According to the latest Oklahoma Crop Progress and Condition Report, Winter wheat jointing reached 27 percent, down 6 percentage points from the previous year, and 1 point from the five-year average. Conditions were rated 37 percent good to excellent, 34 percent fair, and 29 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 46 percent good to excellent, 25 percent fair, and 29 percent poor to very poor.

In Kansas this week, the 2025 wheat crop stands at 49% good to excellent, up 1 percentage point from last week.

In Texas, winter wheat headed reached 17 percent, equal to the previous year but down 4 points from the five-year average. Winter wheat conditions rated 31 percent good to excellent, up 3 points from last week.

Pasture and range conditions in Oklahoma rated 20 percent good to excellent, 36 percent fair, and 44 percent poor to very poor. Last week’s conditions rated 29 percent good to excellent, 45 percent fair, and 26 percent poor to very poor.

The Texas, Pasture and Range conditions for this week are at 8% good to excellent, down 1 point from last week.

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Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays talked to OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel after the latest USDA Cattle of Feed Report was released on Friday afternoon, and Dr. Peel believes that the numbers reflect the tightening supply of beef cattle.

It held some minor surprises with placements lowered to 82% of last year for February. Marketings met expectations at 91% of last year, and the March 1 Total Cattle-On-Feed number was a tic higher than 2% less than last year.

“For several months, I’ve been expecting to see these numbers start coming down, so I think that part of it is just a function of the fact that we simply don’t have as many cattle,” Dr. Peel shared. “When you add that February would have been the tail end of the border closure from Mexico. More of that would have shown in January, but there may have been a little bit of that still showing up in the February numbers as well.”

He predicted that the struggle for cattle numbers at the feedlot level will become more apparent in the future. He will be watching the Cattle On Feed numbers closely for the next month or two to see if these reductions will be a continuing trend.

Sunflower Fields Draw Unexpected Visitors to Horn Canna Farm: A Rural Agritourism Success Story

Dustin and Nikki Snow were representing their rural agritourism venue located near Carnegie, Oklahoma, Horn Canna Farm, at the Local Ag Summit recently, and were happy to explain to Farm Director KC Sheperd how they diversified their operation. Established in 1928, Horn Canna Farm has been under family ownership and management for, going on, five generations.

In 2019, the Snows were trying to improve their soil with a cover crop and planted sunflowers. “The sunflowers were amazing,” Dustin said. “I was really quite proud of myself because I grew this wonderful crop. That was during COVID, and we decided to invite people out to the farm. We knew it would be a blessing to people because they were stuck in their houses, and it was a safe place to go.”

Located 1.5 hours from Oklahoma City, 3 hours from Tulsa, and 3.5 hours from Dallas, the Snow family was doubtful if many would make the drive, but according to Nikki, it has opened up an entirely different crowd to them.

“Where we didn’t think that anybody would drive that far for the cannas – that is a little bit older demographic of the typical gardener – not necessarily the Instagram crowd. The sunflowers provided this totally different opportunity for people to come out and take their really amazing Instagram photos. They really drew people in ways that we weren’t anticipating.”

The Oklahoma Grazing Lands Coalition is gearing up for a significant event in Shawnee on March 29th, focusing on enhancing grazing management and livestock handling practices. Farm Director, KC Sheperd sat down to visit with Kim Barker, a farmer and rancher from Waynoka, and Rebekah Napier, representing the coalition, shared details about the upcoming workshop.

Kim Barker explained the coalition’s origins and purpose. “Grazing Land Coalition began in the early nineties,” he stated. “We exist to promote better grazing management and improved grazing lands in Oklahoma.”

Rebekah Napier elaborated on the March 29th event. “We’ve invited Wayne Knight from the Holistic Management International Organization and Don Nada, who is a stockmanship expert,” she said. “Wayne will be addressing issues related to grazing land management, and holistic management topics, and Don will be addressing stockmanship issues.” Don Nada, she noted, was mentored by the legendary Bud Williams in proper stockmanship techniques, focusing on effective communication with livestock.

Nearly 270 farm groups, agribusiness associations, and farmer cooperatives are calling on Congress to permanently extend the expiring provisions of Section 199A as lawmakers advance the federal budget process.

In a joint letter to Congress, the coalition emphasized the critical role Section 199A plays in maintaining the competitiveness of farmer co-ops and their members against corporations that benefited from the permanently reduced corporate tax rate under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“Section 199A has been instrumental in ensuring that farmer cooperatives and their members can compete on a level playing field. Each year, co-ops pass approximately 95% of the benefit—more than $2 billion—directly back to farmers across rural America,” the letter states. “This deduction has driven job creation, economic growth, and rural investment. It has provided vital support to producers as they navigate unprecedented challenges, including a pandemic, global instability, extended periods of low commodity prices, and the highest inflation in a generation.”

Without congressional action, Section 199A—along with many other provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affecting farmers—will expire at the end of 2025. The expiration would result in a significantly higher tax burden for farmers and ranchers nationwide. Making Section 199A permanent is essential to providing cooperatives and their members with financial certainty in an increasingly unpredictable economic environment.

For a copy of the letter, click here.

The Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act and the DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act both passed on the House floor today. These bills were sponsored by Congressman Frank D. Lucas (OK-03) along with Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

H.R. 1325, the Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act, updates requirements for NOAA’s Office of Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs so that Congress can monitor how regulations are impacting the growth and improvement of the commercial remote sensing industry, which serves as a crucial resource for other industries such as agriculture, trade, and energy. This will improve crop production and our ability to prepare for natural disasters.

H.R. 1326, the DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act, will help address cross-cutting research challenges between the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture in order to advance crop science, maximize carbon storage, enhance precision agriculture technologies, and more.

Congressman Lucas spoke in favor of these bills on the House floor today. You can watch his remarks by clciking on the graphic above.

Oklahoma Youth Top AFR Agriculture Achievement Contest

Twenty agricultural youth from across Oklahoma have earned top placings in the 2025 American Farmers & Ranchers (AFR) Agricultural Achievement Contest. The contest was conducted in conjunction with the Oklahoma Youth Expo (OYE) in Oklahoma City March 11-21. This year, AFR presented $15,000 in prizes to contestants prior to the Oklahoma Youth Expo Grand Drive March 20. Our coverage of the 2025 OYE was powered by Hilliary Communications.

The AFR Agricultural Achievement Contest recognizes outstanding youth in Oklahoma who display exceptional showmanship skills and possess extensive knowledge of the livestock industry, including production, management, processing and end-product utilization.

“As an organization, we are proud to offer development and scholarship opportunities to the youth of Oklahoma,” said AFR President Scott Blubaugh. “Our annual Agricultural Achievement contest in particular is a great way for us to support the future of Oklahoma agriculture.”

Participation in the AFR Agricultural Achievement Contest is limited to Oklahoma junior and senior high school students who exhibit an animal at OYE. Contestants participate in showmanship rounds with their OYE animal and take a written test about the livestock industry.

The picture above is one of several hundred that we captured at the 2025 OYE- click here for our photo album found on Flickr.