A modest rebound in U.S. wheat production and supplies is improving the outlook for profitability among grain elevators that store wheat. Futures market carries have improved for all three major classes of wheat and the buy basis is widening following a bigger harvest. The larger harvest follows two years of poor production and a historic run of inverted futures markets that sapped profitability for storing wheat.

According to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, the major risk to elevators in the year ahead is a sharp rally in wheat prices. Wheat stocks among major exporters are historically tight, and any disruption to the flow of Russian exports through the Black Sea could trigger a sharp price run-up.

“The flood of cheap Russian wheat into the global market may have created a false sense of security in the world wheat market,” said Tanner Ehmke, grains and oilseeds economist for CoBank. “The greatest margin risk to storing wheat is the shrinking world wheat crop outside of Russia and China, which leaves the market vulnerable to supply shocks and extreme volatility in wheat prices.”



The Oklahoma Agriculture Mediation Program knows this is a hard time for farmers and ranchers. We want you to know we are still open, and we are still here for you. The Ag Mediation program is a free service that provides mediation to agriculture producers who may need help with ag-related disputes.

At Oklahoma Ag Mediation, we have been helping people in agriculture resolve conflicts since 1987. We know firsthand about working together to resolve conflicts, so you don’t have to go through the court systems. Let our professional mediators help you. Mediation is allowed for lease issues, farmer/neighbor disputes, family farm transitions, and more. These services are available at no cost for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers in all 77 counties. For more information, you can go to ok.gov/mediation, or give us a call at 800 248 5465.

Dairy Producer Angie Meyer Shares “Ins and Outs” of Involvement with Beef and Dairy Checkoffs

Editor’s Note- Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays was one of three judges at the 2023 State Fair of Oklahoma DairyMAX Cow to Cone Ice Cream Contest- and he talked with fellow judge and dairy producer Angie Meyer about her involvement in checkoff efforts for both the beef and dairy industries.

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with Angie Meyer about the Beef and Dairy Checkoffs. Meyer and her family are dairy producers in Kingfisher County in central Oklahoma. She is part of both the beef and dairy checkoffs, representing Oklahoma on the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion Board(CBB), and is also on the DairyMax board of directors.

“I am a big advocate for checkoffs,” Meyer said. “I feel like them being able to advocate for us and push our products, whether it is dairy as a whole milk, as a cheese, as a yogurt, or anything else, DairyMax does a wonderful job with reaching schools, children, young adults, even geriatric….”

Meyer said dairy makes up about 26 percent of the Beef Checkoff and the beef industry as a whole.

“Dairy is what they consider a very lean beef,” Meyer said. “It goes into a lot of restaurant meat. I love my role with the Beef Checkoff, and I was excited to have that opportunity.”

The structure of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board is producer driven, Meyer said, where individuals from all parts of the industry have a voice.

“You also make decisions on how the Checkoff dollars are spent and what programs are funded,” Meyer said.

Oklahoma Drought Commission Pushes Additional 17 Million Dollars Across the State

At the latest Oklahoma Drought Commission meeting held on September 19, Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Ag Secretary Blayne Arthur and talked about the highlights from the meeting.

Arthur said she is grateful for the new commission members that were added during the last meeting. Those members include Pete Nichols of Washita County (appointed by the Speaker of the House) and Josh Emerson of McIntosh County (appointed by the Pro Tem).

At the meeting, Arthur said the drought commission decided to push the additional 17 million dollars out to the districts across the state.

 “The legislature directed those funds during the regular session, and we wanted to get some questions answered from the districts, and they provided a lot of information to us on those applications that were still sitting out there unfunded,” Arthur said. “I am very optimistic they are ready for those funds, and those will start going out the door in the new future.”

As requested at the last meeting, Arthur said the districts had the chance to come forward and talk about some of their biggest challenges and concerns at the current meeting.

