here.

So we had an opportunity to dig some soil pits.

And it is always striking just what you can see underground, right?

And one thing that people don't usually know about soils is they have very distinct layers.

And we call those layers soil horizons.

And the depth and the quality of those soil horizons really determines how productive a soil can be.

Or it can also determine how productive the soil can be for other uses that aren't agricultural as well.

- And I see that you got this, you know, labeled right here, A, B, C, and R. Now, you know, pretty sure D comes after C. So what are we looking at here, right?

- With R, right?

It was all very logical at first, right?

1, 2, 3, A, B, C, right?

First three horizons.

The last one is R, because we hit some bedrock there, right?

Okay.

- Yeah.

- So one thing you do when you're looking at soil is you wanna understand what sort of material the soil developed in.

So this soil developed in sandstone, and we can see the sandstone layer right here.

And really everything above that is the soil, right?

Because once we hit that bedrock, plant roots can't penetrate below that, it's hard for water to infiltrate below that.

So really there's no productive ground below that level.

- Okay, so let's just like walk through what do we have here with these different soil profiles?

Right?

- Right.

So like we said, a we start with is at the top, that's our top soil.

It's the surface soil horizon.

It's the most biologically active layer of soil.

So that's where we have all the plant roots growing into.

You can see all this really nice root growth here, and that's where most of the microorganisms are active as well.

And so that's where we're storing a lot of soil organic matter and soil carbon.

And that's why we tend to see topsoil is looking more brown in color as well.

Okay?

Right.

And that's why intuitively we say, if you have good black dirt, right?

Yeah, good black soil, that's more productive.

It's because organic matter makes our soils very productive.

So if you go down to the next level, you see we lose some of that brown color slowly, the soil starts to get a little more red.

And that's because this is our sub soil layer.

And this is where we tend to get things accumulating in the soil.

So as water and roots grow down, things move through the soil profile vertically, and we start to collect a lot of clay.

So usually, remember last winter, Kurtis, when we, - I remember that the soil right, I do remember.

So - This one's a little more sticky than the, than the surface soil.

It holds together better.

So we're accumulating some clay in the sub soil.

We're also accumulating some pigments like iron oxides that are making the soil a little more red in that layer as well.

- And what about C?

- Yep.

So as you get below the sub soil, so this is our most active area of soil, you eventually get to the interface where that soil is starting to form, right?

So we're getting close to that rock, and you can see we're getting in an area where we're hitting some of that bedrock, but it's decomposing through time, right?

All that water and biological activity is slowly breaking it down both physically and chemically.

The difference between the C and the R is the sea horizon.

We could dig through this, but really it has very limited development.

So that's kind of the bottom threshold of our soil before we hit the bedrock, which we see here.

- Yeah, and this really tells you a lot, you know, if you're a producer, you can really tell kind of really how shallow this is, right?

Really.

'cause I'm, I'm, you're, you have, I have a little bit deeper of a hole that I'm standing in.

And right here it's still pretty much the same.

- Yep.

Pretty well-defined layer of bedrock here.

So like you, you mentioned Curtis, the depth of soil is really important for determining how productive the landscape can be.

So in this case, because we're only about 25, 30 inches to that rock layer, it's really a relatively shallow soil.

So you can see how a lot of the plant roots stop growing right at the interface of that rock.

So really, plants can't go any deeper.

Plants can't utilize any water or nutrients deeper than that rocky layer.

And therefore this would not be excellent farm ground because it's a little too shallow.

So hence we are, we're managing it as a range land at this point - In time.

And, and I bet too, not just for, you know, production ag, this also has, you know, implications for, you know, maybe building a home as well.

- Exactly.

Yeah.

So, you know, sometimes biological things we want from the soil have different goals than right than physical things, right?

So you know, depending on how you wanna build a foundation or if you need a basement or something or septic systems as well, these can all pose different challenges, right?

So a lot of people in Oklahoma have a septic system.

So if you have too shallow of a soil where you hit a root limiting or water limiting layer, then that septic effluent can't infiltrate properly and it can't treat that water and therefore you're gonna have to have different types of septic systems that you'll install around the home to get around that problem that we have with the soil as well.

