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

I'm Lyndall Stout.

Oklahoma wheat producers certainly haven't minded dodging the raindrops this past week.

The moisture a very welcome sight.

And that's where we begin today with an update on the crop with Dr. Amanda Silva.

- Yes, we are really excited to see this rain.

It's been a very good slow, soaking rain that our wheat was really needing.

You know, before that we all know the conditions.

In some cases I would say we were able to plant wheat in moisture, and in some last week we started changing moisture.

And so we do have different scenarios in the state, and in some situations, producers decided to plant a little bit earlier than they would just to take advantage of the moisture that they had available.

Some other parts of the state, it was just really dry and they haven't even started yet.

So we have some variability, and everybody was just trying to make the best decisions and take advantages of the moisture we had available.

So we are all excited to see this moisture now.

- In terms of the crop overall around the state, how far along are we with planting?

- So according to the USDA report, we are about 70% planted, about 50% emerged.

From the fields that we planted, most of the fields that we planted so far have emerged within seven days from planting.

Our forage trials, as you can see here, it was planted about a month ago, a little bit more than a month ago, is looking really good, is growing really well.

So for that early-planted wheat, this moisture now is really going to help to sustain the forage.

And so it really increases our prospects for grazing starting this fall.

And it will also help our seedling growth.

- Given some of the variability of planting dates that you mentioned, you all are kicking off a new research project looking at planting dates.

- Yes, we do have a new study this year so we'll be testing different planting dates, so October, November, December; different seeding rates, and different varieties.

And this study will be on farm fields.

So we have one at Apache, south-central Oklahoma.

One will be near Ponca City, and another one will be northeast Oklahoma.

So that's the work that we are doing on farm fields.

So producers should be able to see during our plot tours in May next year.

- And there's a competition that is getting underway.

Tell us about that.

- Yeah, so this is a new thing that we are doing here at OSU as an extension team.

So Brian Arnall and I are organizing this.

It's called TAPS program.

So Testing Agronomic Performance Solutions.

So we'll have different teams participating, and in this year I think we'll have, we'll start with eight teams.

So the teams will make different management decisions in wheat, and will compete with each other.

So right now the teams that we have are wheat improvement team, Oklahoma Wheat Commission, Oklahoma Wheat Growers.

We also have some farmers' teams, and K-State is also with us, and also will have teams from our area, agronomy specialists, and extension educators.

So this will be very fun.

Will be implemented here in Stillwater, and we'll compete with each other as far as yield, end-use quality, and profitability.

- Great.

Well I think from what it sounds like that's a pretty competitive group anyway, so I'm sure it'll be fun to watch all this evolve.

- Yes, yes.

So I invite everybody to stay tuned in our social media.

We'll be showing everybody and talking to everybody about it, so it'll be very, very fun.

- Great.

Thanks a lot Amanda.

We'll see you again soon.

(cheerful music) - Hi, Wesley here with another edition of the Mesonet Weather Report.

There was a dramatic change to the weather this week that some are hoping is the first evidence of a cooler, wetter pattern.

I don't know about that, but we have the remnants of Hurricane Norma to thank for the great soaking rains much of the state received last week.

On Wednesday afternoon the two-day rain totals showed rainfall at most sites outside of the panhandle.

Totals in most of the western half of the state ranged from half an inch to up over four inches seen at Newkirk.

You can see where the rains were targeted on this shallow fractional water index map where one is as wet, and zero is as dry as the sensor can read.

Rain was forecasted to continue through Thursday night with more rain in the south and eastern portions of the state.

An additional cold front expected for the weekend has the potential for more rain, but with it much cooler temperatures.

- Freezing temperatures are a possibility on both Saturday and Sunday nights, with highs on Sunday projected to be mostly in the 40s.

This cooler than normal weather may persist into next week as seen by the evidence of blue on this map.

However, the rainfall outlooks look mostly dry at this time.

Gary's up next with just how this week's rain fits into the long-term picture.

- Thanks, Wes, and good morning, everyone.

Well, as it continues to rain as we film, I'm gonna take a look back at the drought about where we were before the storms began.

We're gonna get a little bit of a baseline and then next week, hopefully, we have lots of great changes to look at.

Well, the drought map, this week it did change, but for the worst, so the rain that fell after Tuesday will go on next week's drought map.

So the only changes we really had this week was a little bit of an increase in the D1 moderate drought up in Roger Mills and Ellis Counties.

So that little bit of a change is a precursor to hopefully, lots of great improvements coming on next week's map.

So stay tuned for that.

When we talk about the flash drought that's plaguing our state, it's really started like back on July 21st.

But you can see here from the consecutive days with less than .25" of rainfall map from the Mezonet that even those bad days of no significant rainfall, they go back past 30 days, past 40 days in some cases, across a large part of western and central Oklahoma up into north central Oklahoma.

