Howdy Neighbors!

The government shutdown is entering its second week. Senators rejected another opportunity Friday to reopen agencies and are now out of session until today, when leadership is expected to force a fifth vote on a House-passed proposal to fund the government through Nov. 21. With that reality, here are the protocols that are being followed at the US Department of Agriculture:

U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service Beef Quality and Yield Grading: Beef grading will continue uninterrupted as user fees fund this activity. Cattle Contract Library Pilot Program: Updates to the Cattle Contract Library will continue. Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR)/Mandatory Price Reporting: Market news information, as required for commodities and agricultural markets, will continue.

Farm Service Agency Staffing: During the first 10 days of a shutdown, the only FSA staff on call will be minimal regional leadership and headquarters staff, in case of a natural disaster. From day 10 onwards, if the shutdown continues, each FSA service center will be required to have one farm loan employee and/or one county office farm program employee on call to complete certain loan processing items to protect the security interest of the government and to prevent the loss of security or loss of value to security for the borrower.

New World Screwworm: Emergency efforts to combat the New World screwworm outbreak in Mexico will continue uninterrupted.

While at the Ag Outlook Forum in Kansas City, Farm Director KC Sheperd heard comments from Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, a medical doctor, about his vision for transforming the nation’s healthcare system from a “sick care” model to a “health care” model through his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) initiative. This effort is underpinned by four key pillars and seeks to find common ground between healthy policy and agricultural practices.

Marshall’s “ultimate hope is to turn it to a health care system where we try to slow down what’s causing these chronic diseases.” The MAHA movement, according to Senator Marshall, is built on four interconnected pillars:

Healthy Soil and Nutrition: This pillar is where “agriculture meets healthy nutrition,” focusing on the foundational link between soil health and food quality. Decreasing the Exposure to Toxins: This includes addressing pollutants in the water or the air. Meaningful, Affordable Access to Primary Care: Marshall notes that he and Senator Bernie Sanders have worked together on this issue, agreeing that “health care is too expensive, prescription drugs are too expensive and many people don’t have meaningful access to primary care.”

Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays continues his conversation from yesterday with Oklahoma State University Dr. Rosslyn Biggs, who raised concerns about the growing threat of New World screwworm as cases rise in Mexico. Hays reports that Mexican officials have seen the rise of screwworm cases in the most recent reporting period in their country, with nearly a 32% increase in confirmed cases of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite. The number of cases topped 6,000 with over 5,200 of them cattle, according to Senasica. Biggs warned that many U.S. cattle producers are not adequately prepared. “It’s one of my biggest concerns, frankly, with new world screwworm is access to facilities, access to be able to treat,” she explained, stressing that handling facilities are essential to identify and manage infestations quickly.

Biggs emphasized that many producers today lack firsthand experience with the pest. “I have concerns that the vast majority of producers don’t remember what it was like, and that includes me,” she admitted. “I have to listen to my father and others that had to deal with new world screwworm literally on a daily basis.” She noted that daily inspection of cattle was once routine for older generations of ranchers, and it may again become necessary.

She also pointed out that the threat is getting closer to U.S. herds. “We had the announcement that, you know, it’s 70 miles from the border. It looks like it’s inching closer,” Biggs said. In her view, this makes investment in proper facilities more urgent than ever. She added that once producers improve facilities, they often wonder, “Why did we wait so long to do that?”

Each October, approximately one-fifth of CLO agricultural lease lands are appraised and offered at public auction for farming, grazing, and recreational use. Revenue generated from these auctions supports Oklahoma schools, contributing over 88 million dollars in the past five years.

Tracts which go unleased at public auction are offered on a first come, first served basis through the end of the year. Remaining unleased tracts are offered through a sealed bid auction the following year.

Auctions start on this Monday morning, October 6th in Boise City at the Cimarron County Fairgrounds at 9 AM- featuring leases from Cimarron County. The second sale of the day will be at 2 PM in Guymon at the Texas County Fairgrounds with leases offered from Beaver and Texas Counties.

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) announced today that Sam Kieffer has been selected to serve as the organization’s next Chief Executive Officer starting November 1, bringing more than 20 years of experience in agricultural leadership and farm policy to the role.

“I’m honored to join NAWG at such a pivotal time for wheat growers across the country,” said Sam Kieffer. “Having grown up on a farm, it has been a privilege to dedicate my career to serving farmers and I’m proud to champion their cause in this new role. I look forward to working alongside NAWG’s dedicated members, board and staff to tackle challenges and ensure a bright future for farm families and rural America.”

“Sam brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of both the policy landscape and the needs of wheat growers. We’re excited to welcome him as CEO and are confident farmers will be well served by his thoughtful leadership and strong voice in Washington, DC and beyond. We’re grateful to Eric Steiner for his service as our Interim CEO,” said Pat Clements NAWG President.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) represents a significant and cyclical biological threat to the U.S. poultry and livestock industries, primarily due to the migration of wild birds. The primary threat vector is identified as coming from Canada.

The presence of HPAI necessitates strict, immediate response protocols due to its highly contagious nature. The severity of this threat was a key topic at the Ag Outlook Forum, featured on a panel moderated by Phil Brasher of Agri-pulse with Steve Boren, Vice President of Livestock at Boehringer Ingelheim, and Ron Phillips, Senior VP of Policy at the Animal Health Institute.

Depopulation: The standard and current primary protocol for managing an HPAI outbreak in a commercial facility is the depopulation (culling) of the entire flock. Since the initial outbreak, over 175 million birds have been depopulated as part of disease control efforts. Biosecurity: For producers, rigorous biosecurity is the primary mode of defense to prevent infection. Industry Surveillance: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) strategy includes monitoring and surveillance programs, such as one involving 900 poultry operations.

Demand for high-quality beef persists. But with that demand comes challenges. From tight cattle supplies to higher costs and increasing pressure on retailers to deliver a consistent eating experience, the pressure is on.

At the 2025 Feeding Quality Forum, David O’Diam, vice president of retail for Certified Angus Beef (CAB), addressed the current retail beef environment, highlighting both opportunities and challenges in today’s marketplace. O’Diam noted that while cattle numbers are down, beef quality has held steady, providing an important foundation for retailers to merchandise CAB.

“While there’s less overall total fed cattle, the quality in this herd is outstanding,” O’Diam said. Even with tighter supplies, retailers can still count on enough high-quality beef to sell. And that’s a good thing. Beyond supply, the dollars and cents are front of mind, too. Prices have shifted significantly in recent years. Following the pandemic disruptions of 2020, and shifting economy, consumers are still absorbing increasing prices. Since COVID-19, carcass values have increased by more than $1,500 on the box side.

Senator Markwayne Mullin’s analysis of the government shutdown centered on two main political and fiscal points: the alleged hypocrisy and political motivation of Senator Chuck Schumer, and the detrimental constitutional effect of allowing a shutdown to occur.

• The Reinstatement Cost: Schumer was demanding the inclusion of approximately $1.5 trillion in taxpayer spending as part of a Continuing Resolution (CR) designed to fund the government for only four weeks.
• Targeted Spending: Mullin claimed this funding was aimed at reinstating Medicaid and other federal benefits for “illegals” (referring to non-citizens who have entered the U.S. illegally). He stated that a prior budget bill (referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill”) had explicitly cut this “waste, fraud, and abuse.”

Senator James Lankford delivered a critique of the ongoing government shutdown, expressing deep frustration over the failure to pass a continuing resolution and detailing what he perceives as a sudden, politically motivated shift by Democrats. His analysis focused on the abandonment of established bipartisan practices and the underlying policy demands that drove the crisis.

• The Tradition: For the last four years, Congress has successfully passed a “clean” Continuing Resolution (CR) between September 28th and 30th every year. A clean CR temporarily funds the government at existing levels (status quo) to buy time to finalize complex appropriations bills.
• The Support: These clean CRs historically garnered wide bipartisan support because both parties recognized that a shutdown was detrimental, despite outstanding policy differences.

Checking the Markets...

According to the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, fed cattle cattle sales for both steers and heifers were four dollars a hundred lower than a week ago at $233 a hundred.

On Friday, Choice boxed beef closed at $362.27, down $0.95 from Thursday’s $363.22, while Select moved to $345.38, up $1.98 from $343.40. The Choice/Select spread narrowed to $16.89 compared to $19.82 the previous day, with 163 loads reported versus 132 on Thursday.

Join Express Ranches today October 6, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. in Yukon, Oklahoma, for their Fall Bull Sale. The event will feature 235 Angus bulls, 21 Hereford bulls, and 350 commercial Angus spring-bred females. Attend the auction in person at the ranch or you can participate via Live Ag or Live Auctions.TV. View the sale book here and find more details on their website at Express Ranches.

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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