Extension Service is one of those real jewels
in this country. Anyone who's ever used it,
anyone who's ever been in 4-H, anyone who's
ever had a relative who's participated in
a contest sponsored, anyone who's ever gone
to the home extension economist or the county
agent to ask a technical question understands
what an important asset.
This is farm to you and it's a program put
on by OSU Extension. It basically teaches
kids about agriculture.
It gives an educational, hands-on, fun program
for the kids to learn where their food comes
from, and then how it affects the body.
Tomorrow we will head to Stillwell, Oklahoma.
This program goes all over the state, so we've
been to 71 of the 77 counties.
There's 10 stations, and each of them is
a different topic. So the first four talk
about agriculture, so they talk about growing
fruits and vegetables, raising dairy cows.
Then after those then they enter the body
through the mouth. Then they go into the stomach
area, and on into the intestines.
They love that one. That is the small intestine,
so those are the villi hang down and they
get to learn about that and what that does
in our body.
So then they talk about muscle and bone, and
the importance of nutrition for that.
The final station is the skin station where
they get to see their germs.
We are able to partner with our FFA chapters
and provide those students with a leadership
opportunity, and they're the ones leading
the different sessions.
We do have really high rates of obesity, unfortunately,
in Oklahoma. High rates of heart disease,
high rates of smoking and tobacco as well.
So we're not only promoting what our commodities
are but we're also educating and providing
good information of where these products come
from and how they benefit our health.
Its just one more way that extension can reach
out and educate the public, which is our goal,
to really help our cities and our communities
be better.
We have this remarkable presence in all 77
counties, which gives us the ability to extend
what's going on here on the campus in Stillwater
throughout the state today instantly through
technology and through our extension agents.
At noon on April 22, 1889, settlers lined
up for the first Oklahoma land run.
By the end of that day, Oklahoma City and
Guthrie would come into existence with at
least 10,000 new citizens.
Many of the settlers were not looking for
life in the towns and cities, but somewhere
to grow crops and raise livestock.
They wanted to be farmers.
And this posed a problem.
Little was known about the climate or soils
in the new territory.
These new farmers weren't quite sure what
to plant, and in some cases, even how to farm.
We assume most of the people that came here
were from farming backgrounds but many people
had not. There was the first opportunity to
own land.
Also, it took a while for us to find what
was going to grow in different parts of the
state
One crop that did show promise was cotton,
particularly in southern Oklahoma.
King cotton, as it was called during the Civil
War, still dominated the South.
The yearly cotton crops fed local cotton gins
before being shipped to textile mills on the
East Coast.
But in 1892, the Mexican Boll Weevil crossed
the Rio Grande river into Texas.
[Boll Weevil song]
The beetle fed on cotton buds and flowers,
and spread at a rate of 60 miles per year
throughout the South.
Entire farms and even towns were abandoned
as it moved into new areas.
The beetles fed on cotton buds and flowers,
and spread at a rate of 60 miles per year
throughout the South.
Entire farms and even towns were abandoned
as they moved into new areas.
In an effort to save the industry, the federal
government turned to a past college administrator
and agriculturist by the name of Seaman Knapp.
While serving as President of Iowa State College,
Knapp started a campus farm to experiment
with local crops and production methods.
It was so successful, Congress asked him to
help write the Hatch Act, a federal law that
established similar experimental farms at
every agricultural college throughout the
US.
But farmers often never heard about or ignored
the new discoveries and farm practices made
at these facilities.
What was needed was a way to extend this knowledge
directly to farmers.
People like Seaman Knapp come along and they
figure out that it's very, very critical
to take scientific knowledge that is being
developed in being able to produce food. You
just can't take science and say to a farmer
or an average citizen "Here take it. Do
what you to want with it." You got to people
who can translate it.
Knapp began by setting up a demonstration
farm in Terrell, Texas.
The Porter family agreed to farm 70 acres
of cotton as directed by Knapp.
Local businessmen put up one-thousand dollars
as a guarantee in case the crop failed.
It didn't.
Porter's harvest was twice as large as the
previous years.
The demonstration farm was so successful that
in 1904 Congress appropriated funds for Knapp
to form the Office of Farmers' Cooperative
Demonstration Work.
Knapp knew the problems went far beyond the
boll weevil, which only exposed "wrong farming"
and bad business practices.
Farming to him was both science and art.
The science of agriculture could be taught,
but becoming a successful farmer also required
observation, experience and good business
methods.
Farmers of the day were deeply suspicious
of the federal government telling them what
to do.
A better way was to show them.
Knapp expanded demonstration farms throughout
the state.
To help establish these farms, Knapp began
hiring special agents.
These agents were usually young men with agricultural
backgrounds.