So certainly, glad to get this rainfall, at least for much of the state, and put that flash drought in our rear view mirror.

Can see that better on the 90 day rainfall map from the Mezonet.

Again, lots of rain over up in northwestern Oklahoma, up in Woods County.

Lots of rain over in the eastern third of the state up into parts of central Oklahoma, but a large part of the southwestern half the state, less than five inches of rainfall, and in fact, less than four, three, two inches of rainfall in some cases.

So this current rainfall that we're getting is certainly well placed across southwestern and south central Oklahoma.

Let's look at that on the 90 day departure from normal rainfall map.

Again, south central Oklahoma, you can see those large deficits, five, six, eight inches, nine inches in some cases.

And again, over in far southwest Oklahoma, five to six to seven inches of rainfall below normal, and up in north central Oklahoma as well.

So these areas are the parts of the state that needed that rainfall the most.

I know everybody needed it, but some folks were more down than others.

So hopefully it was well placed and we have a much better looking map next week.

And finally, we're coming to an end to our long stretch of above normal temperatures, in some cases five to 10 to 15 degrees above normal statewide.

As you look at this graph of the statewide average high temperatures versus the long-term average, we do see that since about mid part of July, we've been largely above normal in temperatures.

And now, we can finally take a little bit of stress off the soil moisture and the plants, get those temperatures down.

So hopefully, we have a much better looking drought map next week, much better looking rainfall maps next week.

And then we'll get started on eliminating the drought from there.

That's it for this time.

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

(lively country music) - It's time to check in on the livestock markets with our Livestock Marketing Specialist, Dr. Derrell Peel.

And Derrell, the USDA released their October Cattle on Feed Report and there were quite a few surprises in there.

So let's walk through 'em.

- Yeah, this report for October showed that placements in September were up 106% of last year.

They were expected to be up on a year-over-year basis, but not up that much.

So that was a surprise.

Marketings for September came in at 89% of last year.

They were expected to be down, but this was a little bit more than expected.

So the combination of bigger placements and lower marketings meant that the October 1 cattle on feed number was actually up almost 1% on a year-over-year basis.

So that's the first increase in cattle on feed inventories that we've seen in the last year.

- So what was the reason for those increased placements?

- Well, I think there's several things going on.

Probably drought's still playing a part of it.

So probably some cattle were moving a little bit earlier than expected.

That may be a timing issue where they just won't be there later, but they came in earlier.

But I think part of it is just the fact that markets have been so strong, we're up so much on a year-over-year basis, producers are taking advantage of that, particularly if they're not quite convinced this is gonna continue.

They're really wanting to take advantage of the market.

So they went ahead and sold feeder cattle earlier than usual, perhaps.

- There was also a quarterly report about steers and heifers.

So what did that tell us?

- So we've been anxious to see this heifer on feed number in particular.

At some point, we expect to see that come down.

We've been watching it for at least a year, but it didn't.

In fact, heifers on feed in the October report were up from, not only from July, but up slightly on a year-over-year basis.

And so that makes heifers on feed 40% of the total feedlot inventory right now.

That's the highest level that we've had as a percentage of feedlot inventories for heifers since 2001.

So we've still got a lot of heifers on feed and clearly, it means that we're marketing most females at this point.

- So what are the short and long-term implications of all that information?

- Well, you know, the fact that the cattle on feed inventory went back up a little bit, the placements were bigger than expected.

So the market reacted bearishly in the short run to that.

- It means that feedlot supplies are gonna be a little bigger than previously expected here for the next few months working through those.

However, the longer term implications, I think are very bullish for the cattle industry simply because of this female situation.

When you combine with the heifers on feed, heifer slaughter that comes from that and the continued relatively strong levels of beef cow slaughter, it's very clear that this industry is still liquidating females.

And the beef cow herd inventory will be down on January 1, 2024.

And so any rebuilding that we're gonna do has not started yet and will be delayed.

It's gonna take longer.

That means we're gonna be in this tight supply situation for even longer.

- Now, you mentioned drought earlier in that report, so as we can see, it's raining right now and it's been really dry.

How is this widespread rainfall that Oklahoma's expecting to get?

Is there gonna be any impact at all for the dual purpose wheat that was planted?

- It very well might.

We're looking to get substantial rain across a large chunk of Oklahoma, including areas that grow wheat for winter grazing.

It's gonna be late, pretty clearly, but this may be the rain event that gets us some wheat pasture and so that'll provide a little more support for these stocker markets.

- Alrighty.

Thanks, Daryl.

Dr. Daryl Peel, livestock marketing specialist here at Oklahoma State University.

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

Kim, what's the latest news in the crop market?

- Let's start with China.

