December is the last month for harvesting cotton in Oklahoma.
If you have cotton fields in your area, now would be the time to get cotton bolls.
Cotton has been an important crop in Oklahoma since statehood. Oklahoma cotton fields produced 864,000 bales of cotton in 1907. Production in 2008 was 260,000 pounds, with $73 million in cash receipts for cotton and cotton seed. More about cotton, with activities...
Ag in Poetry: November Cotton Flower, by Jean Toomer
November Cotton Flower
Boll-weevil's coming, and the winter's cold,
Made cotton-stalks look rusty, seasons old,
And cotton, scarce as any southern snow,
Was vanishing; the branch, so pinched and slow,
Failed in its function as the autumn rake;
Drouth fighting soil had caused the soil to take
All water from the streams; dead birds were found
In wells a hundred feet below the ground--
Such was the season when the flower bloomed.
Old folks were startled, and it soon assumed
Significance. Superstition saw
Something it had never seen before:
Brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear,
Beauty so sudden for that time of year.
by Jean Toomer
Discussion questions and P.A.S.S.-aligned activities
Forestry
Oklahoma's forest and paper industry employs nearly 11,000 people, with an annual payroll of $260 million, and contributes $750 million in value-added products to the state's economy annually. The primary products made from Oklahoma's timber are softwood and hardwood lumber, craft paper, oriented strand board (OSB), softwood plywood, railroad ties, pallets, writing paper, furniture veneers, posts and poles.
Online Forestry Product Lessons
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Making Paper
Paper making is a great project for your students during this gift-giving season. -
Chewed Paper and Sticky Stuff
Paper sculpture, in the form of papier mache is an old tradition. Some of the earliest fancy dolls had papier mache faces. -
Mighty Oaks From Little Acorns
Gather the acorns falling from Oklahoma oak trees to start oak seedlings.
Look for Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom at these events in December:
8—Advisory Council, OK Beef Council, OKC
10-12—Tulsa Farm Show
The game of Bingo was born this month in 1929.
Celebrate with Barnyard Bingo
Slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment on December 18, 1865.
Indian Territory provided a new beginning for many freed slaves, who came here to form towns and farm. Others became cowboys and joined cattle drives. Learn about one of Oklahoma's best-known cowboys: Bill Pickett, Bulldoggin' Cowboy.
Red Dirt Groundbreaker: Edward P. McCabe and the All-Black Towns
Poor Richard's Almanack was first published on December 28, 1732.
Ag in Poetry: Winter Trees
by William Carlos Williams
All the complicated details
of the attiring and
the disattiring are completed!
A liquid moon
moves gently among
the long branches.
Thus having prepared their buds
against a sure winter
the wise trees
stand sleeping in the cold.
Discussion questions and P.A.S.S.-aligned activities
O, Christmas Tree
The idea of decorating an evergreen tree as part of winter solstice celebrations comes from many lands and cultures. Coniferous trees have needle-like leaves and produce cones. These trees do not lose their needles in the fall. The needles drop off a little at a time during the year, especially in late summer. Although the trees remain green, they are not growing in the wintertime.
Plants that remain green in the winter remind us that spring will return, and once again the land will be lush and productive.
December, 2009
- Cotton Harvest in Oklahoma
- Ag in Poetry: November Cotton Flower by Jean Toomer
- Sorghum feeds Oklahoma cattle
- Forestry in Oklahoma
- Slavery Abolished by 13th Amendment on December 18, 1865
- Red Dirt Groundbreaker: Edward P. McCabe and the All-Black Towns
- Winter Solstice
- Toys Then and Now
- Ag in Poetry: Winter Trees, by William Carlos Williams
- O, Christmas Tree
- Oklahoma Fruit of the Month: Plums
- Oklahoma Vegetable of the Month: Carrots
- Writing Prompts
- Christmas Decorations and Gifts from Oklahoma Ag Products
- December Books
- Ag Art for December
Sorghum feeds Oklahoma cattle
Sorghum is a native of Africa, but its drought resistance makes it a crop that grows well in Oklahoma. Oklahoma ranked number four in the nation in the production of grain sorghum in 2008. More about sorghum, with activities...
Toys Then and Now
Many of the toys and gadgets your students are expecting as holiday gifts are made from plastics made with soybeans or corn. More about toys, holiday gifts and decorations, with activities...
Oklahoma Vegetable of the Month: Carrots
The first carrots were white, purple, red, yellow, green and black - not orange. Their roots were thin and turnip-shaped. Orange carrots did not appear until the 1700s, in Holland. Growers there bred them to match the Dutch flag. Orange carrots have the advantage of containing beta carotene, which our bodies convert to Vitamin A. More about carrots, with activities...
Oklahoma Fruit of the Month: Plums
Plums grow wild along Oklahoma roadsides and are harvested all summer, from June to August. Many people make them into jellies or preserves. Native Americans sun-dried the plums for winter consumption. Oklahoma plums are eaten by several species of birds and mammals. The dense purple thickets stand out in the winter landscape and provide shelter for wildlife. More about plums, with P.A.S.S.-aligned activities...
Winter Solstice
In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 and is called "winter solstice." Solstice means "standing-still-sun." Winter solstice occurs when, because of the earth's tilt, our hemisphere is leaning farthest away from the sun; therefore, the daylight is the shortest and the sun has its lowest arc in the sky. More about winter solstice, with P.A.S.S.-aligned activities.
Ag Art for December
Oscar E. Berninghaus (1874-1952) was a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists. Most of his paintings were scenes of the American Southwest. Berninghaus was self-taught. This painting is of a cotton field in the Texas Panhandle.
Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.