USDA's weekly Crop Progress Report shows that nationwide, the US Corn crop has only declined 1 point since last week's 65 percent good to excellent rating. Soybeans are unchanged at 64 percent good to excellent - Cotton fell 6 points this week to 31 percent good to excellent and Sorghum improved 1 point to 45 percent good to excellent.

Winter Wheat in the Southern Plains is now 22 percent planted in Oklahoma with 7 percent of our crop emerged, 32 percent planted in Kansas with 10 percent of their crop emerged, and Texas is ahead at 43 percent planted with 15 percent of their crop emerged.



Oklahoma's spring-planted crop conditions mostly improved slightly except for cotton which fell 6 points. Corn conditions were unchanged at 61 percent good to excellent. Soybean conditions improved 6 points to 42 percent good to excellent. Cotton conditions rated 26 percent good to excellent, down 2 points from a week ago, and Sorghum conditions rated 62 percent good to excellent, up 3 points from a week ago.

The Oklahoma Corn crop is now 62% harvested versus 39% at this point a year ago - while the Oklahoma Grain sorghum crop is now 34% harvested versus 17% a year ago.

In Kansas, corn declined 7 percentage points to 31 percent good to excellent and sorghum improved 1 percentage point to 39 percent good to excellent. Cotton improved 9 points to 49 percent good to excellent. Conditions for soybeans declined 1 point to 50 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, and Sorghum conditions unchanged at a 47 percent good to excellent rating. Cotton conditions declined to 20 percent good to excellent from last week's 22 percent rating. Soybean conditions declined to a 29 percent good to excellent rating from last week's 34 percent good to excellent rating.

Pasture and Range Conditions for the 48 states improved one point from last week to 26 percent good to excellent. Oklahoma has declined 2 points to a 31 percent good to excellent rating - Kansas declined 6 points to 27 percent good to excellent - Texas improved 3 points to a 20 percent good to excellent rating. Missouri now stands at 45% Good to Excellent- off three points this week versus last.

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.

Two USDA reports important for grains were released on September 30, quarterly Grain Stocks and the annual Small Grains Summary. Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with USDA National Agricultural Statistics Expert Troy Marshall to discuss the contents of the reports.

Wheat production increased significantly in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, which Marshall attributed to weather conditions. Oklahoma showed 3.5 million planted acres in 2024, 2.85 million acres harvested, and 38 bushels to the acre yielded, and 108.3 million bushels of wheat were produced in the state.

While the 2024 Oklahoma crop is well above both the 2023 and 2022 crops that both came in at 68 million bushels- the 2024 crop is more in line with the crops harvested in 2019-2021- which ranged from 104 to 115 million bushels. The 2024 yield of 38 BPA was slightly under the 39 to 40 bushel per acre yields seen in that 2019-2021 period.

Texas, in 2024, planted 5.5 million acres, down from 6.5 last year. Harvested acres totaled 2.6 million acres, up from 2.1 million last year; however, yield was down 6 bushels per acre from the 2023 numbers to 31 bushels per acre this year. Texas produced a total of 80.6 million bushels of wheat, compared to 77.7 million bushels last year.

Kansas planted 7.6 million acres of wheat, down from 8.1 million in 2023. 7.15 million of those acres were harvested which is up from 5.75 million acres last year. This year’s yield was 43 bushels per acre as compared to 35 bushels per acre in 2023. Wheat production was up to 307 million bushels, a 53% increase from last year.

Cattlemen’s Congress Event Breakdown: Looking Ahead to the Fifth Congress in January 2025

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with Executive Vice President of Cattlemen’s Congress Bray Haven to get an update on the 2025 show slated for January 4-16, 2025, in Oklahoma City.

The mission of the Cattlemen’s Congress is to be an exhibitor-friendly show for cattlemen, by cattlemen. All of the major breed associations are involved and for many of them, Cattlemen’s Congress is already one of the largest shows of the year. Several have added ancillary events to the 2025 show’s lineup.