They travelled the state visiting with farmers
in their demonstration fields at least once
a month between planting and harvesting.
But they also tried to help any farmer in
need.
Some of the farmers they met were not receptive.
In fact some of these farmers were resentful
of these young whipper-snappers telling them
that they needed to change how they did things.
Extension agents didn't force change on
people. They simply came in and said if you
would like to with us we would like to work
with you.
One of those agents hired was a Texan farmer
named Walter Dimmitt Bentley.
After three years of lecturing, Knapp asked
Bentley to help develop an extension service
in the western part of Indian Territory.
In late summer of 1907, Bentley became the
first extension agent assigned to Oklahoma.
Taking the charge from Knapp, Bentley began
hiring new agents for every county and securing
new demonstration farms.
In time, the effort would come to be known
as the Cooperative Extension Service and,
at least in Oklahoma, Extension Agents would
be renamed Extension educators.
You think of the university you think of educators.
Our roll in extension really is to take the
university to the people to teach and train
them, to engage with them in solving their
problems. An agent on the other hand often
carries the connotation of somebody who's
enforcing the regulations. And we don't
do that.
The demonstrations farms that Bentley set
up are long gone, replaced by an extension
office in every county.
And while educators still work closely with
agriculture producers, their mission is to
help every Oklahoman
We're here at the county extension office
in McCurtain County. Um, we're located in
the county seat Idabel. We're located inside
the McCurtain County courthouse.
So we are seen as an office of McCurtain County,
but at the same time we're an office of
the State of Oklahoma and Oklahoma University.
Well, the extension office is part of our,
the courthouse and we rely on extension. I
mean that's to me that's one of the most
important departments that we deal with because
that deals with the people.
We deliver four kinds of programs: Agriculture,
and Family Consumer Science, and 4-H, and
Rural Development.
Here in our office we're fortunate that
we are fully staffed with three professional
educators. Um myself I work with agriculture,
horticulture, and rural development issues.
We have a 4-H agent:
I grew up right here in McCurtain County.
Went to high school in Haworth, which is just
southeast of here.
I was really fortunate to to be a recipient
of the McCurtain County 4-H Hall of Fame.
That's the highest honor here in McCurtain
County that you can receive in the 4-H. And
so 4-H to me has just been a life long dream
of mine since 9 years old.
Of course McCurtain county being the third
largest county in the state of Oklahoma, I
have about 14, 14-15 clubs. I oversee all
the volunteers, meet with them, make sure
everything is going good, and I oversee your
4-H kids.
And I want them to have someone like I had
when I was in 4-H. A good role model, you
know someone to go to for help, for record
books.
I mean there's always something going on
shooting sports, to different project areas,
to different activities, at the state level
at OSU in Stillwater.
It's in the smile on their faces when they
win something', or you push them to do something'
that you know they can do, and they achieve
that goal.
When their smiling' and the have kind of
their chest bowed out is what I say. At the
end of the day, that's what makes me happy,
what makes me smile, what makes me glad to
be really fortunate to be in this position.
Extension has a history of being known for
our assistance of ag producers, but we're
much broader than that. Particularly when
you think of what we do with Family and Consumer
Sciences.
Oh, I love my job. I get to work with families.
I get to work with young children and adults
of all ages. I may be teaching a diabetes
education workshop one day, and answering
parenting questions the next. Um, I may be
in the schools teaching character education,
or also in the schools teaching nutrition
programs.
Today we had a diabetes education group meeting.
I've seen a lot of change in people's
lives with the diabetes education. some of
my members have come back and stated um how
they've improved their blood glucose levels
significantly, how they've lost weight and
all by following the information that they've
gained from this programming.
When people come into the office and end up
honing in on a particular question, they generally
like to leave with something in their hand
that they can use in more detail and remember
some of the specifics and read it again as
they leave. So our fact sheets are still a
major part of our program.
They're a means of providing typically form
four to eight pages of in depth information
on a particular subject.
What's in a fact sheet has ben refereed,
approved and reviewed and is scientifically
based information.
Soil tests are one of the done at all of our
county offices, one that I think perhaps we
are most known for. where people bring in
their soil samples, we send them into OSU,
to the lab.
For $10, a customer can receive a basic soil
test.
We get lots of questions. How much fertilizer
do I need to put on my tomatoes? How much
do I need to fertilize my pecan trees? How
much lime do I need to put on my pasture?
Their purpose is to get the proper application,
that one: saves you money so that you don't
over apply fertilizer we don't need to;
and secondly: saves the environment, there's
no reason to put extra fertilizer on there
that washes down into our streams and creates
environmental problems. So it's trying to
manage fertilizer, the land and the environment
correctly.