- You know, and right here you have a great soil profile with this hole, but you mentioned, you know, off camera that you have another one of these pits that's mainly clay and you said it's basically like a swimming pool with all the rain we've - Gotten.

So in Oklahoma, obviously we are, we're known for our red mudstone clays and shales, right?

So that deep clay, that's just like this rock is influencing water movement, clay can do the same thing, right?

So same soil pit, we're about 200 yards away from here is full of water from the rains.

It doesn't drain well because it's so clay.

So all the water movement is going to move through the subsurface, along the A and b horizon and it's gonna stop when it gets to the clay.

So again, even though the soil can be relatively deep and maybe doesn't have bedrock in it, it's all about how easily that water can move through it and how plants can use it and how living microorganisms can use it and how we can manage the landscape around our homes and on our farms as - Well.

So I know a lot of people can't get out and dig a big hole like this, and there you are, but you have a lot of resources available to help landowners and producers figure out what's going on with their soil, - Right?

So obviously it can be kind of hard to interpret what's in your soil, but if you need some help get in touch with extension and all of this information is available online on the NRC S's web soil survey.

There's also interpretations for different land uses there.

So septic systems, basements, roads, and then obviously our different types of agricultural production as well.

So if you're looking at buying a property and you just wanna check and see what might be underground, there's resources available to help you understand.

Alright, thanks Daniel.

- Daniel Adamson, OSU Extension, soil and Water Conservation Specialist here at Oklahoma State University.

And if you'd like some links to the things that Daniel talked about, just go to our website Sunup.

OKState.edu.

- Last month was officially the wettest April on record in Oklahoma.

And even though the heavy rains helped with drought, there was some flooding in some areas.

Yeah.

So joining us now is Dr. Amy Hagerman, our ag policy specialist.

And, and Amy kind of just what's the narrative and some of the initial guidance for producers who, who may have been affected in their fields?

- Yeah, so you know, we love the rain in Oklahoma.

We like to get that moisture, especially after a couple of really dry years, but the quantity that fell in a very short period of time is gonna cause some damages in some fields, this is gonna be producer specific, depending on where their field is, the proximity to major bodies of water will determine what kinds of damages they might be experiencing.

It could be as simple as some muddy fields that prevent getting out and doing some planting for some of our summer crops, it also could be as major as major erosion problems or additional sediment being deposited into those fields, which can affect the ability to grow crops in the fields as well.

Damages defense lines may be another example of, of the kinds of damages you might see in different parts of the state, especially in those areas that have received well above their, their normal rainfall for the month of May.

- And the first step is usually to, to contact your crop insurance agent, right?

- Absolutely.

Yeah.

So the first thing is if you feel like there's damages to those crops or there'll be prevented planting on those fields, contacting the crop insurance agent, getting someone out there to actually look at those damages and come up with a plan before actually taking any action in that field, that could change what's covered under your policy.

- And typically you would reach out to your local NRCS office, the conservation district, they can all work together and and provide some guidance on where to even start.

Yeah, but that's a, just a little tricky to navigate as a situation is currently, - Right?

So all of the disaster programs are still in place.

They're available for applications.

So if something like a fence line was damaged and needs to be repaired or pulled out and replaced, you could still contact your local farm service agency office to get that process rolling.

However, just understanding that many of those offices are understaffed at the moment because of some of the staffing changes that are happening within USDA.

I think your local conservation district is a great place to start with flooding damages, just to talk to them about any kind of technical assistance they can provide for that erosion that may have happened or damages to the fields and also some of the equipment that they have available that can help address some of those things as well.

Conservation districts of course, still have their doors open, their partners at the NRCS may be under staffed at the moment because of the changes that are happening.

And we won't really know what this will look like long term either for FSA or for NRCS or Rural Development or any of our other USDA state offices until Secretary Rollins comes out with her reorganization plan later this month.

- As we know, it's a crucial time for wheat as we are just a few weeks away from harvest summer crops going into the ground.

It's also storm season in Oklahoma.

So yes, just general guidance for folks, just that preparation piece we wanna, we wanna be sure to mention a little bit of that today.

Absolutely.

- There's always room for additional preparedness, right?

Because preparedness varies with the season that we're in with the risks that we're facing with the risks that we've already experienced going forward.

So certainly now is a good time to make sure your insurance coverage is looking good.

