Winter wheat planted in the U.S. reached 95 percent, down 3 percentage points from the previous year and down 1 point from the five-year average. Winter wheat emerged reached 87 percent, up 1 point from the previous year and up 2 points from the five-year average. Winter wheat conditions rated 48 percent good to excellent, 35 percent fair and 17 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 47 percent good to excellent, 36 percent fair and 17 percent poor to very poor. 

In Oklahoma, winter wheat planted reached 95 percent, unchanged from the previous year but down 1 point from normal. Winter wheat emerged reached 89 percent, unchanged from the previous year but up 1 point from normal. Winter wheat conditions rated 44 percent good to excellent, 45 percent fair and 11 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 49 percent good to excellent, 43 percent fair, and 8 percent poor to very poor.

In Kansas, winter wheat emerged was 91 percent ahead of 80 percent last year and 85 percent for the five-year average. Winter wheat conditions rated 33 percent good to excellent, 35 percent fair and 32 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 31 percent good to excellent, 36 percent fair and 33 percent poor to very poor. 

In Texas, winter wheat planted reached 87 percent, down 8 percentage points from the previous year and down 2 from the five-year average. Winter wheat conditions rated 45 percent good to excellent, 35 percent fair and 20 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 40 percent good to excellent, 39 percent fair and 21 percent poor to very poor.

Nationally- soybean harvest is called complete- while the US Corn harvest is 93% complete- 2 points ahead of the five year average and the US Cotton harvest is 77% done- six points ahead of 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 2022 Tulsa Farm Show.  To learn more about the Tulsa Farm Show, click here.  



American Farmers and Ranchers Members Talk Farm Bill and More at County Meetings Across Oklahoma

Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to catch up with American Farmers and Ranchers President Scott Blubaugh and talk about AFR county meetings, the AFR Youth Speech Contest and more.

“We have county meetings in 74 of the 77 counties out there,” Blubaugh said.

The biggest concern that producers have voiced at county meetings this year, Blubaugh said, is farm bill progression. Eighty-four percent of the funding in the farm bill is for nutrition programs, Blubaugh said, and many producers are not aware of this.

AFR priorities for the 2023 farm bill, Blubaugh said, begin with dual enrollment in the PLC and ARC programs. Blubaugh said AFR would also like to see a competition title added to the farm bill to ensure fair competition and transparency in the marketplace.

“All of these other things we put together in the safety net of the farm bill are kind of irrelevant if we don’t have a fair functioning marketplace,” Blubaugh said. “We have to be very concerned about the monopoly situations that are in our markets when we are buying and selling.”

Lance Zimmerman says Increases in Beef Cow Numbers May Not Occur Until 2026 or 2027

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am visiting with senior beef and cattle market research analyst at Rabo AgriFinance, Lance Zimmerman, about movement in the cattle markets.

Zimmerman said the market has been in a downtrend since the early September highs.

“Obviously, the one that we were all talking about the most is the depreciation that happened from a month ago,” Zimmerman said.

Longer-term, Zimmerman said he believes the break was good for the market.

“We were at a point where feeder cattle were incredibly expensive to bring in from a break-even standpoint, and packers were awfully tight in terms of, ‘how do we hedge some of these cattle we know are going to be coming to us throughout the rest of the winter and into the spring,’” Zimmerman said. “This break gives everybody an opportunity, where they may not be able to manage their sell-side risk, but they can manage their buy-side risk again, and I think that is awfully encouraging.”

While the futures market is volatile, Zimmerman said it has been in a position for quite a while of making the cash market prove that the supplies were tighter, and demand is better.

Recently released proposals from the Environmental Protection Agency regarding its Endangered Species Act commitments under the pesticide program are causing great concern among soybean farmers. To provide scope for the potential detriment to soy, just one of the proposals alone could significantly hinder or eliminate pesticide use on close to 13 million acres of cropland, including more than 5 million acres of soybeans.

