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Welcome to the New Email! We hope you love our makeover! We will still strive to include all your latest farm and ranch News daily, and always feel free to send us feedback, stories, ideas, etc.. at kc.sheperd@radiooklahoma.net! We are so glad you are here!

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins issued the following statement after President Donald J. Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law:

“The One Big Beautiful Bill marks the start of a new golden age for America and American agriculture. This historic piece of legislation makes permanent the largest tax cuts in history.

“It provides immediate tax relief to farmers, ranchers, and rural Americans by increasing the small business expensing threshold and permanently extending the Small Business Deduction. Through the President’s leadership, the bill Makes Agriculture Great Again, bolsters the farm safety net, makes crop insurance more affordable, and protects two million family farms from the death tax.

“While expanding programs to support the farmers who feed, fuel, and clothe America, this legislation also tackles the fraud and waste that has run rampant in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill holds states accountable for their error rates, strengthens work requirements, and prevents illegal aliens from receiving SNAP.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on final passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“Farm Bureau applauds the House and Senate for passing legislation that will bring certainty to America’s farmers and ranchers. Modernizing important farm safety net programs and making permanent critical tax provisions could be the difference between staying in business or shutting down the family farm.

“Lawmakers took a big step toward ensuring America’s farmers and ranchers can continue to keep pantries filled for America’s families.”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA

“Since day one, NCBA has been working with Congress to make sure the One Big Beautiful Bill includes policy priorities for America’s hardworking family farmers and ranchers,” said NCBA President Buck Wehrbein, a Nebraska cattleman. “I’m proud that this legislation protects farms and ranches from being split up and sold off to pay a high Death Tax bill. I’m also glad the One Big Beautiful Bill protects pro-business tax deductions for cattle producers, lowers our taxes overall, and funds programs like the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, Livestock Indemnity Program, voluntary conservation programs, and invests in keeping foreign animal diseases out of the United States.”

Farm Director KC Shepered spoke with Paul Paplow, who provided an update on his harvesting work, confirming that his team is currently in western Kansas, specifically around Tribune. “We got done in Pratt, Kansas… then I moved out to Tribune and joined the rest of the crew,” he said. The crew has been active in the area for about a week, harvesting wheat crops that yield between 25 and 60 bushels per acre. Test weights have varied significantly, ranging from 52 to 61 pounds. “The quality’s been kind of up and down. A lot of freeze damage, hail damage, wind damage, drought—a little bit of everything,” Paplow explained.

The weather has been a critical factor in this year’s harvest. “We’ve been lucky,” Paplow said, noting that they managed to avoid most rain delays. “When we finished in Pratt, we got a good rain the night that we finished.” They faced a half-day delay in Tribune due to weather, but otherwise enjoyed hot, dry conditions ideal for harvesting. Regarding Wheat Streak Mosaic, Paplow shared, “I, myself, have not seen much… usually every year we see it, but I have not noticed anything that we’ve cut ourselves.

The impact of rainfall has been mixed. “Some of the rain came a little too late in places,” Paplow noted. “Down in Texas and Oklahoma, with all the rain, it just really destroyed the quality of the crop.” He added that some harvesters have struggled with wet field conditions, but his crew is equipped for such challenges: “We run four-wheel drive and duals on all of our machines… we have tracks that we’ll put on when it gets really wet.”

In today’s Beef Buzz, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Dr. Dave Lalman, Oklahoma State University’s extension beef cattle specialist At the recent Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) meeting in Amarillo, Texas, Dr. Lalman highlighted a major industry trend: the consistent rise in carcass weights. “The thing that really stuck out to me is the never-ending arms race for growth in carcass weight,” Lalman stated. He noted that average steer carcass weights are now “around 930,” and have been steadily increasing for decades.



This push for heavier carcasses is being reinforced by the meat industry’s economics. Dr. Lalman says According to Dr. Ty Lawrence of West Texas A&M, “from a feed yard profitability and a packing plant efficiency stand point they’re going to basically desire and maybe even incentivize continued increase in carcass weight.” He suggested the industry may someday see carcasses weighing “1500 pounds,” Ron pointed out this would require adjustments across infrastructure, including transportation and packing plant facilities. Dr. Lalman responded that infrastructure is already adapting and will have to continue to.

According to the latest Oklahoma drought monitor report, exceptional drought remains at zero percent, unchanged from the start of the calendar year.

