Howdy Neighbors!

Farm Director KC Sheperd spoke with Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur at the 75th anniversary of the Oklahoma Foundation seed stock. Secretary Arthur addressed both the challenges and successes in Oklahoma agriculture. “Certainly some hurdles that we have seen are the weather, as we always experience here in the state of Oklahoma.

Sometimes it’s a wonderful friend to us, and sometimes it’s not.” Still, she praised producers’ resilience, especially wheat growers: “They never give up. They navigate through all those things.” On the positive side, she highlighted major advancements, noting, “Over 50% of the acres in the state of Oklahoma have an OSU variety planted on them,” thanks to the Wheat Improvement Team.

 Secretary Arthur sees a major opportunity at Oklahoma State University, especially due to its unique combination of programs. “We are a land grant university, and we’re really leaning into that, I think, in so many ways.” She highlighted the strength of OSU’s ag and vet programs: “We got a tremendous investment from the legislature for the College of Veterinary Medicine.” She added, “When you think about Oklahoma State, and we’ve got the College of Ag, College of Veterinary Medicine, we have the Center for Health Sciences over in Tulsa, no one else really does that.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Michael Kelsey about OCA’s ranch rodeo. “This is our 41st annual ranch rodeo,” Michael Kelsey began, referring to the long-standing tradition once known as the Range Roundup.

“We changed the name to ranch rodeo, but this is our 41st edition up at the Lazy E.” He noted the strong relationship with the venue and proudly added, “This is about our 21st year to partner with the Children’s Hospital Foundation, and we are just a shade over $700,000 that we have raised for them.”

Kelsey highlighted both the legacy and the fresh energy of the event. “We’ve got a couple of new teams in it this year. Some of our older teams, you know Tim Drummond, they’ve been in every one of these.” He emphasized authenticity: “These are real cowboys and cowgirls. They’re going to go back to work on Monday morning on the ranch.”

The Women in Agriculture and Small Business Conference continues to grow and evolve, and Lauren Minyard with OSU Extension shared insight with Associate Farm Reporter, Carli Davenport, about what attendees can expect this year. “This is going to be the third year in our new location. It’s at the Hilton Garden Inn and conference center in Edmond, Oklahoma.

It’s a very nice facility. We’ve been very happy with it,” she explained. The event is structured with an opening session, a keynote speaker, and five breakout session time slots, each offering four different tracks. “We kind of tailor it towards animals and horticulture, and then like more business, and then more like personal things,” said Minyard, allowing attendees to follow a track or mix and match sessions to suit their interests.

The breakout sessions are designed to offer real value to attendees across many sectors of agriculture. “The last couple of years, we’ve added breakout session descriptions… so you know exactly what you’re going to be going to,” Minyard added. This thoughtful detail makes the conference more accessible and useful, no matter someone’s background. “We have all over the spectrum of age groups, all over from people who are small producers to large producers… So it’s really for every single person who’s involved in agriculture in any way.”

The National Corn Growers Association, along with 25 state-based corn grower groups, sent a letter to Trump administration officials today detailing the worsening economic situation caused by elevated prices for fertilizers and other inputs that are critical for growing corn.

The letter, sent to the U.S. trade representative, secretary of commerce and secretary of agriculture, painted a grim economic picture in the American countryside. Signatories pledged to work with the officials to help address concerns with input costs, implement new trade deals and remove trade barriers.

“Unfortunately, the combination of the low corn prices, trade uncertainty, and consistently high costs for fertilizers and inputs, including relevant countervailing duties, have resulted in a calamitous environment for farmers who are trying to plan for harvest and next season,” the letter said. 

U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) hosted a live telephone town hall event with Oklahomans across the state. During the call, Senator Mullin highlighted how Oklahomans will benefit from the recently passed ‘One, Big, Beautiful Bill’ and gave an update on how Senate Republicans are pushing through to get President Trump’s nominees confirmed. He also took questions on the President’s trade deals, working towards paying down the national debt, and the world-class military installations in Oklahoma, among other topics. Remarkably, over twenty thousand Oklahomans participated in the call.

