For the second year in a row- the cowboys representing the Whitmire Ranch and Sumner Cattle Company were declared the Champions of the 2023 OCA Ranch Rodeo. The two ranches operate in Nowata, Washington and Osage Counties.

Ranch team members included Kevin Lawson, TJ Davis, Kyle Rasberry, Keith Sumner, Heston Perkins and Wilder Davis. (Pictured above)

Whitmire/Sumner Ranch won the Saddle Bronc Riding and Team Penning and placed third in the Wild Cow Milking to secure their title for the second time in as many years.

Reserve Champion team for 2023 was the combo of the Quarter Circle 99 and Rafter D Ranch. Placing third was the team from the Daube/3C Cattle Company.

More details to come in the days ahead- including how much money was raised for the Children's Hospital Foundation. Coming into 2023- the Ranch Rodeo had raised over $630,000 for the kids since 1997.

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 2023 Tulsa Farm Show.  To learn more about the Tulsa Farm Show, click here. 

The Cotton Board recently held its 2023 Annual Meeting in Durham, North Carolina, along with Cotton Incorporated’s Board of Directors. During this meeting, board members serving the Cotton Research and Promotion Program reviewed, analyzed, and voted to recommend Cotton Incorporated’s 2024 budget of $89 million to the Secretary of Agriculture. This budget recommendation reflects a $2 million increase from 2023.

During its Business Session, The Cotton Board elected a new slate of officers to serve one-year terms, including Mark Nichols, a cotton producer from Altus, Oklahoma, to serve as Chairman of the Board. Mark Nichols is the President of Jess Mark Nichols Farms, Inc. and President of Hess Farms, Inc., a fourth-generation farm he has managed since 1980. He farms with his brother-in-law, son, and son-in-law, growing irrigated cotton, wheat, and milo.

Nichols commented on his new role, “I am honored to serve as Chairman. During the upcoming year, we will continue to work closely with Cotton Incorporated to ensure our industry is moving forward and leading the way to increase the demand for and profitability of cotton.”

August Cattle on Feed Surprises with Big Placement Drop- Dr. Derrell Peel Offers Analysis

USDA's August Cattle on Feed Report shows fewer cattle on feed as of August first:

On feed = 98.2% (98.3 est)

Placed = 92% (94.9 est)

Marketed = 94.6% (94.8 est)

In our latest Beef Buzz- Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel told yours truly that the key number is obviously the smaller than expected Placement number- 8% less than a year ago versus the pre report guesses that averaged 5% under a year ago. “It’s been hard to figure out the timing of these placements on a month to month basis” and saying this sharp drop tells us “it does mean that we working on pulling these on feed inventories down – that’s what is going to happen over the next several months.”

Dr. Peel adds that this might suggest heifer slaughter will start to happen- although we don’t have any specifics on that in this monthly report.

Dr. Peel adds that “we have been heading into tighter supplies and that has been obvious for awhile” and this report of tighter placements means feedlot feedlot cattle to market in the first quarter of 2024. This report shows a two percent smaller feedlot inventory nationally as of August first and Peel adds “I do think that we will see that cattle feedlot inventory drop more sharply in the second half of the year- it always takes a little longer than I think but I think we are now at the turning point where we will see that happen.”

Express Ranches Big Event a Big Success

The annual production sale for Express Ranches has been called The Big Event down through the years- and for good reason. It draws cattle producers from across the United States to Yukon- and the celebration that owner Bob Funk puts on each year draws in politicians and a lot more on Friday evening- including Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt this past Friday night.

Of course the stars of the show are the Angus cattle- some of the best bovine genetics in the world. James Bessler- one of the leading livestock insurance specialists for the seedstock industry offers recaps of the very best purebred sales each year- and here is his Facebook post from this weekend on day 2 of the Express Ranches Big Event:

"It was a standing room only as a huge crowd gathered on Saturday morning for day two of The Big Event at Express Ranches. Bidding was active throughout the day as 306 lots grossed $6,075,950 to average $19,856. In a record breaking sale, the two day total on 488 lots was $8,073,500, as the impressive demand for Angus genetics gets stronger each weekend of the excellent fall sale season.

"The high selling individual on day two was once again a powerful daughter of CONFIDENCE PLUS. The winning bidder on Lot # 5, EXAR ELBA 9501, which had elite daughters featured in the offering, doubled their bid to acquire full interest in the female at $650,000. A SALVATION son with exceptional marbling genomics and a $C of +400 led off the sale; one-half interest in Lot # 1, EXAR TOMAHAWK 2836B sold for $400,000. Once again, congratulations to Bob Funk, Jarold Callahan and their team at Express Ranches on an exceptional sale."

In preparation for alfalfa planting season, Farm Broadcaster, KC Sheperd, visited with Alex Rocateli, an OSU Extension Forage Systems Specialist, about alfalfa varieties, the upcoming planting season, and what will allow alfalfa to thrive this year.

“Make sure that you are getting alfalfa that has a winter survival rate of three and four, and the fall dormancy between four to six,” Rocateli said.

While it is hard to say the exact traits each producer should select for, Rocateli said that winter survival rate and fall dormancy will be the most critical.

“Make sure that if you are new in a location and you don’t know the type of pests and diseases that you have in your location that are very common, go to the coffee shop, talk with our county educators, try to learn and try to find an alfalfa variety that is resistant,” Rocateli said.



When farming a new area, Rocateli recommends doing your research before putting seed in the ground. He said that planting high-yielding varieties that don’t have resistance to the problems of your environment is often not worth it.

Growth Energy Releases New Economic and Job Benefits Data on IRA’s One-Year Anniversary

Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuels trade association, marked the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by releasing new data on the economic, employment, and agriculture market potential of the bill’s Section 45Z clean fuel production tax credit.  

“45Z represents an historic opportunity for the American bioeconomy, but the bill’s final impact will depend on its implementation,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “This new research not only illustrates the enormous economic potential of this key tax credit—it also underscores why it is so important for the U.S. Treasury to adopt the right approach in administering the credit. To deliver on its potential, 45Z must reward the full array of innovations taking place on the farm and in America’s bioprocessing facilities, including technologies like carbon capture and sequestration and climate smart agriculture.”  

When it was enacted a year ago, the biofuels industry praised key IRA provisions, including $500 million earmarked for biofuels infrastructure, a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) tax credit (40B), an expanded carbon capture tax credit (45Q), and the clean fuel production tax credit (45Z). According to Growth Energy’s new data, if implemented properly the 45Z tax credit alone would add $21.2 billion to the U.S. economy, generate nearly $13.4 billion in household income, support more than 192,000 jobs across all sectors of the national economy, and provide farmers with a 10 percent premium price on low carbon corn used at an ethanol plant. 

Oklahoma’s recent hyper-realistic Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) preparedness exercise concluded this past week after four days of collaboration and learning. With the drill run on a working hog production site provided by the HANOR Company, more than 50 people were able to progress through the stages of disease confirmation from animal testing to humane depopulation and approved carcass disposal.

The project brought together a large coalition of pork production stakeholders, including The HANOR Company, the Oklahoma Pork Council, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Pork Board (NPB), Envirotech Engineering and Consulting, and agriculture emergency response consultant SES, Inc. 

Several participants even traveled from other states, including several HANOR leaders from across the country, Texas animal health officials, and water-based foam Subject Matter Expert (SME) Dr. Andrew Bowman from the Ohio State University.