Matt Makens Projects Short-Lived El Niño to Bring Colder Than Average Temps Toward End of Winter

At the 2023 Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association’s Annual Convention and Trade Show, I caught up with Atmospheric Scientist Matt Makens with Makens Weather. Makens talked to Hays about the transition from La Niña to El Niño.

Makens was the closing keynote speaker at the convention and is also in the program for Tuesday at the NCBA Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting. (Our coverage from the 2023 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in San Diego is being powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater)

So far, Makens said the transition from La Niña to El Niño has been on schedule.

“There is going to be a transition, but it is not immediate, and everybody is going to have a different impact, and we have simply seen that this year,” Makens said. “Eastern Oklahoma started out so wet, and we have seen the pattern kind of just totally flip on the state. Now, the west is actually starting to get some water, too, so that is all part of this transition.”

Before we lock into El Niño, Makens said there will be “hit and miss” streaks of moisture spread across the region.



National Livestock was founded in 1932 in Oklahoma City. National’s Marketing Division offers cattle for sale weekly at the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City. The Finance Division lends money to ranchers across several states for cattle production. The Grazing Division works with producers to place cattle for grazing on wheat or grass pastures. 

National also owns and operates other livestock marketing subsidiaries including Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction in Ada, Oklahoma, OKC West Livestock Market in El Reno, Oklahoma, and the nation’s premier livestock video sale, Superior Livestock Auction. National offers customers many services custom made for today’s producer. To learn more, click here for the website or call the Oklahoma City office at 1-800-310-0220.

Oklahoma Crop Progress Report Shows Good to Excellent Percentages Improved or Unchanged in All Commodities

 After improving the past few weeks, the national corn condition rating held steady last week, and soybean conditions fell slightly, according to USDA NASS’ weekly Crop Progress report released Monday. A heatwave forecast for much of the country this week will likely put even more pressure on crop conditions.

U.S CROP PROGRESS:

Corn silking for the U.S. reached 68 percent, up 10 percentage points from the previous year and up 3 points from the five-year average. Corn dough reached 16 percent, up 4 points from the previous year and up 2 points from the average. Corn conditions rated 57 percent good to excellent, 30 percent fair and 13 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated the same.

OKLAHOMA:

Corn silking reached 67 percent, up 6 points from the previous year and up 4 points from normal. Corn dough reached 29 percent, up 26 points from the previous year. Corn conditions rated 80 percent good to excellent, 16 percent fair and 4 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 76 percent good to excellent, 18 percent fair and 6 percent poor to very poor. 

Soybeans emerged reached 91 percent, down 3 points from the previous year but unchanged from normal. Soybeans blooming reached 45 percent, up 11 points from the previous year and up 15 points from normal. Soybeans setting pods reached 5 percent, up 4 points from the previous year. Soybean conditions rated 77 percent good to excellent, 19 percent fair and 4 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 71 percent good to excellent, 24 percent fair and 5 percent poor to very poor.

Cotton squaring reached 79 percent, up 13 points from the previous year and from normal. Cotton setting bolls reached 25 percent, up 16 points from the previous year and up 6 points from normal. Cotton conditions rated 72 percent good to excellent, 23 percent fair, and 5 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 68 percent good to excellent, 31 percent fair and 1 percent poor to very poor.

Pasture and range conditions rated 66 percent good to excellent, 26 percent fair and 8 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated the same.

NCBA’s Todd Wilkinson Emphasizes the Importance of Properly Labeling Lab-Grown Meat to Avoid Consumer Confusion

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with the president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Todd Wilkinson, about the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting taking place on July 24-26 in San Diego.

Our coverage from the 2023 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in San Diego is being powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

One of the issues that will be discussed at the meeting this week, Wilkinson said, is ensuring that cell-based meat is properly labeled for consumers.

“USDA recently approved sales in public of the chicken product, and it is in some restaurants,” Wilkinson said.

Looking into the next five to ten years in the beef industry, Wilkinson said his biggest concern is the mislabeling of cell-based meat. This cell-based meat is a different beast than vegan products, Wilkinson said, as the public has shown they do not show a huge interest in those vegan products over true meat products.

