In Oklahoma, Winter wheat planted reached 18 percent, down 2 points from the previous year and down 7 points from the five-year average. Winter wheat emerged reached 5 percent, up 1 point from the previous year and up 2 points from the average.

In Kansas, Winter wheat planted was 18 percent, equal to last year, and near 22 percent for the five-year average. In Texas, Winter wheat planted reached 30 percent, down 12 percentage points from the previous year and down 2 points from the five-year average.

Winter wheat planted for the U.S. reached 26 percent, down 4 percentage points from the previous year and down 3 points from the five-year average.

For our spring planted crops- one stat that jumped out this week is how quickly the US Corn crop is maturing. In the 18 major production states- we are now at 70% mature- ten points ahead of the five year average and 15 points ahead of 2022.

Harvest of our major crops include the US Corn Crop at 15% this week versus 13% average- Soybeans at 12% versus 11% average- cotton at 13% this week- same as the five year average and grain sorghum at 28%- one point behind the five year average.



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. 



Derrell Peel Sees Slight Surprise in Slow Pace of Cattle Liquidation

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Dr. Derrell Peel, about the latest USDA Cattle on Feed report, released September 22, 2023.

“No big surprises in this report,” Rodenberger said. “We had marketings in the month of August down 6 percent, 94 percent of last year, placements were 95 percent of last year, and the on-feed total coming into September was down about 2 percent, 98 percent of last year.”

If there are any surprises in the report, Peel said it is that liquidation has been a slow process.

“We are still down only two percent year over year,” Peel said.

Last October, Peel added, was when year-over-year decreases began.

“As we go forward and we continue this trend, even if it is a couple percent below a year earlier, and sort of compound it on a year-over-year basis, that means we are going to be pulling cattle numbers down a little bit faster,” Peel said. “We are clearly working our way into tighter numbers and that is the really important point as we go forward.”

Placement numbers in the most recent report and a few reports prior have been under a year ago.

Besides our conversation with Dr. Peel(part one this morning- part two coming tomorrow- look at the second button below which will take you to his weekly analysis written in the Cow Calf Corner- it also drills down into the Cattle on Feed Report of Friday.

Oklahoma Rural and Ag Business Accelerators Progam Accepting Second Round of Applicants January 1

Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, caught up with the Oklahoma Farm Bureau rural economic development coordinator, Amarie Bartel, and talked about the latest update on the Oklahoma Rural and Ag Business Accelerators program.

The program is a collaborative rural development initiative from the Oklahoma Farm Bureau along with national and state-level partners that develops Oklahoma-based innovators by creating ideas, technologies, and products that create economic opportunities in rural Oklahoma.

There are two parts of the program: Cultivate Oklahoma and Activate Oklahoma. Cultivate Oklahoma, a pre-accelerator, provides an agriculture-focused curriculum powered by OKFB partners, AgLaunch, to bring innovations that have on-farm applications to reality through a farmer innovation model. Activate Oklahoma connects rural entrepreneurs and innovators with resources from Oklahoma’s world-class business development community to build an even brighter future for rural Oklahoma.

On January 1, Bartel said applications for Cultivate Oklahoma and Activate Oklahoma will open. The application window for those cohorts will close on March 1, Bartel added.

“We are hoping we will see so many great agricultural and rural innovators come to the table during that application process,” Bartel said.

Bartel said anyone from a community of 50,000 individuals or less is welcome to apply to these programs.

“Everything from an idea on a napkin to something that is on store shelves, we are here to help with,” Bartel said.

This past week was National Farm Safety Week- this story helps remind us all how to keep all involved in farm work and life safe.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in during National Farm Safety Week in 2017. Even though Rodney Pierce’s sons are now 17 and 15, these life-saving farm safety values hold true today for anyone with young children on the farm.(Rodney works with the Noble Research Institute)

From the time I was 6 or 8, I was helping my dad out on our family’s farm. We raised cattle and grew peanuts and wheat.

