According to the latest Oklahoma drought monitor report, all conditions remain unchanged from last week except for the Abnormally dry or worse conditions, which are now at 62.72 percent, up from last week’s 59.9 percent.

Kansas's conditions are looking dryer with an increase in all levels, the largest being Abnormally Dry conditions increasing to 42.31 from last week's 38.66. Moderately dry conditions were up to 16.58 from last week's 14.01, and Severe Drought conditions experienced a marginal increase from 1.34 last week to 1.35 currently.

There was no change in drought conditions in Texas this week except for the Abnormally Dry conditions increase from 44.96 to 48.81.

Nationally- click here to review the latest Drought Monitor stats as released Thursday morning.



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After his 42-year career with Oklahoma State University, SUNUP bids farewell to OSU Extension crop marketing specialist Dr. Kim Anderson.

“I’m hanging up the spurs,” Anderson said. “You’ve got to do it sometime, and I think now is about as good a time as any.”

Throughout his career, Anderson has traversed the state in all directions many times and has freely offered his expertise. His parting thoughts for producers to manage risks and turn profits were to keep records of costs, production, production variability, and to always be familiar with the markets.

“I’ve learned that you cannot predict prices, but we can predict price ranges relatively close. Stay up with the latest technology, and write everything down on paper,” he cautioned.

TCFA’s Ben Weinheimer on the State of Our Southern Plains Cattle Feedlots

At the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, spoke with the president and CEO of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Ben Weinheimer, about the state of the business in the Southern Plains. Weinheimer represents feedlots in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

Coverage from the 2024 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in San Diego is being powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

“The attitudes of cattle feeders in the TCFA region are really good,” Weinheimer said. “We’ve been very pleased with the level of on-feed numbers that we’ve been able to maintain through the course of the end of last year and the first half of this year.”

While he still anticipates that those numbers will fall in the second half of this year, and when heifer retention increases, feedlot numbers will decrease until the heifers reach maturity and become productive.

Farm Director KC Sheperd spoke with Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Public Information Officer Lee Benson about the upcoming 4th Annual AgHERculture Conference.

The conference is comprised of two events on two days. Friday, August 23rd will be centered on college-aged young women, and Saturday, August 24th will be for high school girls. Both events are designed to connect the younger generation of women interested in a future in agriculture with women already established in the industry to provide them with networking and educational opportunities.

The event was begun by Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur. “[Secretary Aurthur] is always invested in the importance of young people in the ag industry,” Benson said, “She thought that if she could connect these young people with women already involved in the ag sector from across the country, it could only do good things, not only for the here-and-now but also for the future of agriculture.”

The collegiate event will begin with the opportunity for each young woman to have a headshot taken for her professional profile. RFD-TV FarmHer Host Kirbe Schnoor will be a keynote speaker, and dinner will be offered that evening. Tables will be set up and mentors will be available for attendees to socialize with. “It is pretty informal, with the idea being to connect and meet as many people as possible,” Benson added.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed in August 2022, created a sustainable aviation fuel tax credit. This tax credit, called 40B due to its section in the IRA, is in effect for 2023 and 2024. The 40B credit amount is based on the carbon intensity from a lifecycle analysis for the specific sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) obtaining the tax credit. As such, lower carbon intensity (CI) biofuels receive a larger tax credit than those with higher CI scores[i].

While SAF can be produced from many different feedstocks, both soybeans and corn are options that can be used at scale. One option to lower the CI of the SAF is for corn and soybean farmers to implement specific conservation practices. Unfortunately, the requirements in 40B for conservation bundling severely limit the ability of producers to provide additional carbon intensity benefits to the 40B program. Removing the bundling requirement could result in more than a four-fold increase in eligible corn or soybean acres.

On-farm criteria

SAF producers have the option of three models to choose from when scoring their renewable jet fuel. The 40BSAF-GREET model returns the largest CI reductions for both soybeans and corn and allows the use of farm conservation practices for further CI reductions. Using standard inputs in the 40BSAF-GREET model, SAF made from soybean oil has a 55% CI reduction while SAF made from corn ethanol has a CI reduction of 18% compared to fossil jet fuel. To qualify for credits, the biofuel must have at least a 50% reduction.

For corn ethanol to qualify for the 40B credit, the fuel producer must utilize further emission reduction strategies, such as carbon capture and storage, landfill renewable natural gas (RNG), wind electricity or climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices. Soybean oil-based SAF can utilize 45V modeled hydrogen, landfill RNG, wind electricity and climate smart agriculture practices to further reduce its score.

AFR Cooperative has named two state legislators 2024 AFR Legislative Advocates. This year’s AFR Legislative Advocate Awards recognize Sen. Blake Stephens, R-Tahlequah, and Rep. Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston.

The AFR Legislative Advocate Award is presented to state leaders that advocate for AFR Cooperative policies and work hard on issues that are important to the AFR membership during each state legislative session. Stephens and Wallace were recognized for their work during the 2024 legislative session.

“We applaud the leadership of all our legislators and their service to Oklahoma,” said AFR Cooperative President Scott Blubaugh. But, Sen. Blake Stephens and Rep. Kevin Wallace are two legislators who went above and beyond for rural Oklahoma in 2024 and we’re pleased to honor them with this award.”

Sen. Stephens represents Oklahoma Senate District 03. He has authored several priority pieces of legislation for AFR since his election in 2020. In 2024, he championed locking the clock on Daylight Savings Time pending federal approval and, in 2020, he passed regulatory reform requiring signage on medical marijuana grows. Stephens owns and operates his family ranch and is a strong supporter of AFR, even volunteering his time at the annual AFR Leadership Summit.