The Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program assists potential leaders to develop a deeper understanding of themselves and of people. This includes personal and group study and interaction, improving skills in communications, and developing a commitment to future leadership roles in Oklahoma agriculture.

The Program Director, Edmond Bonjour, is leading the current class to Kenya for two weeks of agricultural immersion. Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays caught up with Bonjour to hear about the trip.

The group departed yesterday on Sunday, February 16. Bonjour said, “We have a really good program lined up for Class 21 that will stretch them tremendously by some of the visits that we have planned.”

During the trip, the class will be exposed to everything from roses to mobile dairies to interactions between Kenyan wildlife and livestock and an animal orphanage. They will also observe conservation aspects and participate in tree plantings and will spend time in the Great Rift Valley where a variety of ag enterprises are located at in Kenya.

We will be keeping up with the Class over the next couple of weeks here in the email- if my memory serves me correctly- it is the third time that an OALP class will be in Africa- and the second time that the entire trip will be on the continent.

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.

It has been a busy first few days on the job for USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.

Last Friday morning, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins delivered opening remarks at the Department of Agriculture to more than 400 USDA employees, stakeholders, and congressional members and staff as they welcomed her to her first full day on the job.

A recording of Secretary Rollins’ remarks can be found on the USDA website.

The Secretary's first road trip was to Kentucky- meeting with a group of farmers there(the pic above) and attending the National Farm Machinery Show and speaking to the crowd gathered for their Tractor Pull- 15,000 at Freedom Hall at their State Fairgrounds.

Ahead of that- the USDA released to the media details of a variety of actions she took on Day One- dealing with rolling back DEI actions from Biden Administration, getting up to the speed on HPAI which is the reason for decimated egg laying flocks and higher egg prices, interacting with state level officials on SNAP reforms and working with DOGE to trim government outlays at USDA.

Dan Halstrom on U.S. Beef’s Record-Breaking Global Demand

During CattleCon 2025, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays caught up with the president and CEO of the United States Meat Export Federation, Dan Halstrom, and talked about the U.S. beef export market of today.

Coverage of CattleCon 2025 is powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Halstrom noted that while the Trump Administration’s talk of tariffs is noteworthy, the cattle industry needs to hang tight and focus on things it can control – the record-high beef demand being one.

“Demand, globally, for U.S. beef and pork is record-breaking,” he said. “Especially when you look at the beef side with the shorter supplies and extremely high prices. Given all of the headwinds, we’ve got a strong U.S. dollar, uncertainty of what might or might not happen with tariffs, but despite all of that, demand is good, so we are fairly optimistic.”

Halstrom contributed the strong demand for U.S. beef across the world to its reputation as the safest supply source in the world in not only meat quality but also animal health. Also, the extremely marbled, grain-fed beef is a unique product in many foreign markets. He added that the global expansion of middle-class populations across the globe is also bolstering the demand and the ability of consumers to pay for the quality of U.S. beef.

Cordell Native Appointed as EPA South Central Regional Administrator

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that President Donald Trump has appointed Scott Mason IV to serve as the 14th regional administrator of the EPA’s South-Central Region, also known as Region 6.

"It’s a tremendous honor to be appointed by President Trump to be EPA Region 6 Administrator under the leadership of Administrator Zeldin," said Scott Mason IV. "I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and 66 Tribal Nations who are looking to EPA to fulfill our mission to protect human health and the environment while fostering economic growth. As someone with deep roots in this region, I am committed to working hard each and every day to make a difference in the lives of the people we serve by implementing the President’s agenda and the Administrator’s ‘Powering the Great American Comeback’ Initiative."

This is Mason’s second appointment to EPA, having served as the Director of EPA’s American Indian Environmental Office during President Trump’s first administration. Most recently, Mason was the Deputy Secretary of Energy of Oklahoma under Governor Kevin Stitt.

Mason is a Citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a 5th generation Oklahoman, from Cordell. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from The University of Oklahoma.