Without OSU, Extension service the county
would really be hurt if we didn't have extension
service. And I feel like money is well spent
to the taxpayers.
While Knapp and Bentley were establishing
a federal extension service, Oklahoma State
University, then known as Oklahoma Agricultural
and Mechanical College, was also establishing
programs to help local farmers and ranchers.
The relationship between the federal and state
programs was not always cordial, but each
side made an effort to work with the other.
Bentley's agents would meet at the new college
whenever possible to help promote harmony
and friendly relations.
As its name suggested, Oklahoma A&M already
had a large stake in agriculture.
It was a land-grant university.
The land grant system was set up under the
Lincoln Administration in the 1860s to make
it possible for every citizen to have access
to an education.
And at that time, the only real universities
around were private, and the only people that
went to those universities were the privileged.
Lincoln thought everybody ought to be able
to go to college and that it would be good
for the country.
The Morrill Act was passed in 1862, but it
would be another 30 years before the government
established a land-grant university in Indian
Territory.
What the land grant refers to is that the
federal government had a lot of land in every
state, and the bargain was that we'll give
you land to build your university, but that
university must focus on certain areas, and
those areas were agriculture and mechanical,
and in the early days, military for male students,
but it goes on to say not to the exclusion
of the cultural arts.
Oklahoma A&M began in 1890.
A second Morrill Act would create a land-grant
system serving African-Americans in Oklahoma
and establish Langston University seven years
later.
The campus of Oklahoma A & M College was located
on the grounds of Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment
Station in Stillwater.
Created by the Hatch Act, the Experiment Station
researched local crops and agricultural techniques
for Oklahoma producers.
But even at the very beginning they would
send out bulletins and eventually began sending
out circulars. These went out to local communities.
They would occasionally have demonstration
farm events and invite- invite people to Stillwater
and to the experiment station.
One such event was the Farmer's Institute.
These were usually two-days of lectures and
discussions, and offered free of charge.
Later, these were taken over and organized
by the State Board of Agriculture.
Once Oklahoma A&M was established, it too
began a series of short-courses and moveable
schools on agriculture.
Farmers could hear more than 180 different
lectures and participate in sixty afternoons
of practical work.
Discussions on Saturday were open to all,
whether they had taken the courses or not.
Modern Extension continues to works hard to
keep Oklahoma producers up to date.
One-day events called "field days" demonstrate
the latest advances in agriculture.
And short courses still provide both novices
and seasoned producers the information and
training to improve their profitability.
Extension is good to provide non-biased researched
information to the taxpayers of Oklahoma.
I am participating in the master cattleman
program that is at the extension office here
locally.
Well, master cattleman Program was developed
by Oklahoma State University to help update,
and to, in the case of people wanting to get
in the cattle business, a chance to introduce
them. We work all the way from finances to
genetics to nutrition to carcass merit to
marketing. And we go through those step by
step and covering the different tech, different
options people have in those areas and try
to help them provide them with the knowledge
where they can make the choices they need
to improve their operation.
My operation that we have here is a registered
seed stock business that focuses on fertility.
We produce bulls and replacement heifers for
the commercial cattleman. I started when I
was 8 years old with buying my first registered
cow. Then we kind of stayed in it as my family
did, and as my father passed away I just continued
to carry on the family business.
I think what the class helps me with on is
applying science to good business, where to
spend the money so you get the best pop out
of the dollar you are working with.
We can get, in the case of the class that
we are teaching now, thirty-forty people together
that are involved, they're interested. They
get to meet once a week, and not only do they
hear the presentations but they also get to
discuss amongst themselves and feed off each
other in their quest for knowledge and quest
for improving their operation.
And the group setting allows a lot of times
for new concepts and new idea to come out
that my challenge you from doing things that
your dad did, or doing it the way you've
always done or because you've been trained
that way.
But it allows you to look that and say Gee
I didn't think of that thought, and implementing
that, and people will give you feedback. Yeah
I did that and the difference is made in their
program.
You know we've shared a lot of stories and
I think as a whole I think we've learned
a lot. I've learned from them, I hope they've
learned from me.
At one time, when I started out I worked with
that were all very close to the farm and to
the land if you will. Today, we have people
three, four and five generations away from
the farm. A lot of people have a great desire
to deal with livestock and to be involved
with the land.
We always talk about we provide non-biased
research information, and so we are one of
the few sources you can come to if you are
looking to buy a new product or try a new
technique or whatever, that we're not trying
to sell you something.
There are certain amount of lectures that
you can go to and they can cost you eight
to nine hundred dollars for a three day class
and they can teach you about grazing, forages
and all that, but the extension service gives
you all of that at a minimal low cost.
You know, we're just trying to give you
the facts and all the insight on what would
be the best in your situation, and we provide
that information and let you make the choice.