“Soy growers are fully supportive of EPA taking care to assure the pesticide registration process, including usage parameters, will not harm our wildlife or the environment, but the broad approach EPA is suggesting in the Vulnerable Species Pilot Project would negatively impact millions and millions of acres of valuable farmland. What’s more, we know the agency intends to expand the pilot project to include much larger areas in the future,” Alan Meadows, soybean farmer from Halls, Tennessee, and American Soybean Association board member commented.

EPA is caught in a continuous struggle to complete endangered species impact evaluations for the laundry list of pesticides it is required to review. It has lost multiple lawsuits as a result, sometimes leading to the untenable outcome of the agency immediately pulling a pesticide from the market. ESA consultations typically take four to 15 years, and EPA has court-determined deadlines to complete 18 reviews in the next six years. To alleviate the subsequent unending backlog of reviews, EPA has proposed several ESA pilot projects and strategies, including the VSPP, aimed at streamlining the system.

Nutrien’s Mike Howell Emphasizes Cotton Products that Support a Producer’s Bottom Line

At the 2023 National Farm Broadcasters Convention, Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to talk with the Senior Agronomist at Nutrien, Mike Howell. Sheperd and Howell talk about premium products for cotton.

“When we talk about fertilizing cotton, nitrogen is critical for cotton,” Howell said. “Every time we apply nitrogen, the plant really takes it up and takes off growing, and we have to put out some growth regulators to control that growth.”

Nutrien offers a controlled nitrogen release product called ESN (Environmentally Smart Nitrogen) that feeds the crop nitrogen over a period of about 60 days.

“Because of the polymer coating that surrounds that nitrogen, it is going to release that out a little bit of the time,” Howell said. “The warmer the temperature gets, the more nitrogen is going to be released. Because you are not getting the big ‘slug’ of nitrogen all at one time, the crop is not going to take off and grow so much, so we can also cut back on some plant growth regulators when we are using this in cotton.”

This product also protects a producer’s nitrogen investment, Howell said, because the nitrogen has a polymer coating.

State Water Plan – Round 2 Meeting Announcement

In December, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) is hosting the second in a series of localized stakeholder input meetings across the state, focused on the 2025 update of Oklahoma’s Comprehensive Water Plan. We request participation from local and state officials, water utility suppliers, regulated industry, commercial agricultural producers, economic development entities, and representative organizations. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Meetings will be held in Goodwell on December 5th, Lawton on December 5th, Talihina on December 12th, Tahlequah on December 13th and Oklahoma City on December 14th. Details are available here by clicking on the city listed on the OWRB website.

Water affects everyone but in different ways. Bring your ideas as well as your thinking cap as you listen and contemplate the many perspectives you will hear on water.

The Agenda for each meeting will include:

Update on OCWP activities, including a recap of regional comments we heard at the Round 1 meetings in August 2023.

Concurrent breakout sessions. In each session, we will work with attendees to identify specific actions or topics that represent the next best steps toward addressing regional water challenges.

Oklahoma 4-H hosts new Horse Heritage Experience

Oklahoma 4-H members, volunteers, parents and Oklahoma State University Extension educators attended the inaugural Horse Heritage Experience on Oct. 21 in Oklahoma City.

This event provided high school 4-H’ers the opportunity to learn about the racehorse industry at Remington Park and explore the National Western Heritage Museum.

Participants attended crafting workshops at the museum where they made leather coin pouches and leather keychains. They also braided horsehair, and families were given free time to explore the museum.

Dr. John Chancey, supervising veterinarian at the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, led the group on a tour of the backside of Remington Park where horses are housed, exercised and trained.

After visiting the National Western Heritage Museum and Remington Park, participants were treated to lunch before watching the first set of racehorses in the saddling paddock. The 4-H members followed the horses and jockeys to the racetrack and watched the race from the Winner’s Circle before posing for a photograph with the winning horses of the first two races.