USDA Sees 2023 Oklahoma Wheat Crop at 70.2 Million Bushels- 30% Above June Guess

The National Ag Statistics Service of USDA has found a lot more wheat in their July Crop production report that almost anyone was expecting in the state of Oklahoma as they jumped the forecast from June to July by over thirty percent. The Kansas crop seems to line up with weather and harvest conditions a lot more as they dropped the production estimate by 17% from a year ago(raising it 8% from June to July).

For the Oklahoma number of 70.2 million bushels- the unknown will be how many acres and how many bushels have been lost since the USDA report was calculated. The July report released on July 12th is as of July 1st information. Since July first- many Oklahoma wheat fields have been soaked with multiple rain storms- making the ground too muddy for combines even as weeds have taken over whole fields in the moist hot conditions. USDA predicts 450,000 more acres will be harvested as of July 1 data versus the June report.

The July estimate is much bigger that the early May Oklahoma Feed and Grain Association predictions– when the crop was estimate by District by District assessments at 65 million bushels- and members of the OGFA guessed just 2 million acres harvested and a dismal 40 million bushel crop. Those numbers were predicted when the crop had received very little rain and the prospects were limited on rain being able to save many fields in the state.

But rains came- and the 2023 harvest has been much later than a year ago- all because of the rains in June as well as July- and that will make the August Crop Production report much more important in calling the size of the 2023 crop. By then- it will be known how many acres in Oklahoma won’t be harvested because of mud and weed pressure. With Kansas more than 30% behind their harvest progress of a year ago in this week’s Crop Progress Report- the August report will also give us a much more accurate picture for the nation’s largest wheat-producing state as well.



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U.S. Ending Stocks Estimates Bearish for Corn, Soybeans and Wheat in Latest WASDE

USDA on Wednesday, July 12, lowered the corn yield estimate to 177.5 bushels per acre (bpa) after bumping up its acreage estimate, but the July World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) still forecasts a record corn crop at 15.32 billion bushels (bb).

USDA lowered the soybean ending stocks forecast for the new-crop (2023-24) season to 300 million bushels (mb), above the range of pre-report expectations. The report accounted for the June 30 acreage estimate of 83.5 million planted acres but left yield unchanged at 52 bpa. USDA lowered export forecasts by 125 mb along with a small 10 mb reduction to crush.

Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Allendale’s Rich Nelson and talked about the latest WASDE report. The wheat side of things, Nelson said, was a bit of a surprise.

“As far as our new crop discussion, the trade only expected about an 18 million bushel increase for this production side, but it looks like the actual, though, 75 million bushels- higher than expected,” Nelson said.

As wheat harvest wraps up in some places, Nelson said some of those numbers were reflected in the report.

“There actually was an increase for the hard red side and lower numbers for the soft red side,” Nelson said.

Nelson said the trade was a bit surprised by the hard red winter wheat numbers overall.

“As far as this goes, this was a little bit of a disappointment,” Nelson said.

Michael Peters of Okarche is New Chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates

The U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) board of directors seated officers for 2023/24 at their annual meeting July 12, 2023, in Minneapolis, Minn. USW is the export market development organization for the U.S. wheat industry.

Michael Peters, Okarche, Okla., accepted the USW Chairman’s gavel from 2022/23 Chair Rhonda Larson, East Grand Forks, Minn. Clark Hamilton, Ririe, Idaho, now serves as Vice Chair, and Jim Pellman, McClusky, N.D., starts his term as Secretary-Treasurer. This slate of officers was elected in February 2023.

U.S. Wheat Associates’ (USW) is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance wheat’s profitability for U.S. wheat producers and its value for their customers.” USW activities in more than 100 countries are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 17 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. USW maintains 15 offices strategically located around the world to help wheat buyers, millers, bakers, wheat food processors and government officials understand the quality, value and reliability of all six U.S. wheat classes. For more information, visit www.uswheat.org.

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am back speaking with Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, Dr. Derrell Peel, about the first half of the year from a beef cattle market perspective.

“The first half of year really picked up the transition from sort of what we had last year that we knew was coming,” Peel said. “By that, I mean beef production set a new record last year. We have now transitioned this year, virtually every week of the year, I think, except one with lower year-over-year beef production. We knew that was coming.”

