More than 4,000 Oklahoma FFA members are expected to make the trip to Indianapolis for the 96th National FFA Convention and Expo November first through the fourth.

Trevor Lucas, the Executive Secretary of the Oklahoma FFA Association, says thousands of Blue and Gold jackets will be seen next week in Indianapolis in and around the FFA Convention- “upwards of four to five getting close to six thousand Oklahoma FFA members will make the trek up to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis- that’s pretty impressive”

I also talked with Lucas about one young lady who will be on the Lucas Oil Stadium stage from beginning to end as one of the six national FFA officers who is serving as the National Central Region Vice President- Karstyn Cantrell of Skiatook. (She's seen above at the closing session of last year's National Convention with the other members of her National Officer Team- after hearing their names called to be national officers)

And our preview story for Indy details how well Oklahoma FFA has done to reach the national finals in a multitude of contests- check it out by clicking on the blue button.



The vision of the Oklahoma Beef Council is to be a positive difference for Oklahoma's farming and ranching families and the greater beef community, and its mission is to enhance beef demand by strengthening consumer trust and exceeding consumer expectations. 

To learn more, visit www.oklabeef.org. Also, don't forget to like its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oklabeef for stories on Oklahoma's ranching families and great beef recipes. 

And Check out this video below that helps you learn more about the Beef Checkoff- It's the latest Drive in Five.

Derrell Peel Says Large Placements in Latest Cattle on Feed Report a Surprise

Placements in the October Cattle on Feed Report caught most analysts by surprise- as they totaled 2.21 million head in September, 6% above 2022. Net placements were 2.15 million head. The six percent above a year ago was well above the pre report guess average of one percent above a year ago.

Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.6 million head on Oct. 1, 2023. The inventory was 1% above Oct. 1, 2022, USDA NASS reported on Friday. This is the second-highest Oct. 1 inventory since the series began in 1996. The inventory included 6.95 million steers and steer calves, up slightly from the previous year. This group accounted for 60% of the total inventory.

Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.64 million head, up 1% from 2022.

Marketings of fed cattle during September totaled 1.66 million head, 11% below 2022.

Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel says “Big placements which kinda reverses the trends that we had been seeing of year over year decreases in the on feed numbers at least temporarily.”

As to why this six percent increase in placements, Peel sees several reasons- “Drought has to be one of them- so timing has to be part of it where we are pulling some cattle forward- marketing them earlier because of drought conditions. Combine that with such strong prices that we have this year, so with producers who were a little short of feed had no hesitation about going ahead and marketing their calves- and even those that had adequate feed decided to take advantage of current high prices as they felt the current high prices were something they could not pass up- with some cattlemen skeptical about how long current high prices may last.”

County Line Beef Secures 1st Place at Oklahoma’s Best Beef Competition in Stockyards

The 2023 Best Beef Competition was held as a part of the Stockyards Stampede in Stockyards City this past Saturday. Over a thousand came through the beef tent to smell, taste, and see what this event was all about.

Farm Director KC Sheperd was on Hand to visit with Judge Jody Harris from Stillwater, Oklahoma, who is a professional BBQ and steak cooker who said she was looking for Taste and Texture, “We were looking at taste, and we were looking at texture. Taste, you know I believe these cooks here today wanted to showcase the beef that they’re providing us.” Harris said she also enjoyed getting to hear the personal stories of the ranches being showcased, “As they brought in the steak, they had three minutes to tell us all about their ranch, all about their herd, all about the companies they have, and even about how they prepared the steaks, a very special day.”

Harris said all of the steaks were great, so great In fact, the difference between third and first is, “We’re talking 4/10ths of a point, so it’s very close.”

The Nationally Sanctioned Judges chose County Line Beef of Stephens County as #1, followed by Wheeler Farms of Grady County, and 3rd place went to Piguet’s Prime Time of Craig County. The People's Choice Award was handed out to  Diamond 4 Cattle Co. of Rogers County. 

Rain to Counter Flash Drought May Arrive in Oklahoma Tuesday

Forecasters are predicting significant rain for the first time since mid summer across a portion of Oklahoma- including areas that have felt a flash drought rise up in recent days. State Climatologist Gary McManus said these rains- if the systems bringing it into Oklahoma hold together, “would be key to stop the flash drought in its tracks.”

