Howdy Neighbors!

Farm Director KC Sheperd spoke with Scott Munz about the upcoming Oklahoma state fair and munz says the State Fair’s theme this year is built around the simple joys of attending: “We’ve centered it around our theme, which is eat, ride, and repeat, two of the biggest things that people like to do at the fair, eat and carnival ride. So why not play off of the catch phrase eat, ride, repeat.” He explained that with so many activities and events planned, visitors are encouraged to come more than once to take it all in.

Munz says new food ideas often come from concessionaires experimenting for fun: “What happens is, on rainy days at the fair, the concessionaires are standing around… and they start looking around and thinking, what can I deep fry? What can I put on a stick?” That process, he says, is how items like fried butter and fried Coke were born. This year, he’s excited about more than 40 new foods, including “a really good slice of pecan pie that is battered and deep fried” and the unusual “bacon cheesecake burger.”

Music is another major draw, and Munz outlined a wide range of concerts on the Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage: “We try to spread that out with different genres. I’m excited about Joe Nichols on opening day… Sister Sledge on Friday… Kentucky Headhunters and Blackstone Cherry Saturday.” The lineup continues with tribute bands, contemporary Christian music, country acts, and rock legends, ensuring “something for everybody.”

July exports of U.S. pork were slightly below last year but accounted for a larger share of production, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Market access obstacles continued to weigh heavily on exports of U.S. beef, with the vast majority of plants still ineligible to ship to China.

July was a robust month for beef exports to the leading market, South Korea, with shipments climbing 13% from a year ago to 19,907 mt. Export value increased 10% to $186.4 million. Through July, exports to Korea were 9% above last year’s pace in both volume (146,084 mt) and value ($1.39 billion). President Trump announced a trade deal with Korea at the end of July, but no details on agricultural trade have yet been released.

Strong demand in Korea could not offset the sharp decline in July beef exports to China, which plunged 92% from a year ago to just 1,110 mt. Export value dropped 94% to less than $8 million. Despite a fairly strong first quarter, January-July exports to China were down 46% to 55,632 mt, while value fell 47% to $481.4 million. In 2024, China was the third largest value market for U.S. beef exports and the fourth largest volume market,

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Kent Bacus, Executive Director of Government Affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), who raised strong concerns about Brazilian beef imports during testimony before the U.S. International Trade Commission. “When it comes to Brazil, we’ve got a long-standing list of concerns. This 301 investigation was really an opportunity to discuss a lot of Brazil’s unfair trade practices.”

Bacus pointed to the significant trade imbalance between the two countries. “Over the last five years, Brazil has sold upwards of four and a half billion dollars worth of beef to the U.S. market. And even this year, in the first six months, it’s well over a billion dollars into the U.S. market. And the sad thing is, for us, we’ve only been able to sell about $21 million into their market over the last five years.” He added that this was not from lack of demand but from “rigorous requirements completely unjustified just to try to access that market.”

Beyond trade barriers, Bacus highlighted food safety concerns. “If you look at the food safety concerns, the fact that the USDA had to suspend them for over a year back in 2017, if you look at the multiple atypical BSE cases that Brazil failed to report for weeks, months and years at a time, that’s completely out of bounds and completely inconsistent with their international trade requirements.” He stressed that NCBA has long called for the suspension of Brazilian imports when safety issues arise.

As a new wave of graduates looks to plant their roots in the agriculture industry, a notable shift is occurring in the job market. While certain segments, particularly in corporate agriculture, have seen recent layoffs, the demand for hands-on, service-oriented roles remains robust. Tammy Jensen of AgriCareers, Inc., a leading voice in agricultural recruitment, offers crucial advice for job seekers and sheds light on where the greatest opportunities lie.

“Within the ag industry, the last 12 to 18 months, I have actually seen unemployment probably be higher in ag industry than it typically has been,” Jensen observed. This trend, she notes, has been most pronounced in areas like “the seed and, chemical companies, equipment manufacturers,” where “quite a few riffs” have occurred.

However, this doesn’t paint the full picture of the agricultural job landscape. Jensen emphasizes that a strong demand persists on the service side. “There is still demand in the service side of it,” she stated, highlighting roles in “maintenance or equipment agronomy, hands on farm positions where you know it’s physical labor caring for the animals or planting the crops, those jobs are still plentiful, I think.”

Heard at the coffee shop: “Calf prices are so high right now that I don’t see why I would bother vaccinating or weaning before I take them to town. It’s extra work and buyers aren’t going to pay premiums with prices this high anyway.”

