Howdy Neighbors!

The National FFA Organization has announced the 16 finalists for its 2025 top achievement awards: American Star Farmer, American Star in Agribusiness, American Star in Agricultural Placement and American Star in Agriscience. One of those 16 is Oklahoma FFA member Ryder Klassen of Hydro- Eakly FFA. Last fall in Indianapolis, Klassen was named the National Champion Proficiency Award winner in Diversified Crop Production – Entrepreneurship.

Ryder Klaassen rents three farms and grows wheat, black-eyed peas, mung beans, and cotton in rotation. He has negotiated and held several contracts in domestic and global markets. Klaassen is a member of the Hydro-Eakly FFA Chapter in Oklahoma, and his FFA advisor is Chris Klaassen. In our story- that highlights Ryder and the other 15 star finalists- we jump back to last October when Ron Hays talked with Ruder at the National FFA Convention.

The American Star Awards represent the best of the best among thousands of American FFA Degree recipients. The award recognizes FFA members who have developed outstanding agricultural skills and competencies by completing a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) program. A required activity in FFA, an SAE allows members to learn by doing. Members can own and operate an agricultural business, intern at an agricultural business, or conduct an agriculture-based scientific experiment and report the results.

Robert A. Funk, a prominent businessman, philanthropist, beloved father and friend to many, went to be with the Lord on July 15, 2025. A service honoring the life of Bob Funk, Sr. will be held on Monday, July 28th at 2:00 p.m. at Crossings Community Church, located at 14600 N. Portland Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73134.

Born in Duvall, Washington, he was a trailblazing entrepreneur who loved the American West and lived true to its values of honesty, respect, loyalty, self-reliance, and hard work. These principles guided his every decision and action, shaped his remarkable life and inspired those around him.

One of Bob’s greatest joys was the Oklahoma Youth Expo (OYE), because he believed wholeheartedly in growing future leaders. He generously donated to create scholarships, purchase animals, and fund the organization’s permanent headquarters at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. As Chair of the OYE board, his leadership earned him deep respect and admiration across the state.

In recognition of his lasting contributions to Oklahoma through his businesses and community engagement, Bob was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2017, the state’s highest honor.

At the recent Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in San Diego, Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with senior animal protein analyst from Terrain, Don Close. Our Coverage from San Diego is powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

Don Close described the current cattle market as one of the most unique and strongest he’s ever witnessed, driven by two key factors: robust beef demand and surprising price resilience across all weight classes. “The big drivers [are] just how solid beef demand is, the consumer has been incredibly committed with us on this rally,” he said. He also noted, “It’s really unique to see the price levels we’re seeing with all weight classes of cattle, but particularly with calves,” emphasizing the restraint cow-calf producers have shown in expanding herds despite the strong market.

When asked about herd rebuilding, Close expressed skepticism that the U.S. cow herd is in meaningful expansion yet. He pointed to the upcoming Cattle on Feed report as critical. “I’m kind of holding my breath here till I get that cattle on feed report to make a complete reevaluation of the market at that time.” That report, especially the breakdown of heifers and steers, will be a “bellwether for the remainder of the year,” he said, adding that heifer retention will determine how much expansion is truly underway.

Sky Toney, a regenerative ranching advisor, joined Farm Director KC Sheperd to share insights about the upcoming 2025 Grazing School, scheduled for August 1–3 in San Marcos, Texas. When asked what a grazing school is, Toney explained, “It’s like a workshop where folks can come and get educated and learn some valuable skills that they can bring back to their farm or ranch to make themselves more profitable, care for the land better and the livestock better.”

The event will feature leaders from the Noble Research Institute, Holistic Management International, and Understanding Ag—three major players in regenerative grazing. The school will combine both fieldwork and classroom learning for a well-rounded, immersive experience.

