Winter wheat production forecast at 1.23 billion bushels, up 2% from the July 1 forecast

As expected, USDA on Friday lowered both corn and soybean yields and production, dropping corn yields to 175.1 bushels per acre (bpa), and lowering soybean yields to 50.9 bpa. Corn production was pegged at 15.11 billion bushels (bb), and soybean production was forecast at 4.2 billion bushels.

Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to visit with Allendale’s Rich Nelson after the report was released. He said there were some interesting discussions around the wheat numbers.

“USDA did both a resurvey effort for acreage for small grains and really for wheat that didn’t change the story too much, only 180,000 acres that were offset by yield decline 0.3 bushels an acre," Nelson said. "So, production in this case was lowered by 5 million bushels, not a big surprise there.”

Nelson said USDA did address some export concerns, and therefore stocks are raised by 592 to now 615, but said that was the standard trade expectation. However, Nelson did say that on the Hard Red Winter side, we saw some pretty big numbers.

“We will point out that numbers were raised, and a lot of us might wonder with active harvest what type of discussion that would have been here in prior weeks," Nelson said. "But our discussion now is that we’re wrapping up our argument here that perhaps this hard red did relatively well considering our weather challenges earlier this year. So overall, some stout numbers but not too out of balance here.”



Midwest Farm Shows is proud to produce the two best Farm Shows in the State of Oklahoma annually- the Tulsa Farm Show each December and the Oklahoma City Farm Show each April.

The Tulsa Farm Show is Oklahoma’s premier

agricultural and ranching event- and returns to the SageNet Center (Expo Square) December, 7-8-9, 2023. 

Now is the ideal time to contact the Midwest Farm Show Office at 507-437-7969 and book space at the 2022 Tulsa Farm Show.  To learn more about the Tulsa Farm Show, click here. 



The August Crop Production report of USDA reflected a sizable amount of abandoned acres across Oklahoma compared to the July Report- resulting in a crop that is virtually the same size as the one that was produced in 2022. NASS reduced the harvested acres by 50,000 acres(the trade reporting that farmers had to abandon those acres due to rains that caused mud and weed problems) with 2.55 million acres being harvested- the yield per acre was left unchanged from July to August resulting in Oklahoma’s winter wheat crop called 68.85 million bushels- up from 68.6 million bushels in 2022.

Even though there was a sizable amount of wheat still to be harvested in early July in Kansas- the estimates in July were held in place in the August report for the nation’s largest wheat producing state- with Kansas farmers harvesting 6.5 million acres with a disappointing 32 bushels per acre for a 208 million bushel crop. That’s fifteen percent less than the 2022 crop for Kansas and well under their long term average of 330 million bushels.

The Texas winter wheat crop is well above the 2022 crop- up 79% from the 39 million bushel crop of 2022- the 2023 crop harvested by Texas producers comes from 2 million acres with a yield of 35 bushels per acre, resulting in 70 million bushels produced this year.

Nationally, Hard Red Winter production, at 585 million bushels, is up 1 percent from last month.

Beyond the 2023 winter wheat crop- USDA also had production estimates on several of the spring planted crops in Oklahoma. Click on the BLue Button below to see those crops in detail.

Year Four of Cattlemen’s Congress Coming in December

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with Bray Haven about the 2024 Cattlemen’s Congress, coming up on December 30, 2023, through January 11, 2024. Coming up on year four of Cattlemen’s Congress, Haven talks about what to expect in 2024.

“I think we are really continuing our positive momentum that Cattlemen’s Congress has had since its inception,” Haven said. “That first year, we were the only show in town, and then as we progressed, the other shows came back online, but people kept their interest with Cattlemen’s Congress.”

One advantage of Cattlemen’s Congress, Haven said, is the location, as it sits right in the middle of cattle country. Looking at physical upgrades to the facility, Haven said there is a lot to be excited about.

“If you drive downtown by the OKC Fairgrounds, you will see the new coliseum is already going up, and so we will look forward to showing in there in the next couple of years,” Haven said. “There will be a little construction and things like that during the show for the next year or so, but I think the end result will be good.”

Regarding the schedule, Haven said they will be shortening the show by one day in 2024.