On President Trump’s historic trade deals:

“The trade deals are coming in. I mean, it seems like the President and the White House is announcing, I mean, exaggerated here, but it seems like every day they’re announcing a trade deal. And that’s good because it creates momentum, and most people are going to come into play… People want to do business with the United States. We’re a more stable country. We obviously have a stronger economy, and our dollar is the currency of the world…”

On the tariff revenue coming in and paying down our national debt:

“In June, for the first time in years, the Treasurer actually saw a surplus of $25 billion, that’s the first time that’s happened in years. Instead of us going in debt, we actually had a surplus. That extra cash was then spent on the actual debt… We’re also looking at instead of selling oil leases on public property, like we normally do, we’re going to actually do revenue sharing, and the revenue sharing off of that, which is what most countries do, because the people of the United States, own that oil and gas. 

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the opening of a 30-day public comment period for stakeholders to provide feedback on the Department’s reorganization plan, as outlined in the Secretary’s memorandum (PDF, 2.6 MB) issued on July 24, 2025.

“As committed, we are continuing to hear stakeholder feedback on the USDA Reorganization. All stakeholders – including Capitol Hill offices, USDA employees, and members of the agricultural community – are encouraged to share their input during the open comment period. We value your perspective as we work to ensure that USDA is best positioned to serve America’s farmers, ranchers, producers, and rural communities,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins.

“President Trump made clear his second term would include relocating the sprawling federal bureaucracy to locations outside the National Capital Region,” Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden said in his Capitol Hill testimony on July 30, 2025. “The department’s July 24 memorandum begins to deliver on this promise and does so in a way that right-sizes the USDA footprint, eliminates unnecessary management layers, consolidates redundant or duplicative functions, and, most importantly, allows USDA to deliver on its mission to the American people within the bounds of its available financial resources.”

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC) congratulated Brian Nesvik on being confirmed as the next Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

“While the Trump administration is making huge progress reforming the Endangered Species Act and alleviating other regulatory burdens, ranchers need a permanent FWS Director, and this afternoon, the Senate confirmed a qualified, experienced leader. Nesvik has led western engagement on complex wildlife and natural resource issues, and we expect he will continue to be a decisive leader in Washington,” said NCBA Executive Director of Natural Resources and PLC Executive Director Kaitlynn Glover.

“Nesvik is uniquely qualified for this role having previously served as the Director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and honed his leadership skills while serving in the National Guard with overseas deployments in Iraq and Kuwait. NCBA and PLC thank the Senate for diligently working to swiftly confirm nominees and reduce uncertainty for producers and livestock producers across the country congratulate Brian Nesvik on his confirmation to lead such an influential agency.”

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Hoeven (R-ND) reintroduced the Promoting Rural Exports Act, bipartisan legislation to formally establish a National Rural Export Center within the U.S. Commercial Service (USCS) and authorize the creation of up to nine Regional Rural Export Centers. The bill aims to help businesses in rural areas increase their exports by improving access to international markets. The Rural Export Centers provide critical research, tools, and analysis to support rural exporters and help them identify new buyers and strategies to reach international markets.

“Businesses in rural areas shouldn’t be denied opportunities just because of their location,” said Senator Klobuchar. “Our bipartisan Promoting Rural Exports Act will help ensure rural businesses have the resources they need to reach new markets, boost exports, and continue to innovate and grow.”

“The National Rural Export Center in Fargo has been a critical support for rural businesses, helping them access a broader customer base overseas while improving our nation’s balance of trade,” said Senator Hoeven. “The Fargo-based center developed a successful model that is being replicated across the country. Our legislation would ensure they continue to lead the way in expanding rural export opportunities and establish better coordination across similar efforts at the Department of Commerce.”

Checking the Markets...

As of Friday, negotiated cash trade was moderate on moderate demand in Kansas, with live purchases reported at $236.00, up $1.00 from Thursday. The Texas Cattle Feeders reported cash trade on Thursday of this past week in their area of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico at $235- up $3 versus the previous week.

Choice boxed beef cutout on August 1, 2025, was quoted at $363.22, up $1.90 from Thursday but down $3.46 compared to last Friday.

At the Oklahoma National Stockyards- they had 5.256 head on hand as of 9 PM. The sale will start at 8:00 am. They are expecting to start with 5,500 to 6,000.

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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