U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced risk-based port re-openings for cattle, bison, and equines from Mexico beginning as early as July 7, 2025. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), following extensive collaboration between USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) experts and their counterparts in Mexico to increase New World Screwworm (NWS) surveillance, detection, and eradication efforts, are set to begin a phased reopening of the southern ports starting with Douglas, Arizona.

Progress has been made in several critical areas since the ports were closed on May 11th, including: resolution of challenges with conducting flights in Mexico that has allowed our team to consistently conduct sterile NWS fly dispersal 7 days each week and dispersal of more than 100 million flies each week. We also sent five teams of APHIS staff to visit/observe and gain a deeper understanding of Mexico’s NWS response and allow us the opportunity to share our feedback. We have not seen a notable increase in reported NWS cases in Mexico, nor any northward movement of NWS over the past eight weeks.

Cattle Industry Responds to Plan to Reopen US-Meixican Border Gradually

Today, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) announced support for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) plan to strategically reopen key ports of entry to shipments of live cattle, bison, and horses.

NCBA CEO Colin Woodall said after the USDA announcement “Today’s announcement to reopen key ports of entry is a measured, thoughtful approach by Secretary Rollins to allow some trade while also ensuring the American cattle industry is protected from this pest.”

ALSO on board with Secretary Rollins is the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. “TCFA welcomes Secretary Rollins’ announcement to resume imports of Mexican feeder cattle.

We express our appreciation to Secretary Rollins, USDA-APHIS Administrator Michael Watson

and the entire USDA-APHIS team who have worked tirelessly to conduct a science-based

assessment and implement risk-based strategies in response to the incursion of New World

Screwworm in southern Mexico,” stated TCFA Chairman Robby Kirkland.  Read the full TCFA statement here.

One group that wants no Mexican feedeer cattle until there are no NWS in Mexico is R-Calf USA.- Their CEO, Bill Bullard, offers this "We support Secretary Rollins and appreciate her swift, decisive response to the screwworm outbreak. However, we believe the border should remain closed until Mexico has fully eradicated screwworm within its borders.”

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Oklahoma wheat harvest has made great strides over the past 5 days, with production halting on and off due to rain showers across Oklahoma this past week. Producers have also been fighting high humidity if weather was clear for them to get started, making it short days for harvesting. Last night heavy rains paused harvest in many parts of North Central Oklahoma along the I-35 corridor, heavy rains were also received in Northeast Oklahoma in the Afton/Miami area. Several parts of the Panhandle also received moisture last night with previous heavier rains over the weekend that have stopped producers from getting into the fields in some places. (Producers and harvesters made great progress in Southwest, South Central, Central, Western and Northwest Oklahoma over the last 5 days. The locations in these regions are 90 to 95 percent complete with harvest still taking place in all locations as a handful of producers try to finish up.) Areas reported today will be locations in Central, North Central, Panhandle and Northeast Oklahoma.



Read more at the blue button link below- The Wheat Commission says the harvest is now 78% compelte as of June 30, 2025

Frank Lucas Urges Strong Response to New World Screwworm

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays talked to Congressman Frank Lucas about the escalating concern over the New World screwworm. This pest, once eradicated from the United States, is now encroaching from the south due to “lax monitoring and enforcement.” Congressman Lucas emphasized the severe threat this poses to livestock, wildlife, and even humans, recalling a time when, “in two weeks’ time, an untreated animal, a cow, a calf, a steer, will be eaten alive.” The conversation highlighted the critical need for immediate and aggressive action to prevent a repeat of the devastating outbreaks of the 1930s to early 1960s.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has taken swift and decisive action to combat the screwworm’s advance. Congressman Lucas praised her efforts, noting that she “put the hammer down on our neighbors to the south a few weeks ago and said, We cannot allow any screw worm flies to get to the United States. And she sealed the border.” This bold move was a direct message to southern neighbors regarding their “sloppy” monitoring. Beyond sealing the border, Secretary Rollins is pushing for increased production of sterile screwworm flies at existing facilities in Panama and is taking emergency action to construct a new sterilization facility in South Texas. The goal is to quickly “get the production up and get these things under control.”

In the southern plains- the 2025 Oklahoma winter wheat crop harvest continues to lag the 2024 harvest badly- but was able to make good progress in the latest week. USDA says the crop is now 71% harvested- up from the 35% a week ago but well behind the 99% harvested number of 2024.

Our neighbors in Texas have hit 80% of the wheat crop harvested, down five points from where they were a year ago and five points behind the five year average. In Kansas, the harvest has hit the halfway mark at 53% versus 76% in 2025 but just three points under the five year average.

The condition of the U.S. corn crop increased slightly while soybean conditions remained unchanged last week, according to USDA NASS’s weekly Crop Progress report released on Monday. In the US Cotton, the 2025 Cotton Crop improved by four points from a week ago to 51% good-to-excellent.

Pasture and range conditions in Oklahoma this week stands at 71% good-to-excellent which is down six points of a week ago at 77%. The year ago Pasture Range rating for Oklahoma was just 53% good-to-excellent.

Farm director KC Sheperd spoke with Oklahoma State Climatologist Gary McManus who shared remarkably positive news regarding the state’s drought conditions, a welcome change from previous discussions.

For the second consecutive month, Oklahoma is experiencing a complete absence of drought or even abnormally dry conditions, a phenomenon not seen since the spring of 2019. McManus highlighted that this lack of drought extends to surrounding states, preventing any dry spell from creeping back into Oklahoma, stating, “There’s just a little bit of dry weather over there in the… Eastern New Mexico. But you know, even that in my opinion, nowhere close to… encroaching on Oklahoma.” This widespread relief is considered “very unusual” but greatly appreciated.



Despite the current favorable conditions, McManus cautioned about the typical climatological shift as summer progresses, noting, “Other than our normal climatological pattern where we’re entering the summer, our rain should start to go away a little bit.”

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15) and Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR), released the following statement on the FY 2024 SNAP Payment Error Rate:

“Another year, another troubling payment error rate in SNAP, a clear sign that the program lacks the state accountability measures hardworking taxpayers deserve. The status quo, slap-on-the-wrist penalties from USDA have failed at maintaining program integrity in SNAP. This is exactly why we need to get the One Big Beautiful Bill to the President’s desk. Its historic reforms will give states skin in the game on SNAP benefits and ensure they have a real incentive to improve oversight and stop improper payments before they happen.”

Dr. Derrell Peel- Temperatures, Fireworks and Hamburger Prices are Hot for Independence Day

Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, offers his economic analysis of the beef cattle industry as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner,” published electronically by Dr. Peel, Mark Johnson, and Paul Beck. Today, Dr. Peel analyzes temperatures hamburgers and firework costs for this years upcoming Independence Day.



Coming into the July 4 holiday, wholesale ground beef prices pushed to new record levels. Prices for 90 percent lean trimmings, which are the backbone of ground beef markets, have increased continually the past three years

Decreased cow slaughter, down 5.8 percent year over year in 2023 and another 15.4 percent decrease in 2024, has been followed by a further 11.9 percent year over year decline in the first 23 weeks of 2025. This has resulted in a more than 18 percent drop in nonfed beef production from the cyclical peak in 2022 to 2024 and an additional decrease of 8.9 percent thus far in 2025. The 90 percent lean trimmings price the last week of June was $401.45 cwt., a record high and the first time 90s prices have exceeded $400/cwt.