According to the latest Oklahoma drought monitor report, exceptional drought remains at zero percent, unchanged from the start of the calendar year.

Extreme drought or worse has increased to 5.31 percent, up from 4.56 percent last week.

Severe drought or worse has increased to 18.44 percent, up from 17.52 percent last week.

Moderate drought or worse, has increased to 48.22 percent, up from 47.55 percent last week.

Abnormally dry or worse conditions are unchanged at 74.36 percent from last week.

As for our neighbors, parts of central Texas saw 8 to 12 inches of rain. This moisture reversed much of the abnormally dry conditions introduced last week in central and southeastern Texas and western Louisiana. Northeast Kansas saw both abnormally dry and moderate drought conditions expand despite precipitation this week, due to longer-term dryness. Southwestern Kansas has been seeing conditions continue to improve, leading to the trimming of abnormally dry, moderate and severe drought.

Kansas Drought Monitor continues to show roughly half of the state in Moderate Drought- 51.22% this week versus 50.07% last week. Texas Drought ratings improved 12.2 percentage points to 35.93% versus 48.13% a week ago.

Click here for the Kansas Drought Monitor Page and Click here for the Texas Drought Monitor Page.

The Oklahoma Agriculture Mediation Program knows this is a hard time for farmers and ranchers. We want you to know we are still open, and we are still here for you. The Ag Mediation program is a free service that provides mediation to agriculture producers who may need help with ag-related disputes.

At Oklahoma Ag Mediation, we have been helping people in agriculture resolve conflicts since 1987. We know firsthand about working together to resolve conflicts, so you don’t have to go through the court systems. Let our professional mediators help you. Mediation is allowed for lease issues, farmer/neighbor disputes, family farm transitions, and more. These services are available at no cost for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers in all 77 counties. For more information, you can go to ok.gov/mediation, or give us a call at 800 248 5465.

Exports of U.S. beef continued to build momentum in July, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Pork exports were also well above year-ago levels in July, led by a value record for shipments to Mexico.

Key Asian markets and Mexico fuel strong month for beef exports

July beef exports totaled 110,419 metric tons (mt), up 7% from a year ago and the second largest of 2024. Export value climbed 12% to $910.9 million, also the second highest this year. July growth was fueled primarily by strengthening demand in Japan, Taiwan, Mexico and the Middle East and ASEAN regions.

For January through July, beef export value increased 6% from a year ago to $6.13 billion, despite a 2% decline in volume (754,152 mt).

Beef Industry Leaders Gather in Denver for Crucial 2025 Budget Planning Session

Ten members from the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion Board met with ten Federation of State Beef Council board members on, September 4-5, 2024, in Denver, Colorado, for what is known as the Operating Committee Meeting. Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with Chairman of the Cattleman’s Beef Promotion Board Andy Bishop to talk about the meeting.

The Operating Committee meeting is to organize a spending plan for the 2025 fiscal year Dollar a Head Beef Checkoff which begins in October.

According to Bishop, the Beef Board and the Federation first viewed the contractors’ authorization requests (AR) at the Summer Business Meeting earlier this summer.

Bishop said that the contractors gave them reports on what ARs they wanted to be approved for the next fiscal year. The committees scored those, ranked them, and gave the contractors feedback. The contractors changed their requests slightly and sent them to the Operating Committee which chooses how those dollars are allocated and at what levels – if the contractors get funding, and in some cases, do not get funding.

Oklahoma Farm Report’s Stevie White caught up with Micaela Halverson, Agritourism Coordinator for the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, to talk about all of the exciting ways to explore agritourism in Oklahoma this fall.

Pumpkin patches are ripe for visitors in the fall, and Halverson has 44 on her roster that are spread across the state. They are fun for the whole family and often provide a great backdrop for those fall family photos. Depending on the venue, some also feature corn mazes, hayrides, games, interactive experiences with animals, such as alpacas, pigs, rabbits, pigs, and horses, food sampling, live music, cookouts, and more depending on the venue.

A popular tour for adults is the Oklahoma Wine Trails. “We have nine different regional trails throughout Oklahoma, and we just started a new passport program,” Halverson explained.

The trails have been broken down into roughly six wineries in close proximity. Wine enthusiasts can go to the winery, pick up a passport, get a stamp or sticker at each location proving that they’ve been there, and mail it back to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to get a prize once the passport is complete. It doesn’t have to be accomplished in one day, so the tour could potentially span the entire season.

Certified Angus Beef (CAB) showcased the best Angus beef at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival in Canton, Ohio. The first weekend of August saw CAB’s involvement in two-key activations: the Enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner and the Class of 2024 Unscripted & Tailgate. 

A highlight of the week’s festivities was the presence of Virginia Angus rancher, past American Angus Association® president and CAB board member, Chuck Grove.  

“The Angus farmers and ranchers across this country are responsible for providing the genetics that make Certified Angus Beef a reality,” he said during the event. “They’re at it 24/7, very much like any NFL player, committed to providing the best seedstock possible so we can provide worldwide consumers the best beef.

Grove’s son, Jake Grove, is a retired NFL center who played for the Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins, making the Hall of Fame festivities particularly meaningful. 



“To make it to the Hall of Fame, they’re the crème de la crème,” he added. “We’re committed to providing you the best beef in the world, and that starts with the best Angus cattle.

On today’s Cow-Calf Corner, Scott Clawson, M.S., Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service NE Area Agricultural Economics Specialist writes about fall finance chores.

As we transition from running hay equipment to preparing for the winter-feeding season, it provides a great opportunity to catch our breath and glance at our financial condition.

Why now?

The August to September period is a prime time for a spring calving cow-calf operation to experience a cash flow issue. This can be attributed to a collection of timing and seasonal ranch operations. The first potential cause is our calving and marketing season. Most operations are spring calving and then market calves in the fall. This results in most operations receiving the largest portion of their annual revenue in the fall of the previous year. We then funded any debt obligations due and purchased supplements for the cowherd last winter. We then moved into hay season. Capital expenditures along with diesel, fertility, net wrap, repairs and maybe labor are all consuming cash.

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