“Every year, it seems like someone wants to add something new,” Haven said. “People are grasping the fact that we’ll have cattlemen from all over the country here, and we need to be having our meetings and talking about issues and encouraging people to participate in all of the things that we have going on in the first two weeks of January.”

Haven encouraged anyone interested in agriculture, especially beef cattle to go and spend a day exploring at Cattlemen’s Congress as there is something for everyone. “It is really unique,” he said. “You won’t find anywhere, probably in the world, that you can see the diversity in the number of purebred, seedstock cattle that people are trying to bring out the best genetics in, all in one place.”

Longshoremen at ports along the East and Gulf Coasts are set to strike when their current labor contract expires at midnight tonight.  

U.S. Meat Export Federation Vice President for Economic Analysis Erin Borror believes their will be a significant economic impact with a shutdown on the U.S. meat and livestock industries. 

Forty-five percent of waterborne pork shipments and 30% of waterborne beef shipments move out of the affected ports at a pace of about $100 million worth of product weekly. Much of that product is handled by smaller companies serving very specific markets such as the Caribbean or Central and South America as well as variety meats like beef livers to Egypt. These are routes that do not have economically viable shipping alternatives.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau has selected Kinsey Westwood to lead the organization’s public policy department as senior director of public policy and has tapped Gage Milliman to join the policy department as a director of public policy.

Westwood has served as OKFB’s senior public policy consultant since 2023 in addition to a previous stint with the organization from 2011-2012. In her new role, Westwood will oversee the advocacy efforts of Oklahoma’s largest general farm organization at the state legislature and through the rulemaking and regulatory processes. Westwood will also work with Oklahoma’s congressional delegation and federal agencies to advance OKFB’s grassroots policies at the federal level.

“I am excited to help Oklahoma’s family farmers and ranchers by amplifying their voices and grassroots policy through Farm Bureau’s advocacy efforts,” Westwood said. “I am proud to help make a difference for Oklahoma agriculture through OKFB’s public policy initiatives across the state and in Washington, D.C.”

Milliman will advocate for OKFB’s grassroots member-developed policies at the state Capitol and beyond as director of public policy. Milliman will also work to connect Farm Bureau members from around the state with the legislative process.

Milliman previously served as the northeastern field representative for the organization since 2015 where he worked as a liaison between 14 northeastern county Farm Bureaus and the state organization. Milliman’s agriculture background includes raising registered Charolais cattle with his wife, Trista, and son, Henry, in Nowata County.

“After nine years of working with our members and the agricultural community as a member of the OKFB field staff, I feel like I can continue to be an asset to Oklahoma Farm Bureau in our Public Policy Department,” Milliman said. “I’m looking forward to getting started in my new role.”

Grants totaling more than $158 million have been approved by the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board to bring reliable and affordable high-speed internet service to some 28,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma.

Funded through the American Rescue Plan Act Capital Projects Fund (ARPA CPF), the board gave unanimous approval to 50 grants with 12 internet service providers (ISPs) for projects in 28 counties at a meeting on Thursday afternoon. The grants will be coupled with more than $109 million in matching funds from the ISPs.

Dr. Jim Meek, board chair, praised the work of the Oklahoma Broadband Office (OBO) and the internet service community.

“The partnership between the broadband office and our internet service providers has been essential in advancing vital projects for communities across the state,” Meek said. “These grants will significantly enhance access to high-speed internet, improving economic opportunities and quality of life for tens of thousands of Oklahomans.”

Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan Round 4 Regional Meetings

The Oklahoma Water Resources Board is pleased to announce the fourth in a series of stakeholder input meetings, in locations across the state, focused on the 2025 update of the OCWP. While anyone may attend, we request participation from local officials, water utility suppliers, regulated industry, commercial agricultural producers, economic development entities, and representing organizations.



Round 4 will get feedback from participants on:

• Potential water management strategies to address local water challenges
• Preview policy ideas that have been collected throughout the engagement process.