After considering the forecast for the upcoming days and the dangerous temperatures that have arrived, there will be no sales today at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, Joplin, or Tulsa as everyone prepares for the cold temps and winter weather. Also OKC West will not sell cattle on Monday or Tuesday but will have a single day where all cattle sell Wednesday the 17th.

Oklahoma National will also be closed on Tuesday for their cow and bull turn.

Woodward Livestock will also be closed on Tuesday- they will sell any cows scheduled for the Tuesday sale on Thursday ahead of the stocker and feeder cattle.

It is recommended that producers contact their local sale barn or sale of choice with any questions regarding this week’s sales.



The Oklahoma Pork Council, a farmer-led organization, represents the interests of all Oklahoma pig farmers. From large-scale commercial operators to first-time 4-H and FFA exhibitors, we hope every Oklahoman who raises pigs has been positively impacted by our mission.

According to an economic impact study for the National Pork Board:

1.    Oklahoma’s pork industry supports more than 34,000 jobs throughout the various stages of production. That translates to one in 50 Oklahoma jobs, many in rural communities.   

2.    Oklahoma hog sales generate over $976 million in annual cash receipts. That means pork serves as Oklahoma’s second largest agriculture enterprise after cattle production. 

Learn more about the state’s pork industry at the Oklahoma Pork Council by clicking here

Southern Plains Responsible for Bulk of Wheat Acre Declines in Latest WASDE

USDA on Friday released its January Crop Production, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) Dec. 1 Grain Stocks and Winter Wheat Seedings reports.

USDA pegged final national average corn yield at a record 177.3 bushels per acre (bpa), well above the range of pre-report expectations. Production was pegged at 15.34 billion bushels (bb).

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, had the chance to talk with Allendale’s Rich Nelson about this month’s WASDE report, USDA’s winter wheat seedings report and more.

Nelson said there were significant changes seen on the wheat side, as a 2.2-million-acre decline was seen in USDA’s view of winter wheat seedings. This number was much lower than the trade expected to see.

“For today’s discussion, we are back to 34.4 million acres for all winter wheat,” Nelson said.

Nelson said hard red winter wheat was responsible for close to 1.7 million acres of the decline, and the bulk of that decline occurred in the Southern Plains.

Kansas saw a decline of 600,000 acres, Nelson said, and Oklahoma saw a decline of 250,000 acres. Nelson added that Texas took a significant half-million-acre decline.

Final Cotton Crop Smaller Than November Estimates- Plus the Oklahoma 2023 Crop Production Summary

On January 12, 2024, USDA NASS released the Annual Crop Production Summary for 2023. 

The BIG differences came in cotton compared to the November 2023 Crop Production report. Back in November- USDA was guessing a 350,000 bale crop- that was dropped 40,000 bales (or 12% down) by the January Annual Summary. Cotton production is now estimated at 310,000 acres, up 2 percent from 2022. The yield is estimated at 783 pounds per acre, up 18 percent from 2022. Harvested area, at 190,000 bales, is down 14 percent from 2022- and is well down from the November report that still had us harvesting 310,000 acres.

Winter wheat production in 2023 was estimated at 68.6 million bushels, even with last year’s production. The average yield per acre for winter wheat in Oklahoma is estimated to be 28 bushels per acre, the same as 2022. The estimated area harvested for grain is at 2.45 million acres, also unchanged from 2022.

Corn for grain production in 2023 was estimated at 50.6 million bushels, up 108 percent from the 2022 estimate. The average yield for corn in Oklahoma was estimated at 149 bushels, up 27 bushels per acre from the 2022 yield of 122 bushels per acre. Area harvested for grain was estimated at 340,000 acres, up 70 percent from the 2022 estimate.

Sorghum grain production in 2023 was estimated at 16.5 billion bushels, up 186 percent from the 2022 total. Planted area for 2023 was estimated at 410,000 acres, down 5 percent from the previous year. Area harvested for grain was estimated at 350,000 acres, up 46 percent from 2022. Grain yield was estimated at 47 bushels per acre, up 23 bushels from 2022.

Soybean production in 2023 totaled 10.6 million bushels, up 65 percent from 2022. The average yield per acre was estimated at 26 bushels per acre, up 9 bushels per acre from 2022. Harvested area, at 410,000 acres, was up 8 percent from last year.

