Senator John Boozman Visits Oklahoma for Farm Bill Listening Session With Senator Lankford

A large contingent of farmers, ranchers and the ag business community from the region were on hand as Oklahoma Senator James Lankford hosted the top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee, Arkansas Senator John Boozman, for a Farm Bill listening session in Oklahoma City. 

Ag Secretary Blayne Arthur moderated the meeting, and all had the opportunity to share their thoughts and suggestions with the Senators. The senators took statements from the crowd for nearly two hours, resulting in a broad discussion that included enhancing the federal farm safety net, disaster assistance and risk management, water resources and conservation, technical training and education, and animal welfare concerns.

After the meeting, Farm Director KC Sheperd had the opportunity to catch up with Senator Boozman to get his thoughts on the newly released Farm Bill Draft from GT. Thompson. Boozman revealed in the meeting that he will be releasing his version of the farm bill and that it would be similar to that of Chairman Thompsons, “Ours will be very similar to GT’s, and I think he’s done a really good job of listening to the farm community and trying to address the problems that we see out there.”



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Wheat Harvest Underway in Tillman and Cotton Counties- and Tornadoes Roar Thru the State Sunday Night

Executive Director Mike Schulte of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission has been talking with producers and Grain Elevator Operators in Frederick, Devol, Randlett and Grandfield- all areas where we have reports of wheat harvest underway over the weekend.

Schulte has had reports of loads of wheat coming in to Frederick elevators- Schulte being told that 3 to 4 farmers were cutting wheat- one load in on Sunday had a moisture reading of 13%, test weight 60 pounds with a protein of 12%- no yields have been reported by producers as of yet.

A second load reported out of Frederick has moisture at 12.8%- test weight 0f 61.2 pounds and protein at 11.1%.

Mike will be working on a initial harvest report later this morning- and we will be sharing on our website and in tomorrow's email.

Meanwhile- the tornadic and hail breakout last night has produced hail damage for a lot of wheat fields from Roger Mills County eastward to Oklahoma City. We will be working to get a feel on how extensive hail damage may be on ripe to almost ripe wheat fields in this area.

From Facebook overnight- Several friends in the farming community have seen damage from the line of tornadoes that stretched over several counties- Eric and Shelly Bilderback had a new equipment shed destroyed in Canadian County(pic above)- no injuries- just a lot of damage to survey once the sun comes up.

Our prayers go out to all who will be surveying damage this morning at first light.

As Part Two of Cattlemen’s Conference: A Blueprint for the Future Approaches, I am featuring comments from Donnell Brown of the R.A. Brown Ranch talking about the value of gene editing- a key topic that will be discussed at this year’s Cattlemen’s Conference. The conference will be held at Oklahoma State University’s Totusek Arena from May 22nd through 23rd.



On Wednesday evening of the conference, Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam of UC-Davis will be speaking on gene editing in animal agriculture. On Thursday, there will be two panel discussions featuring industry leaders addressing how consumers and policymakers view gene-edited animals. An overview of the technology, the approval process, and currently approved gene-edited animals in the beef industry. Breed association policies regarding registration of gene-edited animals and the potential impact of gene editing technology.

According to Donnell Brown, gene editing is all about ensuring that we have the ability to feed a growing global population with the safest, most abundant, and most affordably priced food supply in the world.



“The gene editing front is exciting, we have got new things coming along on those fronts, and we are able to edit multiple traits,” Brown said. “We have changed a couple of bulls from Black Angus to Red Angus, building an identical clone that was a Black Angus and now a Red Angus, so we are excited about those things.”

House Ag Committee Chair GT Thompson Releases 900 Page Farm Bill Draft Ahead of Scheduled May 23rd Mark Up

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15) issued the following statement after releasing text of the 2024 Farm Bill:

“The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 is the product of extensive feedback from stakeholders and all Members of the House, and is responsive to the needs of farm country through the incorporation of hundreds of bipartisan policies. The release of this draft is a significant step forward in a years-long, deliberative process. The markup is one step in a greater House process, that should not be compromised by misleading arguments, false narratives, or edicts from the Senate. I look forward to engaging with colleagues on both sides of the aisle as we move to markup.”

Click here for the discussion draft text of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024.

An updated title-by-title summary can be found here (Updated May 17, 2024.

The mark up of the 2024 Farm Bill is scheduled for May 23, 2024- click here for current details as found on the House Ag Committee website.

NCBA's Beltway Beef Podcast is featuring Chairman Thompson in a conversation where he goes into detail about the measure that will be marked up by his Committee this Thursday. Click here to jump over to the podcast.

Ranking Member David Scott Reacts to Partisan Farm Bill

On Friday, House Agriculture Ranking Member David Scott released the below statement following the unveiling of the long-awaited partisan farm bill text by Agriculture Committee Republicans.

“The discussion draft released by Chairman Thompson today confirms my worst fears: House Republicans plan to pay for the farm bill by taking food out of the mouths of America’s hungry children, restricting farmers from receiving the climate-smart conservation funding they so desperately need, and barring the USDA from providing financial assistance to farmers in times of crisis.

“The economic impact of the SNAP cuts alone would be staggering. A $27 billion reduction in food purchasing power would not only increase hunger, but it would also reduce demand for jobs in the agriculture, transportation, manufacturing, and grocery sectors..."

Noble Research Institute Receives 2024 Greenacres Foundation Grant to Further Regenerative Agriculture Research in Pecans

Noble Research Institute, the nation’s largest nonprofit agricultural research organization, has been given a 2024 Regenerative Agriculture Research Grant from the Greenacres Foundation to advance its ongoing pecan-focused research.

The $295,000 grant was awarded to aid the organization’s study of pecan silvopasture and measuring improved soil health’s impact on building profitable and resilient systems. In line with Noble’s goal of regenerating 164 million acres of US grazing land by 2040, this three-year project will contribute to the continuing research focused on the impact of implementing regenerative practices for achieving a balanced and resilient ecosystem.

The team will sample soil, pecan leaves, and nuts as part of the project and correlate the data to management decisions and economics. Researchers hypothesize that healthier soils achieved through regenerative management will lead to healthier trees and more nutrient-dense pecans.

Locations identified for data collection include pecan orchards on producer properties in Texas and Oklahoma, two of the top five pecan-producing states in the US. This will be Noble’s first long-term study in a pecan silvopasture system where the results will aid not only the pecan producers but also the silvopasture systems.

Commodity Classic Announces Preliminary Schedule for 2025 Show in Denver

Plans for the 2025 Commodity Classic are well underway as America’s largest farmer-led agricultural and educational experience takes place March 2–4, 2025, in Denver, Colo. The theme for the 2025 show is “Elevating Excellence in Agriculture.”

The preliminary schedule for the 2025 Commodity Classic can be found online at CommodityClassic.com/2025-schedule. The schedule highlights tentative dates and times for the dozens of sessions, presentations, special events, and trade show. Approximately 30 educational sessions on the newest farming technologies will be added to the schedule beginning this fall.

The Denver show also features a new schedule that will run from Sunday, March 2 through Tuesday, March 4, which is a change from past years’ usual format. The new format will also include a pancake brunch, closing reception, and other exciting farmer-focused events.

“Our 2024 show in Houston was a record-breaking event with over 11,500 attendees, so we’re excited to see what happens for the show’s first time in Denver,” said Deb Gangwish, a Nebraska farmer, NCGA member, and co-chair of the 2025 Commodity Classic.