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 remains at zero percent, we last had extreme drought numbers the week of October 29th when it was 41.57%.



Severe drought or worse is unchanged at 1.85 percent for the third week in a row.

Moderate drought or worse, conditions decreased to 11.89 percent, down from 17.91 percent last week.

Abnormally dry or worse conditions decreased to 43.97 percent, down from 46.70 percent last week.

As for our neighbors, temperatures were warmer than normal. The wettest areas were in eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas and northern Mississippi, where most recorded 150-200% of normal precipitation for the week. Moderate drought expanded in east Texas while severe drought contracted in north Texas and portions of east Texas. It was a dry week for areas of northeastern Kansas. Abnormally dry conditions improved over southwest and southeast Kansas

Kansas Drought Monitor shows Moderate Drought slightly decreased from 28.94 percent last week to 28.00 this week. Texas Drought ratings saw a slight increase from 48.95 percent a week ago to 49.52 percent.

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

Trump Wants Help for Farmers- He Endorses a Plan B- But It Dies on the House Floor

After the so called CR Plus was pulled by House Speaker Mike Johnson- the GOP (including President Elect Trump) pulled together a leaner version of a CR that would have kept the government running into the new year- Most Democrats and 38 Republicans turned it down- it would have needed 60% of the votes because of the last minute nature of the bill.

It included some of the "must haves" for the farm and ranch community.

The trimmed-down CR still included a major disaster aid package. The new version of the bill maintained $30.78 billion in aid to farmers for both natural disasters and economic challenges. The bill also extended the 2018 farm bill through the end of September 2025.

"If you vote no, you are voting to shut down the government. If you vote no, you are voting not helping people in a difficult circumstance. If you vote no, you are voting against helping farmers and ranchers at a difficult time," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Still, 38 GOP members also voted against the bill.

What's next???- Speaker Johnson has one last day before the government shuts down at midnight tonight.

The vision of the Oklahoma Beef Council is to be a positive difference for Oklahoma's farming and ranching families and the greater beef community, and its mission is to enhance beef demand by strengthening consumer trust and exceeding consumer expectations. 

To learn more, visit www.oklabeef.org. Also, don't forget to like its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oklabeef for stories on Oklahoma's ranching families and great beef recipes. 

And Check out this video below that helps you learn more about the Beef Checkoff:

As part of the Oklahoma Pork Council’s (OPC) third annual Give-A-Ham campaign, Seaboard Foods is partnering with OPC for a major 10,250-pound donation of homegrown pork to Oklahoma City beneficiaries. The donation of over 10,000 pounds of pork, which comes from locally raised pigs and processed at Seaboard Foods’ Guymon, OK plant, will provide much-needed assistance to area organizations; The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, Homeless Alliance, and Grace Rescue Mission, among others. During this holiday season, this donation will help those in need and support the local community when we need it most.

Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Davida Gomez, Community Enrichment Specialist at Seaboard Foods to get the details.

“The Oklahoma Pork Council does an amazing job representing the pork producers of Oklahoma,” Gomez said.

Yesterday, December 18, they started at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, and following the donation, OPC and Seaboard Foods caravaned and delivered pork to other area beneficiaries.

Danny Jones on Superior Livestock’s Successful Direct Cattle Marketing Approach

Ron Hays is talking with Superior Livestock President Danny Jones, who says that 2024 has been a tremendous year for both Superior and for the cattle industry.

“We’ve had near record volumes of people to use us and trust us to continue marketing their cattle,” Jones said. “We certainly appreciate that. We are humbled by the opportunity, but we see that it is providing tremendous value in the industry as well as to our customers – both buyers and sellers alike. There are a lot of inefficiencies in the way cattle get marketed in the United States, and we believe that we have a system where everyone who participates wins.”

Superior Livestock is the largest cattle marketing entity by a large margin, including in online sales. The key to its success is direct marketing of load lots directly from the ranch to the end user, which Jones says requires significant volumes of cattle; however, it reduces stress on the cattle to lessen shrinkage and health problems for them.

