While it appears parts of Texas and Oklahoma have started to move out of the four-year drought, no one knows what future environmental conditions hold, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist. The Cattle Trails Wheat and Stocker Cattle Conference on July 28 will provide producers in the Southwestern Oklahoma, and North and Rolling Plains regions of Texas with the latest updates from AgriLife Extension and Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service experts, said Stan Bevers, AgriLife Extension economist at Vernon. The conference, which alternates between Texas and Oklahoma each year, will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Comanche County Coliseum, 920 S. Sheridan Road, Lawton, Oklahoma. Registration is $25 per person and includes educational materials, a noon meal and refreshments. Producers are encouraged to preregister by contacting their local AgriLife Extension county agent, their Oklahoma Cooperative Extension county educator or by contacting the Southwest Oklahoma Area Extension office at 580-255-0546. “We know agricultural producers are continuing to plant crops and grow cattle,” Bevers said. “While cattle prices seem to have reached a new plateau, wheat prices appear to have fallen to levels of 20 years ago.” These commodity prices, the weather and tight margins cause producers to stretch every dollar for the greatest efficiency, he said. Determining ways to improve this efficiency will be the focus of the joint conference. Speakers will be from both Texas and Oklahoma. Bevers will provide a wheat and cattle market update, while Dr. Mark Gregory, with the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service in Duncan, will discuss factors that influence wheat forage production. Dr. Chris Richards, Oklahoma State University Extension and research beef cattle nutrition specialist in Stillwater, will discuss performance robbers in feed and water. Gant Mourer, Oklahoma State beef value enhancement specialist in Stillwater, will discuss value enhancements to beef cattle. After lunch, Dr. Tom Hairgrove, AgriLife Extension program coordinator for livestock and food animal systems in College Station, will provide a post-mortem investigation of cattlemen’s management practices and diseases. Industry sponsors will have their products on display during the event. For more information, go to http://agrisk.tamu.edu.