According to the Oklahoma Crop Progress and Condition Report released on March 27, 2023, winter wheat improve 5 points versus last week at 34 percent good to excellent. The poor to very poor show improvement as well- at 32 percent poor to very poor versus 43 percent last Monday. 

Winter wheat jointing reached 26 percent, up 11 points from the previous year but down 7 points from normal.



Pasture and Range Conditions rated 14 percent good to excellent, 28 percent fair and 58 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 13 percent good to excellent, 27 percent fair and 60 percent poor to very poor. 

Meanwhile in Kansas- the wheat crop ratings slip with the good to excellent ratings down four points from last week to 19% Good to Excellent- and the Poor to very Poor Ratings are 11 points worse than last week to 55% poor to very poor.



Oklahoma Farm Bureau works to improve the lives of all Oklahomans by supporting our state’s agriculture community. As Oklahoma’s largest general farm organization led by Oklahoma farmers and ranchers, OKFB takes grassroots values and advocates for agriculture at the state Capitol and in Washington, D.C., to ensure our way of life continues for generations to come.

Farm Bureau hosts leadership events, supports our state’s agricultural youth and connects consumers with agriculture in order to build a brighter future for our state. Become an OKFB member today online at okfarmbureau.org/join. Together, we are rural Oklahoma.



Farm Director, KC Sheperd, is visiting with the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation, Mariah Reimer, talking about the upcoming Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation Spring Seminar, which will be held on March 30, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Devon Boathouse in Oklahoma City.

The goal of the seminar, Reimer said, is to promote the OCA and to provide educational access to all ages.

“It is the first spring seminar we have had and we are hoping to do this annually in the spring and fall,” Reimer said.

Guest speakers, Reimer said, will include Brady Sidwell, Dr. Shannon Ferrell, Kelli Payne and Sherri Glazier. OCA Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey will also be giving a legislative update, she added.

“We wanted to kick it off with a really big bang, which is why we have Brady Sidwell- he is going to speak on risk management, which any cattle producer knows that is a huge topic that we are going to go into for 2023 and probably for a couple of years,” Reimer said. “He is an expert in his field, he runs multiple businesses and he is just a tremendous individual.”

USMEF Looks at Maximizing Use of Underutilized Parts of the Carcass When Cattle Numbers are Tight

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am back visiting with the president and CEO of the United States Meat Export Federation, Dan Halstrom, about the beef export fall-off at the start of 2023.

One of the countries that has had phenomenal growth over the last few years is South Korea. In early 2023, South Korea’s numbers dropped significantly compared to a year earlier.

“I think the primary problem there was totally timing,” Halstrom said.

Inventory will be a point of struggle for beef exports to South Korea looking into next January and February, Halstrom said, but this does not mean anything negative for the demand.

“We were by-far a record in Korea last year,” Halstrom said. “I don’t think the general trend-lines have changed.”

With tighter supplies of beef in the U.S., Halstrom talked about supplying other customers with what they need over the next few years.

“We all knew back in 2022, even into 2021 that at some point, with the drought and liquidation, that the numbers were going to tighten up,” Halstrom said. “So, it’s not a surprise. The fact we are down five percent so far on production is pretty much what a lot of people, including us, expected."

Today, State Director Kenneth Corn made a public announcement along with U.S. Sen. James Lankford for Southwest Intermediary Finance Team and Rural Enterprises Incorporated, who each received a grant from USDA to allow funding for startup and expansion of independent meat processors across Oklahoma.

In total, $14 million in grants from USDA will be applied toward these two intermediary lenders.

These grants are important because it increases access for consumers, Corn said, and provides more marketplaces for producers in Oklahoma, which reduces cost for producers, resulting in lower costs for consumers in the state.

Above, watch and listen to Kenneth Corn give the Oklahoma USDA Rural Development MPILP Grant Announcement.

NCBA Calls for Continued Ban on Paraguayan Beef Imports

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack to continue blocking Paraguay from importing beef to the U.S. in response to USDA releasing a proposed rule that would grant access to Paraguayan beef imports.

