According to the latest Oklahoma drought monitor report, Severe drought or worse conditions decreased to 13.60 percent, down from 14.10 percent last week.

Moderate drought or worse conditions decreased to 39.93 percent, down from 47.52 percent last week.

Abnormally dry or worse conditions decreased to 53.11 percent, down from 75.46 percent last week.

Kansas Drought Monitor shows Moderate Drought decreased from 59.27 percent last week, to 55.03 percent. Texas Drought ratings decreased from 67.65 percent a week ago to 58.37 percent.



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

Click here for the US Drought Monitor details for this week.

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

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, and Farm Director KC Sheperd discussed the report’s findings with Rich Nelson from Allendale, uncovering some notable shifts and potential future trends. 

“You know, we certainly did,” Nelson stated when asked about surprises in the April report. He pointed out that for an April report, significant movement wasn’t largely anticipated. However, the USDA presented a “maybe more aggressive than we expected to see old crop corn stocks,” lowering them from 1.540 billion bushels last month to 1.465 billion bushels in the current report.

Despite ongoing trade discussions and concerns, Nelson highlighted a significant development in the corn sector. “USDA was very aggressive in raising old crop corn exports in this report, so strong numbers as far as that goes.” In contrast, the report left South American corn production in Argentina and Brazil unchanged, which Nelson noted is “where most of the trade currently is at, right now as well. So no surprises on that end.” Similarly, the outlook for China’s corn remained consistent.

Turning to soybeans, the old crop saw a minor adjustment in stocks, decreasing from 380 million bushels to 375 million bushels. Regarding exports, Nelson commented, “USDA left their export numbers unchanged for old crop. That’s relatively reasonable."

During the month of April, the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and Oklahoma Farm Report are spotlighting the 19 Area Stars of Oklahoma FFA, who are among the highest achievers in the organization.

This week, our coverage of the 2025 Oklahoma FFA Star Award Finalists continues with Agriscience competitor Callen Veit of the Morrison FFA chapter representing the Northwest Area.

Veit started his project in eighth grade and has continued it for five years of research at the Oklahoma State University Animal and Food Science. His five research projects focus on improving beef quality and reducing beef waste through the use of natural antioxidants.



Veit shared that his fourth study was his favorite. He said, “I developed a software application that could predict the running shelf life of beef cuts. That was by far my hardest, most time-consuming project, so I do have a little soft spot for it in my heart because it was something that has never been done before and can be implemented in real-world scenarios, so I’m really proud of that project.”

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

“A lot of news is flowing into our grain and oilseed markets this week,” he began. “We’ll start with a little bit of the older news in regard to the prospective plantings report that was released on March 31.”

Corn acres were the big news, with a reported 95 million acres planned for corn production. Eighty-four million acres are planned for soybeans, and wheat at forty-five million acres.

“The big surprise there was corn acres,” Riley explained. “They were higher than what corn market analysts were expecting and higher than even February’s USDA Outlook Conference expectations. We’ve been speaking to, in these reports as we’re entering the spring planting season, how corn was trying to buy acres, and what we saw with that prospective plantings report is that is what is potentially going to be happening.”

On Thursday, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Tom Cole released the following statement after voting in favor of the budget resolution:

“Last November, the American people overwhelmingly voted for a secure border, American energy dominance, investment in the defense of America, a more efficient federal government, and an extension of the Trump Tax Cuts. Through the passage of this budget resolution, we will now be able to begin the drafting stage in order to deliver on these promises,” said Congressman Cole. “The American people are counting on us – and, today, we got one step closer to getting the job done!”

Oklahoma Congresswoman Stephanie Bice also issued a statement on Thursday after the House passed the Buget Blueprint Bill 216 to 214:

“My fellow House Republicans and I are working to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act so that every Oklahoman family will not see a nearly $1,000 tax increase. Americans are counting on us to deliver results, and we need to get this done.”

New Survey Underscores Popularity of Crop Insurance in Farm Community

Ninety-one percent of farmers purchased crop insurance to protect their operations in 2024, with 90 percent saying they’ve purchased insurance for each of the past five years. That’s according to a new national survey of farmers released today by National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS).

Respondents also rated three key components of farm policy – crop insurance, direct government payments, and conservation assistance – on a 10-point scale of importance to their business. Crop insurance was cited as the most important, earning a top score from 58 percent of farmers, compared to 42 percent for government payments and 29 percent for conservation.

“Farmers clearly place a high value on crop insurance, and we’re seeing that first-hand in the marketplace,” explained NCIS President Tom Zacharias. “Nearly 544 million acres were insured last year, up dramatically from just 379 million acres five years ago.”

Zacharias said this popularity matters to everyday Americans.

“Crop insurance helps protect the country’s farmers, which benefits everyone,” he explained, “and because farmers and insurers share in funding the program, it reduces risk for U.S. taxpayers.”