THE PONCA CITY NEWS, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012–PAGE 3-C

Drought Maintains Its Grip On North Central Oklahoma

NEWKIRK — Isolated spots in Kay County received one-half inch of rainfall last week, but not enough, considering that evaporation rates per day with the triple-digit tem-peratures are near the same amount.

Severe drought grips two-thirds of the state. The Okla-homa Mesonet reports that North-Central Oklahoma has experienced temperatures above 100 degrees in July and has received only 12 percent of the normal precipitation, a deficit of nearly three inches in the past 30 days.

In its July 22 report, the USDA topsoil and subsoil moisture conditions are esti-mated as very short. The U.S. Drought Monitor is predicting the drought will continue to persist and intensify.

Spring row crop conditions have deteriorated rapidly, especially double crop soy-beans. Livestock producers are noting shortages of hay and grazing forages.

Susan Henning, District Manager for the Kay County Conservation District con-tacted a few local livestock producers and farmers last week to get their take on the drought situation.

Joe Kreger, manager of Bois d’Arc Beefmaster Cat-tle, southwest of Tonkawa, said he believes his opera-tion is in worse shape this year than in 2011. Although 2011 allowed the clean-out of ponds and early 2012 spring rains helped fill them up for livestock water, Bermuda and native grass pastures are still set back from last year.

Kreger said he has not been able to replenish hay inventories, because they are grazing instead of baling hay meadows. Their only salva-tion in 2011 was late rains in August and September, which revived the Bermuda grass and delayed feeding hay later into the fall.

Kreger said these last two years are reminiscent of the 1950s, when they would sad-dle up their horses and let the cattle graze the ditches and cattle herds had to be liq-

uidated for a pittance of the normal market price.

Kreger said “You just have to trust the Good Lord and be an optimist to survive in this business.”

Mimi Aupperle, a cattle rancher from the eastern tall-grass prairie region of the county, said recent rains have been spotty, but she believes this year is much worse than last year since the native grasses have not recovered from 2011.

Aupperle said she was lucky that her brome hay benefit-ted from the early spring 2012 rains and yields were about the same as in 2011. It was definitely an advantage to cut hay early this year. Ranchers

in her area took advantage of the dry ponds last year and cleaned them out as well, just in time to collect the early 2012 rains. Natural springs in the area, however, have stopped running.

She notes that native grass, even though in shorter quan-tity, seems to have been better quality forage. Her cows are still producing well. Fewer ranchers are bringing in a second batch of stockers in July due to reduced forage availability.

Neal Otto, a local no-till farmer in the Kildare area, jokingly says that they are just “one rain ahead” of last year.

This year is different as

early spring rains replen-ished the topsoil moisture but the subsoil is still depleted from last year, he said.

“Now with this triple digit heat and drying winds in 2012, the topsoil moisture is deplet-ed,” he said. “Last year there was no corn harvested. This year the corn produced small ears, but yields are a third of normal.”

Otto said if he had known how this summer would turn out, he would have planted corn in March instead of April.

First crop soybeans are sur-viving but have yet to set on any pods, due to high temper-atures, he said. Double crop soybeans following wheat are a loss.

Otto has baled some prairie hay, but due to early spring rains and the thinned grass stands from last year, cheat has been a real problem.

Dale and Steve Wooderson, farmers in the Blackwell area and seed dealers for DeKalb corn and Asgrow soybeans, echo Otto’s predictions of this year’s corn and soybean crops.

Dale Wooderson said that only small ears of corn with light test weights are in the

fields and fears that aflatox-in levels may be high. They have tried harvesting some of the corn but the dried stalks break off and plug up the corn head on the combine.

Steve Wooderson said he believes that the yields will only be 10 percent to 20 per-cent of normal. Cooler tem-peratures and rains could still give the first crop soy-beans a chance. Double crop soybeans in the area never received the much-needed rains since planting and many farmers are abandoning them to prepare fields for wheat planting.

Dale Wooderson reports that at least for some farm-ers, this drought comes on the heels of a bumper wheat crop. However, 80 percent of his wheat was hailed out.

Steve Wooderson noted the milo or grain sorghum was “holding in there” last week, but continued high tempera-tures and drying winds have also caused it to decline.

Dale Wooderson agreed with Kreger that 2012 looks like the mid-1950s. He said that year the soybeans looked like “dried tobacco” in the field.

