Exceptional and Extreme Drought Categories at Standstill, While Remaining Categories Continue to Improve

Exceptional drought is unchanged this week at 8.86 percent.

Extreme drought or worse is also unchanged from last week at 36.64 percent.

Severe drought or worse has improved slightly from last week’s percentage of 56.47 percent to this week’s 53.52 percent.

Moderate drought or worse has improved since last week and is now at 66.88 percent, down from last week’s 74.65 percent.

Abnormally dry or worse conditions are now at 77.15 percent, down from last week’s 80.78 percent.

According to the 6-to-10-day precipitation outlook map, the majority of the state, aside from the panhandle, is leaning above a 40 to 50 percent chance of precipitation through March 11. The panhandle is sitting above a 50 to 60 percent chance of precipitation through March 11.

Click on the Oklahoma Drought Map above the drought summary to see this week's drought numbers.



The Oklahoma Agriculture Mediation Program knows this is a hard time for farmers and ranchers. We want you to know we are still open, and we are still here for you. The Ag Mediation program is a free service that provides mediation to agriculture producers who may need help with ag-related disputes.

At Oklahoma Ag Mediation, we have been helping people in agriculture resolve conflicts since 1987. We know firsthand about working together to resolve conflicts, so you don’t have to go through the court systems. Let our professional mediators help you. Mediation is allowed for lease issues, farmer/neighbor disputes, family farm transitions, and more. These services are available at no cost for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers in all 77 counties. For more information, you can go to ok.gov/mediation, or give us a call at 800 248 5465.



Farm Strategy, LLC Utilizing Strong Genetic Traits to Increase Value of Grain

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, is visiting with the president of Farm Strategy, LLC, Andrew Hoelscher, about new genetic progress to increase the value of grain.

“We build ingredient-based supply chains,” Hoelscher said. “We connect end-user demand signals, and value propositions back down to the producer and manage the supply chain in between them.”

Farm Strategy is using the BX7 trait to cross into a set of varieties, Hoelscher said, which will increase the value of those varieties.

Regarding value in the marketplace, Hoelscher said it is important to remember that the value being created is in the consistency of the product, which includes the consistency of the delivery.

“If you are wanting to provide a consistent product to an end user, you have got to have a consistent supply chain,” Hoelscher said.

As for Farm Strategy’s role as a facilitator for the supply chain, Hoelscher said they are the ones who control the premium structure.

Biosecurity Measures to Consider for the Safety of Livestock at OYE

As final preparations are made to bring your show animals to the Oklahoma Youth Expo, Dr. Rod Hall, State Veterinarian, offers some things to take into consideration:

Gilts and heifers begin moving into the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Tuesday for the Oklahoma Youth Expo. This is the culmination of months of searching for the “right” show animal, feeding, walking, fitting, and all the things that go into a successful exhibition season.

At this time it may be tempting for exhibitors, parents, advisors, and veterinarians to relax the standards of biosecurity since this is the show everyone has been pointing to. Please remember that livestock that are sick or have been sick in the past week should not be taken to places where they can expose other livestock. 

I know it’s heartbreaking for a young person to be told they can’t show an animal they’ve worked very hard to take to OYE, but we all have to work together to ensure the health and safety of animals and exhibitors to make sure we continue to have the ability to enjoy this event.

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am visiting with the executive director of nutrition research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Dr. Shalene McNeill, about beef nutrition.

“I think nutrition is more important than ever before, and I think Covid really helped illuminate and bring more attention on nutrition,” McNeill said. “People are wanting to cook at home more often, becoming even more health conscious, and we have great content and research that we can share with consumers in this current mindset that they are in about the way that beef nourishes them.”

As a registered dietitian and a mother, McNeill talked about how many children and teenagers are not getting all of the nutrients they need.



“What the research is beginning to show is that beef is such a critical nutrient as we have known for a long time for children and the growing years but adolescents- teenagers- just really have important nutrient gaps,” McNeill said. “They are not getting enough iron, they are not getting enough zinc, they are not getting enough choline. These are things that, for example, experts like the Dietary Guidelines Committee have brought to life that we have got to do a better job of closing these nutrition gaps, and beef can do that for our adolescents and teens, and we are starting to raise awareness on that with health professionals.”



A campaign, directed by NCBA, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, called “Beef in the Early Years,” is aimed at educating consumers and healthcare professionals about the guidelines that say infants starting around six months of age should be consuming iron-rich foods such as beef to help nourish them.

Kim Anderson Sees Relatively Good Crop Prices for Next Marketing Year

This Week on SUNUP is Oklahoma State University Extension grain market economist Kim Anderson. During this week’s edition, Anderson talks about the latest information in the grain markets.

USDA has released estimates for the 2023-2024 marketing year. Regarding those estimates, Anderson said there were not any surprises.

“You look at production for wheat- 1.89 billion bushels was the estimate,” Anderson said. “1.89 billion bushels is what USDA came in with, and wheat produced 1.92 billion last year.”

As for the USDA’s price projections for wheat, Anderson said wheat is at $8.50 for the marketing year of 2023 through 2024. If you adjust that to Oklahoma, Anderson said it is at about eight dollars.

“Relatively good prices expected for the next marketing year,” Anderson said.

Right now, Anderson said weather is the big driving force for the markets.

“If you look at the impacts for what this report had on it and the weather, and the rain we have had, you see wheat, corn and bean prices all go down,” Anderson said.

Purebred Cattle Sales Coming Up

Today:

Express Ranches Annual Spring Bull Sale in Yukon, Oklahoma

Saturday, March 4:

Blackjack Farms, LLC 2023 Bull Sale in Seminole, Oklahoma

Davis Angus Value Genetics Bull & Female Sale in Foss, Oklahoma

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