On October 11, 2024, the USDA released the latest Crop Production report. Associate Farm Editor Stevie White had the chance to talk with USDA’s Troy Marshall about the report.

“We didn’t see a whole lot of revisions to acres, so the main focus is looking at those yields and production,” Marshall said.

In Oklahoma, Marshall noted what many other reports have: deteriorating conditions. Cotton yields and overall production decreased 17% this month to 442 pounds per acre. Corn harvest is nearly complete, but it also shows a decrease in yield from 139 bushels to 136 bushels per acre – a 2.2% drop in the overall production of corn. Sorghum yields decreased from 43 bushels per acre to 38 bushels per acre which caused an 11.6 percent decrease in overall production. Soybeans share a similar story with 26 bushels per acre in September dropping to 25 bushels per acre this month which resulted in a 3.8% reduction in overall production.

He brushed over hay production as well, saying, “For all hay in Oklahoma, we saw a slight uptick in yield, rounding up to almost a full 0.1 ton per acre which resulted in a 5 percent increase in the overall production of all hay types in October.”

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Lynsey Such with Allendale discussed the latest agricultural report, highlighting reduced wheat supply and potential impacts of erratic weather on crops. She also noted increased beef production and anticipated higher beef imports in 2024 and 2025, predicting a tight supply situation to continue into early 2025. Lynsey expected the next couple of months to be quiet due to the holidays, with adjustments to world supplies expected in the new year.

“Wheat actually did give us some excitement on this report,” Such said. “We know that we are working with a reduction of supply for this wheat stock. We have higher domestic use, and we saw lower ending stocks today. Production was reduced by 11 million bushels, to now, 1.97 billion bushels, while imports were increased by 10 billion bushels. This was due to really strong early-season activity.

“What I would say was a little more interesting was on the world side for wheat. USDA’s outlook shows lower supplies and lower consumption. Global wheat production is expected to be down due to lower production in the EU. This is offset by Ukraine’s higher production and Russia’s large beginning stocks. So we did see a rise in global ending stocks for the global wheat picture to now, 257 million tons, but I do want to point out that this is still one of the lowest levels since 2015 to 2016. So global wheat is a story for us when it comes to prices in the future.”

USDA raised corn production and yields on Friday, bumping corn to 15.2 billion bushels, while slightly lowering soybean production to 4.582 billion bushels.

NCBA’s Kent Bacus: The Case to Extend the Death Tax Exemption

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is talking with National Cattlemen’s Association executive director of government affairs, Kent Bacus, about the case for extending the death tax exemption. This is part two of Ron’s conversation with Bacus concerning the tax study that NCBA conducted over the course of a year and a half, and the findings were just recently released. Part one of the conversation can be found here.

With the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act set to expire at the end of 2025, NCBA collected this survey data to better understand how key tax provisions, such as Death Tax relief and business deductions, impact family-owned cattle operations. The study revealed some great cases to be made regarding the need to extend the exemptions on the death tax.

Of the 1200 individuals who responded to NCBA’s survey, one-third had to pay the estate tax. Of that number, 35 percent had paid it more than once. Bacus said, “Talk about getting kicked when you are down. You are having to deal with the loss of a loved one, and the government shows us with a big tax bill.”

Also concerning is that while the current estate tax relief is set to expire at the end of 2025, sixty-one percent of survey respondents indicated that they would be impacted if the estate tax threshold was reduced back to $5 million per individual or $10 million per couple.

U.S. food and farm facts are featured in a new ag literacy resource available from the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. How and where food in America is grown and who purchases it are at your fingertips in the new Food and Farm Facts book and pocket guide.

“Curiosity among consumers about food and farming in the U.S. – how our food systems works – remains high,” said Foundation Chairman Zippy Duvall, who also serves as president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. “Food and Farm Facts provides a snapshot of how and why farmers and ranchers do what we do to produce food, fiber and renewable fuel, as well as some pretty impressive facts about agriculture’s impact.”   

Food and Farm Facts is organized by section (Consumers, Modern Farmers, Trade & Economics, Environment and Production) and helps answer questions that learners of all ages may have about food and farming in the U.S. including “Where does our food come from and who grows it?” The 32-page, full-color book features updated facts from the most recent Census of Agriculture and other sources, in addition to easy-to-read graphics that can be used in a variety of ways to help increase agricultural literacy. The book would be a valuable resource in the classroom, at fairs and events, for student leadership organizations and when creating social media posts.

Copies of Food and Farm Facts may be purchased for $5 each (up to 10 copies). A price break is available for purchases of 11 or more books ($4 each). A pocket guide version of Food and Farm Facts (100 copies for $15) that features several popular infographics from the book is also available. An online learning module for students featuring Food and Farm Facts will be released later this fall.



Visit https://www.agfoundation.org/ to learn more about ag literacy and additional educational resources.

FFA members and supporters from across the country will celebrate agriculture and agricultural education during the 97th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis. This time-honored tradition will be held Oct. 23-26.

The National FFA Organization is the nation’s premier school-based youth leadership development organization with more 1 million members and 9,000 chapters in rural, suburban, and rural schools in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. FFA’s mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

“Our FFA mission is to grow the next generation of leaders who will feed, fuel, clothe and sustain our world,” says Mandy Hazlett, associate director, convention & events management programs. “Throughout the year FFA is focused on career success and personal development for every student member, no matter what path they choose after high school graduation. The 97th National FFA Convention & Expo is a culmination of hard work throughout the members’ year as well as a prime opportunity to network with others from throughout the country.”

The National Convention & Expo is the largest gathering of FFA members each year. Attendees have the opportunity to compete, explore more than 350 careers, meet other members from across the country, shape the future of the organization, enjoy entertainment opportunities, and more.

Oklahoma State University hosted the majority of the 2024 National FFA officer candidates at the end of September in the new Ag Hall.

Oklahoma Farm Report broadcasters Ron Hays and Maci Carter teamed up to interview all 31 of the 37 candidates that showed up for the two days of training ahead of arriving in Indianapolis this coming Saturday for the process that will end with the announcement of the new National officer team of six of these candidates on Saturday, October 26th.

You can click on the Blue Button to jump to our Blue Green Gazette section of our website to check out these interviews- including Ron's visit with Kylee Falasco, the Oklahoma representative from Weatherford.

We are pleased to announce that our coverage next week in Indy will be powered by Oklahoma Farm Bureau. It could be a historic week for Oklahoma FFA as we have Star Finalists in all four categories and are tied for first in the states when it comes to the National Agriscience Fair- and are ranked second in the states when it comes to National Proficiency Finalists.

Community Spirit at Tadlock Stockyard: Raising $37,000 for Hurricane Victims

It has often been said that there are no better people than those in the farming and ranching community, and a sale barn in Forest, Mississippi, may have proven just that.

Tadlock Stockyard posted their intentions to pass a hat around at their next weekly sale on Facebook to allow attendees to donate to Hurricane Helene relief efforts. A regular customer at Tadlock’s weekly cattle sale saw the post and offered to donate a Brangus heifer to the cause.

The sale, held on Monday, October 7, was one to remember. Our own Stevie White caught up with the Stockyard’s owner, David Tadlock to get the story.

“We sold that heifer eighteen different times,” Tadlock said. “The people that bought the heifer would say, ‘Resell the heifer.’ We also passed the hat around for everyone to throw cash in and when the dust settled, we gathered up $33,600 in about five minutes. That shows you that there are still some good people in the world!"