Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays got to speak with the Third District Congressman of Oklahoma Frank Lucas, who formerly served as House Ag Committee Chairman and Science Committee Chairman. 

The big question in the minds of ag producers across the nation, for about two years, is when will a farm bill be finalized. During the Lame Duck Session in 2024, the decision was made to extend the existing and outdated farm bill to the end of September 2025 and add $10 billion in economic aid to help farmers with disaster relief.

The more pressing issue in government is how to fund it so that budget reconciliation can be considered and ways to reprogram enough money to extend tax relief measures begun in 2017. Then, they will begin the regular appropriations process, and Lucas is hopeful that the second reconciliation bill will include the farm bill.

“Chairman Thompson is optimistic that we can go quicker than that, but I have enough callouses and scars to know that we still have a struggle ahead of us to get it done,” Congressman Lucas admitted.

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.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced today that EPA will work with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to deliver on President’s Trump’s promise to review the definition of “waters of the United States.” The agencies will move quickly to ensure that a revised definition follows the law, reduces red-tape, cuts overall permitting costs, and lowers the cost of doing business in communities across the country while protecting the nation’s navigable waters from pollution. Given the U.S. Supreme Court’s watershed decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, it is time for EPA to finally address this issue once and for all in a way that provides American farmers, landowners, businesses, and states with clear and simplified direction. Administrator Zeldin was joined by Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman (R-AR), Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), Senator Katie Britt (R-AL), Western Caucus Chairman Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-01), Representative Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-03), and Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall for the announcement.

“We want clean water for all Americans supported by clear and consistent rules for all states, farmers, and small businesses,” said EPA Administrator Zeldin. “The previous Administration’s definition of ‘waters of the United States’ placed unfair burdens on the American people and drove up the cost of doing business. Our goal is to protect America’s water resources consistent with the law of the land while empowering American farmers, landowners, entrepreneurs, and families to help Power the Great American Comeback.” 

“Farmers and ranchers are the best stewards of the land and need water regulations that are clear and practical, not burdensome,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. “Thank you, Administrator Zeldin, for your leadership on this critical rule. USDA supports EPA’s revisions to WOTUS that provide certainty and recognize the key role that agriculture plays in protecting our natural resources. We’ll keep pushing for policies that let producers focus on what they do best—feeding, fueling and clothing our nation.”

Ag Community Responds to EPA's Intent to Revise WOTUS Rule

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-15) issued the following statement applauding EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s announcement on the Trump Administration’s plan to review and revise the definition of Waters of the United States:

“The Administration’s decision to revise the definition of ‘Waters of the United States’ is a crucial step in correcting years of regulatory overreach and continuous uncertainty for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. By aligning federal water protections with the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision, the EPA is restoring clarity, cutting burdensome red tape, and empowering local and state governments to manage water resources, while ensuring continued economic growth and environmental stewardship. I thank Administrator Zeldin for listening to America’s farmers and delivering much-needed relief to our rural communities.”

Click the links below to read more ag community responses.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with Dr. Jessica Lancaster, NCBA Senior Director of Product Quality Research, to talk about modernizing the yield grade system in the U.S.

The current system hasn’t been upgraded since 1965, but the cattle certainly have changed. “We are using pretty old estimates that are still directionally correct but still have a lot of opportunity to truly value the cattle we see today,” Lancaster said. “We can utilize new science and computing technologies to really get us better answers than we have ever been able to have before.”

Currently, the Beef Checkoff is conducting research using beef carcasses and 3-D imaging to better understand composition. They are using ultrasound and radar technology to study the compositions of live cattle as well.

“Over the next year or two, we will do the largest cutout study that has probably ever been done before in the industry,” Lancaster said. “The first yield grade study was probably 165 head, so we will certainly beat that looking at over 1,000 head. That will give us some great answers to where we head next on this topic.”