The United States and China signed a trade agreement.

The market's semi excited about it.

We'll have to wait and see what comes on there.

Ukraine, they're shipping grain and products out of that export corridor that they created.

Russia doesn't seem to be disturbed about it and so that's working relatively well.

You got Australia.

One part of Australia's too wet, another's too dry.

USDA's got their production around 900 million bushels.

Last year was 1.33 billion bushels.

The average is 1.03, so slightly below average there.

Argentina, they've had some production problems; too dry, too wet, 1.14 billion projected, 1.26 last year, average 1.16.

So slightly above our below average production in Argentina.

- Talk a little bit more about this agreement with China.

Help us understand it and potential price impact.

- Well, if you look at that agreement with China, that just really says that they're gonna buy more products from the United States.

They did come in and buy soybeans this week.

So I think the market believes it's just kind of a marketing ploy or a political ploy.

It looks good.

It may not change things very much.

When China needs a commodity, they come in and buy it.

- Did any of this market news impact wheat prices?

- Not positively.

You look at the wheat prices, I mean, for the full month of October and go back through September, we've been trading $6 to $6.30.

This week, we did see some weakness in wheat prices; got below $6, it got below 6.60 on that December contract.

I think that's significant.

I think we had support at that level and we're losing it.

But if you look at the world, 28.8 billion bushel.

Not a record crop.

The record crop's 29 billion last year.

You've got the ending stocks for the world, 9.5 billion, average 10.3.

So tight world stocks and tight US stocks.

So I'd be a little surprised at a big move down, but right now wheat prices look weak.

- How about corn and soybean harvest?

Any price impact there?

- No, I don't think there's any.

We did have China buying.

We got a little blip up in price, but insignificant.

Corn prices, somewhere around $4.67, plus or minus 10 or 15.

Not much going on there.

The harvest going on, oh, it's coming in relatively large.

We got the ending stocks for corn projected get well above average, a world production, a record, a near record, 47.8, lots of corn, and that's where we're seeing these weaker prices and below average prices.

Soybeans, the beans are coming in as expected.

The US stocks are tight, the world stocks are above average.

So a lot of uncertainty there in soybeans, but a good price and it looks like it's gonna hold for a while.

- And last but not least, how is cotton looking?

- You look at cotton, they're just staying around that, oh, 82 to 85 cent level on that ICE contract, around 80, 81 cents in Oklahoma.

You look at their production world, 79.9 million bales, their last year was 83.1.

So a lot of cotton being produced, but relatively tight stock.

So a good price.

- Alrighty, Kim, lots of great information.

We'll see you next week.

(cheerful music) - You know, it can be quite tricky determining whether or not if your heifers are open or closed.

And we're joined now by our extension beef cattle specialist, Dr. Rosslyn Biggs, to find out exactly how to determine whether or not you have a pregnant heifer or not.

So what are some pregnancy testing options that producers have available to them?

- [ ] We really have three main options.

Either palpation, palpation with ultrasound or blood testing are our three main options for pregnancy testing.

- So why is it important to to know whether, I mean, why does that matter?

- Well, you know, the, the intense part of breeding is getting that cow or heifer pregnant, right?

And we wanna know as soon as we possibly can, understanding that there are challenges of handling cattle and getting the labor all gathered up.

But if we don't know whether or not she's pregnant and we potentially feed her, right now through the winter, while she's not pregnant, then we're leaving money on the table.

We would be much better to come up with a different option for her, whether that is to move her to a different breeding season, internally within the operation or potentially market her.

- And I'm sure that that cost can be compounded if you have more heifers out in the field that you're trying to get pregnant.

- Absolutely, and especially on those heifers we want them to get pregnant early and that way they calve early and can come back and get pregnant again.

So if we'd have a defined breeding season and those heifers are not getting pregnant they really need to be looking for a new job in the future rather than stay within the herd.

- And given all the struggles and challenges that Oklahoma producers have been facing these past couple months, I'm sure, obviously they don't wanna add any more issues onto their production.

- Right, you know, we've been in, we're just getting rain today, of course, but - Mm-hmm, as you can tell.

- 'Cause we all got soaked.

- But, as we can tell, - But we're looking at having to put out the hay, having to put out the feed.

Our, you know, our forage reserves are more limited than they have been in many areas of the state.

And so we don't need to be feeding something if she's not gonna be making us money.

- And this is obviously something that I think, you know, working with your local veterinarian must be really important, right.

- With the options, there's not a perfect fit, necessarily, for every operation.

And so producers need to have a discussion with their veterinarian because there's pluses and minuses to each one and you need an option that fits your operation.

- So walk us through some of those pregnancy testing options and what are the, you know, the positives and negatives of those.