The three-day event is structured to rotate between three host ranches in the San Marcos area, each providing a hands-on learning environment. “We’re going to go in the mornings to some local ranches, and we rotate each day,” Toney explained. Attendees will engage in practical demonstrations like “taking soil samples in a really easy way,” learning to use a grazing stick, and assessing forage height. These on-the-ground activities are designed to equip participants with skills they can immediately apply back home.

Oklahoma State University annually conducts wheat variety trials across the state to show how different varieties respond to local growing conditions. Information from each unique site provides farmers with detailed information to make sound planting decisions for their operations.

The 2025 trial results are in progress, and the latest wheat harvest results can be found online. “Each year, we test between 20 and 30 cultivars at 20 to 25 sites to deliver timely information to producers on available wheat cultivars that might be well-adapted to Oklahoma,” said Jayson Lusk, vice president and dean of OSU Agriculture. “This program, funded by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission and the Oklahoma Wheat Research Foundation, allows producers to choose the best wheat variety for the highest impact on profit.”

The harvest results from OSU’s Wheat Variety Trials offer an excellent snapshot of the challenges and conditions faced by Oklahoma wheat producers this season, said Amanda Silva, OSU Extension specialist for small grains. Stay Tuned for our Visit With Dr. Silva about this years Wheat harvest wins coming up in the next few days.

The Oklahoma Farm Bureau Water Working Group joined together for the group’s third meeting July 15 in Oklahoma City.

OKFB members representing all nine OKFB districts gathered to hear from guest speakers, learn about legal and regulatory frameworks, and discuss upcoming policy action surrounding water rights.

Members began their morning hearing from Travis Tripp, Oklahoma Conservation Commission land management director, and Dan Dvorett, Oklahoma Conservation Commission technical programs director. Tripp and Dvorett shared a presentation on the Terry Peach Watershed Restoration Program, along with updates on their Red Cedar fire management program.

Jason Harmon recently assumed the role as head of the OSU Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management.

Harmon joins the department after serving 16 years on faculty at the School of Natural Resource Sciences at North Dakota State University, where he held various leadership roles, including associate director of the school from 2019 to 2022.

A Wisconsin native, Harmon said he looks forward to immersing himself in his new role and community.

“Oklahoma is a new state for me, and I’m eager to understand the issues that matter here, work alongside talented faculty and staff, and support solutions that make a difference for the people who depend on natural resources,” he said.

On Thursday, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, emphasized the importance of seeing Native issues through a nonpartisan lens at the nomination hearing to consider Mr. William Kirkland to be President Trump’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs within the Department of the Interior.

In his remarks, Senator Mullin discussed his experience as a member of Cherokee Nation, Mr. Kirkland’s background, and the crucial responsibility members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs have to honor America’s federal obligation to Indian Country.

On being a member of Cherokee Nation and serving in the U.S. Senate:

“I’m Cherokee, and I never knew I was special for being Cherokee until I came to D.C., because where I’m from, everybody’s Indian or wants to be. And when I came up here, Tom Cole was the first one that came up to me and said, ‘Congratulations, we just doubled the size of our Native American Caucus.’ That was back in 2013. I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He’s like, ‘Well, I’m Chickasaw and you’re Cherokee.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, we taught you how to read and write.’ No, I’m kidding. And we joked about it, because sometimes there’s a misunderstanding.”

Checking the Markets...

From the National Beef Wire- "On Friday negotiated cash cattle trade was mostly inactive in the Texas Panhandle and Kansas with the last established sales occurring Thursday at $230.00 in the Panhandle and $230.00 to $231.00 in Kansas Trade was light with moderate demand in Nebraska and the Western Cornbelt In Nebraska dressed purchases on Friday were mostly steady at $380.00 on a light test compared to Thursday while live purchases remained at $240.00."

Choice Boxed Beef was little changed on Friday- up 27 cents to $373.55- but that was $5 cheaper than one week ago.

For today- as we start the week- the gate count at the Oklahoma National Stockyards at 9 PM was 4,131 head. The sale will start at 8:00 am. They are expecting to start with 4,200 to 4,400.

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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