Howdy Neighbors!

At the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in San Diego, Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Sigrid Johannes from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Washington, D.C. office.

Sigrid Johannes addressed the policy concerns surrounding the upcoming dietary guidelines, particularly in contrast to the scientific report released in December. “That scientific report was not good for us,” she said, citing “bogus recommendations” like swapping meat and eggs for legumes. Johannes emphasized that such substitutions aren’t nutritionally equivalent and critiqued the report’s outdated warnings about saturated fat. “There was also a lot of language in there about saturated fat and the dangers of red meat, even though the United States as a whole is within 1% of meeting our saturated fat target.”

Despite the challenges presented in the report, Johannes remained optimistic about the industry’s efforts to influence the final guidelines. “The good news is we’ve done a lot of work since December to improve the final guidelines,” she stated. She pointed out a key distinction between the preliminary scientific report and the actual guidelines, which she expects to be more favorable to beef producers. “There’s a lot of debate about how impartial [the scientific report] really is. It’s cooked up by 30 hand-selected people not open to a lot of public engagement.”

Farm Director KC Sheperd spoke with Troy White of the 580 cattle conference, which is back for its second year, following a strong debut in 2023. “Last year was our first year, and it was a tremendous success,” Troy White shared. “A lot of people showed up and listened to some very powerful speakers.” reinforced by the positive response, the organizers have worked to build an even stronger lineup for this year’s event. “I’m not so sure that our speaker lineup this year isn’t even better than last year,” Troy said confidently.

Among the headliners is the return of Dr. Temple Grandin, whose reputation speaks for itself. “She understands animal movement, animal behavior better than anybody has probably in the last 50 or 60 years,” Troy noted. “She was Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.” Dr. Grandin’s continued advocacy for humane livestock practices and neurodiversity makes her a key draw for attendees. Troy added, “The knowledge that Dr. Grandin has in her head is fantastic—and it’s hard to keep up with her too.”



The speaker lineup also features experts across various specialties in the cattle industry. Dr. Sonja Swiger will speak on New World screwworm research, while Dr. Darrell Peel will return with his insight on beef market trends. “Dr. Peel is such a wealth of knowledge,” Troy said. “He’ll talk about economics and market trends and everything that matters to us out here in the beef industry.”

Today, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced a bold step forward in the battle against the reemergence of the New World Screwworm (NWS) near the United States. Working closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) is spearheading efforts to reintroduce an improved pest control method to our international Screwworm response: Swormlure Bait.

“The New World Screwworm is not just a Texas problem. This is a nationwide crisis with potential massive implications for American agriculture, which could result in billions of dollars in economic losses and place a heavy burden on our agriculture, wildlife industries, and public health systems,” said Commissioner Miller. “We cannot wait for sterile flies alone to turn the tide. That’s why we’re applying a little cowboy logic and bringing back Swormlure, now with an enhanced formula that’s more powerful and effective than ever.”

The NWS was eradicated from the United States in the 1960s but experienced an isolated outbreak in the 1970s. It was ultimately eliminated again through a coordinated response that included the release of sterile flies, deployment of the Swormlure-2 attractant, and application of the insecticide, Dichlorvos.

The cattle market is experiencing exceptional momentum, with Ben Hale noting, “Feeder steers, four to eight higher. Again, steer calves, higher. Feeder heifers, higher. I mean, just keeps climbing.” At the Oklahoma National Stockyards, around 4,500 head were moved—up from 4,000 the previous year—underscoring increased demand and activity. “Lots of activity, lots of demand,” Hale said, emphasizing that buyers are “just stepping all over themselves, wanting in.”

A key factor behind the strong demand is the scarcity of specific cattle types. Hale pointed out, “There’s just not many true long yearlings left. There’s a lot of 60 and 90-day weaned. But not true long year ones.” This has feedlots eager to secure heavier weights, particularly 10-weight cattle fetching impressive prices. “You get these 10-weight cattle, right at three bucks or a little over, lots of money on cattle like that, for sure,” he explained.

Compared to last fall, prices have jumped significantly. Hale illustrated this with a striking example: “We had… 580 weight heifers kind of bring 242–250 in the fall, they bring in 350 right now, seven, you know, seven, eight months later.” He emphasized the cumulative nature of these increases, saying, “When you go up four or five dollars every week… when you see it in black and white, it just kind of makes it… all more apparent.”