Well, technology changes, the science is changing
some, and the thing that has remained constant
is the cow. For me, its the overall picture
is being a better manager of what all I'm
doing, so that I'm profitable, so that the
product that I produce for the commercial
cattleman that he is profitable.
Probably the big thrill is really when I get
to go out and work with producers and be able
to give information and advice that they utilize
to make their lives better and that's really
a good feeling to know we're helping other
people.
The 
4-H programs introduce students to the Extension
Service and, derivatively, Oklahoma State
University, really, from the very beginning.
And in my opinion, it's one of the great leadership
programs in this country that's run through
the extension offices.
Although generally everyone appreciated their
efforts, early extension agents often had
difficulty convincing older farmers.
They found it was the younger farmers who
were willing to experiment with new ideas.
To improve the future of agriculture, the
next generation of farmers needed to be involved.
In 1908, the college began encouraging Boys'
and Girls' Agricultural Clubs throughout
the state.
The first extension clubs for boys and girls
were corn and cotton clubs. The boys and girls
were given seeds and instructions for caring
for how to take care of those.
Within a year 569 boys and girls had joined.
Four years later, more than 15,000 young people
were engaged in club work.
The college also sponsored a number of contests
with sizeable prizes offered by the Farmer's
Institute, Board of Agriculture, A and M and
other cooperating agencies.
As the youth programs grew, other clubs were
added.
Extension began a tomato club for girls in
1912, and a pig club one year later.
Club members competed at the county level,
with the winners exhibiting at local county
fairs.
Some would win trips to the State Fairs in
Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
All the Boys' and Girls ' Clubs were eventually
brought together under one name-- 4-H, standing
for head, heart, hands and health.
Today, 4-H Clubs encompass 100's of program
areas.
Local children can show off winning produce
and exhibits at county and state fairs.
Livestock shows throughout the state allow
young people to learn the value of raising
and caring for animals.
4-H members also participate in ATV safety
courses, shooting sports, and even science
and technology.
The livestock side, shooting sports, that's
always going to be there, like it always has
been. And it will always be strong. But I
think I can see also us just changing with
the world kinda what's going on out there
today.
And one of those programs is the robotics
competition, FIRST Robotics. FIRST stands
for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science
and Technology.
Today we are competing in the Oklahoma City
FRC Regional. We are competing against 62
other teams. We have spent 6 weeks designing
and building robots to compete here.
This is about our 8th year to compete. And
it started out with coach Larry McWilliams
and coach Stewart Boys with the dream of wanting
to bring STEM the Science and Technology to
our kids teach them real world life skills.
Earlier in January we had a kick off where
they gave us a kit of parts and they gave
us what the challenge would be. Every year
it's a different challenge, and they make
it hard on purpose. Bumping and it's a lot
of action. They call it a sport for the mind,
and these kids just thrive on it.
The challenge is to throw a 24 inch ball up
into a slot in a wall.
The competition is 2 minutes and 10 seconds
long. We have a 10 second autonomous period.
We also have a two minute tele-operative period
where we have drivers that can actually take
control and will drive around and try to score
points and play defense on other people.
It's a catapult on wheels basically. It
takes the ball in and then it basically then
it. That's basically all it is a catapult
on wheels.
As programmer, I basically tell the robot
what to do when its running b y itself in
autonomous mode, or when its controlled by
our drivers.
What they do here, they can't learn in a
classroom. They're under the stress of a
short period of time, they only have so many
weeks to build this robot. They're under
the stress of working with other kids. They've
got teamwork, they've got to learn how to
work with each other and come up with an idea.
Something that they experience in real life,
they experience while trying to build this
robot together as a team.
One of the major things I've learned is
leadership, and being able to get a group
of people to follow in one direction and to
keep them focused on a certain goal.
4-H has definitely helped in my leadership
skills. They've helped train me to give
me a good idea of what a real leader needs
to do. Not just telling people what to do,
but also showing and then mentoring, and also
doing things when something needs to be done.
Originally, you know we started out as a strong
agriculture based, but now we have young people
that are studying so many more things. We
have young people that focus on entomology,
or photography, or science and nutrition.
Its just another avenue to teach young people
life skills and responsibility and help them
become determined in a positive way to prepare
them for life.
If agriculture was going to be a profitable
enterprise, educating the farmer or even his
children was not going to be enough.
Early extension agents realized they would
have to help the farmer's wives as well.
Girl's clubs already provided education
on cooking and sewing.
But the spouses of farmers were critical to
success of the farms.
Women ran the homes and often dealt with finances
while the farmers were in the field.
Unfortunately, while the husbands could attend
short courses, the wives had little opportunity
to travel.
