US Corn condition rose slightly while soybean and cotton conditions fell slightly last week as harvest progressed, according to USDA NASS’ weekly national Crop Progress report released Monday.

Here in the southern plains- Kansas is now 9% planted, Texas 15% planted and Oklahoma reports for the first time at 6% planted for the 2025 crop- that dusted in and waiting for a rain.

Harvest in Oklahoma now stands at 35% harvest done for our corn crop and 18% of our grain sorghum harvested here in 2024.

Pasture and Range conditions continue to reflect the dry conditions found in many parts of the US- in the 48 states- pasture and range conditions are now at 27% good to excellent versus 29% a week ago and the poor to very poor numbers now show 44% nationally- up from 39% in last week's report.

Here in Oklahoma- 34% is now good to excellent- down three points from last week- Kansas is at 32% good to excellent- down 5 points from last week and Missouri is now 50% good to excellent- down 14 points from a week ago. Texas is actually up three points from last week on pasture and range ratings to 19% good to excellent.

Our neighbors over in New Mexico are actually in better shape with their end of summer pasture and range conditions than Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas at 37% good to excellent.

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.

While attending the Women in Agriculture Conference, Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Mesonet Ag Coordinator Wes Lee to learn what the mesonet is and how to use it.

“The Mesonet is a set of 120 towers across the state that are fully automated to gather any kind of weather information you can imagine. We get an update from the towers every five minutes, so we have data collected nearby, and is frequently reported. Any weather data you want to look at, you can use our apps on Apple or Android, or our website at mesonet.org, free of charge,” Lee explained.

Some examples of the weather data collected are rainfall, solar radiation, wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, soil temperature, and moisture. He said that rainfall and soil moisture are the most sought-after by members of the agricultural community."

Oklahoma’s Mesonet is, in fact, the gold standard for other states. “There are about thirty-one other states that have some type of state-operated program, but we are the largest in the country and the oldest continually run weather networks in the world. Kentucky and New York have products similar to ours. New York has funding issues, so they’ll build up after a big storm with federal dollars, and then they’ll go away for a few years. We’ve been successful at operating continually for over thirty years.”

With almost 5,000 Comments Submitted- USDA Has Lots to Consider Before Making Fairness Rule Final

The livestock industry flooded the digital inbox of USDA with comments about the USDA’s Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets proposed rule proposed rule in recent days- the comment period ended on September 11, 2024. In this edition of the Beef Buzz- we talk with Tanner Beymer, Executive Director of Government Affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association about the comments they submitted and why this proposed rule is simply a re-run of what has been proposed before and has been shot down by the federal courts before.

Beymer tells us “What we have told them is the same thing that eight different federal circuit courts of appeals have told them over the last 16 years- that when Congress passed the Packers and Stockyards Act back in 1921- that they intended for demonstrations of competitive injuries to be included in order to establish a violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act and so basically we said that we oppose this rule based on the policy established by our members and if they move forward with it- it will directly result in reduced access to alternative marketing arrangements and ultimately cut into cattle producers’ bottom lines.”

Beymer says he is concerned that the USDA will simply push this rule out without giving adequate consideration to the over 4,900 comments that came in during the 75 day comment period. He says that “we are prepared to litigate on the basis of the Administrative Procedures Act- let alone the merits of the rule- if they are not properly following procedure in their mad dash to get this out before the end of the Biden Administration.”

While attending Crop Progress, our own Maci Carter met with Bryan Perry, U.S. Head of Seeds and Traits for BASF Agricultural Solutions. Perry’s realm includes cotton, canola, and soybeans. Perry and BASF are launching a new soybean breeding program to benefit growers across the country.

Perry explained that roughly 98% of the soybean germplasm sold in the U.S. is produced in one of four soybean breeding programs and for the past decade, BASF has been investing and acquiring different sets of diverse germplasm, breeding, in egressing that with current traits and looking at how to innovate traits for the future. Next year, he and the BASF team, will be excited to bring new varieties to market to help growers get the highest yields possible.

Having been involved in agriculture for 26 years, Perry knows that producers are always facing new challenges and has the benefit of learning from three different crop systems. He pointed out that cotton country is different from soybean ground, which is different from canola, but most of the challenges their producers deal with are very similar.

“The producer’s return on investment has become our core focus,” he said. “Ag is a relationship business. There is a lot of trust that goes into it, but we really need to hear what the challenges are from our customers, so we know where to innovate. BASF spends about 11 percent of every dollar that a farmer invests back into research and development.”

Registration is open for the 2024 Rural Renewal Symposium at Lake Murray Lodge Oct. 8-10, 2024 in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

Hosted by Oklahoma State University’s Rural Renewal Initiative, the annual event raises awareness and promotes research to solve the challenges of today’s rural communities.

Students, faculty, community members, nonprofit organizations, corporations, government leaders and tribal leaders nationwide are invited to learn about the latest trends and strategies for rural renewal.

The symposium will feature guest speakers, research presentations, panel discussions and networking opportunities. University faculty and rural community leaders nationwide will address the following topics:

• The impacts of drought on rural communities
• Educational needs in rural areas
• Revitalizing rural capitals
• Rural resilience to extreme weather events
• Mapping health care access in rural Oklahoma
• Rural Oklahoma’s experience with the production and sales of medical marijuana
• Strategies of resilience from the American Indian Culture
• Youth perspectives on rural communities
• Overview of the 2024 Rural Scholars program
• Recognition of the 2024 Rural Renewal Research Prize, Rural Renewal Citizenship and Weckler Prize winners

Private label grocery brands are gaining momentum as changing consumer perceptions and a widening customer base are fueling sales growth and market share gains. Once perceived as inferior to national brands, private label store brands reached an all-time high market share in dollar and unit sales during the first half of 2024 as quality perceptions have improved. Growing acceptance among younger and higher-income consumers is also propelling category growth.

Higher food prices and the inflationary environment over the last two years prompted more consumers to try private label products, given their lower prices and association with value. However, recent research shows consumers are increasingly citing quality, taste and variety as key drivers influencing their repeat purchases.

According to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, grocery retailers are seizing on the growing popularity of private label products, which typically generate higher profit margins than national brands. The report suggests retailers will accelerate efforts to expand their private label offerings, targeting growth segments such as bakery, seafood and beverages.

“Quality perceptions of private label foods have improved considerably since the last surge in usage, which was around the 2008 recession,” said Billy Roberts, food and beverage economist for CoBank. “Private label brands may be less expensive than national brands, but for consumers the notion that they’re trading down or compromising on quality is subsiding. That suggests these brands have greater long-term staying power and grocery retailers will look to capitalize on the opportunity for attractive margins.”  

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