Usually January is a great time to do that, but right now going into storm season, if you haven't done it yet, now is a good time to do it.

Also, thinking about things like where you've got your equipment stored, right?

Making sure that they're in a place that's safe for in case there is flooding or hail or any of these other normal spring risks that we experience here in Oklahoma.

Also thinking about, you know, for your crops, again, being that good conversation with your crop insurance agent or your county FSA office if you have NAP coverage and, and even for our cattle producers thinking about LRP as our price risk management tool as well, anything that could address any sorts of death losses that might come from these extreme weather events.

- Okay, let's, let's hope for the best and, and keep our eye on the forecast for sure this time of year.

Absolutely.

Okay, Amy, great information.

Thanks lot and we'll see you again soon.

Thank you.

- Good morning everyone.

This is state climatologist, Gary McManus with your Mesonet weather Report.

Well, it's certainly gotten quiet around here over the last seven to 10 days that's allowed us to sort of take stock of where we are with the drought, make all the changes that are coming from the last month and a half of rain.

And so we're finally at a stopping point on those changes.

Let's take a look at the newest map and see where we're at.

Well, if you're basically anywhere but far northwest Oklahoma in the panhandle, you're in pretty good shape, at least according to the drought monitor.

We still have moderate drought out across most of the panhandle, but then we have that severe drought across the eastern beaver and Western Harper down into Roger Mills counties.

So, you know, still some severe drought up there, but we have whittled the drought down across most of the main body of the state, just a little bit of those abnormal and dry conditions.

So at least for those folks up in the northwest, we're doing pretty good.

And believe it or not, it's not a cause for concern just yet, but we are working on another dry spell, so we're up to seven days, probably go seven to 10 days before we get some good rains in here.

But for West Oklahoma where the forecast isn't so great, we're liable to see this to continue.

So at least with this map of days across the Mesonet with without a a, a quarter inch of rainfall in a single day, we are up a week and more.

So we definitely need some rain again.

Now if we look at the 30 day rainfall map, still looks pretty good.

Again, some of these rains are starting to age out a little bit, but you can see that area up in northwest Oklahoma that hasn't received the, the good rains that the rest of the state has seen, basically two to three inches, a little bit more, a little bit less here and there.

So when we take a look at the rainfall outlook for the next week, you know, the good news is we are in spring, so we're not so apt to go on those really long dry spells.

We do see increased odds of above normal precipitation across the entire state, but especially across the eastern, you know, two thirds or so of the state.

So at least we're seeing some of those rain chances go up.

I wanted to emphasize, you know, the changes we've seen over the last six months in the US drought monitor.

This graph shows the drought monitor depiction, so all those colors represent the differing intensities of the drought monitor for Oklahoma, starting in August 1st on that left hand side going all the way to the latest map on the right hand side, you can see we did spur a big amount of growth and a lot of intensity there in the fall where we had a lot of that extreme drought, that red color.

And then we had the wettest November on record.

So there you can see that November drought depiction dropped rapidly and then we did pretty good through the winter, but then we saw the drought kick up once again as we got into the spring.

So it was just two to three months after that.

The wettest November on record had se very similar rainfall to what we've seen in May.

And then we had the drought kick up again.

The good news is we're in the springtime, we're in the, the rainiest part of the year.

Hopefully we won't have to worry about these extended dry spells and we'll get some rain in here quick.

That's it for this time.

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

- We're here now with our OSU extension livestock marketing specialist, Dr. Darrel Peele.

So Darrell feeder and fed cattle markets are pretty much getting higher and setting records month by month.

Is that a seasonal change that we expect?

- Well, you know, a lot of times we see after about the first quarter of the year, the lightweight feeder cattle and even the fed cattle typically kind of come off a little bit as we go towards summer.

We haven't seen that this year.

And I think that's a reflection of the fact that underneath it all we've got these extremely strong supply fundamentals that are kind of, you know, offsetting the, the seasonal tendencies that we might have.

Now, having said that, we may see a little bit of, of flattening of these markets as we get into the summer, but what we're seeing is that a lot of stuff that's been building for a number of months in these markets is now seems to be really taking hold and is pushing these markets higher.

- So what are some of the changes that you're seeing that may be affecting these markets?