“At National and Superior, we are involved in everything from the sale barns to private treaty, and of course, our video auctions,” Jones said. “It takes all methods to make it work, but for those with load lots of cattle direct from the country and marketing to a large buyer base – bringing buyer and seller together with that robust price discovery – is where the huge advantages come in.”

The month of January kicks off an exciting new year full of opportunities to support the Angus Foundation’s mission of advancing education, youth and research. With numerous offerings available in conjunction with the Cattlemen’s Congress in Oklahoma City, the upcoming month is set to inspire generous support for the Angus Foundation in 2025. another year of generous support for the Angus Foundation.

Angus Foundation Heifer Package

Each year the Angus Foundation Heifer Package leads off the National Angus Bull Sale. The 2025 heifer package is donated by Pollard Farms of Waukomis, Oklahoma.

The heifer, POLLARD Rita 4012 (AAA*20875621), is a daughter of EXAR Cover the Bases 0819B and out of a productive, young two-year-old that is “on her way to the donor pen,” said Dr. Barry Pollard of Pollard Farms. She stems from the PF W34 Rita 4139, a long-time donor in the Pollard Farms program.

Rita is an elite donor prospect. She exemplifies the phenotypic and numerical balance that Dr. Pollard and his crew strive to produce, ranking in the top 1% for $C, Marb, $G, $AxH and $AxJ; top 2% for $B and $W; top 5% for RADG; top 10% for WW, YW, and HP; top 15% for CED, BW, PAP, and $M; top 20% for RE; and top 25% for CW and $F. 

In January, the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey cattle operations nationwide to provide an up-to-date measure of U.S. cattle inventories.

“This information helps producers make timely, informed business decisions and plan for herd expansion or reduction. It also helps packers and government leaders evaluate expected slaughter volume for future months and determine potential supplies for export, as well as aid in determining program and resource needs in times of emergencies” said Troy Marshall, Oklahoma State Statistician of the NASS Southern Plains Regional Field Office.

“Obtaining the current count of cattle will serve as an important decision-making tool for the entire agricultural industry,” added Marshall.

NASS will mail the questionnaires to all producers selected for the survey in late December. Oklahoma and Texas producers will have the opportunity to report their beef and dairy cattle inventories, calf crop, death loss and cattle on feed information. To ensure all survey participants have an opportunity to respond, NASS interviewers will contact producers who do not respond by mail or online to conduct interviews.

NASS safeguards the privacy of all respondents and publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation can be identified.

Survey results will be published in the Cattle Report to be released on January 31, 2025. These and all NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov/publications. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, visit www.nass.usda.gov or call the NASS Southern Plains Regional Field Office at 1-800-626-3142.

This week on SUNUP, OSU Agriculture Economist Dr. John Michael Riley discusses the highs and lows of current grain and cotton markets.

According to Riley, each year is interesting in its own right, and 2024 was no different. Improvements were expected from the past couple of years which resulted in a bit of a shake-up from the Prospective Plantings Report with far fewer acres of corn and more acres of soybeans than expected; between winter wheat and expected spring and summer wheat crops, there were about 4 million more acres than the market expected as well.

“All of that put a little bit of a damper on the marketplace,” Riley said. “Largely with beans and with wheat. Corn, was a little bit higher coming out of that.”



Once the planting numbers were gathered from producers, corn numbers were up, and soybean and wheat acres were nearly unchanged, which put a damper on the corn market.

#GiveAHam Challenge from Ron- If You Are an OALP Alum- You Are Challenged

Here during the Christmas season- I have been challenged to "Give a Ham" by Tom Layne of HANOR- immediate Past President of the Oklahoma Pork Council. I accepted Tom's challenge- will be giving a ham again this season to the Jeremiah House in Chandler.

AND- I challenge our very own KC Sheperd of Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and Rodd Moesel, the President of Oklahoma Farm Bureau. We also challenge the current class of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program as well as all alums of the program from Class One thru now to give a Ham (or HAMburger if you prefer) to a local charity or even to a local family that you know that needs to be blessed this season.

Give a Ham and be a blessing to someone this Christmas holiday!