Extension would have to bring the knowledge
to them.
Much of the education centered around canning,
both as a way to use surplus produce from
the fields and gardens, and provide an extra
source of income by selling it to neighbors.
It was really important. To have some way
to preserve that food once you had an abundance
at certain times of year, there needed to
be some way to save for the times of year
when there wasn't an abundance.
In 1912, Bentley hired eleven women extension
agents with the mandate to form home demonstration
clubs.
The following year, he added 4 more, including
Annie Peters of Boley, Oklahoma. The first
female African American extension agent in
the United States.
She did canning for a great many years. In
fact, um, some of her innovations in canning
lasted several decades after she left.
Now, one thing I think was really interesting
in her picture, it shows her with glass canning
jars and most of the rest of the country were
using tin, and , solder to keep them closed
and her exhibit looks fabulous in my estimation.
Much of the work that Annie and all the women
extension agents did now falls under Family
and Consumer Sciences.
FCS educators help all Oklahomans and their
families with a variety of health and safety
programs, tailored to meet the needs of each
county.
We have what we call our program advisory
councils, and we meet with those people twice
a year. And they basically consist of people
out in the community. They're the people
that know what the needs are for the county.
So not only do we identify the issues that
are out their in Oklahoma county, but we also
decide what programs are we going to do, how
are we going to attack it and how are we going
to make an improvements.
So for example in Oklahoma County, there is
a lot of problems with obesity, diabetes,
heart disease.
Once we identify that there's a problem
and that we're going to go out and do some
different programs to our different audiences
we umm, of course being with Oklahoma State
University, we provide research based information,
so we get that information from our state
specialists which is on campus.
The total wellness class started a couple
years ago, and it's offered several times
throughout the year. We have a dietician that's
bilingual that does it in Spanish, and we
also have a dietician that does it in English.
We really have a high risk of developing diabetes
or heart disease, and also there is a lot
of obesity among the Hispanics in the U.S.
So this type of classes are really really
important.
We had an amazing teacher, Dianna, and um
she did really good. We learned a lot of things
that we eat like tortillas, rice, things like
that, we learned what effect that has on our
health. We can still eat it or just eat less
portions or we cook it differently than it
is traditionally cooked.
So, every time I teach classes I realize there
is a lot of need for these classes in the
Hispanic community, cause they need to learn
to identify the different food groups, and
they learn what is healthy, and what is not
and you know what things we can eat more than
what other foods we need to eat less.
Certain recipes or things that like as Mexicans
we eat, how to change it a little bit. We
can still eat what we normally eat, but change
the way we cook it.
They always tell me like oh Dianna thank you
so much for teaching us, you know we are eating
healthier, we are eating more fruits and vegetables
now, we are eating less you know fried food,
or you know we try not to go out to eat as
much and jus cook at home. And they always
say you know my family, my dad, my little
sisters are doing the same. They are eating
healthy because of us.
And with the total wellness class we've
seen family members that come together and
takes the class and its wonderful because
it provides that accountability partner that
they need at home. When they are getting ready
to sit at the dinner table at home, maybe
before that when they are getting ready to
umm go grocery shopping they can do that together
and sure they make healthy choices.
Yeah, we're so grateful that this was available,
because this was free. So it was something
that we could do. We are thankful to OSU,
I would say for providing this.
What you hear of the soil in the 1930s was
that it probably never should have been broke
out. Its sandy and with enough moisture it'll
grow anything now with enough moisture and
fertilizer.
My folks moved here in '49, and it was 7
years before they had a profitable wheat crop.
It started to be having the same devastating
effect that the 1930s drought had had it was
starting to shape up to that extent. The folks
had been through some pretty hard times just
as rom being in the atmosphere they were raised
in. and there've been a lot of improvements
in agriculture at that time that prevented
it from becoming as bad as the 30s was, but
still a lot of issue that were similar to
it, that had it continued on, it would have
indeed developed into the magnitude of what
the 30s were. And it had, to a degree here
already. This quarter would have been about
60 acres of it would have been in alfalfa.
And they were one of the pioneers of raising
alfalfa in Oklahoma. And they had a lot of
hay. It was very, a good product at that time
also, and it was selling and becoming real
popular, and all of that type of agriculture
simply dwindled off and was coming to an end.
The alfalfa simply couldn't survive the
drought conditions. And so it was it was destitute
times. There was not only the wheat crop we
raised, there was no feed grains, there was
no cattle feed or hay, all of that was had
just come to a halt as far as agriculture
was concerned around here.
Several years of drought in the Southern Great
Plains was a concern for the country and made
news around the world.
So much so, a special visitor came to see
it first hand.