“USDA’s proposed rule to allow Paraguayan beef imports into the U.S. is based on 9-year-old data and site visits that occurred in 2008 and 2014. Paraguay has a history of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), and we cannot jeopardize the safety of U.S. consumers and the health of our U.S. cattle herd with outdated information,” said NCBA Executive Director of Government Affairs Kent Bacus. “The United States has the highest animal health and food safety standards in the world because we rely on the most up-to-date information and the highest science-based standards. USDA should not proceed with this application until a thorough review can be conducted with current information that demonstrates Paraguay’s equivalence in animal health and food safety standards.”

Legislative Update: hazard mitigation districts, Medical Marijuana Growers license

This week was a busy one at 23rd and Lincoln as the Legislature was up against the second major deadline of the session. Thursday was the final day for bills to be passed off the floor of their chamber of origin. Following the first deadline at the beginning of the month, around 1,000 bills were still left for consideration. As bills now switch sides to be considered by the opposite chamber, there are roughly 800 bills alive.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau members were pleased that HB 1921 by Rep. Lonnie Sims did not receive consideration on the House floor. HB 1921 sought to allow counties to create hazard mitigation assessment districts to raise revenue that might be used to leverage funds from the federal government to assist with a variety of disaster mitigation uses.

As the bill did not receive approval by the House of Representatives by Thursday’s deadline, the legislation will not be considered further this Legislative session.

SB 913 by Sen. Darcy Jech successfully passed the Senate this week, which will require individuals applying for medical marijuana growers license to obtain a bond of at least $50,000. If the Medical Marijuana Authority or the Department of Environmental Quality deems that the property to be used for the marijuana grow facility requires a larger bond to sufficiently cover a reclamation plan if the medical marijuana license were to be revoked, they would have the ability to require a larger bond to be acquired.

146th Cattle Raisers Convention & Expo concludes in Fort Worth

The 146th Cattle Raisers Convention & Expo concluded Sunday, marking a successful close to the three-day industry event that featured a full slate of keynote addresses, awards, nominations and educational programming.  

Near 4,000 attendees joined the 2023 event held March 24-26 in downtown Fort Worth. Three general sessions focused on beef demand, global trade implications and market outlooks while keynote speaker Dana Perino discussed her rural Wyoming upbringing and life inside the White House. Additionally, the event hosted the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association’s annual meeting, where important business for the largest livestock association in the Southwest is conducted, including: 

• The election of two new board of directors, Bill Cawley and Lloyd French IV 
• The election of three new executive committee members, David Crow, Joe Leathers and Cody Webb 
• Announcement of 2023 Texas Outstanding Rangeland Stewardship Award Recipient, Meredith Ellis of G Bar C Ranch 
• Recognition of the 2023 Outstanding County Extension Agent – Beef, David Groschke 



The TSCRA annual meeting also brought Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz (TX-15) to the stage where convention attendees heard important updates from an advocate working on the frontlines in Washington, D.C. 

Congrats to OALP Class XX- and Thanks to the Advisory Board!

After an extended time being together because of a Pandemic pause- Class XX of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program graduated this past Saturday in Stillwater.(pictured above)

This class was assembled in the early days of COVID- and was forced to stop holding in person seminars just a few months after being selected. During the "pause" they learned the fine art of interacting with leaders in the ag community via Zoom- and decided they were willing to pick up where they left off when it came to live seminars- pushing them into a third year of being active as a class. Their capstone international travel was to Israel back in February- click here for the stories that we did while in Israel with them here in 2023.

With the graduation of Class XX- OALP now is actively seeking Class XXI- click here to learn more about applying for the leadership development program.

While the OALP family was gathered Saturday to celebrate Class XX-the Advisory Council honored yours truly as I finished a 27 year run as Chairman of the Advisory Council.

Pictured below is Todd Love (New Chair of the Advisory Council- Ron Hays and OALP Director Dr. Edmond Bonjour.)

Thanks to the Advisory Council for this recognition- and I am excited that they are encouraging anyone interested in donating to the OALP Professorship in my name to do so. Contact Edmond Bonjour and he can share more about how to donate to the OALP Professorship that is housed in the OSU Foundation.