Howdy Neighbors!

It's time for the Friday Farm Funny with very special guest Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur! Farming is very stressful, so enjoy a little laugh!

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, along with Ag Secretary Blayne Arthur and Deputy Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, JanLee Rowlett, recently hosted a special event to honor the state’s national champion junior livestock exhibitors.

The students were recognized for winning awards for exhibiting cattle at various shows across the country this summer.



Cattle, Sheep, Goat, and, of course, pig exhibitors who won championships throughout the year were invited by Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur to a tour of the Oklahoma State Capitol to meet various legislators, along with the Governor.

The event began at the State Capitol lawn, where the exhibitors and their parents gathered together before moving inside the Capitol to take photos with the Governor and discuss their award recognition with him.

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. Severe drought or worse conditions remain at zero percent, unchanged since the week of May 29, 2025. Moderate drought or worse conditions remain at zero percent, unchanged since last week.

Abnormally dry or worse conditions have persisted this week in parts of Greer county, Beckham county, and Kiowa county and have extended into Jackson county, Tillman county, Comanche county, and Caddo county. According to the 6-to-10-day precipitation outlook map, most of the state of Oklahoma is leaning below 33-40% chance of rain through August 9 with western oklahoma leaning below 40-50% chance through that same date.

On this week’s map, improvements were made in areas of South Texas and the Trans Pecos region of Texas in response to above-normal precipitation during the past 30-120 days. In these regions, improvements were made in numerous drought categories (D1-D3). In other areas of the region, degradations occurred in southwestern Oklahoma, northern Mississippi, and central Tennessee, where rainfall has been below normal during the past 30 to 60 day period.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Dr. Rod Hall, Oklahoma’s State Veterinarian, who continued his conversation about concerns about the potential arrival of the New World screw worm in the United States. Oklahoma State Veterinarian Dr. Rod Hall expressed serious concern over the potential arrival of the New World screwworm, emphasizing that Oklahoma may not be able to control its own regulatory fate if the pest makes its way into the state.

“That’s exactly right, Ron,” Hall said. “I’ve been in contact with some of our states that we send a lot of cattle to… if once we get it in Oklahoma, they will consider the entire state to be affected.” He noted that some states will require Oklahoma cattle to be inspected and issued health certificates within five days — a sharp contrast from the standard 30-day window.

Dr. Hall underscored the importance of a coordinated plan between regulators and the cattle industry. “It’s important that my team and I have a good plan,” he said, “but it’s also very important that we work with the industry to make that plan as effective as it needs to be, while still allowing people to stay in business as best we can.” He added, “We can’t restrict industry so much that we kill our business,” acknowledging the need for balance between biosecurity and economic viability.

In a recent interview, Andrew Coppin, Co-Founder and CEO of Ranchbot Monitoring Solutions, sat down with Oklahoma Farm Report intern Karleigh Erramouspe to discuss the evolution of technology on America’s ranches. Coppin highlighted how innovation is reshaping the way ranchers manage their operations, particularly in terms of resource management.

“There’s a lot of technology evolving in the ranch tech and ag tech space these days,” Coppin shared. “Everything from weighing and identifying your cattle to thinking about your soil and pasture to running your infrastructure on the ranch. We’re trying to automate those things so you can effectively have a remote control for the ranch in your pocket on your cell phone.”



Coppin emphasized the critical role of technology in addressing growing demands and climate volatility. He explained, “We’re living in a world where we have to produce more food for our growing population, and with ‘weather whiplash’, floods and droughts, we’re going to need to use better technology to drive outcomes. If we just keep doing what we’re doing, that’s not going to be good enough.”

Last summer, Bart Fischer with Texas A&M wrote about a novel new concept for adding base acres to farms that had been proposed in the House Ag Committee-passed version of the 2024 Farm Bill (Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024). While that farm bill never came to fruition, the concept ultimately was adopted in the One Big Beautiful Bill (H.R. 1) that was recently signed into law by President Trump.   The provision will allow up to 30 million additional base acres across the nation. Today’s article addresses some of the questions we’ve been asked, while providing an overview of the mechanics. 

If this doesn’t affect my existing base acres, then what does it do?  For those farms where recent plantings (described below) exceed the number of existing base acres on the farm, it allows the landowner to add additional base acres.

How does it work? There are essentially two simple components to the additional base provision that address acres planted to both covered and non-covered commodities. Covered Commodities:  If the average number of acres of covered commodities planted (or that were prevented from being planted) on a farm from 2019 through 2023 exceeds the number of existing base acres on the farm, you are eligible to add the difference as additional base acres.

Two students  inducted into the Oklahoma 4-H Hall of Fame

John Deere announced the launch and availability of a new digital tool designed to enhance how equipment owners use, maintain, diagnose, repair, and protect their equipment. Operations Center PRO Service delivers new, industry-leading support capabilities for both connected and non-connected machines across John Deere’s agriculture, turf, construction, and forestry equipment portfolio. New and enhanced features include the ability to install software when replacing electronic components or controllers, also known as reprogramming. 

Operations Center PRO Service was developed with customers at the center and adds to the suite of existing digital support tools available to John Deere equipment owners today – including the John Deere Operations Center, Equipment Mobile, and Shop.Deere.com – providing customers even more control over how they use, maintain, diagnose, repair, and protect their machines. The increased functionality of Operations Center PRO Service also replaces John Deere Customer Service ADVISOR™, which will be phased out over the next year.

“The launch of Operations Center PRO Service is a significant milestone that adds to John Deere’s existing tools, and it reaffirms our longstanding commitment to empowering customers to choose how they repair their equipment,” said Denver Caldwell, Vice President of Aftermarket & Customer Support. “Importantly, our development of these tools reaffirms John Deere’s support of customer self-repair. We view continuously enhancing self-repair as consistent with our mission to ensure John Deere customers have the best machine ownership experience possible.” 

The Poultry Federation issued the following statement after 11 poultry companies filed a joint brief and proposed judgment in State of Oklahoma v. Tyson Foods, Inc. et al., a case with sweeping implications for agriculture in eastern Oklahoma:

“The Poultry Federation stands firmly with Oklahoma’s farmers and ranchers as the poultry industry seeks the court’s review of its brief and entry of its proposed judgment,” said Marvin Childers, president of the Poultry Federation. “The Attorney General’s proposal threatens to shut down a farming practice that has safely fed American families for generations. It targets the use of poultry litter, a safe and natural fertilizer, despite decades of expert evidence and state-approved best management practices. Oklahoma’s farmers and private landowners, from grain and cattle producers to fruit growers, have consistently adhered to regulatory guidelines.”

“While the vast majority of fields have no measurable impact on water quality, the State’s universities and leaders have recognized poultry litter as a critical resource for maintaining productive agriculture,” Childers continued. “Oklahoma’s agencies report improving water quality within the Illinois River Watershed. Even Oklahoma’s state legislature recognized the safety of poultry litter by approving its use at levels far higher than what the Attorney General now claims is dangerous.”

Checking the Markets...

According to the National Beef Wire- cash cattle trade is still having a hard time this week happening. "Negotiated cash cattle trade was limited on Wednesday, with moderate demand noted in Kansas, where a few early purchases were reported at $235.00. However, volume was insufficient for an adequate market test. The last established market in Kansas was $230.00–$232.00. Trade remained mostly inactive in all other major feeding regions, also under moderate demand. In the Texas Panhandle, the most recent established trade occurred last week at $230.00–$232.00."

Boxed Beef ended July down 67 cents at $361.32- and off over $35 from the June 27th high for Choice Beef.

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