So there was things they wanted spruced up
when they found out it was going to be, special
guests coming. And so dad was out repairing
the barn, it had a tin roof and there was
a piece of it that was loose, so he was out
there pounding that down. Then he has a cousin
that lives around the corner, and he had property
here and he was up and down the road all the
time too. He went by and say dad out there
on a January day out there nailing the tin
down on the roof of the barn and he just,
e just couldn't figure out what was wrong
with him, that he was out there doing that
in that kind of weather. And then the next
week he found out.
January 1957, President Eisenhower visited
this farm, which is the original homestead
where my grandfather homesteaded and at that
time my parents, Carl and Frances Peoples,
lived here and with us, four children., and
we were raised on this farm. And it was a
result of the drought that President Eisenhower,
made that visit and accompanying him was the
Secretary of Agriculture and local agent which
we knew from our days in 4-H at that time
as Bill Taggart, Dr. Taggart.
Well it was part of a long drought tour that
he took, and of course he flew. In '57 they
had the , we watched the airplanes that come
in to the airport which is located a mile
to the southeast of us here. And they had
stopped in locations in Kansas, this one in
Oklahoma, and Texas panhandle, New Mexico,
and in Colorado.
And we knew that they were coming. We were
watching, and they pulled in the driveway
and none of the motorcade knew that they were
going to stop here. So when they pulled in
the driveway and stopped, then they all started
all piling out, and this motorcade ran clear
to the corner down there, about half a mile.
He stopped and visited with the family as
a whole, we all and shook hands with all of
us.
75 or 80 feet out behind us here, is where
they all stopped and that would have been
the ground there was typical of all the rest
of the wheat land that was here, about 100
acres. Then they visited out here, they proceeded
back up towards the house, pulled out of the
driveway and left.
He spoke to mom again on the way back, and
she told him , 'I wish you had time to come
in for a cup of coffee,' and he replied
'well, maybe I can come back and do that
sometime.'
One hundred and fifty-two days after the Presidential
visit - there was a wheat crop for the first
time in years.
Experts say the drought was more intense than
the 1930s, but it was the change in agricultural
practices that lessened the impact.
Research from the USDA and land grant universities,
was delivered to producers through programs
like the Cooperative Extension Service.
These programs showed producers, on their
own land, how simple changes could make a
difference.
We've had extreme long droughts in our past:
the 1930s, the dust bowl drought, um the 1950s
which was statistically for the body of the
state the worst drought on record. We had
a period of wet times from 80s and 90s, then
into the 2000s. We've gotten into these
short severe episodes that we've seen like
in 2005-2006, 1995-96, 98, and then this drought.
There are a couple other counties that has
been severely impacted by this exceptional
drought that we've been under for close
to three years, plus or minus. An area that
would include mostly Tillman county, Jackson
county, and Harmon county, and as you look
at the southern border of Oklahoma, the Red
River as it comes in, then the hundredth meridian,
which is the border with the Texas panhandle,
that's the counties that are the very farthest
southwest counties, which has very severely
effected our overall production.
We've really been impacted agronomically
here, the last three years, for sure especially
cotton on the irrigation side for sure.
Then in '13 or course this last year we've
failed a majority of our wheat acres here
due to that record setting 5-6 freezes starting
the end of March, extending to the first of
May out there, in conjunction with the drought
that's already going on.
My operation consists of wheat and cotton
and cattle sometimes, depending, we haven't
had any the least few yews due to the drought,
mainly just hadn't had anything for them
to eat.
Surprising that how much we have done on what
little moisture that we have had. But I mean
it still makes you feel good, when that seed
jumps out of the ground and you know you've
done all you can to make it grow.
Oklahoma growers and U.S. growers are optimists,
and or they really wouldn't be in the business
of agriculture.
You got to keep thinking next years going
to be better.
It is optimism that helps a small cotton plant
that requires nearly 20 gallons of water in
its lifetime, to grow in the hot and dry conditions
of Southwest Oklahoma.
Whether its irrigated or dry-land the cotton
crop this region relies on needs moisture
to grow.
Typically if you look at a long-term average
based on National Ag statistic Service data,
Oklahoma is going to plant somewhere between
two hundred and three hundred thousand acres.
Well we don't have any ground well water
here, so all of our irrigation comes from
Lugert-Altus Lake here north of town, and
we haven't any irrigation at all here in
the last two years and , And in '11, we
didn't have enough to make a crop.
It's been really tough for a lot of our
farm families. And it's been tough for the
folks that are that are really close to the
business.
We've experienced a rough three and a half
years down here, bit I can't brag on our
producers enough down here for their initiative
in hanging in there and staying in with their
cropping systems.
Advances in plant genetics and technology
have helped producers improve efficiency,
allowing them to manage their crops when the
Oklahoma wind blows, and takes the moisture
with it.