- Sure, palpation is kind of the standard, it's been here, it does take a high degree of skill and, you know, the thing about it is, is that once we sleeve that heifer cow we know right then and there, where she's in the chute, whether she's pregnant or not, as long as we have a skilled person performing that palpation.

The challenges with that is, again, you have to have the skill to do it and you have to have someone that is available during the time that the cows can be worked.

With ultrasound, we can learn earlier whether that cow or heifer is pregnant.

Again, takes a lot of skill and a lot of time to do that, and within Oklahoma there are only certain individuals, licensed and certified individuals, that should be doing that.

And so then finally we have blood testing, which for many producers may be a good option.

However, we're not gonna know instantly, even if we do use the chute side tests, there's generally a 15 to 20 minute timeframe.

So we're gonna have to handle those cattle again or you can potentially send that test to the laboratory.

And so again, as we mentioned, discussing which option works best with your veterinarian is really the way to go and it can be customized for each individual operation.

- Alrighty, thanks Rosslyn.

Dr. Rosslyn Biggs, OSU extension beef cattle specialist here at Oklahoma State University.

And if you'd like some more information on how to preg check your cattle, go to our website, sunup.okstate.edu.

(brisk music) - The topic Dr. Biggs just talked about applies to nearly all cattle operations, regardless of their size.

We head south now to Oklahoma City to look at a new exhibit on the art and nature of cattle ranching, commissioned by one of the largest ranches in the world.

(brisk music ends) - [Narrator] To the casual observer, the small spring at the center of this painting may seem inconsequential, but it is the reason the legendary King Ranch in Texas exists.

- The story is that Captain King came from Brownsville all the way to Corpus Christi and the only fresh water he found was what became Santa Gertrudes Creek, which is on the ranch.

And really the main source is this seep springs that is right on the ranch.

- [Narrator] The work is one of 34 currently on display at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City in the exhibit "King Ranch: A Legacy in Art."

Noe Perez is the artist.

- And I'm primarily a landscape painter and I have to go on location and do small format, you know, six by eight, eight by tens of the land.

And you know, you're rushed because the light is changing, all of the conditions are changing, so you have about an hour and a half, tops, to do something.

And they're not necessarily finished works.

They're really research to capture colors or light, values and that sort of thing.

- [Narrator] That's what it took, along with thousands of digital photos, for Perez to paint these mini scenes back at his studio, depicting such diverse settings.

- [Noe] We see coastal lands, we see.

- [Noe] Brush country.

There's really quite a variety in that within those 825,000 acres.

- [Lyndall] Bob Kinnan was a longtime employee who is now a consulting historian for the ranch.

- And the landscapes are beautiful for people to see, but they have great meaning for the family and for the people of King Ranch because all of these subjects that we depicted in Noe's art are historically significant to us.

- [Lyndall] The paintings took two years and are now featured in a new book.

- And to me, these oaks are just beautiful.

I just love painting these things, so.

- [Lyndall] Perez drew inspiration from his deep love of the land.

- Their whole livelihood really is about stewardship.

They do all sorts of things to make sure that the grasslands, wildlife and of course, their livestock are, really have the best conditions to thrive in.

So these ranches are really exemplary stewards of how to handle that land.

- [Lyndall] Sam Fuhlendorf is a professor and researcher of rangeland ecology and management at Oklahoma State University.

He's also a native Texan.

- What we really focus on is the land and the passion that ranchers have for land, both these ranchers and the ones that are here in Oklahoma, are basically unsurpassed by any other profession in the world.

This is what they do is they live on the land, they work with the land, and their relationship with the land is not just as a commodity.

It's actually a part of their way of life.

- [Lyndall] And of course, water is central to all of that.

- Basically rangelands are almost entirely about needing water because almost all rangelands are limited in the amount of water that they have.

In fact, I remember hearing a rancher when I was a student say that the best way to describe their area is continuous drought interrupted periodically by flood.

And I think that's pretty characteristic of a lot of rangelands, and that's one of the reasons it's amazing to see them thrive for so long is they basically figured out ways to do that.

- And these paintings that fortunately we're able to share with the state of Texas and now the state of Oklahoma, they're just a tribute to who we are and what our history is.

This is not only a tribute to King Ranch.

It's a tribute to ranching in general and no better place to depict that than this beautiful museum.

- There's a beauty to be found there that few can appreciate.

And I hope to kind of highlight that a little bit through these paintings.

- Not only highlighting, but bringing to life the glory of nature, all of it humbly connected to a chance water source that became a lifeblood for many generations to follow.

(gentle music) You can check out the King Ranch exhibit at the museum through January 2nd.

And that'll do it for our show this week.

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

I'm Lyndall Stout.

Have a great week everyone.

And remember, Oklahoma agriculture starts at sunup.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues)