Howdy Neighbors!

In this edition of Beef Buzz, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Oklahoma State Veterinarian Dr. Rod Hall after Mexican authorities reported another New World screw worm case about 70 miles south of Laredo, about the increasing urgency of the situation. Dr. Hall agreed that the discovery “ups the level of urgency to be ready, just in case,” explaining that the proximity of the new case makes preparedness more important, even if the likelihood of the flies spreading into Oklahoma remains unlikely.

Secretary Brooke Rollins reported via X on Monday evening “USDA landed boots on the ground this morning in Nuevo Leon, physically inspecting traps and dispersing sterile flies after the detection of the single case yesterday.” She adds “The southern border remains closed to livestock trade, and we are aggressively expanding trapping and surveillance. At the same time, we’re expediting operations at our sterile fly dispersal facility at Moore Air Base in Texas.”

Dr. Hall emphasized that the greatest near-term risk is human-assisted movement of livestock rather than the flies themselves. “This just emphasizes how movement of livestock, and in this case, cattle, can unnaturally move the infestation much more quickly than what Mother Nature will move it if, if left unchecked,” he said. He added, “I really don’t have a lot of concern about the screw worn flies moving into Texas, or certainly not into Oklahoma on their own,” but stressed illegal or unchecked animal movements change the risk picture.

The Tulsa State Fair is gearing up for its annual event, with fair officials reporting an increase in livestock show entries this year. According to Brandi Herndon, who visited with Farm Director KC Sheperd, the fair’s entry numbers are “looking awesome,” with “significant growth in both the meat goat and breeding doe shows, along with the gilts and even our market steer numbers”. The highlight of the fair’s livestock events is the “Night of Champions,” a celebratory evening that brings together grand drive winners from every species.

The Night of Champions and premium sale is held in the Ford truck Arena to celebrate the hard work of the youth exhibitors. Herndon explained that the fair views the event as the “Super Bowl of livestock shows in the fall,” and their goal is to make the participants “feel like rock stars”. To create a special atmosphere for the students, they are celebrated by walking down a “red carpet” with donors, and the event includes “a little Pyro involved with that as well”. The Night of Champions, which awards scholarship checks to the exhibitors, is scheduled for October 1st, with doors opening at 5:00 p.m. and the event starting at 6:00 p.m..

Herndon gave credit to the Tulsa State Fair Ringmasters, a 501(c)(3) group of volunteers who work year-round to raise money for the scholarships. Their annual golf and gala fundraising event this year saw the “most people that have ever attended, along with the most money that we’ve ever raised”. The funds from the event helped launch a new initiative called the “Back the Banner” campaign. 

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) welcomed the announcement of a strategic collaboration between Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. and the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation (CWRF). This collaboration aims to jointly develop and prepare HB4® wheat for eventual commercialization in the United States. 

“We recognize the opportunities this advancement in breeding technology will bring to U.S. wheat production and look forward to seeing how this trait performs in U.S.-developed varieties,” said Mike Spier, USW President and CEO. “”We are also listening closely to our U.S. wheat farmer leaders and our global customers, which is why we especially appreciate the commitment of Bioceres and CWRF to the Wheat Industry Principles for Biotechnology Commercialization, developed jointly by USW and the National Association of Wheat Growers.” 

“The continued open conversations as HB4® wheat enters the wheat breeding pipeline ensure our customers know their concerns are being heard and that the U.S. wheat store will remain open to meet their desired preferences for wheat purchases.” 

Ben Hale with Western Livestock said the Oklahoma National Stockyards started the week “a little lighter on numbers of cattle versus a year ago” with 4,800 head compared to 6,400, but prices were unexpectedly strong. “It was a stout, stout market on all classes yesterday,” he explained. “USDA was calling up to $20 higher on the steer calves and heifer calves, $15 to $25.” Feeder cattle also rallied, with steers up $5 and heifers up $2 to $6.

Hale credited stronger demand to tight supplies and market scares tied to the screw worm situation near the border. “It just seems like after we took several dollars off of these calf markets in recent weeks, folks are figuring out that numbers are pretty tight. Heifers are tighter than the steers.” He noted that while some 60–90 day weaned cattle are available, “a true long yearling—there’s not many of them out there.”

On whether ranchers are holding back females, Hale said, “Some, but not a lot we’ve bought some heifers for some guys to breed.” Still, he added, “every week we do have more feeder steers than we do heifers.” Looking ahead, Hale said wheat pasture prospects are encouraging. “Southern Oklahoma and the far north Texas, they got pretty good rains, you still grow a lot of wheat between now and the next six weeks if we get rain.” 

In this week's Cow Calf Corner- Dr. Mark Johnson writes "with cattle at record values it is more important than ever to eliminate risk and protect the health of our cattle inventory. Anaplasmosis is a common disease in cattle with worldwide distribution. The disease is regularly found in cattle in the state of Oklahoma. Accordingly, Anaplasmosis will occur every year in Oklahoma with some variation of intensity based on the strain of Anaplasma marginale.

