Howdy Neighbors!

At the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in San Diego, Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with the executive vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, Michael Kelsey. Our Coverage from San Diego is powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

At the recent cattle industry summer business meetings in San Diego, Michael Kelsey noted that two main topics dominated discussions, one of which was the growing concern over the new world screw worm. “There were two big topics of conversation, one concerning negative, if you will, and that’s the screw worm,” he said. The urgency escalated during the meeting when news broke that the pest had moved further north in Mexico. “While we’re in San Diego, we had developments regarding the movement to Veracruz,” he said, adding that the U.S. is taking this more seriously than Mexico. “It’s not a matter of if, it is a matter of when,” he warned, emphasizing the need for preparation. Kelsey also said regarding the timeline, ” That when is probably sooner than any of us would really like.”

Kelsey detailed the geographic threat, noting how close the infestation is to the U.S. border. “That’s 370 miles from the Rio Grande… about 900 miles from Oklahoma City, it’s just not very far at all,” he said.

USDA released its July Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) reports on Friday. Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays talked with Rich Nelson of Allendale about the USDA Reports shortly after they were released.

USDA increased its estimate of all 2025-2026 wheat production to 1.929 billion bushels, up from 1.921 bb in its June report. USDA estimates ending stocks at 890 million bushels, down from 898 mb in June. Ending stocks for old-crop wheat increased to 851 mb from June’s estimate of 841 mb. Total use in new-crop wheat estimated at 2.009 bb is up from 1.984 bb in June, while exports increased to 850 mb from 825 mb last month.



Rich Nelson noted that the USDA made real-time adjustments to the wheat balance sheet, saying, “the wheat balance sheet is considered real time, so to speak,” and despite lower harvested acres, “they did bump up this yield a little bit here, and therefore we had a light net increase in production.”

In the southern plains, the winter wheat harvest is nearly at the end- much later than normal and appears to be smaller than was forecast by USDA in the June USDA Crop Production report. All three states have surpassed the 80% mark in harvest completion as of the start of this week.

Oklahoma’s wheat crop is forecast to be slightly smaller in July compared to the June forecast and also under that of 2024 production. The July First report predicts a 104.5 million bushel crop, based on 38 Bushels Per Acre yield on 2.75 million acres harvested. The difference from June to July was the drop of one bushel per acre yield- as June was based on 39 Bushels per Acre and a crop of 107.25 million bushels- July 3% smaller than the June guess. The 2024 crop settled in at 108.3 million bushels on a 39 BPA and 2.85 million acres.

Kansas saw a bigger drop from June to July- the June forecast was for 351.9 million bushels- with the July forecast 4.5% smaller for the state at 335 million bushels- based on 50 BPA and harvesting 6.7 million acres. The 2025 Kansas crop, if realized, is still significantly bigger than in 2024 when the Sunflower State raised 307.45 million bushels on more acres but fewer bushels per acre- just 43 BPA.

At the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in San Diego, Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with NCBA President Buck Wehrbein. Our Coverage from San Diego is powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

NCBA President Buck Wehrbein expressed optimism about the current state of the industry. “This has been very enjoyable. High markets are always good, and a lot of good wins in Washington for us.” Wehrbein pointed to favorable weather in many regions and a supportive federal government and USDA as major reasons for confidence, adding, “We have a very friendly administration, a very good and friendly Secretary of Ag, so we’re pretty happy.”

Wehrbein emphasized the importance of recent legislation – the Big, Beautiful Bill,” which he said contained significant wins for cattle producers. “Frankly, the one big, beautiful bill cattle people got basically everything we asked for in that.” He highlighted key provisions like stepped-up basis and changes to the death tax, and praised the NCBA’s Washington staff: “I’m very proud of our staff in Washington, DC, that worked very hard on that and have for a long time.”

Farm director KC Sheperd had the chance to catch up with Oklahoma State University Cotton Extension Specialist Jenny Dudak to get an update on the current status of Oklahoma’s cotton crop. Dudak shared that the fields across the state are in various stages of development. “We’ve got some stuff that’s putting on blooms down in southwest Oklahoma, and then there’s some late replant that went in that’s still just trying to catch up,” Dudak said. The reprieve from rain and the recent heat have provided better growing conditions overall, allowing the crop to progress more evenly across different regions.

