Howdy Neighbors!

The US Winter Wheat Harvest has now pushed across the halfway mark in the 18 states that the National Ag Statistics Service compiles wheat crop data. 53% of the US Wheat harvest is complete, versus 37% a week ago, 62% a year ago and versus the 54% five year average.

Spring crop conditions nationally show the US Corn crop up slightly in the good to excellent categories at 74% good to excellent- up one percentage point from a week ago and up 6 points versus the five year average of 68%.

The US Soybean crop is unchanged from the last two weeks at 66% good to excellent condition and versus 68% good to excellent at this point a year ago.



Cotton crop conditions edged higher in this week’s report to 52% good to excellent- up one point from last week and up seven points compared to the 45%good to excellent rating of this week in 2024. Corn crop conditions are now at 72% good to excellent this week versus 68% a week ago and 66% a year ago.

The Oklahoma soybean crop is at 59% good to excellent this week versus 53% a week ago and 55% a year ago. Cotton in Oklahoma is rated 60% this week- well under the 67% of a week ago. Grain Sorghum sits at 76% good to excellent this week- the same condition of the crop as last week. And Pasture and Range conditions are at 70% good to excellent this week versus 71% good to excellent one week ago.

Oklahoma wheat harvest moved forward at a slow pace over the 4th of July weekend, with rain showers hitting several parts of the Panhandle, Northern, and Northeast Oklahoma at different times. There is a region in the Goodwell, Guymon and Hooker area that is still working on irrigated wheat production that has been delayed due to rains this past week. In North Central Oklahoma, little progress has been made, with producers cutting just to check moisture samples while fighting with mud. In Northeast Oklahoma, progress was made over the weekend, but rain showers yesterday evening have put harvest at a standstill as of today.

Several producers are weighing options as weeds become more of an issue. Test weights have dropped significantly in many parts of North Central Oklahoma in the 56 lbs. to 58 lbs. per bushel. Many producers have been surprised test weights have been holding up as good as they have been despite everything the crop has been through.

The statewide average for test weight is still reported at 59 lbs. as much heavier weights were harvested earlier in the season. Yields across the state are ranging from the mid 40’s to mid 50’s for the most part, with some lower yielding wheat being reported due to heavy rains.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Ethan Lane from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) to discuss the recently enacted big beautiful bill. On the Fourth of July, President Donald Trump signed the one big beautiful bill into law. This wide-reaching legislation includes the permanent extension and expansion of the Trump tax cuts from 2017. One of the most notable features is the significant increase in death tax exemptions. “The exemptions go up significantly,” noted Ron, highlighting the impact on estate and gift taxes for farmers and ranchers.

Ethan Lane of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association emphasized the importance of this law for cattle producers nationwide. “This was a huge bill for a lot of our priorities,” Lane said, referencing tax reforms and agricultural protections.

Among the provisions are reimbursements for livestock losses from federally protected predators and strengthened defenses against foreign animal diseases. Lane explained, “It bolsters the three-legged stool for protecting the cattle industry from foreign animal disease,” including continued funding for the FMD Vaccine Bank to be housed at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas. 

Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays talked recently with Clay Burtrum of Farm Data Services about the upcoming deadline to enroll for Annual Forage crop insurance, which is July 15, 2025. The Annual Forage policy covers annual crops like wheat and triticale when they are used for grazing. It also covers summer crops like Sudan when being used for feed.

Burtrum says that there is only one signup per year and it does require you to pick your intervals in 2 month increments- and a potential payout will be based on rainfall for those two months. One advantage that Farm Data Services offers is access to utilizing Matt Makens of Makens Weather, who “can pin it down to your grids and give you information that can pinpoint what that weather forecast can do for you.”

Burtrum says Annual Forage works well with other Livestock related risk management products that RMA has developed and he adds “all of these programs are tools that help us stay in business.”

Despite a harvest season characterized by extreme and persistent rainfall, Oklahoma’s wheat producers are celebrating “absolutely astonishing yields,” according to Lance Embree, seed account manager at Bayer WestBred. While the excessive moisture presented significant obstacles, the unexpected bounty is providing a much-needed boost for farmers.

“You definitely hit the nail on the head there with it being challenging,” Embree told Farm Director KC Sheperd, recounting one customer in eastern Oklahoma who received a staggering “37 inches of rain since March.” These widespread “weather delays,” particularly in the southern, south-central, and eastern parts of the state, made for a difficult harvest.

Yet, amidst the wet conditions, a surprising outcome emerged. Embree reported that “for the most part, even with all the rains, test weights are holding up,” often remaining in the “58, 59, 60 pound test weight” range. The true highlight, however, has been the yields. “Just absolutely astonishing yields that I’m hearing,” he exclaimed, with reports of “80s, 90 bushel dryland yield in this central corridor” and many others seeing “50, 60 bushel wheat.”

Oklahoma wheat growers will get a significantly earlier look at Oklahoma State

University’s preliminary wheat variety trial results – well ahead of planting season – during the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association (OWGA) annual meeting Tuesday in Okeene.

This marks a major shift from previous years, when variety trial data was typically released later in the summer which is too late for many producers to use when selecting seed wheat for the fall. The earlier reveal gives farmers a critical edge with timely, research-based insights into top-performing varieties for planting this fall.

“This is a game-changer for growers who rely on this data to make planting decisions,” said OWGA Executive Director Jeff Hickman. “Sharing preliminary results now gives producers the opportunity to act on the information while there’s still time to make decisions about seed wheat.”

The event takes place in Okeene, a hub for wheat production in Oklahoma. Activities begin with an exclusive 10 a.m. tour of Mountain Country Foods, a pet treat manufacturing, packaging, and distribution facility. The meeting itself will be held at The Corner Event Center, 101 N Main Street. Check-in opens at 11:30 a.m., with Oklahoma Ag Credit serving steaks for lunch at 11:45 a.m. The program kicks off at 12:15 p.m. and wraps up by 4:15 p.m.

The meeting is open to all wheat producers and agribusiness professionals. Registration is free for OWGA members and only $50 for non-members, which includes a one-year OWGA membership.

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 discusses boarder reopinng plans.

USDA-APHIS has announced a slow phased reopening of the Mexican border for imports of cattle, bison and horses in the coming weeks. Progress has been made in containing the spread of New World Screwworm (NWS) in Mexico with expanded control measures and increased cooperation with Mexican officials. The plan calls for opening ports farthest away from southern Mexico (i.e. Arizona) with the least risk of transporting NWS to and across borders and sequentially reopening ports in New Mexico and Texas between July and September. 

Each phase of reopening will be contingent on continuing assessment and progress in NWS containment and control in Mexico. The Arizona and New Mexico ports are all at roughly the same latitude with Douglas, AZ the farthest west, roughly 200 miles west of Santa Teresa, NM. The following discussion will use Mexico City as a reference point for relative port locations. NWS affected areas in Mexico are all south of Mexico City.

Checking the Markets...

The big livestock market event this week 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.

The Oklahoma National Stockyards is off this week after the Fourth of July Holiday- they return on July 14th. Cattle Futures started the week off with a bang- Live Cattle Futures up $1.85 to $2.05 on the front months and Feeder Cattle Futures were up over $4 a hundred on Monday.

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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