Red Dirt And Round Bales

County fair season is here, and the Craig County Fair shows why these hometown traditions still matter in rural Oklahoma. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken reflects on the start of Oklahoma fair season in Craig County, where livestock projects, 4-H and FFA exhibits, home goods, food, families, and premium sales all come together. The episode looks beyond the fun of fair week...

Oklahoma’s space story did not begin with rockets. It began with open skies, small towns, military airfields, good schools and young people who looked up and believed distance was something they could cross. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken traces Oklahoma’s connection to NASA through Gordon Cooper, Tom Stafford, Fred Haise, Stuart Roosa, Owen Garriott, William Pogue, Shann...

Before Oklahoma became the 46th state, Theodore Roosevelt came west and found a place that matched the frontier spirit he loved. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken follows Roosevelt’s Oklahoma story from Rough Riders reunions and whistle-stop speeches to Frederick, Deep Red Creek, Jack “Catch-Em-Alive” Abernathy, Quanah Parker, and the famous 1905 wolf hunt. The episode also...

Soybeans may be one of Oklahoma agriculture’s quieter crops, but they carry a lot of risk, timing, and opportunity for farmers willing to work with the season. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken looks at how soybeans fit into Oklahoma’s farm country, especially behind wheat in double-crop systems. The episode explains why soybeans are different here than in the I-states, how h...

Long before highways crossed Oklahoma, cattle trails carried money, risk, and history across Indian Territory. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken follows the longhorn drives that moved north from Texas through present-day Oklahoma toward Kansas railheads. The episode explains why the Chisholm Trail and Western Trail mattered, how cowboys and Native nations fit into the story,...

In Oklahoma, weather is never just small talk — it can shape crops, cattle, roads, fire risk, and rural safety in a matter of minutes. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken takes listeners inside the Oklahoma Mesonet , the statewide weather monitoring network that has helped Oklahoma watch, learn, and prepare for more than 30 years. Built through a partnership between Oklahoma S...

Cotton tells one of Oklahoma agriculture’s most complicated stories: profit, hardship, family memory, and rural change all tied to the same white bolls. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deacon looks back at cotton’s deep roots in Oklahoma, from early production in the Choctaw Nation and the painful history of enslaved labor to tenant farming, boll weevils, Depression-era crop con...

Oklahoma’s 2026 wheat crop came early, stressed, and uneven — but the story does not end with lower yields. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken talks with Oklahoma Wheat Commission Executive Director Mike Schulte about how drought after planting, late-season rain, and a fast-moving harvest shaped this year’s crop across western and central Oklahoma. Mike also explains why wheat...

Oklahoma agriculture depends on roads, rails and one river system that quietly connects wheat country to the world. In this episode, Dave Deken looks at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa and the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, the inland waterway that links Oklahoma commerce to the Mississippi River and Gulf shipping lanes. From wheat moving out to fertilizer moving in, this episode expla...

Wild turkey numbers depend on more than nests — they depend on whether poults survive those first dangerous days after hatch. Dave Deken visits with Mark Turner Ph. D. , Oklahoma State University Extension wildlife specialist, about what Oklahoma landowners can do to support turkey brood survival. Turner explains why young poults need insects, usable cover, bare ground and the right plant structur...

Oklahoma’s fast, dry wheat harvest is leaving producers with hard-earned lessons for next season. Dave Deken visits with Amanda Silva Ph. D. , Oklahoma State University Extension small grains specialist, about what early wheat variety trials and producer fields are showing across Oklahoma. They discuss why yields have been so variable, how stored soil moisture carried some fields farther than expe...

The sound of a combine in Oklahoma wheat country is more than machinery — it is a reminder of how much harvest has changed and how much still depends on weather, timing, and grit. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken looks at the evolution of wheat harvest technology in Oklahoma, from binders, threshing crews, wagons, and steam-powered machines to modern combines with GPS, yiel...

Sorghum can take a hard year, but nitrogen timing can decide whether fertilizer turns into grain or gets lost before the crop can use it. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken visits with Raedan Sharry Ph. D. of Oklahoma State University about delayed nitrogen management in Oklahoma sorghum. They discuss when holding nitrogen back can improve efficiency, why rainfall after appli...

Oklahoma wheat is more than a crop—it is a story of winter, patience, drought, faith, and families who planted anyway. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken looks at why hard red winter wheat took root in Oklahoma and why it still fits the red dirt today. From the science of vernalization to the arrival of Turkey Red wheat with Mennonite farmers, this short reflection connects O...

Route 66 turns 100 in 2026, and Oklahoma’s stretch of the Mother Road tells a story of rural life, small-town business, migration, preservation, and memory. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken looks back at how Cyrus Avery and Oklahoma helped shape U.S. Highway 66, why the road mattered to farmers and towns, and how places along the route built livelihoods from gas stations, c...

Forage sorghum can be a practical summer hay option in Oklahoma, but producers still have to manage the line between more tonnage and safe feed. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken visits the question of nitrogen timing in forage sorghum with insight from Steve Phillips Ph. D. of Oklahoma State University. Phillips shares field research from Stillwater and Perkins looking at n...

Oklahoma wheat harvest is underway, but thin stands, dry spring weather, and global grain supplies are making this crop harder to read. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken visits with Pete Matheson of Matheson Farms near Billings, Oklahoma , about a wheat crop that has been all over the board — from fields in the 20-bushel range to others that may do much better. Dave also tal...

Railroads did more than move freight across Oklahoma — they helped decide where towns grew, how crops reached markets, and how rural communities connected with the rest of the country. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken looks back at the tracks, depots, grain elevators, and train lines that shaped Oklahoma before and after statehood. From the Katy and Santa Fe to the rise of...

How much grazing pressure is too much? In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken looks at that question with insight from Laura Goodman Ph. D. , Oklahoma State University Extension specialist for rangeland ecology. The episode breaks grazing pressure down into practical ranch terms: how much forage is available, how much can safely be used, how long cattle stay, and whether the past...

Oklahoma wheat harvest is arriving early after a dry, uneven season that left producers weighing grain, forage, and risk field by field. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken reflects on eight weeks of wheat tour stops across Oklahoma, from the Red River country to north-central Oklahoma and the Panhandle. The 2026 crop tells a hard story: USDA numbers point to a short crop, whil...

This week on Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken heads west with his daughter Molly for a wheat-checking trip across the Oklahoma Panhandle. What starts with windshield time, field video, Slapout stories, Lake Optima, Guymon, Hooker, and a stop in Forgan for Hank the Cowdog turns into a deeper look at one of Oklahoma’s most fascinating regions. The episode traces how the Panhandle went from No M...

This week on Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken looks at one of Oklahoma agriculture’s most important crops: wheat.  The episode features a conversation with Brett Carver Ph. D., who leads Oklahoma State University’s wheat breeding work, about how Oklahoma wheat varieties are developed and why the process takes years of selection, testing, and patience. The conversation starts with the early his...

This week on Red Dirt and Round Bales , Dave Deken checks in on an Oklahoma wheat harvest that is arriving ahead of schedule. In mid-May, the combines that are usually rolling south toward Texas are already finding wheat ready to cut in Oklahoma, with early activity reported near Okarche and harvesters moving into a crop that has been pushed hard by drought and fast maturity. Dave visits with Aman...