Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
The Southern Plains Climate Hub, in partnership with Redlands Community College and the USDA NRCS, is working on promoting soil health as a tool for both climate change mitigation and to help farmers and ranchers adapt to extreme weather events like droughts and floods. As part of this outreach effort, the Hub is developing a series of audio Public Service Announcements (PSA's) for distribution to local radio stations and online.
Kenneth McAlister grows cotton, corn, milo, canola, wheat, sesame, peanuts and soybeans near the Red River in Wichita County Texas. He has been no-tilling his land since 2005 and has been utilizing cover crops for the last 4 years.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/southernplainspodcast/Kenneth_McAlester_Texas_Soil_Health_PSA.m4a
Scott Carpenter is a conservation district director and wheat producer from Nocona, Texas. He utilizes cover crops and no-till on his land to hold on to more water and reduce erosion on his land.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/southernplainspodcast/Scott_Carpenter_Texas_Soil_Health_PSA.m4a
A cotton, peanut, corn and wheat producer from Morton Texas, Glen Lyon rotates crops on his 7,500 acre farm to reduce erosion and increase the water holding capacity of the soil.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/southernplainspodcast/Glen_Lyon_Texas_Soil_Health_PSA.m4a
Steve Pope is a 6th generation Western Oklahoma farmer and rancher. He has been no-tilling for over 13 years and incorporates cover crops and grazing into his cropping systems. Steve participates in USDA conservation programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)
http://traffic.libsyn.com/southernplainspodcast/Steve_Pope_Soil_Health_PSA.m4a
A Farmer and Rancher from Norton, Kansas, Rusty Miller understands the importance of controlling erosion and increasing soil moisture. Rusty incorporates cover crops and grazing into his cropping systems to help increase the health of his soil and improve his bottom line by reducing fuel costs and increasing fertilizer efficiency.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/southernplainspodcast/Rusty_Miller_PSA-Ks.m4a
Michael Thompson is a farmer/rancher from Almena, KS. Michael along with his father Richard and his brother Brian operate Thompson Farm & Ranch LLC. The farm is comprised of acreage in Norton County, KS, and Furnas County, NE, and grows wheat, corn, oats, barley, as well as cover crop cocktails. The ranch consists of a cow/calf operation that grazes on native range and diverse cover crops on farmland acres.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/southernplainspodcast/Michael_Thompson_PSA-KS.m4a
Lance Feikert is the fifth generation farmer and rancher from Bucklin, Kansas. He raises wheat, milo and soybeans on dryland and irrigated acres. He also utilizes cattle in his operation to better utilize crops and encourage better soil health.With less water available to pump each year, many of his irrigated fields are becoming more like their dryland counterparts. No-till helps him make the most of limited resources. Lance says no-till practices improve the microbial community under the soil and helps increase water infiltration.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/southernplainspodcast/Lance_Fiekert_PSA-KS.m4a
Jimmy Emmons is a life-long farmer and rancher from Leedey, Oklahoma. A local conservation district board member and a past President of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD), Jimmy knows the importance of conserving our soil, water, air and wildlife habitats while working to protect the bottom lines of agriculture producers.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/southernplainspodcast/Jimmy_Emmons_PSA.m4a
Grant Victor is a Northeast Oklahoma agriculture producer and the winner of the 2016 Outstanding Landowner Award from the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts and the Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma. A life-long resident of Afton, Oklahoma, Grant uses soil health practices to improve productivity on his land while controlling run-off and soil erosion.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/southernplainspodcast/Grant_Victor_PSA.m4a
Podcasts
SouthernPlainsPodcast #5--Dr. Sherry Hunt, Research Leader ARS Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit
Oct 13, 2017
In this episode of the Southern Plains Podcast we visit with Dr. Sherry Hunt, the Research Leader at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit about the research conducted at the Unit, the importance of the USDA upstream flood control program and the future needs of water...
Southern Plains Podcast #4 -- USDA Harvey recovery
Sep 13, 2017
Farmers, ranchers and rural communities hit by the effects of Hurricane Harvey have options available to them from USDA to help with their recovery. In this episode of the Southern Plains Podcast we share information about USDA's response to the storm and tell individuals how they can start the process to see what assistance they qualify for.
Southern Plains Podcast #3 -- Oklahoma Climatologist Gary McManus
Jul 28, 2017
In this episode of the Southern Plains Podcast, we interview Gary McManus, Oklahoma State Climatologist. Gary talks about the changes we are seeing in our weather patterns from a historical perspective, flash droughts, ice storms and what the crystal ball shows for the region's weather.
Southern Plains Podcast #2 -- Soil erosion
Jun 30, 2017
All too often farmers and ranchers think about soil erosion as a problem of the past. The Dust Bowl of the "dirty thirties" was horrible, but we beat back the tide of dust, right? In this episode we will discuss how we still are seeing high rates of soil erosion and how it is having a major impact.
Southern Plains Podcast #1 -- March Fires
Jun 19, 2017
This episode of our podcast covers information on the spring fires that plagued the Texas Panhandle, Northwest Oklahoma and Southwest Kansas in the spring of 2017. It also contains information on help that is available to farmers and ranchers to help them deal with the effects of this disaster.
Newsletter
The Southern Plains Climate Hub contributes regular content ro the Southern Climate Monitor, a monthly update on regional climate conditions, activities, and programs that is produced by the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program.