Farm Director KC Sheperd is visiting with State Climatologist Gary McManus about upcoming weather conditions and trends in the state.

The Southeastern half of the state, McManus said, has received some pretty good weather recently, but those Northwest of I-44 may be in some trouble in terms of moisture.

“The Northwestern half of the state continues in this growing drought situation, intensifying drought,” McManus said.

Although there has been rain over the last few days for that area northwest of I-44, McManus said it was not widespread enough to create any improvements on the drought monitor map.

McManus said La Nina is finished, at least on the oceanic side, but the atmosphere has not fully changed back to neutral conditions yet.

“It is slowly going away,” McManus said. “It will slowly go back to neutral conditions.”

As the summer months approach, McManus said there is no way to tell if this summer will yield any rain just yet.

“There is no indication of any sort of anomaly for precipitation,” McManus said. “What we do see, however, which is troubling, is an increased odds of above normal temperatures.”



The vision of the Oklahoma Beef Council is to be a positive difference for Oklahoma's farming and ranching families and the greater beef community, and its mission is to enhance beef demand by strengthening consumer trust and exceeding consumer expectations. 

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The 19th Annual Oklahoma City Farm Show is set to feature the latest agricultural machinery, equipment, technology, and services from hundreds of exhibitors representing more than 1000 products and services. The show is coming up this week, April 13, 14 & 15, at the Bennett Event Center, located on the OKC Fairgrounds Complex in Oklahoma City. Indoor exhibits will fill the Bennett Event Center, along with outdoor exhibits located directly in front of the event center. The show is free to attend, and there is plenty of free parking at the OKC Fairgrounds complex.

I got the chance to visit with the manager of the show, Penny Swank, as she gives a preview of this year’s event.

The 2023 show will feature seminars, beginning with State Climatologist Gary McManus on Thursday, Swank said, giving an Oklahoma drought update.

On Friday, Swank said Wes Lee of Oklahoma State University will be speaking on educational-assisted weather climate.

“We have our free coffee and rolls every morning until 10 o’clock all three days,” Swank said. “We also are doing our thousand dollars in ‘show bucks,’ which is sponsored by Great Plains Kubota. Register right up at their booth up until 1 o’clock each day.”

Swank said there are over 300 exhibitors at this year’s show.

When you attend the 2023 Oklahoma City Farm Show- be sure and stop by our booth- it's number 805 on the east side of the Bennett Center.

Blayne Arthur Emphasizes Added Value for Producers at Ag Day at the Capitol

At Oklahoma Ag Day at the Capitol, Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with the Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture, Blayne Arthur and talked about the event and what is being accomplished to aid ag producers in the state.

Arthur said this day at the Capitol was a great opportunity for legislators to come out and hear about the importance of agriculture in the state of Oklahoma and meet some of the state’s producers.

“All of our commodity groups show up, and we have got lots of our Made in Oklahoma companies,” Arthur said.

Regarding legislative discussions currently taking place, Arthur said much of that discussion has been about education in the state.

“That is not in our lane so much in the ag piece, but that is taking up a lot of the discussion,” Arthur said. “Right now, from an ag perspective, we have had good conversations, I think, with members. Lots of work was done with the Emergency Drought Commission. We know that it has rained in some parts of the state. It certainly has not rained in other parts of the state.”

Later in the year, Arthur said she will have the opportunity to travel internationally with the goal of promoting Oklahoma and U.S. ag products to the world.

“Always, our goal is to help farmers have a way to be profitable and to stay on the farm, so we look forward to those opportunities,” Arthur said.

USDA on Tuesday released its April Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) reports.

Associate Farm Editor Reagan Calk had the chance to visit with Allendale’s Rich Nelson about the findings in these reports.

There were not any major changes made in this report, Nelson said, because of the time of year between new crop and old crop numbers.

“Only real main issue as far as changes on the grain side, at least, was the wheat discussion,” Nelson said. “USDA did raise those numbers by 30 million bushels from the prior month- now 598 million bushels.”

As far as the discussion on the wheat side, Nelson said U.S. wheat prices have “divorced” themselves from U.S. supply and demand numbers.

“We are being driven right now in our pricing, by this balance sheet from the world basis,” Nelson said.

Regarding Oklahoma’s winter wheat crop, Nelson said USDA is still looking at some pretty low numbers.

“Only 20 percent good to excellent for this hard red crop in Oklahoma,” Nelson said. “That is not too far different from the entire winter wheat crop- only 27 percent good to excellent.”

Introducing Rylee Glazier of the Lomega FFA Chapter, Your 2023 Northwest Area Star in Agricultural Placement

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 continues with Ag Placement competitor Rylee Glazier of the Lomega FFA chapter representing the Northwest Area.

“I actually work on a family farm in Loyal and Omega, Oklahoma, which makes Lomega,” Glazier said. “The family farming operation is a very unique experience.”

Within the operation, Glazier said she has been part of the harvest, from cutting wheat to milo, sesame, and more.

“We have a cattle operation which consists of about 150 head of mother cows for commercial calving,” Glazier said. “We also have a forage production where we sell hay to folks in western Oklahoma and in the Texas panhandle. We also do keep the forage around for our own operation of winterizing the cattle.”

After high school graduation, Glazier plans to attend Northern Oklahoma College and compete on the livestock judging team.

Glynn Tonsor Discusses Meat Demand Trends and Strong Cash Cattle Prices

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am featuring comments from Kansas State University Extension Livestock Market Economist, Dr. Glynn Tonsor, talking about why cash cattle prices have been moving stronger over the last couple of months.

One of the contributing factors, Tonsor said, is the pullback on corn, but the biggest driver of those prices is the tightening cattle supply.

“I think there is a lot of chasing of what is expected to be less available beef pounds,” Tonsor said. 

Wholesale boxed beef prices, Tonsor added, have been trending up in recent days and are up compared to the start of the year. Compared to January 3rd of this year, Tonsor said the total composite is up around four dollars.

“The rib category is down 15 percent, and all the other categories are flat or up,” Tonsor said. “Highlighting that because I think the rib has been under stress. Hopefully, some seasonal return to growing and so forth will help with that.”

Loin, brisket, and short plate are up, Tonsor said, and chuck and round are basically flat.

“There is a mixed bag across all those different primal-based cutout numbers on a mix of food service export and domestic,” Tonsor said. “Remember, these are all wholesale values that blend all three.”

If You Wear Denim, You are Invited to this Year’s 2023 Denim Ball

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, is visiting with Mark Nichols, a cotton grower from Altus, Oklahoma, about the upcoming Denim Ball to be held this weekend (April 14-15) at the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City.

“When we say ‘Denim Ball,’ it is truly denim,” Nichols said. “We encourage everybody to wear denim. You don’t have to dress up. Our slogan really is, ‘If you wear cotton, you are invited.’”

On Friday night, Nichols said they will be having a “casino night” at the Skirvin Hotel. He added that the Denim Ball will be held at the Skirvin Hotel on Saturday night, featuring an auction and a meal.

At the Denim Ball, Nichols said a few individuals will also be inducted into the Oklahoma Cotton Hall of Fame.

For more information about the 2023 Denim Ball, click here.

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities at this year’s Denim Ball, click here.