Mark Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist, offers herd health advice as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner,” published electronically by Dr. Derrell Peel, Johnson, and Paul Beck. Today, Johnson discusses foxtail grass.

It is apparent that the ample moisture and cooler than normal temperatures in Oklahoma over the spring and early summer has resulted in a great deal of Foxtail infestation in many pastures and hay meadows. This is a very competitive plant and conditions have been favorable for it this year. This is unfortunate and a problem that needs to be addressed.

What is Foxtail? Foxtail is an annual, warm-season, weedy grass that is problematic. It consist of three varieties, Green Foxtail, Yellow Foxtail and Giant Foxtail. Small infestations can be spot treated, larger infestations can require renovation of an entire pasture. It reproduces annually by seed with germination from April to June and seedheads develop from July to September. Foxtails are characterized by bushy seedheads, which resemble a fox’s tail. Foxtails are adaptable and can thrive in various environments, including lawns, pastures, cultivated fields and disturbed areas. 

In an Article by David Anderson of Texas A&M, he talks about high Beef prices. The record high retail beef price reported by the most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) has prompted a lot of calls about why prices are record high and whether there is any relief in sight.  

While we often write about the great cattle prices for producers who are selling, there is a flip side, and that is consumers who are buying beef.  

Reduced slaughter and beef production, especially in the second quarter of the year, cut supplies just as grilling season heated up seasonal beef demand.  The combination led to a spike in wholesale prices and retail beef prices.  

Is there a chance for consumers to see falling retail beef prices in the coming months?  Normal seasonal production and demand would suggest prices falling from recent highs.  Evidence from the wholesale beef market over the last couple of weeks indicates lower prices.

National Farmers Union (NFU) proudly supports the Strengthening Local Food Security Act, introduced today by Senators Justice and Reed. This vital legislation establishes a federal program to fund state, tribal and territorial governments to purchase local and regionally produced foods to feed communities and schoolchildren across the United States. 

“For many communities, local food procurement is more than a policy–it’s a lifeline,” said NFU President Rob Larew. “This legislation not only increases access to fresh, nutritious, and locally grown food, but it also uplifts family farmers and strengthens local economies.” 

This proposed program builds on the success of federal and state efforts to strengthen partnerships between local farmers and ranchers, processors, food hubs, food distributors and community-based organizations to deliver fresh, nutritious food to communities across the country. NFU continues to advocate for programs like these and partner with Congress to bring the legislation to fruition.

Envu™ is making it easier for ranchers and land managers to visualize the long-term cost savings of restoring their rangeland. The new Return on Investment Calculator from Envu can help ranchers and landowners see the cost benefits of using solutions like Rejuvra® herbicide and Invora® herbicide to manage rangeland and pastures.

“Envu is committed to working alongside ranchers to create solutions that save ranchers time and money,” said Justin Hossfeld, Envu Range & Pasture Specialist. “Now, ranchers don’t have to just take our word for it. With the new Return on Investment Calculator, they can see exactly how investing in Envu Range & Pasture solutions would protect their land from invasive threats and improve the health of the land they depend on for their livelihoods.”

Using the new Return on Investment Calculator from Envu, ranchers can see how much money and time they can save by increasing forage availability, reducing grazing strain, and increasing production using innovative solutions like Rejuvra herbicide and Invoraherbicide. 

Checking the Markets...

OKC West had 1,900 Calves yesterday- Steers calves over 500lbs 2.00-7.00 lower, under 500lbs 1.00-5.00 higher. Heifer calves 2.00-7.00 lower. Quality was not as good as last week. They are expecting 3,500 head of yearlings today- 1,400 Feeder Heifers @ 9:00am and 2,100 Feeder Steers @ 11:00am.

Boxed beef prices were mixed Tuesday afternoon, with the Choice cutout inching up $0.43 to $372.50, while Select fell another $2.11 to $347.94. The Choice/Select spread widened to $24.56 as Select has now declined for 10 straight days, dropping a total of $30.52 since July 8th.

OKC West is our Market Links Sponsor- they sell cattle three days a week- Cows on Mondays, Stockers on Tuesday and Feeders on Wednesday- Call 405-262-8800 to learn more.

Click here for our Markets Page on OklahomaFarmReport.Com- there you will find many of the reports we have linked on the right hand column found on the previous format of our email.

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