Farm Director, KC Sheperd, is visiting with Oklahoma State University’s Brian Whitacre, as he gives an update on broadband progress in the state.

After a long selection process, Whitacre said the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board has voted to hire former Oklahoma State Representative Mike Sanders as the executive director of the Oklahoma Broadband Office. 

“His first order of business really is ramping up the state broadband office,” Whitacre said. “We have kind of been ‘bare bones’ at this point. We really have about three full-time employees in the Oklahoma broadband office. Other states have 15 or 20.”

In December of 2022, Whitacre said the state of Oklahoma received federal funding to improve internet access throughout the state over five years. Nine months from when the funds were received, Whitacre said the state is required to have the five-year plan compiled.

“That puts us around August of 2023 when we need to have that full plan submitted back to the federal government,” Whitacre said.

Hiring the appropriate individuals to work in the broadband office, Whitacre said, will be an integral part of compiling and submitting that plan.



The Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association is the trusted voice of the Oklahoma Cattle Industry. With headquarters in Oklahoma City, the OCA has a regular presence at the State Capitol to protect and defend the interests of cattlemen and cattlewomen.

Their Vision Statement explains the highest priority of the organization- "Leadership that serves, strengthens and advocates for the Oklahoma cattle industry."

To learn more about the OCA and how you can be a part of this forward-looking group of cattle producers, click here for their website. For more information- call 405-235-4391.

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am back again with the vice president of governmental affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Ethan Lane, talking about animal disease traceability.

The ability to effectively trace animal disease, Lane said, in the case of a disease outbreak is critical to help beef start moving again. He added that having rapid access to animal health data to demonstrate which animals are safe for transport and harvest starts with having an animal disease traceability system.

“Obviously, USDA is working through a rulemaking right now on their mandatory EID for breeding animals over 18 months, sexually intact, moving interstate, so about 11 percent of the herd,” Lane said. “We are working on our side of that with our voluntary plan for working through that.”

NCBA will continue to weigh in with USDA on ensuring producers will not bear the cost of this system, Lane said, as disease traceability benefits the entire supply chain.

“There are a tremendous amount of tags already out there,” Lane said.

Lane said it is important to make sure the data is moving at the speed of commerce, but in a way that does not stockpile producer data unnecessarily, creating targets for animal rights activists and groups with agendas against animal agriculture.

Introducing Abigail Burton of the Stillwater FFA Chapter, Your 2023 Central Area Star in Agriscience

During the month of April, the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and Oklahoma Farm Report are spotlighting the 17 Area Stars of Oklahoma FFA that are among the highest achievers in the organization.

The stars come from the five areas in four categories- Star in Ag Placement, Star in Agriscience, Star in Agribusiness, and Star in Agricultural Production.

One Star Finalist featured in the coming days from each of the categories will be named the State Star Award Winner during the 97th Oklahoma State FFA Convention coming up on May 2nd and 3rd in Tulsa, Okla.

This week, our coverage of the 2023 Oklahoma FFA Star Award Finalists begins with Agriscience competitor Abigail Burton of the Stillwater FFA chapter representing the Central Area.

“I attended the CDE fair at my chapter’s high school, and I learned about the agriscience fair through that, and one of the older members recommended that I compete in it,” Burton said. “I had made lots of observations while working in the garden with my family that I wanted to use and apply in these competitions.”

Burton currently serves as the president of the Stillwater FFA chapter and has been involved in the FFA since the eighth grade. Following graduation, Burton plans to attend Oklahoma State University and pursue a major in biology and allied health.

“After I acquire my bachelor’s at OSU, I plan to go to Houston and attend a perfusion program,” Burton said. “They run the heart and lung machine on open heart surgeries.”

Farmer sentiment weakened again in March as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer fell 8 points to a reading of 117. Both the Index of Current Conditions and Index of Future Expectations declined 8 points in March leaving the Current Conditions Index at 126 and the Future Expectations Index at 113. Weaker prices for key commodities including wheat, corn, and soybeans from mid-February through mid-March were a key factor behind this month’s weaker sentiment reading. The Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer sentiment index is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone survey. This month’s survey was conducted from March 13-17, 2023 which coincided with the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Although the March survey did not include any questions directly related to the bank closures, it did reveal that rising interest rates have become a bigger concern among farmers. Additionally, when responding to the open-ended comment question posed at the end of each survey, multiple respondents voiced concerns about the banking sector’s problems and its potential to hurt the economy which likely also weighed on producer sentiment.

