Red Dirt And Round Bales

Ringling, Oklahoma, carries one of the most recognizable names in American entertainment, but the town’s real story is less about a circus than railroads, oil, agriculture and adaptation. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken traces Ringling’s beginnings to nearby Cornish and the construction of the Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railway by John Ringling and Jake Hamon. When oi...

Some of Oklahoma’s toughest invasive plant problems began with good intentions. Plants were brought in for forage, erosion control, shelterbelts and landscaping, but a few eventually escaped and began changing native grasslands and pastures. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken talks with Oklahoma State University’s Karen Hickman Ph. D. about Old World bluestem, sericea lespedez...

A grand mansion in Ponca City preserves a harder story about oil wealth, corporate power, personal loss and the decision to keep serving after a fortune disappears. Dave Deken follows E.W. Marland from his first financial collapse in Pennsylvania to the Oklahoma oil strike that helped transform Ponca City. The episode explores the growth of Marland Oil, the benefits Marland provided his workers, t...

RedDirtAndRoundBales.com When summer heat settles over western Oklahoma and the rain fails to arrive, sorghum often keeps working. Dave Deken explores the history of one of Oklahoma agriculture’s most adaptable crops, from sweet sorghum syrup and broomcorn to modern grain sorghum, livestock feed and silage.  He explains how sorghum traveled from Africa to the Southern Plains, supported household e...

The Cimarron River helped build communities across the Southern Plains, but its water has always come with risk and limits. Dave Deken traces the river from its sandy channels and salty springs through Indigenous history, Santa Fe Trail commerce, cattle drives and the restoration of damaged Plains farmland. The episode also examines the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer and the continuing effort to...

A traveling child who became one of Hollywood’s greatest comedians found something steady in Perry, Oklahoma: grandparents, family land and a hometown willing to remember him. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken traces Buster Keaton’s connection to Perry from the town’s early days following the 1893 Cherokee Outlet opening through Keaton’s rise as the silent-film era’s “Great S...

A Depression-era project created jobs, secured Pawnee’s water supply and gave generations of Oklahoma families an affordable place to escape the summer heat. Dave Deken tells the story of the Pawnee Bathhouse and the sprawling public swimming area constructed below the Pawnee Lake dam. Built through federal relief programs using hand-cut native sandstone, the complex became a regional attraction w...

Oklahoma’s first official 120-degree reading shows how quickly extreme heat can become a farm, livestock and community emergency. Dave Deken returns to July 18, 1936, when Alva entered the weather record books during one of the most punishing summers in state history. He explains how drought and exposed soil intensified the heat, what those conditions meant for crops and livestock, and how rural f...

When a country school closed, rural Oklahoma lost more than a classroom—it often lost the center of its community. Dave Deken traces the rise and decline of Oklahoma’s one-room schools, from classrooms held in barns and dugouts to the consolidated brick schools reached by early “kid wagons.” He explains how consolidation improved access to high school courses, specialized teachers and better facil...

The ground beneath an Oklahoma farm can determine how it grows crops, holds water, supports cattle and survives the next hard rain. In this episode, Dave Deken looks beyond Oklahoma’s familiar red dirt and explores the state’s remarkable soil diversity. Learn how rainfall changes soil from the Panhandle to southeastern Oklahoma, why red soil gets its color, what sand, clay, silt and loam mean for...

Oklahoma’s pecan trees can provide food, shade and two sources of farm income—but they can also leave growers facing an expensive harvest that is not worth gathering. In this episode, host Dave Deken traces Oklahoma pecans from the river systems that spread native trees across the state to the mechanical shakers, pest models and management practices used by growers today. He explores Indigenous st...

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...