Extreme drought or worse conditions remain at zero percent, unchanged since the week of October 29, 2024.

Also Severe drought, moderate drought or worse conditions remain at zero percent.



Abnormally dry or worse conditions also stayed at zero Percent, same as last week.

According to the 6-to-10-day precipitation outlook map, most of the state of Oklahoma is leaning above 40-50% chance of precipitation through July 12. The panhandle has a 33-40% chance of rain through that same date.

Farm Director KC Sheperd spoke with Aaron Sawyer, Director of No-Till on the Plains, who discussed the group's recent "soil health bus tour," which began in Kansas and ventured into Oklahoma. "We left Kansas yesterday morning and met, met our Oklahoma friends," Sawyer said, sharing that they visited Tom Cannon's farm to explore "crop diversity rotations" and soil structures. Despite receiving "over two and a half inches of rain," Sawyer was impressed that they experienced minimal mud, noting it as a testament to improved soil structure and health.

Their journey also included a stop at the Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Oklahoma, where they observed ranches undergoing soil health practices. The following day brought them to Mountain View for a visit with Fusion Ag, where they toured "pasture cropping and some of their mixes." Sawyer remarked on the unusual weather: "So far it's rained at about every stop we've been on, and it's cool. Overcast and in the eighties, 1st of July. That's not normal Oklahoma."

A significant contrast was observed between no-till and conventionally tilled fields. As Sawyer explained, "in the no-till fields, you didn't see a lot of ponding," whereas tilled fields displayed "a lot of gully erosion." One standout moment was when Tom Cannon pointed out runoff in his field and asked Sawyer to notice the clarity of the water: "What was coming off was clean—it wasn't carrying soil with it."

Foot rot is a common disease affecting cattle. It creates swelling and lameness in one or more feet. The condition can lead to severe lameness, decreased weight gain, and reduced overall production. If treatment is not initiated in a timely manner, deeper structures of the foot may become affected, leading to chronic disease and potentially permanent damage.

The primary agent responsible for foot rot is Fusobacterium necrophorum, which is a common bacteria of healthy skin. However, it requires an opportunity to invade deeper tissues such as injury or wet skin. This bacterium often acts in conjunction with others, such as Porphyromonas levii, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Trueperella pyogenes.

Environmental factors play a significant role in the transmission of foot rot. Moisture, nutrient deficiencies (particularly in iodine, zinc, selenium, and copper), and injuries from walking on abrasive surfaces can compromise skin integrity, facilitating bacterial invasion. Standing in pens or lots heavily contaminated with mud, feces, and urine softens the skin, increasing the opportunity for infectious agents to invade. High temperatures and humidity can also cause the skin to become more fragile, making it more susceptible to infection.

Oklahoma Sees Strong Revenue Rebound in June, Capping Fiscal Year 2025 with Growth

Oklahoma tax revenues rebounded in June after a seasonal May dip, with the latest monthly collections totaling $1.48 billion, a 15.1% increase over May and a 3.3% gain compared to June 2024. The growth closes out Fiscal Year 2025 on a strong note, signaling a resilient economic base as Oklahoma enters the new fiscal year.

Total collections over the past 12 months reached $16.92 billion, a 0.2% increase over the previous 12-month period, indicating solid year-end momentum despite ongoing national and global uncertainty.



“Oklahoma’s revenue rebounded this month, showing total increases across both yearly and monthly comparisons—a strong sign of economic resilience and fiscal momentum as we close out fiscal year 2025 and look ahead to 2026,” said State Treasurer Todd Russ, “As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day, it’s encouraging to see so many signs that Oklahomans are working hard, spending responsibly, and helping build a stable foundation for the year ahead.”

Checking the Markets...

As we begin the week after the Fourth of July holiday- the big livestock market event is the Superior Livestock Week in the Rockies Sale- 311,727 head will sell over the five days of the sale- Click here for more details from Superior Livestock.

A big feature of the market ahead of the Fourth was the sharp drop in Boxed Beef Prices- Choice Beef fell $5.11 on Thursday. After the holiday- the Oklahoma National Stockyards is off this week after the Fourth of July Holiday- they return on July 14th.

OKC West is our Market Links Sponsor- they sell cattle three days a week- Cows on Mondays, Stockers on Tuesday and Feeders on Wednesday- Call 405-262-8800 to learn more.

Click here for our Markets Page on OklahomaFarmReport.Com-- there you will find many of the reports we have linked on the right hand column found on the previous format of our email.

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