“Not that we expect numbers to fluctuate much, but just to be a little more efficient,” Haven said.

This week, ASA led coalition comments raising “grave concern” with EPA’s vulnerable species pilot project proposed under the Endangered Species Act. The comment letter, which drew 206 signers, expressed multiple ways in which grower and other pesticide user operations potentially would be subject to irreparable harm should the pilot take effect as proposed. The comments raised concern that the proposal “will effectively result in a de facto pesticide ban for many farmers.” Additionally, the comments expressed alarm with ways in which the proposal likely violates EPA’s legal obligations under ESA, FIFRA, the Administrative Procedure Act, and other federal statutes.

The vulnerable species pilot, which seeks to protect 27 species EPA alleges are uniquely vulnerable to pesticide exposures, would impose geographical use restrictions on pesticide users within the species ranges. The pilot would establish pesticide use limitation areas (PULA) with varying restrictions depending on the species.

While the proposal is complicated and largely species-specific, there are many general trends regarding the restrictions that would apply to pesticide users affected by the pilot. For example, many farmers in the PULAs would have to coordinate with their local Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) offices three months ahead of making any pesticide applications on fields or rangelands. The comments highlight how this could create an enormous regulatory bottleneck if the local FWS office has limited capacity to handle hundreds of coordination requests. It is also impossible for growers to predict their pest pressures and application needs three months in advance. Most farmers under the proposal would have to adopt four runoff/erosion mitigations as well, many of which would be incredibly expensive or impractical for growers to implement. The comments highlight that the collective impact of this proposal would be an effective pesticide ban for many growers.

Tractor Sales Growth Softens in U.S., Canada – AEM’s Ag Tractor and Combine Report

Self-propelled combine sales continued to increase in the U.S., while total farm tractor unit sales in the U.S. and Canada declined in July, according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

Overall unit sales of U.S. combines climbed 10.6 percent compared to July 2022, while sales of tractors declined 5.2 percent in the same month in 2022, driven largely by softness in the smaller horsepower segment. Canadian tractors saw slower July sales with an overall decline approaching 20 percent, with combines declining 16 percent year over year for the month of July. 

“We’re still seeing moderate growth in the traditional ag market that has shown a steady rise all year in North America” said Curt Blades, senior vice president, at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. “The softness in the compact and sub-compact tractor market in both the U.S. and Canada is something we have been experiencing for some time after record growth in the segment during the recent pandemic.”

Thinking Outside the Box When It Comes to Direct Marketing in Ag Products

At the Women in Ag Conference in Edmond, Oklahoma, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Intern, Maci Carter, had the opportunity to talk with Julia Laughlin, Horticulture Specialist at Oklahoma County Extension, after Laughlin’s presentation on Alternative Crops for Direct Marketing. Together they discussed what direct marketing is, different avenues for producers, crops that will set growers apart, and more.

“This is where a producer is going to sell directly to a consumer instead of having a middleman,” Laughlin said.

Laughlin said some examples of direct marketing include using farmers’ markets or selling directly to chefs at restaurants rather than selling to a corporation grocery store. She disclaimed that it may be harder than it sounds, and often times finding someone to sell for you can be an easier avenue.

“One thing is it can be sold directly to the consumer, which is generally a higher quality for the consumer,” Laughlin said. “But for the vendor or the producer themselves, they’re going to make more money because they can get a full price for the product without going through a second market.”

Voluntary Groundwater Conservation Act Proposed to Protect the Ogallala Aquifer

Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), have introduced the Voluntary Groundwater Conservation Act, aimed specifically to protect the Great Plains’ Ogallala Aquifer.

The Ogallala Aquifer underlies parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. From wheat and cows to corn and cotton, the regional economy depends almost exclusively on agriculture irrigated by Ogallala groundwater. But according to the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), producers are extracting water faster than it is being replenished, which means that parts of the Ogallala Aquifer should be considered a nonrenewable resource.

The Voluntary Groundwater Conservation Act creates a new voluntary groundwater easement program at the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) within the easement program is modeled after the experience of Colorado Open Lands, who signed the first-ever ground water easement in 2022 in the Rio Grande River Basin. This easement locks in permanent reductions to the amount of groundwater that farmers pump while compensating them at a fair market value for the water savings.