Senior Farm and Ranch Director Ron Hays emceed the 2024 Diamond Hats Gala, and while there, he caught up with the winner of the Oklahoma Ag Woman of the Year Award, Kylee Deniz, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Pork Council. The Diamond Hats Gala is to raise money to benefit 4-H and FFA members through scholarship opportunities, mentoring programs, and contributions to their projects.

“To think of the women who have won this award in the past makes it more special, and to receive an award from agriculturists is hard to put into words,” Deniz said.

Deniz, an OSU graduate, has been a leader in the Oklahoma Pork Council for three and a half years, after serving many years on the National Pork Board. Having been a youth showing a pig before, she has focused her sights on elevating ag youth in the state.

She said, “I had a great experience through 4-H and FFA, and I met so many people. Because of that path, I am here in Oklahoma and getting to serve Oklahoma’s pork producers in this role. Youth are important to me, our board of directors, and our staff as well.”

The Oklahoma Wheat Commission promotes greater use of wheat in domestic and international markets through research, market development and public education.

Our Commissioners develop policy and programs, direct the funding, represent producer interests and, of course, promote Oklahoma wheat!

Learn more about the Oklahoma Wheat Commission by clicking here for their website.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays talked to OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel after the latest USDA Cattle of Feed Report was released on Friday afternoon and reflected no surprises.

The September USDA Cattle on Feed Report pegged August Placements at 98.6% of last year; Marketings in August were 96.4% of last year, and the on-feed total as of September 1, was 100.6% of last year.

“Placements is always the wildcard in this. It’s hard to know the timing of what’s coming in,” Dr. Peel said. “This time, at least collectively, the average trade guess was right on the money.”



Because of that, he doesn’t expect the report to impact the market much. “If you looked at the cattle futures trade last week, it was stellar. We’ve kind of been in the doldrums since about the first of August, with the stock market shock that hit all the markets.”

According to Dr. Peel, the markets are moving past that event as both feeder and fed cattle were very strong last week in terms of futures trade. He expects a rise in the cash markets as well.

Oklahoma Wheat Commission Holds Their 2024 Best of Wheat Baking Contest on Final Day of State Fair in OKC

Kendallyn Gossen from Corn, OK in Washita County, placed first in the Other Wheat Bread Category of the Junior Division at the State “Best of Wheat” Bread Baking contest held on September 22nd at the Oklahoma State Fair. Her perfectly braided, fine textured entry of “Challah Bread” which was baked flawlessly throughout topped the Junior division also winning her the title of Grand Champion with her entry.(She is pictured above after she won the Junior Championship)

Sheila Blankenship from Hooker, OK in Texas County, placed first in the Other Wheat Breads Category of the Senior Division at the State “Best of Wheat” Bread Baking contest. Her entry of “Sourdough Bread” was made into an impeccable artisan loaf that was suitable for any picture-perfect display. Her consistent texture of the loaf throughout that had exquisite flavor allowed her loaf to be tapped in the final round of competition giving her the title of the Senior division Grand Champion with her entry.

The contest is an annual event sponsored by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission and Oklahoma State Fair. “We had 94 entries from 45 counties this year, all champion or reserve champion winners in the county contests,” said Don Scheiber, Chairman of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. “We had record breaking attendance and always enjoy the opportunity to award the top bread bakers in the state.”

Best Rains for Many in Oklahoma Since August 11th

It was not a total blanket across the state of rainfall- but lots of locations that desperately needed rainfall got it over the summer to fall weekend- the map above gives us a look at rainfall totals since this past Friday morning.

Norman won the rainfall totals championship with close to five inches of rain- areas around Norman and to the southwest of that Mesonet station got huge amounts of rain.

A lot of northwest Oklahoma got significant totals- and that should allow farmers in those areas to move forward with wheat planting.

You can click on the map above- as it is linked to the Mesonet three day rainfall totals as of early this morning- so you can check specific locations across Oklahoma.

A BONUS link for you is the current air temperature map- as of 5:15 AM this morning- there is a thirty degree spread from 44 degrees at Kenton to 74 degrees in Idabel on this first full day of fall, 2024.

On Friday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved final guidance regarding the listing for trading of voluntary carbon credit derivative contracts. It provides voluntary carbon market guidance.

The Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance expressed their approval by publishing the following statement, in part: We appreciate Chairman Behnam’s leadership in ensuring these markets meet the needs of producers and look forward to reviewing the CFTC’s new guidance on criteria for high–quality credits. As proposed in December, this would be a major step forward for building transparency, integrity and confidence in the marketplace.

Chuck Conner, president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives echoed that approval in this excerpt from his full statement, "This guidance will provide valuable direction as the carbon markets continue to develop by helping ensure that those exchange-traded contracts are credible and effective price discovery tools."

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is awarding more than $35 million in grants to 15 independent meat processors in 12 states to increase processing capacity, spur competition to expand market opportunities for U.S. farmers and create jobs in rural areas. This marks the final investment in the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP), funded by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which was first launched in 2022.

The investments announced today also advance the President’s Investing in America agenda and support the Administration’s Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain, which dedicates resources to expand independent processing capacity.

“For the past four years, the Biden-Harris Administration has advanced a sustainable vision of agriculture that prioritizes the needs of the hardworking producers and small business owners who keep rural communities strong,” Secretary Vilsack said. “Through investments like these, USDA is working to give farmers and ranchers a fair chance to compete in the marketplace, which will increase local food options and lower grocery costs for American families.”

Since the beginning of the program, USDA has provided 74 awards totaling more than $325 million through MPPEP to expand processing capacity and strengthen the food supply chain.

High Plains RC&D, Beaver County Conservation District and Comanche Pool Prairie Resource Foundation are pleased to host Ranch Conversations on September 26.

The focus of the Beaver Ranch Conversations will be to provide information to producers and community leaders about state and federal programs and possible funding opportunities and other assistance that might be available to them.

Agricultural producers and community leaders from neighboring states, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico, are encouraged to attend.



Lunch is compliments of the Crew at the Beaver County Stockyards and will be at the Stockyards Cafe!

Oklahoma Congressman Kevin Hern Says Voters Need to Vote GOP to Keep Trump Tax Cuts

The following is an Op-Ed written by Oklahoma Congressman Kevin Hern:

Most Americans have not heard a single word about the most important thing happening in Washington, DC, this year.

While many are familiar with President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), few know that some of the most important tax cuts in that bill are set to expire at the end of 2025. Some of the provisions have already expired.

This means that whoever wins this election – both in Congress and in the White House – will control what happens to the tax code next. That sentence should both scare and motivate you.

Over the past few months, I’ve met with leaders around the state to discuss the urgent need to renew the TCJA. It’s no secret that those cuts have benefited millions of Americans by lowering income taxes and slashing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.