The following is a letter from State Veterinarian Dr. Rod Hall to veterinatians and anyone involved in poultry production regarding Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza:

“Please warn your stakeholders to protect their flocks against HPAI, and please contact us if you encounter high numbers of sick/dead animals so we are aware and can begin planning in case it does turn out to be a disease that we take action on.

In Oklahoma, we had one commercial poultry farm infected in early 2022 and four commercial poultry farms infected in December 2024. We’ve had 10 backyard poultry flocks infected since the beginning of the outbreak. Thankfully, we’ve had no human cases that have been reported.

I want to discuss the latest case today. Monday night, I received a call from OADDL telling me they had received positive results for HPAI in some guineas that had been submitted by a private practitioner. This was a surprise because I had not been notified that there were any suspicious cases that were going to have testing performed.  It is a law that a veterinarian, laboratory, or animal owner must notify the state veterinarian’s office if they suspect a foreign animal or highly consequential disease. By us not knowing anything about the pending testing, it put us trying to catch up, learn about the specifics of the case and the flock, notify the proper people, and begin making plans to handle the case. Thankfully, my team was able to contact the veterinarian and the poultry owner that night and get the response moving forward.  The point is that, especially to the veterinarians reading this, please contact my office if you suspect a foreign animal, highly contagious, zoonotic, or otherwise consequential disease, and let us help you make sure it’s being handled appropriately.

A proposed bioprocessing plant in eastern Oklahoma, designed to convert poultry litter into renewable natural gas and fertilizer, is generating both interest and concern among local residents. Brent Rendel, owner of Rendel Farms, and Miles Walker, Managing Director at Argo, key figures in the project, recently discussed the initiative and the public meetings held to address community questions. 

Brent Rendel explained the impetus behind the project, stating, “There are a lot of chickens in eastern Oklahoma and chickens are great at eating and they’re also great at pooping, and we’ve gotta do something with all of that litter.”

He highlighted the collaboration with Argo, which proposed a European-established concept of generating renewable natural gas from poultry litter. “We are planning to develop and build a renewable natural gas plant that will be using a significant amount of poultry litter to make – not only natural gas – but also a nitrogen fertilizer product and a phosphorus and potassium solid fertilizer product,” Rendel said.

Miles Walker from Argo Development elaborated on the project’s appeal, noting, “The project itself is really exciting because it’s taking this concept that’s well established in Europe and really finding more value for poultry litter.”

He addressed the novelty of using poultry litter in digesters, stating, “But what’s new about this is it’s a litter digester, which really only been done in Europe.” Walker also emphasized the project’s scale, revealing that 164,000 tons of poultry litter will be processed per year.

USDA, HHS Share Update on Dietary Guidelines for Americans Process

On Wednesday, following the inaugural meeting of the Make America Healthy Again Commission, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced their continued work on the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Guidelines).

The public comment period closed on February 10, 2025. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are currently conducting a line-by-line review of the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee—released in 2024 by the prior administration—and are committed to releasing the final Guidelines ahead of its statutory deadline of December 31, 2025. Moving forward beyond 2025, HHS and USDA are looking to make holistic process improvements to ensure transparency and minimize conflicts of interest.

“It is the dawn of a new day,” Secretary Brooke Rollins said. “The Trump-Vance Administration supports transformational opportunities to create and implement policies that promote healthy choices, healthy families, and healthy outcomes. Secretary Kennedy and I have a powerful, complementary role in this, and it starts with updating federal dietary guidance. We will make certain the 2025-2030 Guidelines are based on sound science, not political science. Gone are the days where leftist ideologies guide public policy.”

“We are going to make sure the dietary guidelines will reflect the public interest and serve public health, rather than special interests,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said. “This is a giant step in making America the healthiest country in the world.”

The Federal government has provided dietary advice for the public for more than 100 years through bulletins, posters, brochures, books, and—more recently—websites and social media. Dietary guidance has generally included advice about what to eat and drink for better health, but the specific messaging has changed throughout the years to reflect advances in nutrition science and the role of specific foods and nutrients on health.