While area fields are green with volunteer wheat and weeds, it’s still early in the season for most grain producers to sow.

Kingfisher County Extension Director/Agriculture Educator Bryan Kennedy said some producers, especially in the north side of the county looking for early pasture, had already begun sowing wheat, rye and triticale.

There’s an added bonus due to the excellent moisture, he said.

The late August rains are providing small grain producers with the opportunity to clean their fields of trash with additional tillage before sowing.

Normal small grain-sowing time in Oklahoma is from early September through the middle of November.

But insects may be a problem for early-sown grain.

Kennedy said grasshoppers are still abundant and army worm numbers are high. Both are threats to emerging grain fields.

He reported finding 10 tiny army worms recently on one four-inch tall stalk of volunteer grain in a field he checked near Hennessey.

A producer who brought in a hay sample for analysis reported finding army worms in the hay field.

The area’s bright display of volunteer grain may be attributable to high shatter rates in the 2025 wheat harvest due to extended rain delays.

Kennedy termed the soil moisture conditions countywide this fall outstanding.

Kennedy said producers who grow wheat for grain production have plenty of time before deciding when to start running their grain drills.

Hard red winter wheat, which dominates Kingfisher County fields, is Oklahoma’s number one crop.

Kennedy termed the cattle market this fall as “amazing” with prices high on all classes of beef cattle.

However, county cattle numbers are down compared to normal.

A guy with 100 stocker calves to sell will be looking at a sizable payday, he predicted, noting that stocker cattle have been bringing up to $2,700 per head at state auction markets. Kennedy said summer temperatures may not be over, yet. While cooler weather has been welcomed locally in early September the 10-day forecast calls for a return to the mid-90s later in the month.