The CattleFax Outlook Seminar, held as part of CattleCon 2025 in San Antonio, Texas, shared expert market and weather analysis this past week. After the seminar, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with Meteorologist Matt Makens to hone in on his weather predictions specific to Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Farm Report’s coverage of CattleCon 2025 is powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

Makens remembered the severe drought conditions that clutched the state from last July through October, and the record rainfall experienced in the first week or two of November that changed everything.

“There was not much optimism until that one storm came through,” Makens reminisced. “If you take that one storm off of the map, imagine what the wheat, surface water, stock ponds, all of that – imagine the position for Oklahoma. That storm really saved us because it came through before La Niña triggered itself.”

La Niña systems deliver dry weather in places like Oklahoma, Southern Kansas, and North Texas. Thus far, the system has danced in and out of existence, but Makens is hoping that those areas will catch more of those singularity storms to provide relief over the next year.

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For more information on our services or to find a location near you, visit our website here.

The OSU/A&M Board of Regents has approved the appointment of Dr. Jim Hess as interim president of Oklahoma State University following a special board meeting Friday in Stillwater. 

“The board is confident that Dr. Hess will provide the steady leadership needed to continue advancing OSU’s momentum and its land-grant mission,” the OSU/A&M Board of Regents said in a statement. “His deep institutional knowledge and dedication to student success make him the ideal choice to guide the university during this time. Dr. Hess has a proven track record of leadership and innovation, and his ability to drive meaningful progress will serve the university well in the months ahead.”

Hess assumes the OSU presidency immediately and will work closely with university leadership to ensure a smooth transition. The board will provide further updates as it moves forward with a search for the university’s next president, following the resignation of Dr. Kayse Shrum. 

A native of Henryetta, Oklahoma, Hess has served the higher education system in Oklahoma for over 43 years, and, in 2023, was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame.

Check out the blue box link below of a story from just a few days back where KC talked with Dr. Hess as he spoke at the OCA Winter Legislative Conference about the OSU Vet Med School status.

Ethan Lane: NCBA Looking for Best Opportunities to Work with New Administration and Congress

As NCBA’s CattleCon 2025 came to a close, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, spoke with Ethan Lane, to get a policy wrap-up from NCBA’s Vice President of Governmental Affairs. Oklahoma Farm Report’s coverage of CattleCon 2025 is powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

The NCBA Board of Directors for both the policy and federation divisions met one last time on Thursday evening, and according to Lane, NCBA’s membership sees the new administration and renewed congress as advantageous opportunities.

“I think the membership that was here this week was really focused on how we take advantage of this opportunity, especially while we have a good price environment and strong consumer demand and are seeing input prices come down a little bit,” he described. “Across the board, I think this feels like opportunity for our producers and they want to make sure we don’t leave any of that on the table.”

Whether focusing on regulatory rollbacks from the Biden administration related to his aggressive attempts to undo the NEPA and Endangers Species Act, or rejuvenating improvements seen in the last Trump administration such as the work on the Packers and Stockyards Act, or on the lack of trade activity over the past four years.

Buck Wehrbein, a Nebraska cattleman, ascended to the role of NCBA president during CattleCon 2025, held this week in San Antonio, Texas. Wehrbein, with a 45-year career in the cattle feeding sector, brings decades of dedication to the industry and leadership experience to NCBA’s top leadership post. Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays talked with the new NCBA President on Thursday during CattleCon in San Antonio.

Our Coverage of the 2025 CattleCon is powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

As president, Wehrbein sees both challenges and opportunities ahead, but he’s confident that NCBA’s unifying presence will remain critical to addressing key issues facing farmers and ranchers. He is particularly passionate about fostering opportunity for the next generation of cattle producers, recognizing their ability to drive innovation and industry progress. “They’re ahead of where we were in my time,” he noted. “They understand the issues, and they’re ready to make a difference.”