Will preconditioning pay in the face of historic cattle prices that continue to rise? Econ 101 says that a profitable decision requires that the revenue added by preconditioning must outweigh the cost added by preconditioning. (That equation also holds true for any subset of management practices.) Looking at recent history provides insight into the revenue side of that equation.

The graph shown overlays the average preconditioning premiums ($/cwt) for steers received by Oklahoma Quality Beef Network (OQBN) cattle from 2012 through 2024 with the average 4th Quarter price (Oct-Dec) for 500-600 pounds steers in those same years. Average price is represented by the bars with the price scale on the left. The corresponding premiums are represented by the orange line and the price scale on the right. The pattern is clear – premium levels tend to move with price levels.

As autumn weather arrives in Oklahoma, local pumpkin patches are now open for the season. These agricultural sites offer a variety of fall-themed attractions for families and individuals. Visitors can choose pumpkins for carving and decoration, and many locations also feature corn mazes, hayrides, and other outdoor activities. The opening of these patches provides a popular seasonal activity for communities across the state.

Sept. 20-Nov. 2

Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch

720 Henney Rd, Arcadia

Features pony rides, mazes, hayrides, a petting zoo, games, live music, campfire cook-outs and more. $13; kids (2 and under), free. Wednesday-Friday, 1 p.m. – dark; Saturday, 10 a.m.- dark; Sunday, noon-dark.

Sept. 26-Oct. 31

Stillwater Pumpkin Patch

524 N Stallard St, Stillwater

Features pumpkins and fall decor, plus live music, children’s carnival, a bake sale, pancake breakfast, carriage rides and a pumpkin catapult. Free to attend, participation prices vary. Monday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuel trade association, welcomed the Trump administration’s release of additional implementation details this week about the U.S.-Japan trade agreement, which was first announced in July. 

“Rural America needs reliable markets for their crops and that’s exactly what President Trump is delivering through this agreement with Japan,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “As the effects of this agreement ripple out, it will drive new business between U.S. ethanol producers and Japanese buyers, which in turn will translate into more corn purchases and more income for American farmers. We commend the administration for keeping its promises on trade and look forward to watching these agreements bear fruit for American farmers and rural communities.” 

The U.S. exported 129 million gallons of ethanol to Japan in 2024 primarily as ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE). Through July 2025 the U.S. had exported 82 million gallons of ethanol to Japan, putting the industry on track to exceed last year’s total. 

Capitol Camp is an immersive two-day experience for high school juniors and seniors to learn about Oklahoma’s legislative process and the process of how bills become law through a mock legislative experience. This year, students had the opportunity to present bills on the floor of both the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate.

The event began with attendees electing fellow students to serve as speaker of the house and house floor leader, along with a senate president pro tempore and senate floor leader. Throughout the event, students had the opportunity to present a piece of legislation they wrote about an issue important to them and then helped guide it through the legislative process. Bills were first heard in committees, and bills that passed their assigned committee were heard and voted up on the House and Senate floor.

Students had a special visit from Gov. Kevin Stitt, who addressed the group.

Students also heard from several legislators and industry leaders during the two-day event, including OKFB President Rodd Moesel and legislators Rep. Scott Fetgatter, Rep. John Pfeiffer, Rep. Judd Strom, Rep. Steve Bashore, Sen. Brenda Stanley and Rep. David Hardin.

Checking the Markets...

This past week- according to DTN- "the cash cattle market struggled to really establish a consistent trend for the week as Southern live cattle traded for $242 to $243, which is steady to $1.00 higher than last week's weighted average." TCFA reports Steers at $242- steady- while cash heifers sold in the Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico area that TCFA serves from $242 to a few at $242.50.

For the second straight day, choice boxed beef prices fell on Friday, September 5th. Choice Boxed Beef dropped $3.45 to $$410.75, while Select Beef closed $2.58 lower at $385.19. The choice/select spread narrowed to $25.57 0n a volume of 120 loads.

After being closed for Labor Day last Monday- the Oklahoma National Stockyards had 8,145 head on the yards as of 9 PM last night. The sale will start at 6:30 am. Two weeks ago- Compared to the previous week: Feeder steers and heifers 4.00-10.00 higher. Steer calves 10.00-20.00 higher, spots sharply higher. Heifer calves under 500 lbs unevenly steady; over 500 lbs 8.00-12.00 higher. Demand continues very good for all classes.

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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