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 decreased to 6.82 percent, down from 7.56 percent last week.

Severe drought or worse has increased to 33.22 percent, up from 31.78 percent last week.

Moderate drought or worse, decreased to 56.51 percent, down from 61.10 percent last week.

Abnormally dry or worse have decreased to 74.25 percent, down from 78.95 percent last week.

As for our neighbors, Tennessee and Texas were notable for seeing large drought changes in both directions, with Tennessee noting drought deterioration in central and eastern areas and improvement in the west. Similarly, Texas saw improvement in some northern and central areas, along with a large expansion of abnormal dryness (D0) in the east-central part of the state. In Kansas, rainfall provided widespread drought relief.

Kansas Drought Monitor shows less than half of the state in Moderate Drought - 46.36% this week versus 65.05% last week. Texas Drought ratings saw a very slight reduction from 34.06% a week ago to 33.15%.

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

National Livestock was founded in 1932 in Oklahoma City. National’s Marketing Division offers cattle for sale weekly at the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City. The Finance Division lends money to ranchers across several states for cattle production. The Grazing Division works with producers to place cattle for grazing on wheat or grass pastures. 

One of the newest additions to the National Family is Dakota Moss- and Livestock Risk Services.

National also owns and operates other livestock marketing subsidiaries including Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction in Ada, Oklahoma, OKC West Livestock Market in El Reno, Oklahoma, and the nation’s premier livestock video sale, Superior Livestock Auction. National offers customers many services custom made for today’s producer. To learn more, click here for the website or call the Oklahoma City office at 1-800-310-0220.

Farm Director Ron Hays is featuring comments from Dr. Dale Woerner, Cargill Endowed Professor in the Department of Animal and Foor Sciences at Texas Tech University from a recent conversation he is featured in on the Angus at Work Podcast. Woerner is talking about problems with the current yield grade system.

Yield grade is a calculation that was developed using statistical regression techniques. Ultimately, the equation used hot carcass weight, ribeye area, fat thickness of the twelfth rib, then internal (pelvic, kidney, and heart fat). As those measurements are inputted into the equation, it computes a number scale ranging from 1 to 5 in yield grade. Yield grade 1 indicates the leanest, highest-yielding cattle and 5, the fattest, lowest-yielding cattle.

Dr. Woerner explained that the current yield grade was developed from research conducted in the late 1950s, was completed and published in 1960, and then implemented in 1962. Since then, cattle have changed drastically.

“We’ve gone from purebred Angus and Hereford cattle in the mix of cattle that were used to develop the yield grade equation,” he said. “Clearly, we have evolved from that, not only in cattle genetics and type, but also in management.”

This Week on SUNUP: John Michael Riley Says Soybeans are Strong in the Market

This week on SUNUP, OSU Agriculture Economist Dr. John Michael Riley discusses this week’s grain markets after the last WASDE report.

Riley said that there weren’t many surprises on the latest report. Wheat has been under pressure lately due to weak U.S. wheat exports, having dropped about forty cents after it surpassed the $6 mark. He said that winter wheat is about 25% planted nationwide, and 16% within the state.

About corn, he said that there is a very choppy market, despite alternately strong export numbers for U.S. corn. “That has helped boost the marketplace up about fifteen cents from the recent lows, but still only about three or four cents over the past few days.”

Soybeans are strong with nothing to pinpoint. Exports aren’t very strong, but prices are up about fifty cents from the recent lows.

“Cotton is also strong,” Riley said. “It has been working higher over the last few days. Some of that has to do with weakness in the dollar. Anytime we get a weaker dollar, we export so much of our cotton, that is benefits from those positive exchange rates.”

Riley also spoke about the Rural Economic Outlook Conference slated for October 16. 

75 percent of farmers are already impacted by climate change or worried about its impacts, and 71 percent of them report reduced yields as a major concern. 6 out of 10 have already experienced significant revenue loss due to weather events out of the norm recently. As part of the solution, farmers count on innovation: 75 percent are open to implementing new technologies to better cope with climate change. Desire for better yields, resilient farms, and protected livelihoods are driving interest and adoption of more regenerative and technological approaches to farming. These are some of the key findings from the 2024 Farmer Voice survey, a study among 2,000 farmers across Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Kenya, Ukraine, and the United States, conducted by global market research firm Kynetec on behalf of Bayer.

It reveals the challenges, aspirations, and needs of farmers in times of climate change, digitalization, and economic and political volatility. Rodrigo Santos, Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and President of the Crop Science Division, said: “The Farmer Voice study underlines that farmers continue to face accelerating economic and environmental challenges in their important work – providing food to the world. They want innovation to help them do their jobs better, and an environment in which they can increasingly turn towards regenerative practices making food systems more resilient – to the benefit of the planet, food security, and their livelihoods alike.” 

Farmers’ most prevalent current challenges are driven by volatility and uncertainty. With regard to the next 3 years, more than a third reported weather volatility or extreme weather events (37%) and price/income volatility (36%) among their top-3 challenges. While these remained stable compared to 2023 findings, this year’s survey revealed a notable increase of political or regulatory decisions as a key concern, with 29 percent of farmers citing that as a top-3 challenge, double the amount compared to last year. This corresponds with the answers they gave when asked what would most benefit their farm looking ahead.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance issued two updated reports this week on the current state of the radical vegan and animal rights activist movement in the U.S. The Major Animal Activist Groups Web highlights the strategic, interconnected nature of the animal activist movement. The Radical Vegan Activism report details trends in activism and illuminates the true intentions of key players in the movement. View the reports here.

“Meat, dairy, poultry, eggs, and seafood play a critical role in our health and nutrition. We cannot afford to lose them as options on grocery store shelves or restaurant menus,” said Hannah Thompson-Weeman, president and CEO, Animal Agriculture Alliance. “This is the goal of radical vegan and animal rights groups: to put livestock and poultry farmers out of business and eliminate consumer choice. These reports outline how highly connected, well-funded, and extreme these groups truly are, which is highly valuable information to everyone involved in animal agriculture and food production – and anyone who values food choices.”

The Radical Vegan Activism report also states that nearly one-third of animal rights extremist attacks in recent years have targeted farmers and food workers, including 386 actions taken against in agriculture in 2023 and 33 against food services. Documented direct actions from 2023 include 61 incidences of vandalism, 32 criminal trespasses, 29 cases of animal theft, and 23 incidences of harassment and intimidation.

405Vet in Oklahoma City offers services for not only your cat and dogs, but also your bearded dragons, chickens, and even exotic pets like bunnies, reptiles, birds, small mammals, and oddly enough…the occasional skunk. Farm Director KC Sheperd spoke with OSU Graduate, Dr. Jarrod Roach, D.V.M, about the practice and some exciting new things they can offer for pets.

KC and Dr. Roach spoke briefly on the wide variety of dietary needs across different breeds and the various living conditions of those breeds from large outdoor farm dogs to small, pampered house dogs.

“There are complete pros and cons to every different type of dog food,” Dr. Roach said. “Each dog’s system is so different from the next. So many dogs now have food allergies, including both farm dogs and house dogs. There can be a lot of trial and error in finding which food works best for an individual dog.”

The big news is that 405Vet is now offering Chemotherapy treatments for cancer patients with the help and guidance of a boarded veterinary oncologist. Dr. Roach said, “Not every vet clinic offers chemotherapy. That is one we have started offering here, recently.”