During the confirmation hearings, Senator Steve Daines of Montana asked Secretary of Health and Human Services Nominee Robert Kennedy, Jr., if he would be willing to support farmers through policy should he be confirmed.

Kennedy responded, “I absolutely will make that commitment. I have, as I shared with you, a personal commitment and a long career working with farmers. I understand the very, very narrow margins that American farmers and ranchers are dealing with and I don’t want, under my watch, a single farmer to have to leave his farm for economic reasons or for regulatory or bureaucratic reasons if I am privileged to serve and be confirmed as HSS Secretary.

“Even more important, President Trump has a very, very strong commitment to farmers. President Trump is probably, historically – in modern history – the best farm president in our history. Farm income spiked for the first time in decades under his last administration. He got solid support from farmers across the country. Farm country is Trump country. Farmers across the country supported him during this election, and he has specifically instructed me that he wants farmers involved in every policy and that he wants me to work with Brooke Rollins at USDA to make sure that we preserve American Farmers and that all of our policies support them.”

National Livestock was founded in 1932 in Oklahoma City. National’s Marketing Division offers cattle for sale weekly at the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City. The Finance Division lends money to ranchers across several states for cattle production. The Grazing Division works with producers to place cattle for grazing on wheat or grass pastures. 

Dakota Moss with Livestock Risk Services is also a part of the National Livestock Family.



National also owns and operates other livestock marketing subsidiaries including Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction in Ada, Oklahoma, OKC West Livestock Market in El Reno, Oklahoma, and the nation’s premier livestock video sale, Superior Livestock Auction. National offers customers many services custom made for today’s producer. To learn more, click here for the website or call the Oklahoma City office at 1-800-310-0220.

The elevated prices of cattle have created an environment of high risk for cattle producers which makes margin protection like livestock risk protection or LRP more important than ever before. Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Clay Burtrum of Farm Data Services in Stillwater.

“We are in the highest volatile markets we have ever seen in the cattle industry,” Burtrum remarked.

Cattle producers across the state are in the midst of calving season and Burtrum said that insuring them for $1,600 each for a $50 or $60 premium per head is an easy way to rest easier at night.

“Maybe you don’t want to spend that much,” he said. “Maybe you want to insure them for $1,000 per head and only spend ten of fifteen dollars. Those are some of the options we could look at on those cattle that are hitting the ground right now.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune Questions USDA Secretary in Waiting About M-COOL

With new leadership in the government, the topic of country of origin for beef and pork is being raised once again. The requirement to report the country of origin on beef and pork was removed ten years ago when the USDA stopped enforcing the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements for beef and pork after the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 was signed into law. A provision in that law amended a previous statute by removing beef and pork from the list of products that must carry a COOL label.

The US Congress responded to pressure from Canada and Mexico- the two countries that won multiple rounds of trade rulings against the United States over our COOL regulations for beef and pork. The World Trade Organization (WTO) had authorized retaliation for just over a billion dollars annually, but once Congress eliminated mandatory COOL for beef and pork, the two countries suspended their plans to retaliate against the US. More about that here.

In today’s BeefBuzz, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays is featuring comments from a conversation at USDA Secretary of Agriculture Nominee Brooke Rollins’s confirmation hearing when US Senator John Thune of South Dakota – now the leader of the US Senate – brought up the issue.

“I have been a long-time supporter of mandatory country of origin labeling for beef products,” Thune said. “The system in which producers operate needs to be fair and transparent. I think it is critical that we take the steps to pass legislation tasking USDA or USDR to find a path forward on mandatory country of origin labeling.”

In today's Beef Buzz- we also go back nine years and pick up an answer to a question we had for then Secretary Tom Vilsack about challenge of making M-COOL trade compliant back in the day- a problem that has not disappeared with time.

New EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Latest Trump Appointee Confirmed

Lee Zeldin, the former New York Republican congressman who leveraged his full-throated defense of President Donald Trump into a position in his inner circle and ultimately his Cabinet, was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday to be the 17th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency by a 56-42 vote.

“We must ensure we are protecting the environment while also protecting our economy,” Zeldin said at his Jan. 16 confirmation hearing.

Both the biofuels community and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association were quick to congratulate the new Administrator.

Growth Energy's CEO Emily Skor says in a statement “Administrator Zeldin has made it clear that he understands how important American-made biofuels are to President Trump’s efforts to unleash American energy dominance,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “He’s also committed to advancing year-round E15 and ensuring that America’s farmers and biofuel producers have the regulatory certainty under the Renewable Fuel Standard to plan and invest in rural growth."

NCBA's Ethan Lane was clearly pleased with this confirmation- “For too long, the EPA has stood for ‘Ending Production Agriculture.’ Under Administrator Zeldin, we look forward to an EPA that acknowledges the conservation efforts that are only made possible by cattle farmers and ranchers—America’s original conservationists. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association congratulates Administrator Zeldin on his bipartisan confirmation, and we look forward to working with him to protect the clean water and healthy soil that American agriculture relies on every day.” 

Click here for the National Corn Growers statement which also praised the confirmation vote.

The Meat Institute today sent the following letter to President Donald Trump to provide strategies to reduce burdensome regulations and address meat prices for consumers.

The following is the text of the letter, dated January 27, 2025, and signed by Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts.

Dear Mr. President:

Congratulations on your victory and inauguration! The Meat Institute and its members look forward to working with you and your administration to reduce regulatory burdens and unleash economic prosperity.

The Meat Institute is the United States’ oldest and largest trade association representing packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal, turkey, and processed meat products, and Meat Institute member companies account for more than 95 percent of the U.S. output of these products. The Meat Institute provides legislative, regulatory, international affairs, public relations, technical, scientific, and educational services to the meat and poultry packing and processing industry...

According to DTN Retail fertilizer prices continue to be slightly higher than a month ago, according to sellers tracked by DTN for the third full week of January 2025. This marks the fifth consecutive week most prices have been higher.

Six fertilizer prices are higher while two are lower. As has been the case in recent months, no fertilizer had a sizeable price increase or decline. DTN designates a significant move as anything 5% or more.

The seven slightly higher fertilizers are DAP, which had an average price of $739; urea $492/ton; 10-34-0 $616/ton; anhydrous $737/ton; UAN28 $326/ton; and UAN32 $367/ton.

Two fertilizers were slightly less expensive than a month ago. MAP had an average price of $809/ton, while potash is at $443/ton looking back a month.

Oklahoma State University’s Craig Edwards has been named a recipient of the 2024 Sarkeys Distinguished Professor Award by OSU Agriculture.

The Sarkeys Foundation created the Sarkeys Award in 1980 in honor of Elmo Baumann, an agronomist who worked with the foundation following his retirement from OSU. The annual award recognizes those with outstanding contributions to the agricultural industry through teaching, research, or Extension efforts.

“I am deeply humbled to be honored with the Sarkeys recognition, especially knowing the caliber of Ferguson College of Agriculture faculty members receiving it in the past,” Edwards said. “I am also proud to be a social scientist playing a part, albeit small, in helping the college and OSU achieve the land-grant mission in service to our state, nation and world.”  

Edwards is a professor in the OSU Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership and was presented the award during the OSU Agriculture Appreciation and Awards Luncheon held last month.