Howdy Neighbors!

According to the latest Oklahoma Drought Monitor report, exceptional drought remains at 0 percent, unchanged from the start of the calendar year.

Severe Drought: As of October 16, 2025, severe drought (D2) has emerged in Payne, Noble, Pawnee, Cleveland, Oklahoma, and Pottawatomie counties, covering 1.97% of the state. Moderate Drought (D1) more than doubles- jumping from 12% a week ago to 29.1% this week. Widespread Dryness: Over 65 percent of the state is now experiencing abnormally dry to severe drought conditions ( D0-D2).

According to the 6-to-10-day precipitation outlook map, a large majority of Oklahoma is looking at near-normal conditions through October 25, 2025. With far southwestern Oklahoma leaning above 33-40% chance of rain through the same date.

In the southern plains, Recent rainfall allowed for some improvement in dryness and drought across western Tennessee, adjacent Mississippi, central Oklahoma, and western Texas. However, deterioration was more common in aggregate across the South Region, with most of northwestern Mississippi, Louisiana, and eastern Oklahoma noting some intensification. There were scattered areas of moderate to locally heavy rainfall, but most of the Region recorded subnormal amounts for the week.

From high-tech drone applications to clever solutions for everyday problems, innovation is thriving across rural Oklahoma, thanks in part to the Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s (OKFB) Rural and Ag Business Accelerators program. The organization recently celebrated the graduation of its latest cohort, showcasing a diverse range of new companies poised to make an impact.

Amarie Bartel, Rural Economic Development Coordinator at OKFB, has a front-row seat to this wave of creativity and is continually impressed by the ingenuity she encounters. “I am constantly blown away by the things that rural Oklahomans come up with,” Bartel told Farm Director KC Sheperd. “So rural Oklahomans, do not count yourself out. You are the original innovators.”

What is an Accelerator? While the term “business accelerator” might sound like corporate jargon, Bartel explained it’s a straightforward concept designed to fast-track success for startups. “When I say accelerator, I mean a group of innovation founders who are going through educational curriculum over a period of time to help the business reach profitability more efficiently,” she said.

Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Ben Weinheimer, president and CEO of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, at the 2025 TCFA meeting in Fort Worth, Texas. Weinheimer spoke about the ongoing challenge of keeping feedlot pens full across the southern plains. He explained that the latest Cattle on Feed reports show the region “taking a pretty hard hit when it comes to overall on feed numbers, year over year, and placement numbers.”

He added that while future reports may be delayed, “really, probably don’t expect a lot different than what we saw from the August and September reports, where the southern region is suffering in terms of occupancy and on feed numbers.”

Weinheimer connected this decline to the closure of the U.S.–Mexico cattle trade due to the screwworm outbreak, which has prevented Mexican cattle from crossing the border. “It’s a tough leadership position to be in,” he admitted, but emphasized that TCFA’s leadership “has continued to stay the course.” The association’s top priorities remain “continuing to prioritize the fight against the screwworm where it is today in Mexico,” as well as establishing “a dispersal facility in South Texas and then soon followed by a sterile fly production facility in South Texas.”

A bin-busting harvest is rolling across the plains, but for many producers, the record crop presents a complex logistical and marketing puzzle. According to Tanner Ehmke of CoBank, the combination of a massive supply, ongoing trade disputes, and shifting market dynamics is forcing farmers to rethink traditional strategies for selling and storing their grain.

Speaking with Farm Director KC Sheperd, Ehmke laid out a bifurcated landscape where different commodities face vastly different challenges.

“We’ve got a big crop coming, and it’s going to create some logistical issues,” Ehmke said. “It’s resulting in some new marketing opportunities or challenges, if you will, for a lot of farmers.”

The primary challenge stems from trade uncertainty with China, a critical market for U.S. soybeans and grain sorghum. With a trade deal still in question and China having already sourced heavily from other nations, demand for U.S. supplies is sluggish. “We can fully anticipate we’re going to have a slower shipping pace to China, because they’ve had record imports of Brazilian soybeans this year. They’re just not desperate for U.S. beans right now,” Ehmke explained. 

Zorina™ fungicide has received U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration and is now approved for use, subject to state approvals.

White mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) is consistently one of the most yield-limiting diseases across the Midwest and Northern Plains. In 2024 alone, U.S. soybean farmers experienced an estimated loss of more than 26.1 million bushels due to the disease1. Designed to tackle today’s toughest disease challenges, Zorina fungicide combines the proven white mold performance of Endura® fungicide with the long-lasting, broad-spectrum control of Revysol® fungicide. Together, they help deliver reliable disease protection across soybeans, canola and dry beans, helping growers maximize yield potential with a single, powerful solution.

“BASF is committed to helping farmers doing the Biggest Job on Earth overcome yield barriers, and white mold is one of the most yield-limiting diseases in row crops across the Midwest and Northern Plains,” said Erick Garcia, Senior Product Manager at BASF Agricultural Solutions. “Zorina fungicide is designed to provide specialized white mold control that’s going to help give farmers strong performance and extended residual activity for coverage against other yield-limiting foliar diseases.”

General Revenue Fund (GRF) collections in September totaled $769.5 million, which is $61.1 million, or 8.6%, above the monthly estimate. This total is also $23.4 million, or 3.1%, above collections from September 2024.

GRF collections for the first three months of fiscal year 2026 stand at $2.0 billion. This is $108.2 million, or 5.8%, above the year-to-date estimate and $8.0 million, or 0.4%, above collections from the same period in FY 2025. “Oklahoma continues to demonstrate that strong leadership and a resilient economy create an exceptional place to live, work and invest,” said Oklahoma’s Chief Operating Officer David Ostrowe. 

As state government’s main operating fund, the GRF is the key indicator of state government’s fiscal status and the predominant funding source for the annual appropriated state budget. GRF collections are revenues that remain for the appropriated state budget after rebates, refunds and other mandatory apportionments, and after sales and use taxes are remitted back to municipalities. In contrast, gross collections, reported by the state treasurer, are all revenues remitted to the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

Noble Research Institute, a trusted educational resource for farmers and ranchers since 1945, has announced Roots & Revelry, an annual farm-to-table gathering designed to honor the progress and efforts of producers who are transforming U.S. agriculture through sustainable land stewardship. The inaugural event will also feature the presentation of the first Noble Land Stewardship Award.

Roots & Revelry reflects the vision that guided Lloyd Noble in establishing the organization in 1945, following the Dust Bowl – that healthy soil is the foundation of a healthy nation. An oil entrepreneur with a conservationist’s heart, Noble was determined to restore what had been lost to drought and erosion in the 1930s. When he founded the institute on September 19, 1945, his goal was to help farmers and ranchers steward their land, protect their soil and ensure economic viability.

The sold-out event will take place on Wednesday, October 22, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Noble Research Institute Retreat Center in Ardmore, OK. For more information, visit www.noble.org/roots-and-revelry/.

Clean Fuels Alliance America shared with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin projections of the economic impact for U.S. soybean farmers and processors of EPA’s proposed supplemental “SRE reallocation volume” to the 2026 and 2027 RFS volumes. EPA is co-proposing to either fully (100%) or partially (50%) account for 2023-25 small refinery exemptions granted this year by adding a supplemental volume in 2026 and 2027.

The agency is also taking comment on other volumes, including 0%.

“U.S. soybean farmers and processors could lose between $3.2 billion and $7.5 billion in crop value over the next two years if EPA does not completely reallocate recently exempted RFS volumes,” Clean Fuels writes in a letter to Zeldin.

“With increased farm productivity, U.S. soybean growers are right now harvesting a projected 4.3 billion bushels of soybeans for the season worth $43 billion. And with more than $6 billion of investment, U.S. soybean processors are expected to crush a record 2.5 billion of those bushels next year. Facing retaliatory trade measures from China and growing global competition from countries like Argentina and Brazil, America’s farmers can not afford to lose the value that U.S. biomass-based diesel brings.”

Checking the Markets...

Choice Boxed Beef prices on Thursday, October 16, 2025, showed Choice at $366.11, down $0.37, and Select at $348.93, down $0.23, with the Choice-Select spread at $17.18 and 99 loads sold.

Woodward reports 1,731 head on Thursday- Compared to last week: Feeder steers 4.00 to 8.00 higher with instances 15.00 higher. Feeder heifers mostly steady on a light test. Steer and heifer calves easily 10.00 to 20.00 higher with mostly unweaned calves in the offering. Demand was moderate to active.

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.

Our daily email is free because of our Sponsors!

© 2025 Oklahoma Farm Report - All rights reserved