Day one of the Wheat Quality Council wheat tour is in the books- and the crop scouts saw a wide variety of crop conditions- from really good looking wheat like that seen above- to wheat fields struggling with freeze damage, drought issues, stripe rust, wheat streak mosaic and more. (This picture was shot by Dr. Romulo Lolatto of K-State north of Colby- he described this field as having lots of disease pressure but with lots of potential.)

Oklahoma Wheat Grower President Dennis Schoenhals is participating in the tour- traveling by car from Manhattan to Colby on Day One- Colby to Wichita on Day two and Wichita to Manhattan for the wrap up of the tour on Day three.

Dennis Schoenhals tells your truly last night that the Day One totals come from 206 stops by the cars on the tour with an average yield of 49.9 bushel per acre- well above the 29.8 bushels per acre found on the same Manhattan to Colby set of routes. He says the low reported by any car was 10 bushels per acre and the high for some irrigated wheat was 112 bushels per acre. 

He adds that across areas of Kansas where it was common to see many fields in the 20s last May- here in 2024 those same locations were predicted to make 50, 60 and even 70 bushels per acre. The wheat is expected to yield strong despite the problems of freeze and drought damage- as well as lots of disease pressure.

Click on the button below to read more, listen to our conversation with Dennis and see a few of the pictures that show some of the issues he saw on Day One of this year's tour.



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In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with Dakota Moss of Livestock Risk Services about the advantages of utilizing Livestock Risk Protection (LRP).

As the cattle markets can be described as “choppy” lately, Moss talks about factors impacting the markets and how LRP can give producers peace of mind.

“Over the past few weeks, we had that bird flu scare so to speak, which really hasn’t turned into anything for the beef cattle side of the industry, but it seems like the cattle business and the cattle industry is so sensitive to any possible bad news we may have, that it just has a volatile impact with the way cattle futures is trading nowadays.”

By locking in price protection with LRP, Moss said producers can ensure a good profit coming into the fall months or early next spring, regardless of events that may impact the market.

“The LRP goes off of the market every single day, so prices change with LRP every single day as soon as we get that closing price off of the feeder cattle futures and the live futures,” Moss said. “The best thing a producer can do if they are utilizing LRP in their operation is to be proactive as possible, know their numbers, know their business, and be watching those prices.”

OSU Offers Two-Day Vet Science Short Course to High School Students Interested in Vet Med

Farm Director KC Sheperd is visiting with Muscogee County 4-H Programs Specialist, Leslie Lewis, about the Vet Science Short Course offered by Oklahoma State University for high school students interested in veterinary medicine. This course will be offered again in 2025, and applications will open in late February.

Lewis explained that the program provides hands-on experiences and information about vet school programs to help students decide if a career in veterinary medicine is suitable. The program aims to address the shortage of rural veterinarians in Oklahoma and the application process opens in late February with 30 participants selected each year. 

“The Vet Science Short Course is designed for 9th through 12th graders, and we invite them to come to OSU, and they go to the College of Veterinary Medicine there, and they get to go through some hands-on experiences and get an idea of what it is like to be a vet student for the day,” Lewis said. “They get information about how to get into vet school, programs that would be helpful for them, and just the experience to know whether or not vet school is the right direction for them to go or if they should think about going a different direction.”

Texas Tech Researchers Help Confirm First Case of Avian Influenza Transmitted from Cow to Human

Texas Tech University‘s Biological Threat Research Laboratory (BTRL) played a critical role in confirming the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza transmission from a mammal (dairy cow) to a human. 

The case was made public in an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Steve Presley, the director of The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH) and the BTRL, and Cynthia Reinoso Webb, the biological threat coordinator at TIEHH, were co-authors on the journal publication.

The journal article explains that in March a farm worker who reported no contact with sick or dead birds, but who was in contact with dairy cattle, began showing symptoms in the eye and samples were collected by the regional health department to test for potential influenza A. 



The concern stemmed from recent testing results on dairy farms across the region. Dairy cattle, some showing signs of illness but others asymptomatic, had tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). 

AFBF’s Sam Kieffer Stresses the Importance of a Farm Bill that Reflects Modern Times

At the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) annual Washington Watch event in Washington, D.C., Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to talk with the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Vice President of Public Policy, Sam Kieffer, about the 2024 Farm Bill from the perspective of AFBF.

“We need a Farm Bill- period,” Kieffer said. “We absolutely, positively need a Farm Bill. It is a year overdue, and if you think about the last time Congress passed a Farm Bill, it was 2018. A lot has changed since then. We have experienced a global pandemic, we have experienced nearly record inflation, and we are seeing significant global turmoil, and political strife internationally on multiple fronts. We are seeing international channels for shipment of goods including agricultural products being blocked or at least rerouted. The world is different than it was in 2018, and we need a Farm Bill that reflects modern times.”

Due to the changes seen over the years along with global uncertainty, Kieffer said there must be an investment into the Title I crop commodity program and conservation programs focused on production. Kieffer said the longer it takes to get the Farm Bill across the finish line, the more difficult it this process will become.

Economically Relevant Traits – Blueprint For The Future Conference Part 2

Mark Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist, offers herd health advice as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner,” published electronically by Dr. Peel, Mark Johnson, and Paul Beck. Today, Johnson talks about analyzing your cow-calf production system and the upcoming Cattlemen’s Conference.

Analyzing your cow-calf production system includes taking a look at:

1. The genotype of your cattle
2. Your production environment
3. Fixed resources and management
4. Economic factors such as input cost and marketing endpoints

How these components interact in your production system should determine the most Economically Relevant Traits (ERT) to your operation. The ERTs of significance to your operation should impact your selection and mating program.