“If we don’t have a handle on this, and we don’t get it labeled properly, (we are) very concerned that the beef industry is going to have the problems that the milk industry had 25 years ago,” Wilkinson said. “If that consumer, when he or she walks up to that meat counter and sees a package of hamburger, and it doesn’t differentiate between lab-grown stuff and the natural product, we are losing the war.”

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, was featured in the Red Dirt Agronomy Podcast episode titled “Howdy Neighbors!” After the conclusion of the podcast episode, Hays chatted with the group about how the podcast came to life.

The Red Dirt Agronomy Podcast group is currently made up of Brian Arnall, Josh Lofton, Randy Taylor, and Dave Deken. In each episode, Dave talks with the group about their crop research, ideas that may help ag producers get the most out of their land, and what it’s like to live in rural America.

The podcast features a variety of speakers and topics, from farmers’ mental health to the latest OSU research.

The podcast is a great tool for busy growers around the state to stay up to date and listen to discussion points and more, as it allows them to listen in while they are in their tractors or just driving down the road.

To hear the conversation that the Red Dirt Agronomy Podcast crew had with Ron- Click here. The episode has Ron describing the journey his career has taken in becoming the elder statesman in the ag media world in the southern great plains.

Oklahoma CattleWomen Gives out Scholarships and Elects New Leadership at 2023 OCA Convention and Trade Show

At the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association’s Annual Convention and Trade Show, Farm Director, KC Sheperd caught up with the immediate past Oklahoma CattleWomen president, Cheyenne Sparks, and talked about this year’s OCW leadership, awards luncheon, and the 2024 CattleCon.

As Sparks was the OCW president for the past two years, she said she is excited to now serve as the immediate past president of OCW.

“You have got Connie Tabor coming in as president, I can’t wait to see what she does, we have got Amarie Bartel, president-elect, and of course, we have got some new girls on the officer team,” Sparks said. “We have got Holly Baker coming in as a VP, as well as Debbie Mullins, coming in as VP.”

At the OCW awards luncheon this past Saturday, Sparks said several deserving individuals were presented with awards.

“Our Honorary CattleWomen of the Year, that goes to somebody that goes above and beyond for CattleWomen, even though they are not a member, and Chancey Hanson got that this year because she has been loving on us for years and years,” Sparks. “With all of her efforts with the OCA, she deserved this award, and I am so overjoyed that she could be there and accept it. I am very thankful for everything she has done for us.”

Another Hot Week With Low Rainfall Chances

Hopefully, everyone enjoyed the cooler days we had throughout the weekend because it's going to heat up!

State Climatologist Gary McManus said we have seen hot temperatures this summer, but this one is going to stick around for a while.

“Now we get into a true heat wave, one that will last a good (bad) 7-10 days, and possibly beyond that," McManus said. "While these temps don’t appear to be thermonuclear, we do see the Panhandle possibly breaking some record highs today, originally set back in 1936.”

New Frontiers Donors Support Oklahoma 4-H with Named Spaces in New Ag Hall

Oklahoma State University is known for America’s Brightest Orange, but there is another color prominent on the OSU campus. Green represents Oklahoma 4-H, which is delivered by OSU Extension to provide experiences where young people learn by doing.

The OSU Stillwater campus will be covered with green during the 102nd State 4-H Roundup, July 26-28. While on campus, 4-H members will see the soon-to-be new home for Oklahoma 4-H Youth Development and the Oklahoma 4-H Foundation.

The New Frontiers Agricultural Hall, which is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024, will include a dedicated 4-H office suite. Since the campaign launch to build a state-of-the-art teaching, research and Extension facility for OSU Agriculture, donors have supported New Frontiers and named spaces in the 4-H office suite.

“Listening to the various stories from our alumni expressing how 4-H impacted their lives is inspiring,” said Steve Beck, state 4-H program leader. “It is an honor to have so many of these alumni give back to Oklahoma 4-H through their generous contributions to the New Frontiers Agricultural Hall. We are very excited about the new home for Oklahoma 4-H and know the facility will serve many future generations of Oklahoma youth.”