To assist farmers and ranch-

ers affected by the drought, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced recently that he will allow additional acres under the Conservation Reserve Program to be used for haying or gazing under emergency conditions. CRP is a voluntary program that provides producers annu-al rental payments on their land in exchange for planting resource conserving crops on cropland to help prevent ero-sion, provide wildlife habitat and improve the environment.

Haying and grazing will only be allowed following the local primary nesting season, which has already passed in most areas. Especially sensi-tive lands such as wetlands, stream buffers and rare habitats will not be eligible. Before producers hay or graze CRP acres, they must receive approval from the Farm Ser-vice Agency office at 580-362-3362.

Wetlands Reserve Program acres have also been released for emergency haying and grazing in drought–affected areas. Approval for haying and grazing on WRP acres must be approved through the NRCS office in Newkirk at 580-362-3362.

TEMPERATURES ABOVE 100 degrees, no rain and drying winds have been brutal on crops in Kay County, including this corn crop which has dried up and is starting to fall down. Farmers estimate 10 to 30 percent of the normal yield if the corn can even be harvested.

POLLEN IN the corn tassels was killed due to temperatures in the 100s, causing this poorly filled ear.

County Conservation District Announces Contests Theme

NEWKIRK — The beginning of school sig-nals opportunities for students to participate in contests sponsored by the Kay County Con-servation District.

“Soil to Spoon” will be the theme for all student poster and essay contests this year, as it is the national stewardship week theme.

“Making the connection back to the soil, where our food gets its start, is so important,” says National Association of Conservation Districts President Gene Schmidt. “The next time you sit down to a meal, take a minute to think about where your food came from, and the farmers and ranchers who helped produce it.”

As they work to produce food for the grow-ing population, today’s farmers and ranchers are dedicated to using responsible land-man-agement practices to ensure a sustainable food supply and healthy land and soil for future generations.

Kindergarten students will color pictures depicting where our food comes from and how it relates to the soil. These pictures will be displayed at the Kay County Fair in Blackwell Sept. 11-15. Each student will receive a blue participation ribbon.

Competitive contests include poster, essay and speech contests. The Kay County Farm Bureau is partnering with the conservation district by providing poster board for the posters and medallions for winners in each age category at the local level.

First place winners in the local contest will be eligible to compete at the area level. State and national competitions will also be held. The poster contest is open to children in grades kindergarten through 12th grade, with a separate division for special education students.

Area schools will receive an informational packet on the contest. Posters must measure 14 by 22 inches. Schools and individual stu-dents may request poster board directly from the Kay County Conservation District office at 580-362-2438. Requests for poster board must be made by Sept. 14. Completed entries are due Oct. 5. Posters should be created using two dimensional art techniques such as watercolor, markers, crayons and colored pencils. No three dimensional projects will be accepted.

The Newkirk Herald Journal and the Kay County Conservation District are sponsor-ing a conservation-minded essay contest for students in grades 6-8. The essay must follow the theme “Soil to Spoon” and include infor-

mation on how the Kay County Conservation District helps with conservation of natural resources and mention the district by name. The essay must be from 300 to 500 words in length, typed and double spaced with speci-fied cover page.

Entry deadline is Sept. 26 to the Kay County Conservation District Office. Preferred entry is by email to kayccd@conservation.ok.gov. Entries may also be mailed to 5501 North Pleasant View Avenue, Newkirk, OK 74647 or faxed to 580-362-2834. The Newkirk Herald Journal is sponsoring cash awards to the first place ($10) and second place ($7) winners and third place ($5) in each grade level. Area and state competitions will also be held.

The Kay County Conservation District Speech Contest will be held at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 4 at the Farm Service Center in Newkirk at 5501 North Pleasant View Avenue. Students enrolled in a public or private school or who are home schooled in grades 8-12 within Kay County are eligible to compete in the county speech contest.

The theme of each speech is anything topic related to conservation of natural resources. Students compete in grade level divisions: grades 8-10 and grades 11-12. The contest is not just for students involved in ranching and/or farming, but all students are encour-aged to participate to learn how conservation is important for residents of both rural and urban settings and to benefit from the public speaking experience.

Resource materials are available at the Kay County Conservation District, Natural Resource Conservation and OSU Extension offices in Newkirk or students are encour-aged to interview farmers and ranchers, visit their local libraries and search the Internet.

The Ponca City News is sponsoring awards to the first ($25), second ($15), and third ($10) place winners in each division. The top two local winners in each division are eli-gible to represent the county at the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts Area II meeting in November in Oklahoma City. Participants are asked to pre-register by Oct. 1 by contacting the Kay County Conservation District.