Best chances of rain as seen in the latest forecasts are showing up Tuesday into Wednesday with the main body of the state with perhaps an inch of rain- with under an inch projected for the panhandle. The forecast map above was released this morning by the National Weather Service. According to the Weather Prediction Center of the National Weather Service- the combination of a Pacific Front with Tropical Storm Norma are pushing closer to Texas and Oklahoma- “As the frontal system continues east, increasing moisture associated with Tropical Storm Norma currently in the Pacific is forecast to bring showers and thunderstorms to the Southern Plains overnight Monday, with some locally heavy rainfall possible.”

Local Mesonet forecasts suggest best rainfall chances for Oklahoma are Tuesday and Tuesday evening- starting in the southwest and moving up into the state. The Monday models seem to be moving the best and highest chances of rain a little farther east- northwest Oklahoma looking less likely to get a lot of rain from this system.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently posted Notice 2023-67 informing cattle producers that they may have an extended period of time in which to replace livestock and defer taxes on any gains realized from forced sales caused by drought.

 The relief generally applies to capital gains realized by eligible farmers and ranchers on sales of livestock held for draft, dairy or breeding purposes (including calves). Sales of other livestock, such as those raised for slaughter (fed cattle) or held for sporting purposes, are not eligible.

The sales must be solely due to drought, causing an area to be designated as eligible for federal assistance. Livestock generally must be replaced within four years instead of the usual two-year period if the applicable region is listed as suffering exceptional, extreme or severe drought conditions during any week between Sept. 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2023.

 More information on reporting drought sales and other farm-related tax issues can be found in IRS Publication 225, “Farmer’s Tax Guide.”

According to the Texas Cattle Feeers Association- they encourage producers who believe they may be eligible to consult with their tax attorney and accountant.

Grain Storage Capacity Can Buffer Impact of Transportation Disruptions

From ocean port congestion and labor strikes to low river levels, railway service shortfalls and a nexus of state and federal freight regulation, farmers and ranchers are well acquainted with transportation disruptions. One effective albeit costly way to buffer against these disruptions is investment in on-farm and off-farm storage. Having sufficient storage capacity close to agriculturally productive regions means farmers can have a place to offload harvest if downstream transportation options are too expensive or unavailable. If storage is unavailable, farmers will be forced to absorb elevated transportation costs, face steep price cuts to get product moved or risk crop quality losses.

USDA’s latest Grain Transportation Report from the Agricultural Marketing Service highlighted National Agricultural Statistics Service data on grain storage capacity for both on-farm (including bins, cribs and sheds used to store grains and oilseeds on farms) and off-farm facilities (including elevators, warehouses, terminals, mills and crushers). As of Dec. 1, 2022, the U.S. had 25.4 billion bushels worth of total grain storage capacity: 11.8 billion (47%) of off-farm storage and 13.6 billion (53%) of on-farm storage. Figure 1 displays the total capacity for grain storage (on-farm and off-farm) by state as of Dec. 1, 2022. As expected, the bulk of grain storage is in heavy grain-producing heartland states. Iowa leads with 3.57 billion bushels worth of storage capacity followed by Illinois (3.15 billion) and Minnesota (2.37 billion).

Wind storms earlier this year, coupled with a late spring freeze in 2021 and an early fall freeze in 2022, have wreaked havoc on Oklahoma’s pecan crop the past couple of years, but the 2023 outlook is good with harvest on the horizon.

Becky Carroll, Oklahoma State University Extension senior specialist, fruit and pecans, said the National Pecan Shellers Association predicts this year’s crop estimate at 22 million pounds, which is above the average of 17 million pounds in Oklahoma.

“Pecan production is big in Oklahoma. It may not be as big of a commodity as wheat or cattle, but according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service Census of Agriculture, Oklahoma has 1,878 pecan farms that total 96,000 acres of land dedicated to pecan production,” Carroll said. “About 75% of the pecans grown here are native pecans, but the improved varieties are gaining ground due to large new plantings and to urban sprawl where native groves are being replaced by housing and commercial businesses. With the large turnout at the pecan field day recently featuring native pecans, landowners are still interested in learning how to manage our wild, natural production, too.”

Producers have struggled the past couple of years, and some growers are still recovering from the freezes in 2021 and 2022 and recent drought conditions. Carroll said trees tend to shed a lot of pecans before they mature in a drought, and those that do mature are typically smaller.