USDA's weekly Crop Progress Report shows that nationwide, the US Corn crop now stands at 67% good to excellent - unchanged from last week. Soybeans were also unchanged this week at 68% good to excellent - Cotton fell four points this week to 42% good to excellent and Sorghum was off two points to 49% good to excellent.



Oklahoma's spring-planted crop conditions all declined except for Sorghum. Corn conditions rated 59 percent good to excellent, down five points from last week. Soybean conditions rated 50 percent good to excellent versus 52% last week. Cotton conditions rated 55 percent good to excellent, down 6 points from a week ago, and Sorghum conditions rated 66 percent good to excellent- which is 4 points up from a week ago.

Kansas's conditions are declining with soybeans rated at 59 percent good to excellent. Cotton conditions rated 48 percent good to excellent, and Sorghum conditions rated 43 percent good to excellent.

Texas's spring-planted crop conditions are mixed as compared to last week with Corn conditions unchanged at 41 percent good to excellent from last week's 35 percent. Cotton conditions declined to 29 percent good to excellent from last week's 33 percent rating. Sorghum conditions are unchanged at a 50 percent good to excellent rating.

Pasture and Range Conditions for the 48 states dropped one point from last week at 34 percent good to excellent. Oklahoma has declined significantly to a 49 percent good to excellent rating from last week's 55 percent - Kansas declined 2 points to 41% good to excellent - Texas declined five points at 23% good to excellent while Missouri improved 5 points to a 79% good to excellent rating.

Invenergy is committed to Oklahoma, having completed its first project in the state in 2006. Today, Invenergy operates three wind energy centers in our state, employs over 60 Oklahomans and continues investing in our project communities. We believe building relationships is the key to being good community partners and we work to develop relationships to benefit our landowners, our employees, and our communities.

We invest in Oklahomans, and we take pride in their success. Our energy facilities provide jobs, tax revenues, landowner payments and other sources of local economic development.

For more information, visit www.InvenergyOklahoma.com

During the Oklahoma Cattleman’s Ranch Rodeo at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, OK, Terry Stuart Forst was officially inducted into the Agriculture Hall of Fame. Farm Director KC Sheperd spoke with her after the ceremony.

Forst, her two sons, and their families operate the oldest family ranch under continuous family ownership in Oklahoma. The 45,000 acres across southeastern and southwestern Oklahoma have been in her family since 1868. She also became the first female president of the Oklahoma Cattleman’s Association in 2009, and the first woman named Cattleman of the Year two years before that. She also earned OSU’s Master Breeder Award in 2008, was named a “Significant Woman in Agriculture” by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry in 2017, and Induction into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2007.

“It is truly humbling,” she said. “I am so honored. I was not expecting this in any way, shape or form. I got choked up.”

Expert Insights on the Secure Beef Supply Plan with Dr. Julia Herman

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with National Cattleman’s Beef Association Beef Cattle Specialist Veterinarian Dr. Julia Herman to further the discussion about the Secure Beef Supply (SBS), which is a biosecurity contingency plan for cattle producers to prepare voluntarily before a foot and mouth disease outbreak.

Last week, Hays spoke to XIT Feeders General Manager Gene Lowrey after he hosted a demonstration of what a lockdown might look like after an outbreak. Click here to read that story and listen to the interview.

Dr. Herman said. “This contingency plan is really important because, during an outbreak, producers will have to prove to their state veterinarian that they are taking these biosecurity steps so that they can move animals within a control area. The plans will be required for movement permits and potential indemnity.”

She explained that all of the biosecurity steps are based on preventing the disease from ever coming in, much of which boils down to educating employees, implementing biosecurity procedures daily, and double-checking that it is being implemented correctly.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting offers for more than 2.2 million acres from agricultural producers and private landowners through this year’s Grassland, General, and Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) signups administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). With these accepted acres, enrollment is very near the 27 million CRP acreage cap.   

“The popularity of our suite of Conservation Reserve Programs, including the significant success of Grassland Conservation Reserve Program and the fact that we are nearing the Conservation Reserve Program acreage cap, is a testament to the commitments made by the farmers, ranchers and landowners we serve to mitigate the impacts of climate change by conserving, protecting and enhancing our natural resources,” said Zach Ducheneaux, Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). “It’s through all FSA’s conservation programs that we are able to work directly with agricultural producers to implement climate-smart conservation practices that ultimately benefit everyone.” 

As summer draws to a close and fall draws near, many producers are preparing for vaccination time. Even as we enter the fall the risk of heat stress remains for both cattle and humans. Temperature and timing of processing are important considerations when planning work days. Although the morning temperatures may seem cool, it is important to look at the forecast to see if temperatures pose a risk to human and animal health.

When handling vaccines, they should be stored between 35-45°F from the time of purchase until the time of use. Monitoring the temperatures of the refrigerator used to store all vaccines is a necessity. Vaccines outside of a refrigerator should be kept in a cooler at this temperature range and protected ultraviolet rays of the sun even chute side. Maintaining the recommended temperature in the field may be accomplished by purchasing a ready-made syringe cooler, or building one as outlined in the Oklahoma State University Extension factsheet AFS-3300. More information about vaccine handling and use can be found in the OSU factsheet VTMD-9100.

Before transporting or handling cattle, it is important to consult a weather resource such as the Oklahoma Mesonet Cattle Comfort Advisor. The Mesonet Cattle Comfort Advisor provides an estimate of cattle comfort based on data from the Oklahoma Mesonet and forecasts from the National Weather Service. Stress levels are calculated using a formula developed by animal scientists affiliated with the University of Nebraska. This tool can be utilized throughout the year and found at mesonet.org. 

Blood donors who save lives before Labor Day will enjoy a hotdog picnic at Our Blood Institute’s donor centers statewide! This year’s Pre-Labor Day blood drive is a two-day event.

On Thursday, August 29 and Friday, August 30, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., donors will receive and OBI t-shirt and an all-beef hot dog compliments of the Oklahoma Beef Council as it teams up with Our Blood Institute to “Beef Up” the blood supply for the Labor Day weekend. All blood donors on these days will be entered to win a $250 restaurant gift card.



Our Blood Institute has nine donor centers statewide including four in the Oklahoma City metro:

• Central OKC, 901 N. Lincoln Blvd.

• North OKC, 5105 N. Portland Ave.

• Edmond, 3409 S. Broadway, Suite 300

• Norman, 1004 24th Ave., N.W., Suite 101

• Ada, Ardmore, Enid, Lawton and Tulsa (addresses available here)