USDA on Thursday released its February World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) and Crop Production reports.

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, had the chance to talk with Allendale’s Rich Nelson about this month’s report. For now, Nelson said the focus is on U.S. demand and South American production.

In this report, Nelson said U.S. corn was lowered by 10 million bushels, which was not a big surprise.

“They did recognize some problems with the Brazilian corn crop, down about three million tons, which was on the trade expectations,” Nelson said. “The real concern for us today was a little bit of pushback on soybean demand.”

Nelson said USDA raised ending stocks for soybeans by 280 million bushels last month. Now USDA has raised ending stocks for soybeans to 315 million bushels, he added.

While USDA did recognize some export concerns for soybeans, Nelson said it was surprising that USDA did not raise domestic U.S. soybean crush.

On the wheat side, Nelson said U.S. wheat export sales are doing quite well.

“We can do very slack, almost half the normal pace from here through May to meet USDA’s export goals,” Nelson said. “Sales are doing fine. The concern is with this shipment issue, which is now going on three months in a row of almost 25 percent below last year.”



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 January 2024 Edition of the Drive in Five .

U.S. Pork Export Value Sets Annual Record; Strong Finish for Beef Exports

Led by a record-shattering performance in Mexico and broad-based growth in other markets, U.S. pork exports set a value record in 2023, according to year-end data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). While 2023 beef exports were below the record totals posted the previous year, December exports were the largest since August and December export value increased 10% year-over-year. 

December pork exports climbed nearly 10% from a year ago to 268,399 metric tons (mt), the largest since May 2021 and the eighth largest on record. Export value increased 11% to $765.8 million, also the highest since May 2021 and the third highest on record. While December exports trended higher in many key markets, Mexico was once again the star performer, setting records for both volume (105,451 mt) and value ($233.8 million). 

The strong December results pushed 2023 export value to a record $8.16 billion, up 6% from 2022. Export value per head slaughtered also set an annual record of nearly $64. Export volume was 2.91 million mt, up 8% year-over-year and the third largest on record. 

“2023 saw tremendous growth in global demand for U.S. pork, and it came at a time when the U.S. industry needed it most,” said USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom. “The expansion of U.S. pork’s presence in Mexico has been remarkable but the great news certainly doesn’t end there. We are very encouraged by the robust demand we’ve seen throughout the Western Hemisphere and in a number of Asia-Pacific markets as well.” 

Beef Checkoff Digital Marketing Reaches Broad Audience to Promote Beef Consumption

At the 2024 CattleCon held in Orlando, Florida, I had the chance to talk with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Research, Jennifer Nealson. In part two of my conversation with Nealson, we discuss beef messaging through digital platforms.

Our coverage from the 2024 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Orlando is being powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

In May of 2023, Nealson said the national advertising campaign for Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. was launched.

“That campaign is called, ‘Together, We Bring More,’” Nealson said. “It is all focused on how beef transforms everyday gatherings into meaningful moments. We all know that when you are doing something special or even doing something ordinary, you want to have beef on the grill, and you want to have beef there at the center of your holiday table too. No matter what the occasion, we believe beef brings people together and is the meaningful protein that people associate good times with.”

Within the campaign, Nealson said there have been 8 to 10 different commercials on digital platforms, including streaming television.

Students and personnel from Oklahoma’s state system institutions gathered at the state Capitol today to demonstrate the value and importance of higher education in the state.

Speakers included Governor Kevin Stitt, Speaker Charles McCall, Sen. Adam Pugh, Rep. Mark McBride, State Regents chair Jack Sherry, and Chancellor Allison D. Garrett.

“Students, faculty and staff from Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities came together today at our State Capitol to highlight the value of a college degree,” said Garrett. “Over half of the top 100 occupations identified as critical for our state require an associate degree or higher, including the top 29 highest paying jobs. Investing in higher education drives economic opportunity for individual Oklahomans and strengthens the workforce pipeline for our vibrant business community.”

Three students also spoke at the event. Blake Janssen, Redlands Community College; Asa Robbins, Northeastern State University; and Dante Specht, Oklahoma City Community College, shared how pursuing higher education at Oklahoma’s public college and universities has positively impacted their lives.

Not Much Movement in Oklahoma’s Drought Numbers After Last Week’s Large Improvements

According to the latest Oklahoma drought monitor report, exceptional drought remains at zero percent, unchanged from the start of the calendar year.

Extreme drought or worse remains at zero percent, unchanged from the past six weeks.

Severe drought or worse remains at 1.36 percent, unchanged from last week.

Moderate drought or worse conditions remain at 7.18 percent, unchanged from last week.

Abnormally dry or worse conditions are now at 21.8 percent, improved slightly from last week’s 22.45 percent.

According to the 6-to-10-day precipitation outlook map, the northeastern part of Oklahoma is leaning below a 33 to 40 percent chance of precipitation through February 17th. The northern part of the panhandle, down through central Oklahoma and into the southeast corner, is at a “near normal” chance of precipitation through February 17th. The southwestern part of the state and the southern half of the panhandle is leaning above a 33 to 40 percent chance of precipitation through that February 17th date.

ASA to EPA: We Need a Dicamba Existing Stocks Order Stat!

The American Soybean Association—the national advocacy organization for the industry—and 26 soy state affiliates have sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency asking the administration for help following a dicamba ruling in a federal district court in Arizona. The court ruled EPA made a procedural error in issuing 2020 dicamba registrations for over-the-top (OTT) use on dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton. Because EPA did not offer a public notice and comment period before issuing the registrations, the court ruled the agency was in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and vacated 2020 registrations for XtendiMax, Enginia, and Tavium.

The ruling appears to affect every state in which the products are registered and thus could impact more than 50 million acres of dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton—an area larger than the state of Nebraska.



Josh Gackle, ASA president and soybean farmer from North Dakota, said, “We are clearly disappointed with the court’s dicamba ruling, but more pressing, soybean and other farmers are exceptionally concerned about what this means as we approach 2024 planting season. If the administration does not issue an existing stocks order so we can use the millions of dollars of product already ordered for spring planting, we are in a world of hurt."

More stories for your weekend reading!