At the 2024 CattleCon held in Orlando, Florida, I had the chance to talk with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Research, Jennifer Nealson. Nealson is the lead when it comes to marketing efforts for the Beef Checkoff.

Our coverage from the 2024 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Orlando is being powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

Nealson says one thing the Checkoff is very mindful of is the retail price of beef and how that impacts consumers.

“Everybody knows that consumer prices for beef are up, and the consumer price index just came out for November-November,” Nealson said. “Food inflation rose three percent. Within that, there is only a 1.7 percent increase in retail for beef, so the good news, I guess, is that it is indexing lower than the average at three percent. Dining is up three percent. There are inflationary pressures out there.”

Nealson said another thing that is softening the market is the willingness of the consumer to pay higher prices- specifically for steak. People’s willingness to pay is about nine dollars per pound for steak, she added.



Oklahoma Farm Bureau works to improve the lives of all Oklahomans by supporting our state’s agriculture community. As Oklahoma’s largest general farm organization led by Oklahoma farmers and ranchers, OKFB takes grassroots values and advocates for agriculture at the state Capitol and in Washington, D.C., to ensure our way of life continues for generations to come.

Farm Bureau hosts leadership events, supports our state’s agricultural youth and connects consumers with agriculture in order to build a brighter future for our state. Become an OKFB member today online at okfarmbureau.org/join. Together, we are rural Oklahoma.

USDA Projects a Sharp Drop in 2024 Net Farm and Net Cash Farm Income Versus 2023 and 2022

USDA’s broad measure of profits, net farm income, is forecast to drop 25.5% from 2023. That’s nearly 41% lower than 2022’s record when adjusted for inflation.

USDA forecast net farm income to be $116.1 billion. That’s 1.7% lower than the 20-year average.

Net cash farm income is expected to fall significantly below the long-run average. Net cash income measures cash farm-related income from the year minus cash expenses and excludes changes in inventory, depreciation and rental income from dwellings.

USDA expects net cash farm income to decline by 24.1% from 2023 to $121.7 billion in 2024. That’s 13.7% lower than the 2003-2022 average and 43.2% below 2022. Lower cash receipts, lower direct government payments and higher production expenses all play a role in declining farm incomes.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack offered the Administration’s view on why the federal government needs to step and offer more regulation to offset this downturn predicted by the agency’s economists as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service released its annual Farm Sector Income Forecast report for 2024.  Read his comments by clicking on the Blue Button. 

Stitt’s State of the State projects positive outlook for agriculture, rural Oklahoma

Monday, Feb. 5, marked the start of the second regular session of the 59th Oklahoma legislature with Gov. Kevin Stitt’s annual State of the State address.

In his speech, Stitt emphasized his determination to make Oklahoma the most business-friendly state in the nation, and OKFB is playing a part in that very mission through the newly founded Oklahoma Grassroots Rural and Ag Business Accelerators program. The accelerators program spurs agricultural and rural innovation through providing an opportunity for rural entrepreneurs and business owners to grow their ideas and bring their businesses to life, creating economic opportunities in rural Oklahoma.

Stitt also reiterated the importance of a strong education system – something that Farm Bureau members know is crucial to the continued vibrance of rural Oklahoma. While Stitt highlighted the formation of more charter schools in Monday’s address, Farm Bureau members stand firm in the importance of strong rural schools that give students the same opportunities for education and career tracks after high school, whether students attend school in Broken Arrow or Balko.

Federal Court Presents Ag Community with a Possible Dicamba Disaster

The Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural Retailers Association, Darren Coppock, has expressed dismay at the ruling this week of a federal court in Arizona that seems to ignore a science based process on whether an agricultural chemical should be registered or not. Here is the statement from ARA and Coppock:

“On Tuesday a federal District Court in Arizona vacated the registration for over-the-top (OTT) applications of dicamba on dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton. OTT dicamba products Xtendimax (Bayer), Engenia (BASF) and Tavium (Syngenta) were all included in the decision

which is national in scope.

“ARA disagrees with this decision. It removes a determination that should be made by a science based regulatory agency to a federal court, and the timing of the decision will be extremely disruptive to ag retailers, distributors, manufacturers and farmers who made plans to use these products in 2024.

“People have different opinions about whether OTT dicamba should be registered and used. But

surely we can agree that we’re all better off – including consumers and the environment – if these decisions are made by regulators with scientific expertise during the registration review process rather than by the federal courts or activist litigators which lack that expertise."

