Farm Director, KC Sheperd, caught up with State Climatologist, Gary McManus, and talked about a lookout on the drought in Oklahoma.

Looking at the latest Oklahoma drought monitor report issued on August 24, McManus said the drought saw big changes this week. McManus said lack of rain, plus extreme heat, means flash drought.

“We did more than double our drought coverage in the state in one week,” McManus said. “The good news is, we were starting out at a very low level of about 13 percent, a little bit under that, but now we are up about 28 percent all in one week.”

McManus said the severe and extreme drought or worse categories didn’t’ see significant changes, but the moderate and abnormally dry or worse categories saw some big increases.

 “In this case, that drought is just about two years long,” McManus said. “It really started back in August of 2021.”

While some parts of the state saw some relief during that two-year time frame, McManus said there are other parts that did not get a break. Soil moisture has also begun to deteriorate, he added.



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. 



In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with the Chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and Oklahoma Rancher, Jimmy Taylor. Taylor and I talk about the upcoming Beef Promotion Operating Committee meeting in Denver on September 6-7.

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

Coming up after Labor Day, the Beef Promotion Operating Committee will be holding their annual September meeting where they come together to decide which projects will be funded for the fiscal year of 2024, which starts October 1. The Beef Promotion Operating Committee consists of 20 cattle producers- ten from the beef board and ten from the federation.

At the summer business meeting back in July, Taylor said the beef board and federation had six program committees that beef producers and contractors met in. After hearing these presentations- beef producers were able to give their ideas on how those need to be changed to be better, what they don’t like- they might get some things taken out. They had input on each one of those programs.

Ahead of the September meeting, Taylor said the contractors will take the programs and tweak them based on producer comments. After this, Taylor said the new and improved versions will be taken to the September operating committee meeting to decide which projects to use.

Arnall named American Society of Agronomy Fellow

The American Society of Agronomy has awarded Brian Arnall, an Oklahoma State University faculty member, with a 2023 ASA Fellowship, the highest recognition bestowed by the organization.

Arnall is a professor in the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and an OSU Extension specialist for precision nutrient management. He is internationally recognized for his work on nitrogen fertilization using sensor technologies.

ASA Fellowship awards are presented for outstanding contributions to agronomy through education, national and international service and research. Up to 3% of the society’s active and emeritus members may be elected Fellow.

Arnall has published 77 peer-reviewed publications and helped acquire $60 million worth of grant funding for OSU with over $4.3 million directly supporting his program. He has given 752 presentations to audiences of over 50,000 in total.

He maintains four websites, multiple social media accounts and a blog related to nutrient management. Arnall teaches courses in soil nutrient management and precision agriculture and has chaired committees for 27 graduate students. He currently chairs eight active graduates. 

The Enid Regional Development Alliance has hired Marcie Mack as the organization’s new executive director, voting on her hiring during a special meeting on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023.

Mack has been director of talent acquisition and development for MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor since January 2022. She was director of Oklahoma CareerTech from 2015 to 2022.

During the special meeting on Friday, the final candidates for the executive director position were interviewed by the ERDA Board of Directors in executive session. Once the board returned to open session, a motion to hire Mack was approved. The board also voted to give authority to Kyle Williams, vice chair of the board, to negotiate Mack’s salary and benefits package. Williams also served as chair of the executive director search committee.

“The search committee worked diligently to bring worthy candidates to the board for consideration. We look forward to continuing the mission of ERDA with a new and extremely qualified leader at the helm,” Matt Parrish chairman of the ERDA board, said after the meeting.

During her time at CareerTech, Mack was awarded the 2017 Star of Education Rising Star Award, which is presented to an Oklahoma CareerTech director who demonstrates strong commitment to the goals and mission of CareerTech. Mack also was named to The Journal Record’s 50 Making a Difference list for 2021 and its Power 2021 Education list.

ASA Outlines Concerns With Proposed Revisions to ESA Regulations

ASA this week submitted comments to the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service outlining concerns with proposed rules to revise regulations for Endangered Species Act implementation. The three rules are largely aimed at rolling back Trump-era regulatory revisions.

In the comments, ASA reiterates farmers’ commitment to conservation and general support for efforts to protect endangered and threatened species but emphasizes that protection measures must be reasonable and grounded in the best scientific and commercial data available, as required by the law.

“Regulatory efforts based on overly conservative assumptions or those that do not balance the protection of species with the coexistence of agricultural production should be rejected,” ASA explains to the agencies.

FWS intends to reimpose the “blanket rule,” which would allow the agencies to put in place the same restrictions for both threatened and endangered species. In the comments, ASA states this is inconsistent with statute and expresses concern with how this plan would result in greater restrictions on growers who farm in threatened species ranges, which they may not otherwise be subjected to if there were two separate sets of regulations.

ASA raises issue with another proposed rule allowing the designation of critical habitat that does not consider economic impacts and allows greater designation of habitat that is currently unoccupied by species. Similarly, ASA is concerned that these proposals are inconsistent with the law and would impose greater restrictions on farmers without consideration for economic impacts. Finally, ASA questions a proposed rule that would create an unnecessary hierarchy of mitigations, with greater priority placed on avoidance and minimization over offsets, among other issues. ASA is concerned this could direct FWS to impose future restrictions on pesticide use versus allowing offsets, such as planting new habitat on roadsides. Read the full comments here.

Steve Hunt Honored with the 2023 Industry Achievement Award

When the cattle industry needed a leader, Steve Hunt stepped up.

Sure, it was a group effort to launch U.S. Premium Beef (USPB) – ranchers, cattle feeders and allied industry – but they all say one man made the difference between success and failure.

USPB board member Jerry Bohn calls Hunt “a leader, an innovator, an entrepreneur, an idea guy and an executer.” All of that and more made Hunt shine. He was honored on August 22 with the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) 2023 Industry Achievement Award, presented at the Feeding Quality Forum event.

The beef industry was in trouble in the 1980s and ’90s when more than 400,000 ranchers exited. Choice and Prime were no more than 55% of fed cattle production, so “it was a coin toss whether a steak was going to be good or bad,” says Randy Blach, CattleFax CEO. “Beef demand was cut in half from 1979 to 1998. The industry was like a buoy in the ocean, directionless.”

Fear of irrelevance had sparked conversations among a group of 21 cow-calf producers in 1995. Always with economics in mind, Hunt says he saw an opportunity to integrate from the bottom up.

Reps. Nunn, Craig introduce farm Bill Legislation to support rural Small business

The Center for Rural Affairs applauds U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn (IA-3) and Angie Craig (MN-2), who on Friday introduced the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Act of 2023. The legislation proposes changes to the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) and would expand opportunities for rural small businesses for years to come.

RMAP benefits rural entrepreneurs who are unable to access credit from traditional lenders by providing loans and technical assistance through intermediary organizations, such as the Center. The program, which was established in the 2008 farm bill, has provided critical support to small businesses in at least 45 states.

“Rural entrepreneurship continues to evolve, and it is important that programs like RMAP do the same,” said Johnathan Hladik, policy director for the Center. “Reps. Nunn and Craig understand how important small businesses are for rural communities and recognize what it takes to succeed.”

Rep. Nunn introduced the legislation alongside three small business owners and the Center in Ottumwa, Iowa.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our rural areas, providing needed services and a sense of community that drive the economy,” Rep. Nunn said. “As costs climb for businesses, we need to adapt to ensure additional support to these job creators throughout the areas that need it most.”