High Winds and Increased Fire Danger Predicted

Oklahoma Forestry Services, a division of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, is cautioning the public that high fire danger exists this weekend and next week as a low front pushes into the state.

 

After a week of dry, sunny weather coupled with predicted strong, gusty winds, any fire will burn intensely and could spread rapidly. Weather forecasts call for low relative humidity, winds gusting over 40 mph and continued drying conditions.

 

 “As we recall the recent fires with numerous structures lost, I hope homeowners will take this advance warning to improve their home’s defensible space,” said George Geissler, State Forester. “Utilizing Firewise measures will give your home a better chance of surviving if a wildfire burns through your property.”

 

Defensible space is a buffer between a home and surrounding areas of dense grass and tree growth.  A few simple things like keeping lawns mowed short, removing leaves and other flammables from beneath porches, out of gutters and off roofs will help.  Removing anything flammable that touches or almost touches homes, robs wildfires of “ladder fuels” that have the potential of burning right up to homes.

 

Piles of firewood and portable propane tanks should be moved as far away from homes as possible, as well as leaves and other dead limbs that have accumulated under porches. For more information on making homes Firewise visit www.forestry.ok.gov/defensible-space.

 

A Governor’s Burn Ban and multiple county burn bans are in place across the state. For a complete list, as well as guidelines, visit www.forestry.ok.gov or call 580-236-1021.

 

Feral Swine Directory

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF) is creating the Oklahoma Feral Swine Directory to help hunters and trappers locate landowners who want help in controlling feral swine.

            Feral swine can be found in all 77 counties in Oklahoma. The animals are omnivorous and will eat anything from grain to meat. Cultivated crops make up a large part of their diet but they also prey on ground-nesting birds, like quail and turkey. Feral swine will kill and consume lambs and kid goats. Crops commonly damaged by feral swine include wheat, sorghum, soybeans, corn, peanuts, hay, watermelons, pecans and vegetable gardens. The swine don’t just eat crops, they also trample them into the ground.

            Feral swine were once domestic hogs, but are now wild. They typically travel in groups consisting of sows and young while boars are generally solitary. Feral swine can be aggressive and violent in addition to carrying diseases. It is speculated that feral swine double their population every four months.

            “Feral swine have become a serious problem for our agriculture producers in the state” said Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese. “It is imperative that we do all we can to help control the spread of these animals.”

            The Oklahoma Feral Swine Directory is intended to be an online tool to help hunters and trappers who are willing to provide feral swine control locate landowners who want their help. An application form for landowners with feral swine problems can be downloaded at http://www.ag.ok.gov/ais/feralswinelandowner.pdf.  Landowners will be grouped by county in the directory. The exact location of their property will not be revealed. They will be in control of accepting or declining offers from hunters and trappers. Hunters and trappers willing to assist landowners can download an application at http://www.ag.ok.gov/ais/feralswinehunter.pdf. A database of their contact information will allow landowners to extend hunting offers to them.

Completed forms from landowners and hunters/trappers should be mailed to Oklahoma Feral Swine Directory at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, 2800 N Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105. An interactive map of landowners by county will be on the ODAFF website at www.ag.ok.gov. The map will show names, phone numbers and email addresses of landowners. A list of hunters and trappers with their contact information will also be on the website. Information will remain in the directory for a period of one year.           

Hunters, trappers and landowners can use this directory to contact each other and arrive at mutually agreeable terms for hunting or trapping feral swine. ODAFF urges all hunters and trappers to respect private property rights and abide by all state regulations.

 

ODAFF Pasture Directory

Have you got any grass? That’s the question a lot of Oklahoma ranchers would like to ask landowners in Oklahoma and neighboring states. After enduring months of record-breaking drought, heat and wildfires, pastures are brown and bare all over Oklahoma. Many livestock owners have been forced to sell their herds as a result.

            The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry is creating the Oklahoma Pasture Lease Directory to help livestock owners in Oklahoma locate producers in neighboring states who have pasture they are willing to lease through the winter months.

            “We hope this will give our state’s pastures time to recover and give relief to owners who want to keep their herds,” Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese said.

            The directory is online at www.ag.ok.gov. An application form for those with pasture can be downloaded at www.ag.ok.gov/forms/mktdev/mktdev-lease.pdf. Completed forms should be mailed to Oklahoma Pasture Lease Directory at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, PO Box 528804, Oklahoma City, OK 73152. Forms can also be e-mailed to jack.carson@ag.ok.gov or faxed to (405) 522-4855.

            Producer information requested includes name, address, dates pasture is available, pasture type, number of acres, approximate grazing capacity, water sources and fencing type. Pasture types are defined as Bermuda, native, wheat and fescue.

Prices will not be listed on the directory since all details are between the lessee and lessor. Listings will remain on the directory for sixty (60) days and can be renewed for an additional sixty (60) days. Changes to the listings can be made by calling the Hay Hotline at 800-580-6543.

Permits Available to Allow Baling Hay from ODOT Rights-of-way

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture is reminding local farmers and ranchers that through a simple permitting process, they are allowed to bale hay from highway rights-of-way.  There are over 135,000 mowable acres along highway rights-of-way in the state.

 By state statute, permits to bale hay from area highway rights-of-way are available to the adjacent landowner first, but can be requested by anyone if all requirements are met.

 Applications for permits are available for download at www.okladot.state.ok.us in the “forms” link. They much be filled out then taken to a local ODOT division headquarters or ODOT county maintenance yard between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for approval. There is no fee to apply and insurance verification must also be provided as part of the approval process.

Additional requirements/restrictions include:

  All work has to be completed during daylight hours, Monday through Friday

 Bales cannot be left within 30 feet of the roadway

 Warning signs must be in place when working in the rights-of-way

Grass cannot be cut shorter than 5 inches tall

Citizens wanting to take advantage of this opportunity are asked to avoid garden plots and landscaped areas currently maintained by local civic groups and ODOT.

While some weight restrictions have recently been lifted for those hauling hay in the state, ODOT asks citizens to follow all size and weight restriction still in effect.  These regulations help protect the traveling public in addition to maintaining our infrastructure. For more information on size and weight restrictions, contact the Department of Public Safety at 1-877-425-2390.

ODAFF’s On-Site Farmers’ Market

Be Wildfire Aware this Labor Day Weekend