- Well, most recently, you know, in the last week or so, we've had lots of, we've had some tariff news which changes things and that's been, you know, kind of an ongoing thing.

But we had some fairly big tariff news this last week.

And then on May 11th, the USDA closed the Mexican border again because of some additional cases of, of new world screw worm in Mexico.

And so that's adding at least to the psychology in the, in the, in the feeder cattle markets.

- Yeah.

So what kind of changes can we maybe expect to see from that border closure?

- Well, you know, obviously it's, it's a positive in the sense that it will further restrict supplies at least for some period of time.

We've been getting in the last few weeks before the border closed about 20,000 head a week.

So it's not a huge number and I don't think in and of itself the numbers of feeder cattle is probably the major market move, but I think psychologically it has a pretty big impact on the market just because we already know things are tight and we're seeing these record prices.

This just adds additional fuel to that, to that fire.

- Yeah.

And what about the imports not coming in from that?

- Well, you know, it affects producers who really count on those supplies of cattle.

It's more, probably more of a direct regional impact than it is really a national impact.

But again, I think it does affect the market psychologically because it's just one more thing that tightens up supplies in an already tight market.

- Yeah.

And so what are other things that you, you're keeping your eye on right now?

- Well, as we go into the summer, obviously we're, we're gonna continue to evaluate summer grilling demand and, and beef demand in general as we go forward.

We've got record high prices for retail beef.

We've had very strong wholesale prices as we get to, and most of the buying now is done for Memorial Day.

But as we go through Memorial Day, we'll see how that played out.

We always look back and say, was it a good weekend?

Did we have good weather?

Did we have a lot of outdoor activities that supports that beef demand?

So we'll be watching that and then we'll be just watching the way these feeder cattle supplies evolve.

There are indications now that we probably are beginning a little more aggressively to, to retain some heifers for herd rebuilding.

We don't really know that yet, at least from a data standpoint, but we'll be watching that going forward to see if we see additional indications of that.

- Yeah.

So with the grilling season that you just mentioned, how can we expect the border closure to have any implications on consumers?

- Well, not in the short run.

It's, you know, the, the most of the, well all the cattle that come in from Mexico are feeder cattle.

So it's affecting either stocker producers that normally graze those cattle for a period of time or feedlots where those cattle get placed.

The impact on the supply would come after a few weeks or months when those cattle would normally be finished and they won't be there now.

- Yeah.

So with everything that we've just talked about, what, what's your recommendation for producers?

What should they keep in mind at this moment?

- Well again, we're just trying to take advantage of these markets.

We're in very good shape right now.

There's a fair amount of volatility.

So watch the volatility, do some risk management and other than that, just try to position yourself to take advantage of these markets.

- Yeah.

Alright, thanks Daryl.

You bet.

We'll catch back up with you in a couple weeks.

- Okay.

- Good morning Oklahoma and welcome to Cow Calf Corner.

May is National Beef Month.

This is an annual event in which we celebrate America's farmers and ranchers that are in beef production and the product that they actually produce.

It's versatility.

It's such a good part of the American diet and we encourage consumers as we warm up and embark upon grilling season this time of year to celebrate the product and consume more of it.

At Beef Month comes this year at a time that there is much to celebrate in our industry in Oklahoma.

We've had widespread rainfall over the past 30 days.

Lots of Oklahoma set records for rainfall and it has eased drought concerns.

It has really facilitated spring green up and a lot of grass is growing and a lot of grass is on the way.

Recently we have also seen an uptick in the fed cattle market and with tight supplies and feedlot inventories as warmer weather and grilling seasons upon us, we expect even a little more uptick in that fed cattle market, particularly with tight inventories.

And thirdly, I would say consumers continue to demand quality in beef and in spite of our limited inventories in feedlots, we continue to be able to supply this as a result of taking cattle to heavier weights.

The improvement we've made in the genetics for marbling, we are at seven straight weeks as we tape of seeing prime as a percentage of our weekly harvest mix actually exceed the percentage of select.

Most recently we saw 12% of our weekly harvest mix actually grading prime.

So we are meeting that demand and we continue to enjoy consumer demand for a quality beef product.

And the last thing that I note is we're starting to see a little uptick in heifer retention as of April 1st, we're at about 37.6% heifers on feed and feed yards.

