In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am speaking with Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, Derrell Peel, about the latest Cattle on Feed report issued by the USDA on April 21, 2023.

“This April Cattle on Feed report showed placements in March at 99 percent of last year, marketings in March were also at 99 percent of last year, and the April 1 on feed total was 96 percent of one year ago,” Peel said.

While some expected this report to be more friendly in terms of tighter numbers, Peel said the report is still within the range of analyst estimates.

“It wasn’t a complete surprise,” Peel said. “I don’t know how the market will react to it. It may take it slightly bearish, but you know, it is not a severely bearish report. I think the cattle on feed number is probably one percent higher than the average expectation.”

The placements came in a little larger, Peel said, but some of the analysts anticipated that trend. (Editor’s note- the average pre-report guess for placements was 95% of a year ago).

“I think this report is more just kind of a continuation of setting the stage for the tightening of numbers that is going to happen,” Peel said. “It is just not happening real fast at this point in time.”



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.

Nationwide, despite colder, wetter weather, U.S. farmers pushed ahead with row-crop planting last week, keeping planting progress for both corn and soybeans ahead of the average pace, USDA NASS reported in its weekly Crop Progress Report on Monday.

Winter wheat for the U.S was rated 26 percent good to excellent, down 1 percent from 27 percent good to excellent the previous week and the lowest in over three decades. 

In the southern plains- Hard red winter wheat continues to suffer- with Texas and Kansas both at 14% good to excellent- and Texas at 55% poor to very poor and Kansas at 62% poor to very poor. The Oklahoma numbers are the worse at this point in April since 2011- with a 6% good (no excellent) and 63% poor to very poor. The 2011 crop was 5% good to excellent and 75% poor to very poor.

However, the 2011 crop recovered and ended up producing 75 million bushels- both Mark Hodges and Mike Schulte are thinking this year's crop has less potential than that 2011 crop and is very unlikely to reach that production level.

OKLAHOMA:

Winter wheat jointing reached 84 percent, up 16 points from the previous year and up 1 point from normal. Winter wheat headed reached 33 percent, up 28 points from the previous year and up 9 points from normal. Winter wheat conditions rated 6 percent good to excellent (zero percent excellent), 31 percent fair and 63 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 13 percent good to excellent, 34 percent fair, and 53 percent poor to very poor. 

Sorghum planted reached 15 percent, up 15 points from the previous year and up 12 percent from the average.

Pasture and range conditions rated 14 percent good to excellent, 25 percent fair and 61 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 13 percent good to excellent, 29 percent fair, and 58 percent poor to very poor.

Chances of Widespread Rain Across the State this Week

Parts of the driest portions of Oklahoma MIGHT get their chance at rain this week, according to State Climatologist Gary McManus.

“The forecast models have been consistently consistent since last week in dumping copious amounts of rainfall across drought-plagued north and western Oklahoma, so we’re going to go with the hopeful flow and lean into it," McManus said. "We’re talking the first significant statewide rainfall in well over six months, going back to late last summer. I managed to patch together the totals predicted this week from our friends at the Tulsa and Norman NWS offices and came up with this (sorry to Tulsa for obliterating your logo and whatnot), confirming the widespread 2-4 inches being predicted by the national folks in the top graphic above.”

Many parts of the state have seen consecutive days without any considerable rain, so this could be a drought quencher or even possibly a drought ender if this rain does come through.

While in Washington, D.C., Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to visit with USDA NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer about the Census of Agriculture.

“We have had a strong push to get more information collected online,” Hamer said. “In fact, I think we doubled the 2017 rate that we are completing online. It is a lot quicker, it is more efficient, and it helps us to get the data in a lot quicker.”

Because there are issues with broadband in some parts of the country, Hamer said paper applications are still very acceptable.

“We really prefer the internet version,” Hamer said. “We have made it a lot easier to follow, and then you don’t have to go through all of the sections. You can click through and put the data in that you have for your operation.”

Any piece of information that farmers and ranchers provide through the survey, Hamer said, is protected by law.

“It cannot be shared with any other organization,” Hamer said. “It can’t be shared within the Department of Agriculture. So, the data that they are providing us is protected, it is safe, and it is designed to help their local communities, their regions, and the state.”

The information provided for the census, Hamer said, helps with the writing of farm bills, as it is always important to have the most up-to-date information.

State Vet UPDATE: Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy Case at Tulsa County Show

Below is an update on the case of Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy that was confirmed in a horse at the Tulsa County Show on April 20, 2023, from State Veterinarian, Dr. Rod Hall:

To see the original post, click here.

You may or may not be aware that we had a case of Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy at the National Reining Breeders Classic at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds late last week. The horse was showing neurologic symptoms and was removed from the grounds Monday afternoon. My office was not made aware of the case until late Thursday, when we received notification from the referring veterinarian and confirmed lab results. We quarantined the event, and Dr. Zeke Proctor worked till late that night doing an epidemiologic investigation and getting the horses he believed were at the highest risk of exposure isolated. Early Friday morning he got samples from the isolated horses and transported them to OADDL. During the day Friday, another horse began showing some signs of neurologic or musculoskeletal problems, so that horse was isolated and sampled as well. We received notification of negative results between 5:00 and 6:00 pm Friday evening.

I worked with the State Veterinarians from the other 22 States that had horses at the show to answer their questions and send them a list of exhibitors from their states. Once we got negative results and I got the approval for all the horses to go back to their trainers/owners, we released the quarantine Saturday morning.

The Rich Legacy of the Florida Beef Cattle Industry

Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, offers his economic analysis of the beef cattle industry as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner” published electronically by Dr. Peel and Mark Johnson. Today, Dr. Peel talks about the beef industry in Florida- he joined in with the OCA tour of the Florida cattle industry this past week.

The first cattle to arrive in what is now the United States were brought to Florida by Ponce de Leon in 1521. Over time, cattle ranching was established in Florida and the cowboys who used whips to bring cattle out of the swamps and thickets became known as Cracker cowboys and the cows known as Cracker cattle. Cracker cattle are still found in Florida today.

However, the beef cattle industry in Florida today is modern and big business. On January 1, 2023, Florida was the number nine beef cow state in the country with nearly 900 thousand head. Several of the top ten cattle cow-calf ranches in the country are in Florida. The long legacy of cattle ranching in Florida includes many multi-generational operations that are still going strong. 

Last week, a group from Oklahoma, including members of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and from Oklahoma State University, visited Florida to learn about cattle and agricultural production in an environment unlike anywhere else in the country. 

President Biden Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Oklahoma

FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of Oklahoma to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes from April 19-20, 2023.

The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in McClain and Pottawatomie counties. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding is also available to state, tribal, eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and debris removal caused by severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes in McClain and Pottawatomie counties.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Rainfall Totals Thus Far in a Week Across Oklahoma That May Bring Lots of Moisture

We are hoping to see some decent rainfall amounts over the next couple of days- we will give you snapshots of how that unfolds each morning- this snapshot takes us back to Sunday morning- the graphic is clickable to a real time review of the previous 48 hour period.

Seminole is the first day winner with 26 hundreths of an inch to in this time period.

Pray for rain!