News Update
April 26, 2018
Fire Relief Opportunities
A relief fund has been established by the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation (OCF) to help cattlemen who have been affected by ongoing wildfires in western Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma wind and drought conditions spurred several large fires on the western side of Oklahoma (April 12), affecting many cattlemen,” said Tiffani Pruitt, coordinator of the OCF, a charitable arm of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association (OCA). “One thing we’ve learned from the wildfires in the past few years is that folks are quick to want to help those in unfortunate situations, and that is truly humbling. The OCF is happy to provide a place for funds to be held. We will coordinate with the Extension offices in the affected areas to organize relief efforts and to identify ranchers that are in need.”
According to Michael Kelsey, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, “OCA is coordinating with Extension, the Farm Service Agency and others to bring information to ranchers about disaster assistance. We humbly ask for prayers for ranchers, firefighters and folks in the paths of these devastating fires.”
Continue reading this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Wet, Cold Spring Could Lead to Seedling Blights in Corn
This year’s wet, chilly spring has delayed corn planting across the state of Kentucky. With additional recent rains, the corn that is in the ground could be susceptible to seedling blights, said Kiersten Wise, University of Kentucky (UK) extension plant pathologist in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
Seedling blights are caused by fungi and fungal-like organisms that are prevalent when cool, wet soil conditions occur during or after planting. The most common seedling blights are caused by pathogens in the Pythium and Fusarium families, but they can be caused by other fungi too.
“Cool, wet soils slow plant growth and give pathogens more time to infect and damage seedlings,” Wise said. “The best way to prevent seedling blights is to wait for drier weather to plant, but when this isn’t possible, farmers should keep in mind that they need to scout fields to determine if seedling blights are impacting stands.”
Symptoms appear after emergence or in early growth stages. Farmers should scout their fields for areas with poor emergence, patchy stands, stunted plants, yellow plants or plants with root discolorations.
For more information, read the full release online.
Agricultural Broadband Bill Important Milestone,
Farm Bureau Says
The Senate Commerce Committee April 25 approved S. 2343, the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018. The bipartisan bill is an important milestone in delivering broadband service crucial to the operation of modern farming equipment. The bill would create a task force to focus on the connectivity and technology needs of modern farmers who are too often without broadband in the fields and on the ranches where they work. According to the Federal Communications Commission, 39% of rural Americans lack access to 25 Mbps/3 Mbps service, compared to only 4% of urban Americans.
Today’s tractors, harvesters and other farm equipment gather vast amounts of data to determine the precise amount of seed, water, crop protection products and nutrients to deliver based on soil conditions down to the square inch. Such precision maximizes yield, lowers environmental impact and improves profitability at a time when farmers must watch every penny to survive. Even so, all that data has to be processed somewhere, and to do that farmers need high-speed connections that link their equipment to far-off data centers.
Learn more in the Farm Bureau news release online.
Cattlemen Invite Trump and Pence to
Survey Wildfire Damage in Oklahoma
On April 25 the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) invited President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to visit Oklahoma and survey the damage caused by devastating wildfires in the western part of the state. Cattle producers and rural communities in western Oklahoma are reeling from wildfires that have engulfed more than 320,000 acres of land and continue to grow.
“In addition to the daily stress and anxiety caused by the wildfires, cattlemen and rural communities have suffered extensive financial losses, including homes, cattle, ranch equipment and fencing,” the groups wrote in the letter. “Given the severity of the situation, we would like to extend an invitation for you both to visit the affected areas, meet with producers who have suffered losses and see what help can be given to these great Americans.”
According to reports from producers on the ground, total damage and losses are far worse than when wildfires last struck in 2017. The full impact of the wildfires will not be known until weather conditions change and the fires are under control.
Keep reading this NCBA news release online.
Brush Country Beef 706:
Three-part Series for Beef Cattle Producers
The Texas Beef Council and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will present the Brush Country Beef 706 program, a three-part series of hands-on workshops and field trips focusing on beef quality management and marketing.
The series is geared toward beef cattle producers in Atascosa, Bee, Bexar, Karnes, La Salle, Live Oak, County, McMullen, San Patricio and Wilson counties, but other producers are welcome to participate, coordinators said.
“The series is a checkoff-funded program open to all beef cattle producers and is designed to help them maximize profits and have a better understanding of the production process after their cattle enter the feedyard,” said Dale Rankin, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent, Atascosa County.
The first session will be May 3 at the Live Oak Livestock Auction, 3795 U.S. Highway 281, Three Rivers. The location is four miles south of Three Rivers or six miles north of George West on U.S. Highway 281.
“The program will begin at 5 p.m. with dinner, and attendees will hear from industry experts on issues affecting feeder calves and the value they receive at auction,” Rankin said.
For more information, please view the full release online.
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