Wehrbein’s focus during his time as president is to advocate for profit opportunities while also strengthening the freedom to operate. Securing tax relief provisions and pushing back on regulatory overreach is also crucial during the year ahead.

“The tax issue is critically important for agriculture,” Wehrbein said. “A few years ago, there was talk of doing away with the deduction of expenses, and that would have been devastating. We also have to keep pushing on the Death Tax. With what land values have done, if families are forced to sell or split up land to pay taxes, it would put a lot of people out of business.”

Applications for Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s 2025 Oklahoma Grassroots Rural & Ag Business Accelerators program year are now open until April 4 for rural Oklahoma and agricultural innovators looking to develop their enterprises and deepen their business understanding.

The program offers two distinct pipelines for rural Oklahoma innovators who are looking to develop their ideas, build their entrepreneurial skills, and hone their pitches with help from Oklahoma’s world-class business development ecosystem.

The Activate Oklahoma rural innovation pipeline provides resources and assistance for innovative rural Oklahoma businesses that have an innovation or product that will bring economic opportunities to rural Oklahoma.

The AgCelerate Oklahoma agricultural innovation pipeline is for innovators who have innovations and technologies with an on-farm or production agriculture application that will help diversify opportunities for farmers.

Today, Clean Fuels Alliance America thanked 28 Members of Congress who sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, urging him to put the Renewable Fuel Standard back on track and provide a path for growth of the U.S. biofuel industry. The letter specifically requests EPA to set timely, robust volumes for 2026 and beyond in the “Set 2” rule; to reject abuse of small refinery exemptions; and to avoid proposals that retroactively lower set volumes or erode demand.

“Steady growth in U.S. biofuel production means more American fuel in the marketplace and lower prices at the pump for hardworking families who have spent years suffering under high inflation,” write the Congressional Biofuels Caucus members, led by Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Angie Craig (D-MN). “Moving forward, rural communities are counting on you to maintain this trajectory by providing stable, predictable growth in U.S. biofuel targets and preserving the future integrity of the RFS.”

In December 2024, Clean Fuels filed a lawsuit to compel EPA to establish a timeline for setting the 2026 RFS volumes, which by statute were due in November 2024.

Kurt Kovarik, Clean Fuels Vice President of Federal Affairs, stated, “We appreciate the leadership of Representatives Smith and Craig and the support of the Biofuels Caucus members. U.S. demand for biodiesel and renewable diesel topped 5 billion gallons in 2024. To get the RFS back on track, EPA must set robust and timely advanced and biomass-based diesel volumes that accurately account for domestic production capacity. Domestic production of these clean fuels is essential to meeting America’s energy needs and ensuring farm security and prosperity."

Canola Pioneer Bob Schrock and Wife Lori Honored by Farmers in Hometown Kiowa

Bob and Lori Schrock were two of the 67 souls lost in the American plane crash as they were landing at Reagan National Airport in Washington January 29th.

Their memories were honored as the family returned to Kiowa for a memorial service this past Saturday. The Kiowa community came together Saturday to honor Bob and Lori Schrock, two of the 67 killed when AA Flight 5342 crashed.

Businesses in and around Kiowa closed for the funeral, and dozens of farmers lined the road to pay tribute to the Schrocks. The video above captures the drive down the highway where farmers had equipment parked as a tribute to their friend and neighbor.

A friend said the couple was "always there to help and never expected anything in return."

We remember Bob from a dozen years ago when winter canola was on the rise and farmers in north central Oklahoma and south central Kansas were looking for the perfect rotation crop for winter wheat- and farmers like Schrock and Jeff Scott of Pond Creek were on the cutting edge of showing it was a great choice.

Friend and colleague Jennifer Latzke has covered agriculture on the Kansas side of the line for years- back in the hayday of Canola- she worked for High Plains Journal- and she wrote after the word came that Bob and Lori were on that plane January 29th about her memories of her canola encounter with him. Click here to read.