With cattle prices remaining high and wheat returning to levels of two decades back, Southwest producers may have some arithmetic to work out as they plan for the next wheat crop and to determine how to begin rebuilding herds following prolonged drought.

And even though most of the region has received rain over the winter and spring, weather remains a capricious element subject to sudden change.

The annual Cattle Trails Wheat and Stocker Cattle Conference, July 28, held this year in Lawton, Okla., will offer some guidance for producers who grow wheat and raise cattle.

“We know agricultural producers are continuing to plant crops and grow cattle,” says Stan Bevers, AgriLife Extension economist at Vernon. “While cattle prices seem to have reached a new plateau, wheat prices appear to have fallen to levels of 20 years ago.”

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.