The Farm Financial Performance Index reading of 86 was unchanged from February and nearly identical to a one-year earlier. Although the index was unchanged, farmers continue to express more concern about rising interest rates with 25% of respondents choosing that as one of their top concerns for the upcoming year. The percentage of farmers choosing rising rates as a top concern has been increasing steadily since last summer when just 14% of respondents identified it as a top concern. Higher input costs remain the number one concern, chosen by 34% of producers this month, but concern about input costs has been falling since last summer’s peak when it was chosen by 53% of producers. 

CHS Reports Second Quarter Earnings

CHS Inc., (NASDAQ: CHSCP) the nation’s leading agribusiness cooperative, today released results for its second quarter ended Feb. 28, 2023. The company reported quarterly net income of $292.3 million compared to $219.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2022. For the first six months of fiscal year 2023, the company reported net income of $1.1 billion and revenues of $24.1 billion compared to net income of $671.0 million and revenues of $21.2 billion recorded in the first half of fiscal year 2022.

Fiscal 2023 second quarter highlights include:

• Revenues of $11.3 billion compared to $10.3 billion in the second quarter of fiscal year 2022, a year-over-year increase of 9%.
• Strong refining margins and market conditions in our refined fuels business drove significantly improved earnings in our Energy segment.
• Decreased prices for agronomy products and ethanol contributed to lower earnings in our Ag segment.
• Our CF Nitrogen investment delivered solid earnings due to strong global demand for urea and UAN, although selling prices for those products have decreased.
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“Strong global demand for commodities and improved market conditions for refined fuels led to increased earnings for the quarter, as well as the first half of the fiscal year,” said Jay Debertin, president and CEO of CHS Inc. “The strength of our diversified portfolio offset margin pressures experienced within our Ag segment, particularly wholesale and retail agronomy products. Looking ahead, we will continue to invest on behalf of our owners in infrastructure, supply chain capabilities and innovative technology throughout our expansive global network to maximize value for our member cooperatives, farmer-owners and customers.”

Congressman Lucas Announces April Town Hall Meetings in Central Oklahoma

Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) will hold town hall meetings in Canadian, Kingfisher, Blaine, Garfield, and Grant Counties on Wednesday, April 12th and Thursday, April 13th. Residents around the locations are invited to attend and share their thoughts on current events in Washington, DC and across Oklahoma.

Lucas will be discussing recent work in Congress, taking questions about issues important to constituents of the Third Congressional District, and seeking input on legislation currently before Congress. 



Wednesday, April 12th, 2023

Canadian County Town Hall Meeting

10:00- 11:00 a.m. 

Redlands Community College

Room MM-125

1300 South Country Club Road

El Reno, OK 73036

Kingfisher County Town Hall Meeting

1:00- 2:00 p.m.

605 Zellers Avenue

Kingfisher, OK 73750

Blaine County Town Hall Meeting

3:00- 4:00 p.m. 

Watonga City Hall

410 West Main Street

Watonga, OK 73772

National Sorghum Producers Opens 2023 Sorghum Yield Contest

National Sorghum Producers will now begin accepting entries for the 2023 National Sorghum Yield Contest. State and national winners are selected from contestants split into east and west regions for each division, which includes irrigated, dryland no-till, dryland tillage and one overall winner for food grade.

The entry deadline for the 2023 National Sorghum Yield Contest is November 15. A complete field of 10 or more continuous acres, planted in the sorghum seed variety named on the entry form, will be designated as the contest field. The contestants must harvest and report at least 1.5 contiguous acres. Harvest reports will now be made available to contest entrants beginning May 1, and all completed forms must be received at the NSP office or postmarked no later than November 25.

“This competition motivates farmers and seed companies to explore innovative genetics and techniques for enhancing sorghum yields,” NSP CEO Tim Lust said. “Despite the 2022 drought, we saw excellent top-end yields in the contest from growers nationwide. We look forward to expanding on that success in 2023, and we anticipate a high level of participation in the upcoming contest, resulting in new yield records being set.”