Championship Sunday Menu: Football, Food and Farming

Regardless of which team you’re rooting for, your football party will be the real winner this Sunday thanks to a team of 2 million farm families working on your behalf. Pro football championship Sunday ranks among the top days of the year for food consumption in the United States. As you watch your favorite team and eat your favorite snacks, here are some facts about how that food makes it to your home.

• Almost 1.5 billion chicken wings are consumed during the big game, according to the National Chicken Council. More than 164,000 farms raise chickens and eggs.
• More than 8 million pounds of corn tortilla chips will be eaten during the game. The United States is the world’s largest corn producer, at more than 15 billion bushels a year.

• Pizza ranks in the top three of all gameday snacks. Where does the crust come from? Farmers plant almost 50 million acres of wheat every year, which is also used in breads, cookies, pretzels and cakes.
• America’s families purchase more than 25 million pounds of cheese for the big game, according to estimates by Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. Dairy cows produce more than 226 billion pounds of milk every year.

On today’s Cow-Calf Corner, Eric A. DeVuyst, Professor and Rainbolt Chair of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University talks about herd rebuilding and more.

December and January precipitation greatly improved soil conditions across much of the US southern plains, including Oklahoma. The US Drought Monitor (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?OK) showed over 67% of Oklahoma is drought free as of January 25, 2024. Encouragingly, none of the state is in the extreme or exceptional drought. In comparison, just over 2% of the state was drought free in January 2023 with almost 58% of the state in extreme or exceptional drought.

With improved soil moisture and ponds refilled, Oklahoma cow-calf producers are looking to restock drought-diminished herds. However, there are reasons for caution before jumping into the heifer replacement market. Heifer prices are high, very high. At OKC on January 30, 625# heifers sold for nearly $238 per cwt, or nearly $1500 per head. There are reports of production sales with bred heifers going for over $2500 per head. These prices make financing of replacements risky for many producers.

Agriculture Committee Democrats Release Principles for the Next Farm Bill

Yesterday, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member David Scott and Committee Democrats published a memo laying out the principles the next farm bill should include to win the support of the House Democratic Caucus. The principles are distilled from farm bill priorities submitted by Democratic Members across the Caucus and represent the shared values of House Democrats, including protecting historic Inflation Reduction Act climate investments and SNAP.

“After months of Republican discord and disorder delaying the passage of the farm bill, the principles document presents an honest assessment of where House Democrats are on farm bill policy and offers our Republican colleagues an unambiguous and straightforward path to passing a strong, effective, and bipartisan farm bill,” said Ranking Member David Scott.

“Americans are counting on Congress to get a Farm Bill done, it’s America’s safety net. It bolsters our agricultural economy and ensures no American goes hungry. These principles reflect an effective roadmap that will grow the global competitiveness of American agriculture,” said Rep. Jim Costa, Ranking Member of the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee.

A letter signed by 3,466 farmers from across the country was sent to President Biden today expressing concern that his administration is taking a short-sighted approach to addressing climate change by prioritizing the use of electric vehicles over biofuels, such as corn ethanol, as it works to drastically lower the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“If we are going to address climate change and meet our sustainability goals, we are going to have to take a multi-pronged approach, that includes tapping into higher levels of biofuels, such as corn ethanol, which offers an immediate climate solution,” the letter said.

The letter, which drew thousands of signatures in less than a week, comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prepares to release its light- and medium-duty vehicle tailpipe emissions standards for 2027-2032. To help meet the standards, the president has set a goal that 50% of all vehicle sales will be electric by 2030. A similar rulemaking is also being considered through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Regenerative Resources: What We’re Reading and Listening to at Noble

Looking for a good book or podcast to learn more about regenerating your soils and grazing lands or managing your operation? We’ve collected an intriguing set of titles and programs suggested by the ranching advisors, course facilitators, ranch managers and even our CEO at Noble.

When we asked folks at Noble Research Institute what books and podcasts they turn to for education and inspiration about regenerative agriculture and more, we got a wide range of answers. Some are the latest titles and programs from innovative ranchers, livestock producers and scientists; others are classics about conservation, food issues and even how our land was settled in the first place.



We invite you to check out the following books and podcasts, listed alphabetically, suggested by Noble’s regenerative ranching advisors, course facilitators, ranch managers and our president and CEO, Steve Rhines.