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am back talking with Brangus breeder and former president of the International Brangus Breed Association, Allen Goode.

Today’s Brangus, Goode said, is all about maximizing genetic potential.

“The industry today is really about what is under the hide, and being able to measure that, tell the story about that, what that means to the commercial man and what it means to dollars in your pocket at the end of the business cycle,” Goode said.

The IBBA has launched the Brangus Value Project, which is a controlled test of sets of Brangus-sired calves out of commercial herds.

“There is always at least two Brangus sires, or an Angus-reference sire,” Goode said. “Those calves go to a feedlot for full testing and for packing. The data we have been able to obtain from that has really proven the carcass merit of the Brangus cattle and how much emphasis our breeders across the entire spectrum of the breed have placed on doing that.”

Goode said many producers chose to add Brangus genetics into their cow herds because of the adaptability of the breed in hotter conditions.

Cattlemen’s Congress Vendor Spotlight: Showstring USA Embroidery

At the 2024 Cattlemen’s Congress, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Intern, Maci Carter had a chance to visit with one of the vendor’s, Randy Baker and Dwayne Baudino of Showstring USA Embroidery.

Showstring USA is out of Frederick, Oklahoma and attends many shows, mostly around the state of Oklahoma. They do mostly embroidery and carry lots of other items for all types of customers.

“We are a customizing business,” Baker said. “Our roots are our ball caps and our jackets.”

Baker explained that they provide on site product customization with their embroidery. Whether it’s promoting a family business or displaying what you’ve won at Cattlemen’s Congress, they can do it all.

Showstring USA was a well known vendor at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO for years until everything was changed by COVID-19 in 2020. Ever since, they’ve been at Cattlemen’s Congress and are so glad to be home.

“You can find us at showstring.com,” Baker said. “You can email us showstringUSAinc@aol.com.”

USDA to Reopen Signup for Continuous Conservation Reserve Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin accepting applications for the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (Continuous CRP) signup on Jan. 12, 2024. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) encourages agricultural producers and landowners interested in conservation opportunities for their land in exchange for yearly rental payments to consider the enrollment options available through Continuous CRP, which also includes the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) offered by FSA partners. Additionally, producers participating in CRP can apply to re-enroll beginning Jan. 12, 2024 if their contracts will expire this year.  

“We are pleased to announce we are now accepting Continuous CRP offers,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux. “Continuous CRP is one of the best conservation tools we can provide producers and landowners. Whether a producer wants to focus on water quality benefits or work with one of our partners to address a natural resource concern in their area, the program offers many options to help you meet your resource conservation goals.”  

On Nov. 16, 2023, President Biden signed into law H.R. 6363, the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024 (Pub. L. 118-22), which extended the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-334), more commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill, through Sept. 30, 2024. This extension allows authorized programs, including CRP, to continue operating.   

To submit an offer, producers should contact the FSA at their local USDA Service Center by July 31, 2024, in order to have an offer effective by Oct. 1, 2024. To ensure enrollment acreages do not exceed the statutory cap, FSA will accept offers from producers on a first-come, first-served basis and will return offers for approval in batches throughout the year.  

GROWMARK and CHS enter into exploratory process to discover opportunities to best serve customers and owners

On Friday, the GROWMARK and CHSBoards of Directors announced that they have jointly agreed to conduct an exploratory process over the coming months to identify opportunities for the two cooperatives to further collaborate to better serve owners, customers and the cooperative system into the future.

The two farmer-owned cooperatives have had a long-standing relationship. Teams from GROWMARK and CHS have collaborated on strategic projects in ways that benefit their farmer-owners, cooperative-owners and customers

.

CHS and GROWMARKare currently collaborating to improve agriculture, invest in technology and bring new solutions to customers. In 2021, the two cooperatives formed Cooperative Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on supporting advancements in breakthrough technologies for the agriculture industry.

“Continuing our long history of adding value to our members and customers, while ensuring a strong and vibrant cooperative system for the future, is critical to the GROWMARK System,” said GROWMARK CEO Mark Orr. “Our partnership with CHS in Cooperative Ventures is a great example of cooperation amongst cooperatives that benefits the shareholders of both companies.”