The annual School Land Trust lease auctions are running from October 7th in Cimarron County and conclude October 21st in Shawnee. This year's fall lease auctions will include several hundred leases in 32 counties.

The 2024 Lease Auctions begin this morning in Boise City at the Cimarron County Fairgrounds at 9 AM for leases in Cimarron County.

The auctions move to Guymon and the Texas County Fairgrounds tis afternoon at 2 PM to offer leases in Beaver and Texas Counties.

The Commissioners of the Land Office (Land Office) has approximately 750,000 acres of land in 42 counties managed by the Real Estate Management Division. Income earned through leasing these lands is directly distributed to the beneficiaries of the trust.

An agricultural lease is usually for a five-year lease term, the lease can be used for crop production, grazing, hunting, recreation or a combination of these uses.

Approximately one-fifth of the total agriculture leases are appraised and offered for lease each year.

The brochure that gives you information about the eight live auction sites for 2024 can be seen by clicking or tapping here.

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, visited with the President of Certified Angus Beef, John Stika, about domestic beef demand and the taste and quality that CAB brings to the table.

“I think we are all probably very pleased with the position that beef in general is in at the moment,” Stika said. “Grade is pretty good. Probably, the biggest question I continue to get especially from the production sector is, ‘Where are we at with consumer demand?’”

To answer that question, Stika said there is clearly a craving for high-quality beef.

“We continue to see our Certified Angus Beef sales remain extremely strong,” Stika said. “Some of the best months in our history are being experienced right now.”

NPPC Secures 9th Circuit Victory Defending Producers’ Freedom to Farm

In a significant victory for the U.S. pork industry, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in San Francisco, rejected a lawsuit from several activist groups who sought to impose sweeping changes to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) rules.

Last month, NPPC participated in oral arguments before the Ninth Circuit, successfully urging the court to reject the baseless lawsuit. At that hearing, the Ninth Circuit expressed frustration and significant concerns with Food & Water Watch’s approach and candor.

In its decision, the court made clear that EPA’s preferred approach to regulating livestock production, including the formation of its Animal Agriculture Water Quality Subcommittee, which includes representatives of the pork industry, to study water quality issues is the appropriate path for EPA and does not warrant throwing out decades of established law. As the court explained, EPA “deemed it prudent to first seek information about how best to tackle the problem before directing resources towards” new regulations. The court declared this process, which NPPC has been a close partner with the Biden Administration, “reasonable and hardly at odds with the Clean Water Act’s requirements,” as Food & Water Watch claimed.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) today welcomed news that the labor strike affecting East and Gulf Coast ports has come to an end, allowing port operations to resume. The two organizations emphasized the importance of quickly finalizing contract negotiations to provide long-term certainty for U.S. dairy exporters.

“We are grateful to the Biden Administration for its important role in getting the parties to return to work and resume port operations,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “This is a crucial step in ensuring that U.S. dairy products can continue to reach our international customers. We encourage both sides to continue their negotiations and reach a final agreement that protects the supply chain and strengthens the reliability of American exports.”

The dairy industry has been severely affected by the disruptions, as $1.7 billion in dairy exports flow through the East and Gulf coast ports each year. The three-day work stoppage has had ripple effects throughout the export supply chain, with dairy exporters reporting canceled sales and added time and costs to reroute products. 

“We still need the contract negotiations to conclude swiftly,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF. “International customers of U.S. dairy products need certainty that their orders will arrive on time, and dairy producers can’t afford further disruptions.”

Dairy exporters experiencing challenges with rerouting or repositioned equipment should reach out to Tony Rice (trice@nmpf.org) with questions.

Fertilizer costs are weighing on many farmers this fall, as they wrap up the 2024 harvest and look forward to next season. Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, says one of the most important decisions you can make now is to keep your wits about you in the process.

“Don’t get caught up in a fire sale mentality,” he encourages. “Emotional decisions based on what you hear at the coffee shop or read on social media rarely pay in positive outcomes. Instead, take a more controlled, calibrated approach to reducing fertilizer costs.”

Here are nine additional thoughts from Ferrie on how to approach your corn and soybean fertility program for 2025:

1. Figure out what you currently spend on fertilizer. With the facts in hand, you’ll be able to make decisions based on reality and not feelings.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Oklahoma Grassroots Rural & Ag Business Accelerators program has added two innovative rural Oklahoma companies to the program’s Activate Oklahoma business accelerator program for fall 2024.

Oklahoma-based companies CASSIE and Invision Smart Windows will join five graduates of the Oklahoma Grassroots Rural & Ag Business Accelerator program’s 2024 AgCelerate agricultural innovation pre-accelerator cohort for business development, innovation development and mentorship.

CASSIE has created an automated filtration system that focuses on dust and airborne virus deduction, aiming to be the leader of air filtration systems for healthcare and manufacturing facilities.

Invision Smart Window has developed the innovative window technology adjustable glass color smart window. The window has applications in greenhouses, solar panels, vehicles and construction.