"Anaplasma marginale is a bacteria that infects red blood cells and once an animal becomes infected they are infected for life. Anaplasmosis is transmitted through the bite of ticks and flies, as well as blood contaminated instruments like needles, tattoo tools, castration equipment and dehorning instruments. This bacteria does not harm the red blood cells directly but the cow’s immune response recognizes it when it reaches certain levels which then causes anemia due to the immune system killing the red blood cells that are infected.

"This will limit the amount of oxygen that is transported throughout the animal’s blood, which can then lead to aggressive behaviors exhibited by normally docile cows or bulls. Other clinical signs that animals are infected with the bacteria are extreme lethargy, yellowing of the mucous membranes, abortions, weight loss, and difficulty breathing. Most producers will not know they have an anaplasmosis problem until they see dead cows or bulls that are older than 2-years of age."

Citing near-record production costs in a low-price environment, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) recently launched a task force to identify solutions to bring costs more in line with today’s commodity prices. Corn growers nationwide are in the third consecutive year of net negative returns, with 2026 projected to be the fourth year of negative returns.

“Corn growers have been sounding the alarm for a while that on-farm economics are not working,” said Kenneth Hartman Jr., Illinois farmer and NCGA president. “This is a time to look at all pieces of the farm profitability picture. Low prices of course contribute to one side of the equation, but we must also look at the extremely high prices growers are paying for essential inputs on the other side.” 

Recent analysis from NCGA economists show that input prices remain at near-record highs despite the precipitous drop in per bushel corn prices in the last three years. Average production costs have dropped just three percent from their peak in 2022 to 2025 while corn prices have declined by over 50 percent over the same period. Even with higher yields, farmers are unlikely to be able to offset these high costs.  

The Animal Agriculture Alliance announced the theme of its 2026 Stakeholders Summit: High Steaks: Navigating Pressure on Animal Protein. Speaking proposals that the fit the theme will be accepted through November 14, 2025 and can be submitted here. The 2026 event is scheduled for May 5-7 in Kansas City, Mo. Registration will open in January.

The annual Summit attracts a diverse audience of decisionmakers, including representatives from farms and ranches, allied industries, food processors, restaurants, grocery retailers, legislatures, universities, government agencies, and media. The 2025 Summit attracted more than 200 in-person attendees and discussed key issues including animal health and welfare, supply chain partnerships, animal rights extremism, and artificial intelligence.

With headlines, regulations, and expectations all bearing down, the stakes for animal agriculture and the food community have never been higher. But this is a rare opportunity. Only at the 2026 Summit will attendees find the most passionate minds sparking together. It’s the one place where conversation is alight, and ideas sizzle. Animal agriculture knows what’s on the line — and is fired up to face it. Time to dig in.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) flagship Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Originally established in 1985 to control soil erosion and stabilize commodity prices, the program has evolved to provide numerous benefits for both conservation and the economy. Now, let’s take a look at the 2025 CRP Enrollment for Land Conservation.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) recently announced the successful enrollment for 2025, bringing the total number of acres accepted into the program. This includes offers through various sign-up options, such as general, continuous, grassland, and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). With this latest sign-up, the total number of acres currently enrolled in CRP stands at 25.8 million.

FSA Administrator Bill Beam commented on the enrollment, stating, “What better way to celebrate CRP’s 40th anniversary and mark four decades of voluntary private lands stewardship than to announce an extremely successful 2025 enrollment for CRP’s many program options.”

Checking the Markets...

Choice boxed beef closed at $380.80, down $0.59, while Select fell to $359.90, down $2.19. The Choice/Select spread widened slightly to $20.90, with 120 loads reported. This marks the 14th consecutive day of declines, with Choice now down a total of $35.21 over that period, though the day’s drop of $0.59 was the smallest so far.



At OKC West in El Reno on Tuesday- there were 1,900 calves on hand. Compared to last week: Steers 5.00-15.00 higher. Heifers over 450lbs steady to 5.00 lower, under 450lbs 15.00-20.00 higher. OKC West expects 2,200 head of yearlings on Wednesday- 800 Feeder Heifers @ 9:00 and 1,400 Feeder Steers @ 10:30 AM.

Beaver County Stockyards had over 6,000 head on Tuesday- according to USDA Market News- Compared to last sale: Feeder steer unevenly steady, steer over 800 lbs. 15.00 higher conservatively. Feeder heifers 1.00-3.00 higher, 600 lb. weight class 15.00 lower. Steer calves 2.00-4.00 higher, with the 450lb. weight class 25.00 higher. Heifer calves, in a light comparison, steady to 3.00 higher. Heifer calves weighing 550-600 lbs. as much as 20 higher. After lower prices last week, they had many new faces in the barn today looking to stock up and send to wheat.

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.

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