The Oklahoma State University A&M Board of Regents voted Friday to appoint Dr. Jim Hess as the 20th president of Oklahoma State University.

The board’s decision, which removes the interim title Hess has held since February, appoints Hess to a three-year term and came during its regular meeting at Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell.

“Dr. Hess has proven himself as the right leader at the right time for Oklahoma State University,” Board Chairman Jimmy Harrel said. “His deep understanding of OSU’s land-grant mission gives our board complete confidence in his ability to lead the university forward. Every day, Dr. Hess demonstrates his commitment to putting students first in everything he’s doing, which aligns perfectly with OSU’s mission.”

The Speaker of the Oklahoma House, Kyle Hilbert cheered the news- as did Michael Kelsey of the Oklahoma Cattlemen. Click on their names for more.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau works to improve the lives of all Oklahomans by supporting our state’s agriculture community. As Oklahoma’s largest general farm organization led by Oklahoma farmers and ranchers, OKFB takes grassroots values and advocates for agriculture at the state Capitol and in Washington, D.C., to ensure our way of life continues for generations to come. Farm Bureau hosts leadership events, supports our state’s agricultural youth and connects consumers with agriculture in order to build a brighter future for our state. Become an OKFB member today online at okfarmbureau.org/join. Together, we are rural Oklahoma.

Oklahoma’s wheat crop has experienced a challenging season, marked by initial drought stress and difficulties in fall planting, according to Dr. Amanda De Silva, Oklahoma State University (OSU) small grains extension specialist. Speaking at the Chickasha Wheat forage and field day with our own Maci Carter, Dr. Silva provided an insightful overview of the current state of the crop and offered guidance for producers.

Reflecting on the early conditions, Dr. De Silva noted, “Our crop was really stressed before we got all this rain. So the crop is a little bit short. When you look at it from outside, it looks nice, but then when you get close, you’ll see it’s a little bit thinner than we would like it to be.”

However, she remained optimistic given the circumstances, stating, “Considering all that, I think it looks good. And with the moisture that we are getting now, I’m more hopeful that we can get a good crop this year. It's gonna be a bumper crop, but I think the rain will really help us.”

OCA’s Michael Kelsey Says the Heat Has Been Turned Up on Mexico in Battle against New World Screwworm

This past week, Executive Vice President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, Michael Kelsey, was one of four commodity group leaders from Oklahoma who had the chance to dialogue with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins when she was in Oklahoma City.

On Saturday, Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays talked with Kelsey about that meeting and the followup comments from Rollins that included a letter she has sent to her Mexican counterpart.

Last week when Brooke Rollins was in Oklahoma City, Kelsey took the opportunity to ask the Secretary about New World Screwworm. “She was fully engaged, completely aware and knowledgeable and even able to share a lot of the strategies that they are looking- including what we saw today- this strongly yet very appropriately worded letter that indicates we want to cooperate but Mexico you have to do your part regarding control measures for New World Screwworm.”

There's lots of moving parts- and we have several stories up on our website to check out.

Our interview with Michael Kelsey is our Monday Beef Buzz- listen to our full inteview with Michael by clicking here.

Check out the story on Secretary Rollins and her letters to Mexico by clicking here

And here are the reactions from NCBA, TSCRA and OCA to the Secretary- available here.

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 Agricultural Production competitor Brady Lott of the Alva FFA chapter representing the Northwest Area.

Lott began his project, a registered Angus cow herd in 2021. The herd currently encompasses 43 head of mama cows and an extensive embryo program. He also raises show cattle.

His father and grandfather also raise registered Angus cattle which is where Lott’s inspiration stemmed from. “I wanted to follow in their footsteps, but also have an operation that I could call my own,” he said. “I think they set a really good example and I get their advice a lot on things I should do such as breeding management. I have tried to model it after them as much as I could, but add my own unique flair to it in a spot or two.”

Oklahoma ranchers have a unique opportunity to enhance their grazing practices through a special partnership between the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and the Noble Research Institute. Farm Director KC Sheperd spoke with Meg Greski of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission about an upcoming “Grazing Essentials” course in Leedy, Oklahoma.

“We’ve got something pretty special coming up in a partnership with our Noble Research Institute,” Greski announced. This workshop is the latest in a series of collaborations aimed at providing valuable educational resources to Oklahoma producers.

Greski detailed what the “Grazing Essentials” course entails. “Noble Grazing Essentials Course is a three-day workshop. It will be held this time around in Leedy on May 13 -15th, and it is comprised of both classroom instruction and some time in the field on a ranch. It is going to be a great introduction to and a complete discussion of regenerative grazing practices.”

For those unfamiliar with the term, Greski provided a clear definition. “Regenerative grazing is defined as utilizing all of your grass, every acre, every plant, without overusing anything. So it is a very scientifically informed and very adaptively and closely monitored form of rotational grazing.”

Today, at the direction of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services John Walk issued guidance to all State agencies directing them to enhance identity and immigration verification practices when determining eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This guidance is one of many steps toward fulfilling President Trump’s Executive Order 14218, which directs USDA and other federal agencies to “enhance eligibility verification systems, to the maximum extent possible, to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits exclude any ineligible alien.”

“President Trump has made it clear that American taxpayers will no longer subsidize illegal aliens,” said Secretary Rollins. “We are stewards of taxpayer dollars, and it is our duty to ensure states confirm the identity and verify the immigration status of SNAP applicants. USDA’s nutrition programs are intended to support the most vulnerable Americans. To allow those who broke our laws by entering the United States illegally to receive these benefits is outrageous.”

On February 25, 2025, Secretary Rollins directed USDA-FNS to review the administration of SNAP benefits to make necessary changes to align with Executive Order 14128. As discussed in a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, a staggering $10.5 billion in improper SNAP payments were made in FY 2023 alone—about 12% of total SNAP payments that year. The inadequate verification of an applicant’s identity and citizenship by states is specifically highlighted as contributing to the improper payments of SNAP funds.

Read More on this directive by clicking here.

April Rainfall Way More than First Three Months of 2025

It is a crazy amount of rain that we have had across the great majority of Oklahoma- with only the Panhandle falling under the one inch mark at 4 of its Mesonet stations in Beaver and Texas Counties.

The winner for April with a couple of days still to go is Okemah with 13.37 inches of rain over the last thirty days- January to March rainfall for that location was only 4.58 inches. 2024 saw 7.71 nches of rain in April for Okemah- and thatwas most rain in April for that station since 1994 which is as far back as we have records for on the Mesonet.

It doesn't matter what Mesonet station you check- the January to March totals are well under the April rainfall- Lahoma, for example is another location that had just 1.66 inches of rainfall the first quartter of the year- but now 4.88 inches here in April- and 2.14 inches of rain in April of 2024.

The map above is clickable if you want to go to the Mesonet and your part of the state- and you can click here for rainfall by month table that allows you to check every single Mesonet station by month from 1994 until March of 2025.

And Yes- there is still more rain in the forecast between now and Wednesday so the April 2025 totals will grow just a little bit more!