WASDE with Rich Nelson: Estimates from USDA bearish for Corn, neutral for Soybeans and Bullish for Wheat

USDA on Tuesday released its September Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) reports. Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to visit with Allendale’s Rich Nelson about the report.



On the wheat side of things, Nelson said the report was pretty quiet.

“We will see USDA making a production change here next month, so that left all these numbers, including supply and demand, unchanged for wheat on today’s report,” Nelson said.

Nelson said an eye will be kept on wheat export sales.

“USDA’s current goal requires us to run about 18 percent below the five-year average from here all the way through June to meet USDA’s goal,” Nelson said. “That seems kind of reasonable. The past four weeks, we have been running about 13 percent below average, so this is something that we will watch here in the very short term.”

On the 29th of September, Nelson said the small grains summary report will be coming out, providing a complete revision of acreage and wheat production.



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.



Hot Dry Weather Cuts Oklahoma Cotton Crop in HALF from August to September Reports

The August Crop Production Report of USDA showed an Oklahoma Cotton Crop with lots of potential. That prediction showed Oklahoma cotton farmers harvesting 420,000 acres with a yield of 594 pounds of lint per acre- adding up to a 520,000 bale production. But- by the time the August report was released- that sounded too optimistic to folks looking at how the crop was being pressured by the dry conditions- and the September report released on Tuesday proved those worries accurate.

The September Cotton Crop estimate showed how bad things were compared to early August. USDA now says that Oklahoma Cotton Farmers will harvest 310,000 acres- meaning 110,000 acres of cotton is being abandoned compared to the August stats- the yield of lint is down 33% from the August report to 403 pounds and the predicted production is now HALF of what was reported in August- 260,000 bales. That's fourteen percent lower than the drought stressed final crop of 2022.

The one ray of hope is that last year- USDA predicted that there would only be a 250,000 bale crop in 2022 in the September report- and we ended up with an extra 50,000 bales by the end of the production season(304,000 bales). Here's hoping we can improve the crop with better fall weather conditions here in 2023.

Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to visit with Oklahoma State Statistician for the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Troy Marshall, about the highlights from the latest USDA Crop Production Report released on September 12, 2023.

Oklahoma corn production is forecast at 49.4 million bushels, up 102 percent from the previous year. Statewide yields averaged 141 bushels per acre, 19 bushels higher than 2022. Acres harvested for grain, at 350 thousand, is up 75 percent from last year.

2024 Fiscal Year Beef Checkoff Projects Receive Full Approval

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am back talking with the Chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and Oklahoma Rancher, Jimmy Taylor. Hays and Taylor talk about the plan of work for the projects that will be part of the 2024 fiscal year for the beef checkoff.

A total of 12 authorization requests have been approved by the Beef Operating Committee made up of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the Federation of State Beef Councils. Those 12 requests have now been approved by the executive committee of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, and now awaits final USDA approval.

“Everyone had their own ideas of how the money would be best spent, but we bring each project up individually and have a debate on them, and had motions, and so the thoughts of the group carry the day,” Taylor said.

Each project that passes, Taylor said, must have a two-thirds majority vote. As there are 20 members voting, Taylor added that each project that was funded was required to have 14 votes.

“October 1 is the start of our fiscal year for 2024, and those projects will start at that time,” Taylor said.

Wade Leist, Boyne City, Michigan, qualifies for the 2024 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship and was named champion at the qualifying event in Torrington, Wyoming.

The event, hosted by Torrington Livestock Markets, on Sept. 11 was the first of three qualifying events building up to the 2024 WLAC Championship. Thirty-six contestants from across the U.S. and Canada competed for the title. The top 10 auctioneers earned a spot in the 2024 WLAC semifinals to be held next June at Oklahoma National Stockyards, Oklahoma City. 

Contestants are scored by a panel of livestock marketing industry judges on the clarity and quality of their chant, presentation, ability to catch bids as well as conduct of the sale and how likely the judge would be to hire the auctioneer. The contestants are taking bids from buyers on the seats at the auction and online while working on behalf of the livestock producer customers of Torrington Livestock Markets.

Along with Leist, the individuals advancing to the semifinals for 2024 are Reserve Champion (and High Score Rookie) Jace Thompson of Billings, Montana; Runner-Up Champion Brennin Jack of Virden, Manitoba; Eric Drees, Caldwell, Idaho; Dean Edge, Rimbey, Alberta; Brandon Hamel, Natoma, Kansas; Michael Imbrogno, Turlock, California; Jason Santomaso, Sterling, Colorado; Andrew Sylvester, Westmoreland, Kansas; and Curtis Wetovick, Fullerton, Nebraska.

Capturing Data at Weaning with OSU’s Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist, offers herd health advice as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner” published electronically by Dr. Peel, Mark Johnson, and Paul Beck. Today, Johnson talks about recording data to improve your cow herd.

Sound management decisions to improve genetics, management practices and profit potential of cow-calf operations should be based on data. This comes in two forms: financial data and production performance data. The day-to-day management responsibilities involved in beef production can leave very little time to assess the overall performance of the herd or financial records. From time to time, it is important to step back and evaluate our production system. For spring calving herds, weaning time is happening now or will happen soon. Weaning time is the best time of year to measure, quantify and document herd performance. Why? Because it is likely the ONLY day of the year in cow-calf production that ALL our beef herd inventory is caught and can be processed. This creates the potential to not only weigh calves but also the opportunity to preg check, evaluate and weigh our cows. Herd health practices like de-worming and vaccinating can be performed. If we have an ink pen and note pad, adequate facilities and labor on hand, weaning day can yield a bounty of information which can be assessed to drive better management decisions.

OSU Student Farm helps bridge the gap of food insecurity

A collaborative effort among Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and Stillwater’s Our Daily Bread Food and Resource Center provides experiential learning opportunities for OSU students and helps address food insecurity in Payne County.

The new OSU Student Farm grows fresh produce and donates it to Our Daily Bread. The farm is located on the west side of Stillwater at the former site of the OSU Swine Research and Education Center.

Jayson Lusk, vice president and dean of OSU Agriculture, said the farm offers new experiences for students.

“Farming produce encompasses a range of learning opportunities that are related to agriculture, nutrition, soil health, irrigation and the agribusiness sector,” Lusk said. “The hands-on experience students will gain at the new farm will benefit them far beyond the classroom. I appreciate the dedication and groundwork laid by Darren Shrum to help bring this endeavor to fruition for OSU Agriculture, our students and the community.”

OSU First Cowboy Darren Shrum understands the importance of collaboration between the community and OSU.

“The OSU Student Farm aligns perfectly with the university’s land-grant mission of teaching, Extension and research,” Shrum said. “The plans for this project reach more than just agriculture. All colleges can be involved, from engineering to human sciences. It also ties into the university’s focus on One Health and the importance of eating right from the start.”