Welcome to the 2024 version of President's Day holiday- which is being celebrated by the Federal Government and many states- including Oklahoma. With the Feds taking the day off- don't expect mail delivery and don't try to visit your local FSA or NRCS office. And the stock market and ag futures markets are closed on Monday. HOWEVER- our cattle auctions will be operating as usual across the region- note the numbers estimated for the Oklahoma National Stockyards in the right hand column on our email. (Over 11,000 on hand to sell today)

It's full speed ahead for state lawmakers on President's Day- click here for what's happening in the House today- and click here for the Senate Committee links for today and this week and click here for the Floor Agenda for Monday in the State Senate.

Most places of businesses will be operating as usual today- the notable exception being banks- most banks are closed for President's Day and will reopen tomorrow.

One Purebred cattle sale will be happening at noon today- the President's Day Albrecht/Penz Angus Bull and Female Sale.

It's slated to happen at 12 noon at the Clay Freeny Ranch in Caddo, Oklahoma. They will be selling 200 Angus Bulls and over 100 Registered and Commercial Angus Females.

You can attend the sale in person or participate remotely on the Superior Livestock platform- click here for their landing page.

Check out details of the offering at the Albrecht Ranch website- and the Penz Angus Ranch website.

Both sites have the sale catalog, sale videos and more.



Midwest Farm Shows is proud to produce the two best Farm Shows in the State of Oklahoma annually- the Tulsa Farm Show each December and the Oklahoma City Farm Show each April. 

They would like to thank all of you who participated in their 2023 Tulsa City Farm Show. 

Up next will be the Oklahoma City’s premier spring agricultural and ranching event that returns to the State Fair Park April 4-5-6, 2024.

Now is the ideal time to contact the Midwest Farm Show Office at 507-437-7969 and book space at the 2024 Oklahoma City Farm Show.  To learn more about the Oklahoma City Farm Show, click here. 

With two weeks of the general legislative session in Oklahoma under our belt, I caught up with Oklahoma Farm Bureau Vice President of Public Policy, Steve Thompson to talk about the latest policy impacting producers in the state of Oklahoma.

As there has been some movement on particular bills in the 2024 state legislative session, and Thompson said he feels that this year’s pace is historically fast.

“Everybody is truly scrambling to make sure there is not something that anyone has missed or that your bases are covered,” Thompson said.

The number one issue right now, Thompson said, has to do with water.

“We have had probably four or five predominant bills kind of geared at western Oklahoma,” Thompson said. “We have lived through multiple years of drought. We were reading today about the drought map and how good it looks relative to where we have been, and one of the reasons we noticed that is because of what we are used to, unfortunately, for the last few years.”

There are a few more water-related issues impacting the rest of the state, but Thompson said the predominant bill concerns western and southwest Oklahoma. Thompson said this bill is aimed at the Upper Red River Basin.

Recap of Fourth Cattlemen’s Congress with Executive Vice President Bray Haven

I had the chance to recap the fourth year of Cattlemen’s Congress in Oklahoma City with the Executive Vice President of the show, Bray Haven.

“Cattlemen’s Congress is kind of set on as the destination for seedstock producers from around North American to come showcase their genetics and have the opportunity to come sell and trade and those kinds of things,” Haven said. “We are really settling in as that and I think as we grow into year five and look to the future of Cattlemen’s Congress, what we are really looking to do now is get buy-in from the local producers and let them know there is something here for them as well.”

At the 2024 Cattlemen’s Congress, Haven said there was an outstanding number of exhibitors with over 8700 entries and over 25 breeds represented.

“It is really tremendous, even if you look across the globe at what cattle shows have to offer, just the sheer number of cattle we had on the ground,” Haven said.

Haven said from the feedback he has received, the exhibitors have thoroughly enjoyed their time at Cattlemen’s Congress. The fifth Cattlemen’s Congress will be held January 4-16, 2025.

“I think our goal is to continue to get input from them, continue to make Cattlemen’s Congress more amenable to them, and because those are the things they like about Cattlemen’s Congress,” Haven said.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Oklahoma State Director Kenneth Corn announced this past week that the Biden-Harris Administration is investing more than $2 million to support small or emerging businesses in Oklahoma via the USDA Rural Development Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG). This program promotes economic development and job creation projects through the awarding of grant funds to eligible entities. Applications will compete in two separate categories, business opportunity grants and business enterprise grants, for use in funding various business and community projects that serve rural areas.

This past year Oklahoma has funded 12 projects in the following counties: Caddo, Cherokee, Cleveland, Custer, Garfield, Harper, Logan, Jackson, Osage, Payne, and Pittsburg.

“Assisting small businesses grow is a priority for President Joe Biden, because he understands that rural communities need small business owners to thrive in order to grow our economy,” Corn said. “This is why under the Biden Administration, he is focusing his efforts on Main Streets across America by utilizing USDA’s programs to leverage that assistance for small business owners and their employees to not just survive but thrive by trusting their expertise to grow America’s economy.”

Eligible applicants for USDA’s RBDG are a Public Body/Government Entity, an Indian Tribe, or a Nonprofit entity primarily serving rural areas. These funds can be utilized to grow a business, creating incubators, long-term planning, revolving loan funds for start-ups and working capital, training and technical assistance, technology-based economic development and much more. 

January 2024 4-Wheel-Drive Ag Tractor Sales Increase Slightly in the U.S.

Unit sales of 4-wheel-drive agriculture tractors grew slightly in the U.S. during the first month of 2024, according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

In the U.S., January data shows 4-wheel-drive tractors increased year-over-year 1.4 percent, the only segment to show growth in the month. In Canada, 4-wheel-drive tractor sales remained unchanged at 49 units in January compared to 2023.

“This slight gain in U.S. 4-wheel-drive tractors is positive news as 2024 kicks off,” said AEM Senior Vice President Curt Blades. “While overall sales fell in both the U.S. and Canada compared to January 2023 sales, we remain optimistic about future long-term growth.”

Overall unit sales of U.S. tractors are down 21.2 percent compared to January 2023 sales, while combine sales finished 4.9 percent under. Canadian tractor sales finished 29.9 percent under 2023’s data. Combines were also down in January, falling 9.5 percent.

The Ag Tractor and Combine reports can be found on the AEM Market Share Statistics page.

AFR Cooperative Announces 119th Annual Convention

American Farmers & Ranchers/Oklahoma Farmers Union (AFR/OFU) will host its 119th annual state convention at the Embassy Suites & Conference Center – Norman Feb. 23-25. This year’s convention theme is “Serving Through the Storm.”

This year’s three-day event features speakers like Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond; Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr.; Oklahoma State Treasurer Todd Russ; Oklahoma State Climatologist Gary McManus; National Farmers Union President Rob Larew; National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies Senior Vice President of Federal and Political Affairs Jimi Grande; National Farmers Union Counsel Dave Velde; OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Vice President and Dean Jayson Lusk; KOSU General Manager Rachel Hubbard; Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives Director of Member Services Stacy Howeth; The Nature Conservancy Partnership and External Affairs Manager Clay Pope; and more. Convention attendees will learn about timely legislative issues, such as inflation in agriculture, industry economic trends and much more.

Convention attendees will also hear from state winners of the annual AFR Speech Contest and will honor those cooperative members who have passed in the last calendar year. In addition to special guests, the convention features the annual business meeting of Oklahoma Farmers Union and AFR Mutual Insurance Company, as well as discussion and adoption of AFR/OFU legislative policy.