A water well testing project that recently gained university-wide recognition continues to gain statewide exposure while supporting rural health.

Jeff Sadler, a water resources specialist for Oklahoma State University Extension and an assistant professor in the OSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, received the Land-Grant Award for Excellence during the Oklahoma State University Awards Convocation ceremony in December. He and researchers and specialists from the Oklahoma Water Resources Center established the Oklahoma Well Owner Network in 2023.

The project provides free residential well-water testing and training to Oklahomans. At Oklahoma Well Owner Network events, landowners can submit a water sample from their private well. The Oklahoma Water Resources Center coordinates testing for nitrates, total dissolved solids (salts), pH levels and bacteria. Results are shared with the well owners within one to two weeks.

“For those using a private well, the water is not tested, so we’re trying to support those landowners,” Sadler said. “It’s great to meet a lot of people and hear their water concerns. More than half the people who have submitted samples have never tested their well before.”

Sometimes being a cattleman feels like walking up to a buffet with endless options. Where do I start? Should I focus on the big picture or the details? How do I focus on just one thing?

Through educational sessions sponsored by the Colorado Angus Association at the 2025 National Western Stock Show, industry experts and boots-on-the-ground cattlemen discussed the value of balancing trait selection to achieve forward progress.

The session kicked off with a presentation by Kara Lee, director of producer engagement at Certified Angus Beef (CAB), followed by a panel discussion. The panel was comprised of moderator Kevin Ochsner, host of Cattlemen to Cattlemen on RFDTV, and industry perspectives including — David Brown of Montana Angus Ranch, Darrell Stevenson of Stevenson Angus, Anton Hermes of Hermes Livestock who is also an ABS Global representative, and Oakley Kelley, herd manager of Double RL Ranch.

The American Angus Associationâ offers a suite of 30+ EPDs and dollar indexes to help measure an animal’s performance. But what’s top priority when given such vast information? For Stevenson, the nucleus of the herd is the cow, and every input should focus on her continuous improvement.

According to new data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), U.S. sales of Ag tractors and combines fell during January 2025 compared to the year before.  

U.S. sales of Ag tractors dropped 15.8%, while U.S. sales of combines fell 78.9%.

“As we enter 2025, we’re seeing a continuation of slow sales saw throughout 2024.” said AEM Senior Vice President Curt Blades. “The Ag industry continues to face uncertainties including global trade concerns, tariffs, and the lack of assurance that a farm bill provides. These uncertainties are reflected in the softness of the ag equipment market.” 

Canadian sales also fell in January 2025, with sales of Ag tractors dropping 3.1%, while sales of combines fell 82.9%.  

The Ag Tractor and Combine reports can be found on the AEM Market Share Statistics page. The U.S. report can be downloaded from this page, while the Canadian report is available for download here. 

U.S. President's Day Reminder- and Extreme Cold Cancellations

Our February national holiday is today as we celebrate Presidents Day in the US. Most Government offices are closed on Monday- no mail delivery- the stock market and Ag Futures are closed- BUT the regional cash cattle auction markets will be operating and pretty well every retail store across the country will be open for business as well.

One note that we are reporting over in our markets section- the Oklahoma National Stockyards will combine their Cow and Bull sale that is normally held on Tuesdays with their Monday sale today- to avoid the extreme cold that is forecast for Oklahoma starting Tuesday through Thursday.

OKC West is also responding to the extreme cold- they are only having a Monday Cow Sale this week- Due to the threat of inclement weather, they have decided to cancel their sales for Tuesday and Wednesday to ensure the safety of our employees and cattle.

We are also hearing that the Comanche Livestock Market will not have a sale on Wednesday of this week- February 19- because of the extreme cold in the forecast- they plan to resume next Wednesday

It's safe to say that if you were planning on moving cattle and selling on Tuesday through Thursday of this week- check with your market BEFORE you load up- I suspect many locations will not be operating because of single digit temps and wind chills twenty to thirty below.