Water availability is a key concern this year, even with rain falling throughout the state and the irrigation district, so that might be a possibility this year. While irrigation hasn’t started yet, she noted that if no more rain comes within the week, “they’ll probably get some irrigation flowing through those canals.” She also confirmed that most cotton planting is complete.

When asked about pest pressures, Dudak emphasized the need for timely action. “If you have not sprayed for flea hoppers yet, they are out,” she warned, especially in later-planted fields that are now fruiting. She also mentioned the growing presence of corn earworms this year.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins issued a statement following the Trump Administration’s lawsuit against the State of California over the State’s intrusive actions that have caused the price of eggs to skyrocket, harming consumers.

Yesterday, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the State of California, Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and other state officials over California laws that impose burdensome red tape on the production of eggs and egg products nationally in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“California has gone rogue and caused real harm to consumers under its cage-free egg commitments. By not allowing consumer choice, Californian’s are forced to buy more expensive eggs. California’s actions under Proposition 12 fly in the face of Federal jurisdiction and regulation over food production and safety under the Egg Products Inspection Act. It is one thing if California passes laws that affects its own State, it is another when those laws affect other States in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Thankfully, President Trump is standing up against this overreach,” said Secretary Rollins.

President Trump’s announcement of a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods beginning Aug. 1 received high praise from R-CALF USA.

In a letter sent to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in March, the group sought increased tariffs for Brazilian beef, explaining that Brazil and other countries regularly blow through the United States’ annual tariff–rate quota limit. Brazil is subject to a beef quota limit of approximately 143.3 million pounds and has no difficulty in paying the current over–quota tariff rate of 26.4% in its effort to capture more of the U.S. beef market away from domestic farmers and ranchers.

The letter pointed out that Brazil had met its quota level in February of 2024 but continued exporting an additional 474 million pounds during the remainder of the year, despite the 26.4% tariffs on that additional amount.

The Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association is set to host the Cattlemen’s Education Series from July 25 to 26 at the 73rd Annual Convention and Trade Show in Norman, Okla. Speakers and learning opportunities covering a range of topics important to farm and ranch owners and managers will be included at this event, which is sponsored in part by The National Corn Growers Association.

This year’s Cattlemen’s Education Series will offer attendees logical and practical insights into key industry topics. Sessions will include a weather outlook from meteorologist Matt Makens, a deep dive into red meat yield innovations featuring Dr. Gretchen Mafi, Dr. Dale Woerner, and Kelly Retallick, and a cattle market outlook presented by Dr. Derrell Peel. Attendees will also explore the role of modern technology in remote ranching during a session led by guest speakers Andrew Coppin and Maria Silveira.

“This year’s Cattlemen’s Education Series continues our commitment to equipping Oklahoma cattle producers with the knowledge they need to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving industry,” said Michael Kelsey, OCA Executive Vice President. “Our goal is to bring relevant, timely topics and some of the best minds in the industry to the table, ensuring our members are prepared to succeed in every aspect of their operations.”

Checking the Markets...

The week of July 14th sees all the livestock auction markets back with their regular schedules- including the Oklahoma National Stockyards- they had 6,257 head on the yards as of 9 PM last night. The sale will start at 8:00 am. We are expecting to start with 6,200 to 6,700.

At the end of this past week- the fed cattle market was breaking higher. Cassie Fish in The Beef midday Friday reported "What is fueling today’s rally is a very strong negotiated fed cattle market this morning, with bids of $230 in the south and $240 in the north. Thus far, there has been a bit of trade at $240 in western Nebraska but that’s it. This is sharply higher than last week and back near the highs scored in mid-June." Stronger prices were later confirmed by the Texas Cattle Feeders Association Market Report Friday evening- showing Fed Steers and Fed Heifers both up $6 in Texas/Oklahoma/New Mexico at $230 a hundred.

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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