My earliest jobs were helping my dad feed small square bales, hoeing peanuts and many other basic tasks related to operating a farm. Over time, I became more involved in every aspect of the operation. Now, I raise a few cows on a small place in Leon, Oklahoma, in addition to supervising equipment maintenance and repair at the Noble Research Institute.

Safety was something my dad hammered into me from an early age. I remember him pointing out different things on the farm, like a rotating PTO shaft on the tractor, and saying “That’ll kill you, son.” It’s a blunt statement, but there’s a lot on the farm – from equipment to animals – that could hurt an adult or child. Safety was part of our everyday life conversations; it was a mindset my dad learned from his dad. Now that I have children who help me on the farm, I am constantly thinking about keeping them safe and passing that safety mindset on to them.

How Agriculture Can Capture the Carbon Market Opportunity

As the trend toward carbon emissions reduction continues, American farmers are being presented with a new opportunity. By adopting certain climate-smart agriculture practices, farmers can not only help protect the environment and reduce operating costs, but also create a new income stream by selling carbon offset credits on a carbon market.

What is a carbon market? To put it simply, when a company avoids, reduces or captures more carbon than it creates, that company creates carbon offsets. Those offsets are valuable to other companies that are unable to reach carbon neutrality. A carbon market facilitates the sale of carbon offsets by those who have them to those who need them.

Some industries are well-positioned to create carbon offsets. Agriculture is one of them, particularly when it comes to crop farming.

“Through photosynthesis, plants produce oxygen and consume carbon dioxide,” said Ben Smith, Principal Advisor – Business Development & Market Validation at Kubota North America. “Finding ways to harness the power of the plant is a real opportunity.”

There is already real opportunity for American farmers to participate in carbon markets.

American Farmland Trust Applauds Bipartisan Bill to Advance a Smart Solar Buildout

American Farmland Trust (AFT) applauds today’s bipartisan introduction of the Protecting Future Farmland Act of 2023. The legislation, introduced by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), would make significant progress toward ensuring the current renewable energy buildout benefits rural communities, protects farmland, and strengthens farm viability.  

Specifically, the Protecting Future Farmland Act would direct the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support smart solar projects in the Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP), develop guidance through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to help ensure that land converted to solar can be returned to agricultural use, and enable the growth of agrivoltaics by supporting those farming within solar arrays with USDA programs and services. This comprehensive, cost-neutral bill includes many of the recommendations found in AFT’s own Smart Solar platform for the Farm Bill, which was released in May.  

“The key question for our national solar buildout is not ‘if,’ but ‘how,’” said Tim Fink, AFT’s Policy Director. “Our nation’s renewable energy transition is happening quickly, and solar energy is a significant part of it. We must act in the next Farm Bill to ensure that this transition benefits farmers, farmland, and farm communities.”  

U.S. Cotton Belt Tour Showing Customers From 15 Countries Why To Keep Choosing U.S. Cotton

Sponsored by Cotton Council International (CCI), the export promotions arm of the Memphis-based National Cotton Council (NCC), the Orientation Tour’s major objectives are to increase U.S. cotton customers’ awareness of the types/qualities of U.S. cotton, help them gain a better understanding of U.S. marketing practices and enhance their relationships with U.S. exporters. More than 900 textile executives from more than 60 countries have participated in this biennial tour initiated in 1968.

CCI President Steve Dyer, a Cordova, Tenn., merchant said, “The COTTON USA Orientation Tour is vital to U.S. cotton export performance. For over half a century, this event has enabled our industry to showcase our high-quality U.S. cotton fiber to important international spinners as well as build and strengthen relationships with these customers.”

This year’s Orientation Tour includes executives representing 27 companies in Bangladesh, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. These manufacturers expect to consume 5.7 million bales of cotton in 2023, while an estimated 2.9 million bales of U.S. cotton will be exported to those countries. This represents about 23 percent of U.S. cotton export sales, making these companies some of U.S. cotton’s largest customers.