You can bring someone back alive, that's
been dead for 20 years they couldn't believe
it, how things have changed.
In no till its conserving moisture, in the
fact that you haven't disturbed the soil,
and you've got your residue which is, which
helps slow down evaporation and things of
that nature, and quite literally for me personally
it was the difference in getting a stand and
not.
And then the amount of acres that we can cover
with a self-propelled sprayer in one day,
would just blow their mind. I mean Brandon
can start early one morning and spray a thousand
acres easily a days time. I mean no body can
fathom that that maybe framed and plowed 20,
30, 40 acres a day or maybe was following
a horse. That's just amazing.
I would submit that Oklahoma State has been
right there working with getting this technology
to the farmers as quickly as possible.
What type of research can we work with, what
type of extension program can we work with
that shows results from research that addresses
their problems.
The different varieties of our seed and how
we're making 25-30 bushel crops on very
little rain. I can remember when I first started
running a combine I mean 30 bushels, we didn't
think we was ever going to get better than
that. I mean 35-40 we were doing back flips,
now I mean we're making that in a drought.
I say that kind of laughing, but I know wit
the technology that's out here, if we can
get some timely rains, we can easily get 70,
65, 70, 75 bushels on dry land. And I don't
think that guys before me or even anywhere
near before dad ever thought you could do
that on dry land.
Researching what works, then educating citizens
about it, is the backbone of the land grant
mission, and is more important than ever.
Gary has a right to go do anything he wants
to on it as far as the plots that he wants
to do. And I feel that it its very important
to continue what the extension office is doing
in our county and I'm sure every county
feels that same way, because we've sure
gleaned a lot of benefit from it.
I've put out fertility trials, forage trials,
and herbicide trials, within or county to
generate data here in the county that is directly
applicable to these guys here. So I have a
strong field component where I'm actually
out in the field with our producers.
Gary does so many tests on, especially grasses
and wheats, mixing chemicals and doing different
things on it, it works really good when we
go talk about it, then just apply on a large
amount of acres where he's done it on these
test plots. We wouldn't know if it would
work or not if he hadn't used it. And that's
where I think Extension service serve s a
farmer real well, because they can do that
trial and error and then bring it out on a
larger scale out on our farms, and we can
see if it works then. And having the ability
to just pick the phone up and just call him
and ask him what's working in a certain
scenario. So I'd ay its very very beneficial
to the farmers to have the extension service
the way it is today.
Well we've got some folks coming down to
ride on one of our extension trains, the kind
of train we had in 1914. It showed a little
bit about what extension did in the past and
what its doing today.
This is the centennial of extension and we've
been around for a hundred years.
Bentley was used to riding the train for Extension
work.
In 1904, he was asked to join the agricultural
lecture train in Texas.
Although farmers often complained about price
gouging when shipping crops, they were important
customers for railroad companies.
The railroads provided extension agents with
free passes for their job.
In Oklahoma, it was a little different.
Early extension agents were on their own when
traveling to local farms or the occasional
agent's meeting.
Most used their personal horse and wagon,
with a few riding horseback.
Even in 1909, when Agent Pinkley of Kiowa
County used the first automobile for demonstration
work, his progress was slow due to Oklahoma's
bad roads.
He made some successful relationships because
he would provide rides for people going from
one point to another but then other people
resented him because they said his car scared
their horses.
In 1914, the Extension service tried their
own "county fair on wheels."
Demonstration trains crossed the state, carrying
a wide array of livestock and expertise.
They would have about eight to ten cars with
various capacities on different cars.
They would have maybe poultry on one car,
swine on another car. Home demonstration agents
working on other cars.
And I know one year one train saw over 52,000
people.
And so I think train stations were real collecting
points for the community. And a lot of communities.
1914 extension used the technology that was
available at the time. And how do you get
and reach the people? As communication technology
has changed through time, so have extension
and the way we deliver our programs. You know
through the last century you have the evolution
of radio and TV and now finally today you
have a whole array of electronic media. Extension
today has two regularly produced TV programs,
SUNUP you know and OKLAHOMA GARDENING.
I think what's great for SUNUP as another
tool for extension, is that we have the ability
to take our expertise and knowledge from the
university and from our network all across
the state, put that together and get it out
to producers in real time as it's happening.
Our goal at OKLAHOMA GARDENING is to deliver
research-based content to the people of Oklahoma.
And this really embodies the mission of extension.
We deliver content through a variety of media.
Primarily television, but also through social
media outlets.
Throughout the state our extension educators
field a variety of questions from the community
members. Many on horticulture related topics,
including production of fruit and vegetables
in the garden and maintaining our trees and
shrubs and turf areas.
