As expected, the second day of the 2024 Kansas Wheat Crop Tour found more drought stress and ended up with a lower bushel per acre yield than on day one- but well above the year ago levels. Scouts made a total of 216 stops and found an average yield of 42.4 bushels per acre. That compares to 27.6 bushels per acre a year ago and 56.7 bushels per acre in 2021. The highest yield calculated on Wednesday was 101 bushels per acre while one car found a field with an expected yield of just 5 bushels per acre.

The two day totals on 422 stops here in 2024 is an average of 45.8 bushels per acre. K-State’s Romulo Lollato said the theme of the day was variability, even within fields. Groups saw a lot of drought stress and freeze damage, with some fields already being destroyed. Not as much stripe rust or Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus were observed on Wednesday, compared to Tuesday, likely due to drought conditions.

Farmers in the area reported that combines will probably start rolling by June 1 in south central Kansas, about seven to ten days earlier than average. There wasn’t as much fungicide applied in the southern areas of Kansas because the stripe rust started coming on in a later growth stage.

We talked again last night with Oklahoma Wheat Grower President Dennis Schoenhals who took a route that dipped into Oklahoma an rolled across US 64 yesterday- he provides a look at what his car saw and what some of the key takeaways from last night's Wichita report session- click on the blue button below to read more and listen to Dennis and I discuss the Day Two results.



Oklahoma Farm Bureau works to improve the lives of all Oklahomans by supporting our state’s agriculture community. As Oklahoma’s largest general farm organization led by Oklahoma farmers and ranchers, OKFB takes grassroots values and advocates for agriculture at the state Capitol and in Washington, D.C., to ensure our way of life continues for generations to come.

Farm Bureau hosts leadership events, supports our state’s agricultural youth and connects consumers with agriculture in order to build a brighter future for our state. Become an OKFB member today online at okfarmbureau.org/join. Together, we are rural Oklahoma.

During Beef Day at the Capitol, Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with a member of the Oklahoma Senate, Blake Stephens, about his Daylight Savings Time Bill (Senate Bill 1200).

Senate Bill 1200 provides that Oklahoma shall adopt permanent Daylight-Saving Time (DST) upon passage of a federal law authorizing states to choose whether or not to participate in the antiquated practice of bi-annual time change.

After four years of working on this legislation, Stephens said he is excited to see it pass the House of Representatives.

“Finally, we got this thing moving in a positive direction, and it is all about a matter of time,” Stephens said. “I was honored to have the Speaker of the House running the bill with me on Senate Bill 1200. I am very honored and blessed that the Governor signed that bill after we got through both chambers.”

Tyler Norvell Previews Next Week's Cattlemen’s Conference and 2025 Cattlemen’s Congress

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am catching up with Tyler Norvell in this episode of Beef Buzz, talking about Cattlemen’s Congress and a preview of the upcoming Cattlemen’s Conference: Blueprint for the Future.

Norvell is the board chairman for Cattlemen’s Congress and talked about the success of the show’s fourth year. The 2025 Cattlemen’s Congress will be held January 4th-16th in Oklahoma City.

“It has been really good feedback,” Norvell said. “The breeds continue to tell us that nobody has customer service like Cattlemen’s Congress, and we want to continue that because they are our customers.”

One new addition to the show Norvell mentioned is a commercial pen sale.

“This year, we are really focusing more on genomics, gene editing, consumers, and what we need to do,” Norvell said. “I would make the argument that it is great for purebred seedstock operators and focuses on them, but it also focuses on the commercial cattlemen. There is really not going to be any panels about the show ring. It is going to be about the industry, which it should be.”

Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), the largest and oldest livestock association in the Southwest, today announced the distribution of $900,000 in financial assistance through the TSCRA Disaster Relief Fund.

Money was available to Texas and Oklahoma producers impacted.

“Funds are on the way to ranching families affected by these fires, and we will continue to quickly distribute much more funding to those in need for as long as it takes to help them to rebuild,” said TSCRA President Carl Ray Polk Jr.

The distribution of funds comes after thousands of individuals and businesses came together to generously donate to the TSCRA Disaster Relief Fund in support of cattle raisers facing staggering losses.

The TSCRA Disaster Relief Fund continues to accept applications for financial aid from landowners and cattle raisers in disaster-declared counties in Texas and Oklahoma impacted by the Smokehouse Creek, Windy Deuce and other catastrophic wildfires earlier this spring. Individuals are asked to apply for aid online at tscra.org/disasterreliefapp.

National Sorghum Producers Chair Craig Meeker Highlights Team Sorghum’s Work for U.S. Producers

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 Chairman of the National Sorghum Producers and Kansas sorghum producer, Craig Meeker.

“2024 is off with a bang,” Meeker said. “The crop went in at very good conditions in the coastal bend of Texas.”

Looking back at last year’s crop, Meeker said this year it appears there is more subsoil moisture to work with.

“Hopefully we have some rain to bring that moisture together and get us off to a good start,” Meeker said.

Aside from weather conditions impacting sorghum, Meeker said regulatory, trade, and policy issues are also at play. Meeker said he and his team are actively working with agricultural committees in the House and the Senate to ensure good policy is written for sorghum producers.

NASS Releases Census of Agriculture Congressional District Profiles and Rankings

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) today released the Congressional District Profiles and Rankings from the 2022 Census of Agriculture. This summary presents data by congressional district from the 118th Congress that includes land, farms, market value of agricultural products sold, rankings and producer characteristics. 

“These profiles present local data in a fast and easy-to-read format, allowing producers and all data users to quickly view and evaluate information,” said NASS Acting Administrator Joseph Parsons. “Congressional District Profiles and Rankings from the ag census are only available every five years. Providing ag census information at a congressional district level, in addition to state, county and nationwide data, allows data users to compare districts to each other, shows the value of agriculture in a district, and informs policy makers.”

Oklahoma has two of the top ten Districts in the US with the number of farms and producers in them. Josh Brecheen's Second District is the seventh largest in the US and Frank Lucas's Third District is ninth with 26,466 and 23,317 farms respectively.

Oklahoma's Second District is the second largest district in the US when it comes to "full owners" with 19,580- the third district is eleventh in the US in this category with 14,312.

American, Mexican, and Canadian Cattle Producers Sign Joint Statement and Send Letter Raising Brazilian Beef Concerns

Yesterday, leaders of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Ganaderas (CNOG), and Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) signed a joint statement to continue advocating for greater oversight of emerging lab-grown proteins, protecting cattle from animal diseases, and promoting the sustainability of the cattle industry. This action builds on the recent statement signing with Cattle Australia and furthers the international partnerships between cattle producers.

“The signing of this joint statement is an important step that unites cattle producers across North America and around the world to promote and protect efficient cattle production,” said NCBA President and Wyoming rancher Mark Eisele.

Following the joint statement signing, NCBA, CNOG, and CCA also signed a letter addressed to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Secretaria de Economía Raquel Buenrostro Sanchez, and Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng urging the U.S., Mexican, and Canadian governments to re-engage in opening markets for beef exports and provide stronger science-based oversight of beef imports. Unfortunately, the three governments have expanded market access for beef imports while providing little opportunities for beef exports. If this continues, it will place North American cattle producers at a competitive disadvantage to other beef producers, including South America.

The letter and joint statement were signed at the CNOG 2024 convention in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico by NCBA President Mark Eisele, CNOG President Sr. Homero García de la Llata, and CCA President Nathan Phinney.