For complete contest details, call the Kay County Conservation District at 580-362-2438 or stop by the office at 5501 North Pleasant View Avenue in Newkirk.

Susan HenningDirector, Kay CountyConservation District

Talk To Cover Irrigation, Conservation

STILLWATER — Gardening enthusiasts who want to learn more about water conserva-tion and irrigation should make plans to attend the Brown Bag Lecture Series at The Botanic Garden at Okla-homa State University Aug. 9.

The event will take place from noon to 1 p.m. at the Education Building at the gar-den. Guest speaker will be Lou Anella, ornamentals pro-fessor at OSU.

Laura Payne, volunteer/education coordinator at The Botanic Garden at OSU, said Anella will give a tour of the OSU Water Conservation and Irrigation Training Center, which is new to The Botanic Garden. He also will focus on water conservation strategies for home landscape irrigation.

“We encourage those with an interest in gardening to bring their lunch and spend an hour at The Botanic Garden in an effort to gain informa-tion they will find valuable for their own gardens at home,” Payne said. “Now that we’re getting into a really dry part of the summer, the informa-tion available at this lecture will be especially beneficial to gardeners.”

Members of The Botanic Garden at OSU may attend at no cost. Non-members will need to pay a $5 fee. Pre-regis-tration is not necessary.

Steve Dobbs, OSU grounds and landscape manager, will speak Sept. 13 about plants used in landscapes to create texture and diversity while saving space.

Todd Lasseinge, executive director of the Oklahoma Cen-tennial Botanic Garden, will speak Oct. 11 about the role botanical gardens have in preserving horticultural plant germplasm.

OSU Agricultural Communications Services

Drought Hard on TreesNEWKIRK — Trees and shrubs become a permanent part

of the home landscape, adding to a home’s appearance and increasing its value. But trees also provide shade, reducing summer cooling costs by as much as 50 percent, reduce wind speed by 75 percent and, in turn, winter heating costs by 25 percent.

Trees also provide privacy, create noise barriers, stabilize soil and prevent soil erosion, and can provide abundant har-vests of fruit and nuts for people and wildlife.

It is estimated that every person would have to plant 45 trees to store the carbon they would be responsible for producing in their lifetime, said Susan Henning, director of the Kay County Conservation District.

To protect their investment, landowners should plan for care and maintenance of landscape plants, especially during times of drought, Henning said.

Symptoms of a tree under drought stress can come on sud-denly or may take several years to be noticed.

“We are probably seeing symptoms show up this summer from the drought last year,” Henning said.

Sudden tree death may be caused from a damaged vascular system due to insects or diseases, such as Dutch Elm Disease. Other symptoms include wilting, curling of leaf edges and yel-lowing or scorching of leaf edges or intraveinal areas on decid-uous trees. Evergreens may display yellowing needles or ones that turn red or purple. Some leaves may prematurely drop off.

Often the drought will not outright kill a tree, but will set it up for more serious insect and disease damage in subsequent years, Henning said.

She advised watering deciduous trees to a soil depth of 12 inches, saturating the soil within the dripline of the tree canopy, increase this by 3 to 5 feet beyond the dripline for evergreens.

“At least 90 percent of tree roots are located in this top 12 inches of soil,” she said. “You should plan on watering slowly over a period of time to facilitate deep penetration of water into the soil profile, which encourages deeper root growth with more drought resistance.”

A general rule of thumb is to use approximately 10 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter at knee height for each watering. Henning said it takes about five minutes to dispense 10 gallons of water from a hose.

Mulching around trees with 4 inches of organic mulch will also reduce moisture loss.

“Be sure mulch is pulled back 6 inches from the trunk of the tree to prevent the harboring of insects or rodents which may feed on the bark,” Henning said. “Don’t dig holes in the ground in an effort to water deeply. This will only dry out the root zone more.”

During times of water restrictions, give trees, especially newly planted ones, ones growing in landscape strips by side-walks or driveways priority over lawn grasses. Lawns can eas-ily be re-established in a couple of months, whereas a tree will take 20 years to replace.

Postpone fertilizing trees during a drought, which may cause a flush of new growth that the roots may not be able to supply with water, Henning said. Remove dead and damaged limbs to reduce the chance of secondary insect and disease problems.

For more information about protecting plants in your land-scape, call the Kay County Conservation District at 580-362-2438.