It's been raining across Oklahoma every couple of days or so since Labor Day- not huge amounts everywhere but significant amounts when you back up a few days to look at the rainfall map. That's why I have pulled up the fourteen day rainfall map from across Oklahoma- which basically shows the totals since Labor Day.(It's linked back to the 14 day precipitation map at the Mesonet which updates every five minutes or so)

It's these rains that suggest that we have enough moisture to plant wheat and hopefully get it up to stand- for those that have wanted to have the opportunity to have wheat pasture in the weeks ahead.

Based on the map above- almost all of Oklahoma has received some good rains since Labor Day- except for the southeastern quarter of the state. And- it makes you wonder why pasture and range conditions have slipped so badly here in the first half of September.

The map below is the two day rainfall map which captures what we have seen since Monday(also clickable)- and there have been some really good rain totals I have seen and heard from folks in between the Mesonet stations- for example- I live several miles away from any of the central Oklahoma stations and we had close to an inch of rain Tuesday morning while the stations around us show very little.

That suggests that these are not huge lines of rain that have been moving- more localized delivers hits and misses in rainfall amounts. BUT- it's a blessing to have received what we have after the hot dry stretch of late July and August.

Don’t Miss the Fun at the 2023 Oklahoma State Fair This Week

The Oklahoma State Fair is currently taking place, running from September 14th through the 24th. Farm Director, KC Sheperd, is visiting with Scott Munz at the Oklahoma State Fair about this year’s event. This year, Munz said, is the fullest the fair has been in a while.

Some of the attractions at the fair include the new laser light show extravaganza, a Paul Bunyan Lumberjack show, free monster truck rides, and more.

“We have really filled the property, and we feel we can entertain you for five or six hours just for the price of your gate admission,” Munz said.

The Oklahoma State Fair is also known for a great variety of food, Munz said, as this year he has heard plenty of good feedback from fair attendees.

A major highlight for 4-H and FFA members happens Thursday when the OKFB Young Farmers and Ranchers committee is set to host their annual livestock judging contest for 4-H and FFA students.

The contest will test participants’ ability to evaluate and rank classes of market and breeding cattle as well as sheep, goats and swine.

Registration opens at 9 a.m. in Barn 3 at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, and the judging contest will begin at 10 a.m. in Barn 8. Students should be prepared with a pencil.

AND on the final day of the fair- the Oklahoma Wheat Commission will be holding their annual "Best of Wheat" State Bread Baking Contest. Click here for details.

As USDA Sees Record Interest in Conservation and Clean Energy Programs

On the heels of the first anniversary of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has seen record interest in the conservation and clean energy programs that received funding from the law. As a key part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Inflation Reduction Act is the nation’s largest-ever investment to combat climate change.

“With the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden provided USDA with historic resources to improve the lives of the American people,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “It is clear there is a significant appetite among producers and rural communities for clean energy and conservation programs, specifically those that were boosted by the law. I am proud of the swift work USDA has done to create, expand and streamline programs in order to put resources directly into communities.”

The Inflation Reduction Act made nearly $20 billion available over five years for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to address continuous high demand for popular conservation programs. This additional investment will help farmers and ranchers implement expanded conservation practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon storage..

USDA Renews Pioneering Partnership with The Coca-Cola Company to Restore Forests, Grasslands and Watersheds

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and The Coca-Cola Company signed a memorandum of understanding (PDF, 1.1 MB) renewing a 10-year partnership to restore and improve watersheds on national forests and grasslands nationwide.

Since 2013, this partnership has led to the restoration of nearly 900 acres of watersheds and replenished more than 634 million gallons of water on national forests and grasslands. Over this time, the National Forest Foundation has played a key role in coordinating 25 projects in nine states. These projects restored more than 14 miles of streams, reconnected 17 miles of river and 62 acres of lakes, treated more than 450 acres of invasive weeds, and much more.

“Our national forests and grasslands face tremendous threats from wildfires, invasive species, pests and extended drought, all made worse by climate change,” said Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small. “To meet challenges at this scale, we have to manage for the long term, think creatively and work together. Thanks to our partners, we are doing more than any one of us can do alone. I’m confident this agreement will continue to build on ten years of cooperative success.”