This is about the lowest number that we've seen in five years.

Our average over the last four years has been around 39 and 39.3%.

So we're a little down in that number of heifers on feed.

This is the first sign we've seen of some potential heifer retention and maybe a little regrowth of our national cow herd.

I encourage all of you to enjoy beef this month as well as through the summer.

I'd argue that it is nature's perfect food and as always, thanks for being with us on Cow-Calf Corner.

- According to the United States Bureau statistics, workers involved in forestry fishing and agriculture had the highest case fatality rates in 2022.

I think most farmers and ranchers are very aware that agriculture's a dangerous occupation.

I think when we think about agriculture and injuries and fatalities, we think about machinery or vehicle collisions or tractor rollovers, but a fair number of those injuries and fatalities come from animals.

In a survey of seven states in the United States, it was found that cattle accounted for about one third of injuries.

Another survey found that one third of the fatalities that were caused by cattle were with animals that had been previously found to be aggressive.

Many factors play a part in injuries and fatalities with animals.

One survey found that the age of the victim was significant.

Older ranchers were less likely to be injured compared to younger American ranchers.

This may be due to overconfidence or inexperience.

Medical conditions were found in another survey to play a part.

Those people with hearing loss or arthritis were more prone to getting injured compared to those that didn't.

Again, we usually associate this with older people.

It is also reported that one third of the fatalities caused by animals occur when somebody is alone.

Another factor considers facilities, cattle equipment, housing and working facilities contribute to injuries.

This is especially true with bulls.

Most, if not all injuries and fatalities can be prevented.

Livestock producers can prevent injuries from fatalities by studying animal behavior, using proper animal handling techniques and using equipment properly.

Beef quality assurance as well as many other groups, provide training in animal behavior and low stress handle.

Facilities and equipment are costly, but when designed and used correctly, accidents are reduced.

Individuals need to protect themselves by wearing proper footwear, clothing, and head and eye protection.

Also, many accidents happen when farmers and ranchers work alone.

A partner present to keep watch may prevent an injury.

Lastly, producers need to recognize their limits.

When animals are involved, overconfidence will get someone hurt.

From a personal standpoint, I've had my share of accidents.

I've been bitten, scratched, clawed, tossed around, and smashed by a variety of animals.

All of these incidents were a result of human error, overconfidence, lack of knowledge, and poor equipment.

I suspect that my life is similar to other ranchers and farmers.

We should remember, we have one life to live, so we better make the best of this life.

If you'd like more information on how to prevent accidents in agriculture, go to sunup.OKstate.edu.

- Finally, today we caught up with OS U'S Wheat Breeder, Dr. Brett Carver for some timely observations as he was scouting in the field at Lahoma.

- This is a represent, a good representation of wheat streak mosaic virus symptoms or just weak streak mosaic is what we could call it.

The, the streaking that you see in the veins and the streaking of clerosis is, is highly characteristic of the name wheat streak.

But what I think can be really deceiving is these stripes that we have or the streaks that we have in that, in that leaf could mislead somebody to think, oh, I have stripe rust, but there's no pustules.

But still you can have stripe, rust without necessarily the pustules yet to develop.

And so it would be easy to think, I have stripe, rust, let's apply a fungicide.

So this is, again, a virus.

We have to remember that we can't apply a fungicide and expect to get any results out of it.

A fungicide will not help us control a virus.

You we're used to talking about Wheat Streak mosaic So out in the panhandle, the western part of our state.

But more and more now, we're seeing infections occur at the same time as it would in the high plains.

But in the central corridor, the central wheat corridor in Oklahoma, that's, that's alarming to, because a lot of our wheat varieties are not bred, at least the ones that are grown downstate, central corridor are, are really equipped to handle this kind of disease.

But if we're going to get around it, we can't use a chemical.

We have to rely on genetic resistance to get around this disease.

So it's very important for our growers to learn which varieties might have resistance and there's gonna be varying levels of resistance.

Not every variety is going to have the same level of resistance to this disease.

Very important for our growers to to, to be aware and, and be educated on that.

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

A reminder, you can find us anytime on our website, follow us on social media and stream us anytime at youtube.com/sunup tv.

I'm Lyndall Stout.

Have a great week everyone.

And remember, Oklahoma Agriculture starts at Sunup.