Obviously, cattle markets have continued to move higher, Peel said, which started in the last part of 2022, but those have moved substantially quicker in 2023.

“We are still in this process of trying to figure out where the bottom is from a cattle cycle standpoint in terms of cattle numbers, stopping the liquidation, stabilizing these numbers, and think about transitioning into some level of expansion at some point,” Peel said.

There are some key data ahead, Peel said, in the cattle inventory report coming out at the end of July.

Agriculture Immersion and Mentorship Program to Promote Development of Young Agriculturalists

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, caught up with Alisen Anderson and talked about the Agricultural Immersion and Mentorship program. Anderson is co-founder of AIM, a member of the Ottawa County Farm Bureau, and serves on the AFBF Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee.

The AIM program was created to meet a need that Anderson and Kelli Payne saw for students majoring in agriculture who are looking for their niche in Oklahoma ag.

“I think we are calling it the labor of love,” Anderson said. “We saw a need in Oklahoma agriculture between that 10 to 21, maybe 22 range where students can come to us and be a part of our cohort or summits and realize there are so much more things in agriculture through sows, plows, and cows.”

Students are given the opportunity to network with individuals in the agriculture community and gain experiences, Anderson said, that will help to open their eyes to the broad diversity of Oklahoma agriculture.

Anderson said there is a small application process including questions, a resume, and a cover letter, then students are implemented into either the fall or spring cohort. There will be a summer cohort for 2024, Anderson added, that is still in the works.

“We want to be able to give students the opportunity to make sure they are exposed to all of Oklahoma agriculture,” Anderson said.

OKFB to host live webinar series to shed light on mental wellbeing in agriculture

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is proud to launch the Cultivating Healthy Minds program webinar series to bring awareness to mental health in Oklahoma’s agriculture community.

The program includes three live webinars, each featuring a speaker with expertise in promoting positive mental wellbeing in Oklahomans and the agriculture industry.

The webinars will be held at noon on the Friday following the first full week of the months of August, September and October. Each webinar will be hosted on the Zoom webinar platform, and registration is free and open to the public. Webinar participants will be able to anonymously pose questions to the guest speakers.

“It is so important for the Farm Bureau family to come together in times of need, especially in regard to mental health,” said Alisen Anderson, OKFB Young Farmers and Ranchers chair. “I want all our Farm Bureau family know it is important to ask for help when it comes to mental health, and we are stronger when we overcome challenges together.”

The first webinar focusing on how to have difficult conversations around mental health will kick off Friday, Aug. 11, with speaker Adrienne DeSutter. DeSutter is an Illinois corn and soybean farmer and counselor who partners with agriculture businesses and organizations to promote healthy minds and prevent farmer suicide.

Cargill RegenConnect® and John Deere announce collaboration for farmers adopting sustainable practices

Collaboration will streamline program enrollment and field data management through John Deere Operations Center™



Cargill and John Deere are announcing a collaborative effort to streamline the digital and in-field experience for farmers using John Deere technology and electing to participate in the Cargill RegenConnect® program.

Cargill RegenConnect provides farmers a financial incentive for positive environmental outcomes through the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices, while helping to improve soil health and decarbonize the agriculture supply chain. John Deere’s precision ag technology and digital platform, Operations Center, helps farmers to implement and document the practices they choose to adopt as part of Cargill RegenConnect.

John Deere and Cargill will work together to help farmers adopt and use precision technology and synchronize the flow of information when they opt-in to share data between systems. Farmers will be able to use existing planting, harvest and tillage documentation data stored in the Operations Center, easily fill in missing information, and enroll in the 2023 Cargill RegenConnect program. This will help farmers save time, assure greater accuracy of data and offer the most up to date, consistent, and comprehensive view of their operation.

“John Deere and Cargill have a shared vision for advancing sustainability through digital capabilities that support farmers. Farmers will have another tool in their toolbox to make the best decisions about sustainability and profitability for their farm,” said Alexey Rostapshov, Head of Sustainability Solutions for John Deere. “The connection to Operations Center provides Cargill RegenConnect participants the opportunity to learn about the program, manage and implement practice changes, and sync data across systems. This will save farmers time and empower them to make the best agronomic and economic decisions for their farm.”