Our aim though educational programming is
to connect the vast resources available at
the university to the people of Oklahoma and
connect them to our area specialists and our
fact sheets.
And of course we're into using electronic
media, and video conferencing, blogs and tweeting
and we've actually produced a number of
apps the most popular one may be the MESONET
weather app.
As the first decade in the new century wore
on, friction between the federal Extension
and state systems increased.
Attempts were made to merge the two, but always
broke down over funding and who was in charge.
In Oklahoma, relations between the agents
were generally friendly.
But the state's and college's agriculture
efforts were overseen by the Board of Agriculture,
a very political group that didn't appreciate
federal intervention.
Then in 1911, after losing his wife a year
earlier, Dr. Seaman Knapp, the father of Extension,
died.
Three years later, a compromise was struck
on the federal level in the form of the Smith-Lever
Act, combining the two systems.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture would provide
funding and support to the State Cooperative
Extension System that would in turn support
county offices.
The word cooperative in "Cooperative Extension"
means that we receive funding from all three
federal, state, and county sources, and that
it is a cooperation between those three forms
of government that funds extension.
The question for Oklahoma was: who would run
the state system, Bentley or someone appointed
by the State Board of Agriculture, which had
become the governing body of Oklahoma A & M?
Previous attempts to reach an agreement between
the two had failed, largely due to College
President J. H. Conner.
But the Board was deeply unpopular, and through
a vote of the people, was replaced with one
appointed by the Governor.
On May 8th, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson
signed the Smith-Lever Act into law.
That August, Bentley moved into Morrill Hall
on the campus of Oklahoma A & M, just in time
for the building to burn to the ground.
Although much of those early records were
lost, Oklahoma Extension went on to thrive
in the new state.
When the Smith-Lever Act was passed in 1914,
one of the expectations was that the federal
government was going to provide resources,
monetary resources, that it needed to be matched
by the state government and the local government.
It's a 3-way partnership we've got and
it's served us very well for the last 100
years.
The triangle basically represents the three
missions of the land grant college: teaching,
research and extension. And we refer to them
in that order, because that's the way they
were enacted by our forefathers and government
in Washington. Three acts actually created
those missions. The first act being the Morrill
Act in 1862, which formed the university,
the teaching arms. About twenty-five years
later, the Hatch Act established the experiment
station and the research arm. And then finally
about twenty-five years later, in 1914, we
established the third side of the triangle,
Extension.
Smith-Lever also created an Extension Service
in the state's other land-grant, Langston
University, that is still operating today.
Langston, just like Oklahoma State University,
is a land grant institution, and so we are
funded through the land grant program for
our cooperative extension program. We extend
programs throughout the state and throughout
the region and questions that farmers might
have for us.
One change Extension has seen in the last
100 years is assisting in community development.
County and state educators work with local
civic leaders to help diversify their economy
and prepare for the future.
Whether it's expanding small and home-based
businesses, training elected officials or
providing strategic and community planning,
Extension is an important partner to rural
and urban Oklahoma.
Bentley would come to be known as "Daddy"
Bentley by his employees.
He left the Extension service in 1916 for
Washington DC, only to return to the Oklahoma
A & M a year later.
During his tenure, he would work an old friend,
Bradford Knapp, son of Seaman Knapp. Bradford
served as college president from 1923 to 1928.
In 1930, at the age of seventy-three and still
an extension agent, Bentley suddenly died.
I think Bentley would be surprised at the
extent of the extension network now. I think
that he would be amazed at the way we can
reach people in so many different ways that
he would have never imagined.
I actually think the best years of the Extension
Service are ahead of us.
The world is not as it was in 1914. My home
county is not as it was in 1970. We give the
Extension Service the ability to change, to
grow, to meet the needs out there. And given
that flexibility, the Extension Service will.
And as we project out from now on, here this
population is projected to get to 9+ billion
people just in the next 30-40 years.
The challenge that we face is between now
and 2050, we have to double food production
The incredible intense impact of that population
on land, the amount of water available and
the continuing changes that are occurring
in climate that we are seeing today, the droughts
that have been occurring.
The main the main thing that I love about
extension is that I am confident that I can
tell people that if they want the true answer
the accurate answer they need to come to the
OSU extension office.
Well we often talk about there's information
and there's knowledge. you can find information
all over the place, and trying to make sense
out of it is the key of what extension does.
Plus, backing it with the scientific research,
and experimentation to know which of those
ideas and information and ideas actually work
in your own local environment.
To have a face associated with that information
and to help tailor that to you or to your
family or to your children, is something
that extension has a long 100 year history
of providing, and I think that it is important
to continue that for the next hundred years.
[music]
[Extension Creed Song]
 
