Howdy Neighbors!

Governor Kevin Stitt intervened in State of Oklahoma v. Tyson Foods, Inc., and filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma to expedite discussions and break the current impasse. The filing requests that a decision be reached quickly to provide certainty for Oklahomans, landowners, and key employers across the protein supply chain. 

“Oklahoma families deserve better than endless litigation that rewards activists and trial lawyers,” said Governor Stitt. “We’re going to restore certainty, defend Oklahoma jobs, and secure a reliable, American food supply at a time of food inflation and global instability. The witnesses put forward this year by the State Attorney General proposed to upend farming and ranching in Eastern Oklahoma. It’s time we advance a commonsense path that respects landowners, reestablishes business certainty, and preserves our way of life for the next generation.”



The motion notes that the State filed its proposed final judgment on July 9, 2025, the defendants filed their opposition on July 30, 2025, and the parties remain at an impasse despite prior settlement efforts. Neither proposal presents an acceptable solution, and the Governor requests a Court‑ordered path that protects the environment while ensuring businesses can still operate efficiently.  

Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Oklahoma State University’s Dr. Shannon Ferrell discussing ranch transition at the Texas Cattle Feeders Convention. As he explained, “A lot of people really understand the importance of our farm transition issue. It’s become very real to people as they realize the horizon that we have and the scope of the issue, and how many ag assets we’ve got to transfer over the next 20 years.” Ferrell emphasized that the topic is now “front and center in a lot of people’s minds.”

He pointed out that the stakes are incredibly high for agriculture, particularly in the cattle industry. “Cattle producers, especially big ranches… wouldn’t have a hard time at all hitting three, four, five million dollars worth of assets,” he said. Ferrell added that, taken together, “over the next 20 years, it looks like we have about one trillion—with a T—dollars’ worth of farm assets that we have to find some way of getting from their current ownership and management to their future ownership and management.”

Ferrell also noted that recent federal tax policy changes have helped give producers more stability as they plan transitions. “If that tax change which was made in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act hadn’t been extended, it would have sunset at the end of this year,” he explained. “But the One Big Beautiful Bill Act… gave us some stability in tax policy going forward for the cattle producer and others that are in agriculture.”

Oklahoma is set to trade its recent stretch of summer-like warmth for some much-needed rainfall and cooler, more seasonable temperatures as a significant storm system approaches the state midweek.

Oklahomans have been enjoying exceptionally pleasant weather, a period State Climatologist Gary McManus describes as a “glorious stretch of fall weather.” However, he cautions that this taste of autumn is about to be replaced by a more turbulent pattern.

“Enjoy the next two days of light-jacket weather in the mornings and shorts in the afternoons,” McManus advised. “Because after that, real fall looks to intrude, and with it comes some decent chances for rain.” The incoming storm system, expected to arrive late Tuesday and intensify through Wednesday and Thursday, is a welcome sight for many, particularly in the agricultural sector. The state has been experiencing abnormally dry conditions, and this rainfall is crucial.

Oklahoma State University Extension specialist Jonathan Cammack says fall is a critical time for producers to begin fly management — well before pests become a visible problem. He explains that winter feeding habits create the perfect setup for future infestations. “If you think about a pasture situation, you might drive out there on your tractor, drop a hay bale, put a ring over it, and let those cows eat,” Cammack said. “As they’re standing there feeding, they’re going to take a mouthful of hay, pull it out of that bale, and drop most of it on the ground.”

Over time, that dropped hay mixes with manure and urine, leading to a buildup of organic material that “creates the perfect breeding ground for stable flies.” Cammack notes that the problem continues to grow throughout winter. “As we continue to put hay bales out through the course of the winter, we put more organic material there in the environment for stable flies to have access to when the temperatures start to warm up,” he said.

When spring arrives, that leftover “rotting hay, urine and manure mixture” becomes the ideal environment for flies to start reproducing. “If that material is still on the ground it’s going to be there for the stable flies to be able to start laying eggs in and reproduce in,” Cammack warned. Taking action now—by rotating feeding areas or cleaning up leftover hay—can help prevent heavy fly populations later.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) responded to comments from President Donald J. Trump that suggested importing Argentinian beef as a solution to lower beef prices. NCBA’s family farmers and ranchers are concerned that rewarding Argentina with this expanded access to the U.S. market harms American cattlemen and women, while also interfering with the free market.

“NCBA’s family farmers and ranchers have numerous concerns with importing more Argentinian beef to lower prices for consumers. This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices,” said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall.

“Additionally, Argentina has a deeply unbalanced trade relationship with the U.S. In the past five years Argentina has sold more than $801 million of beef into the U.S. market. By comparison, the U.S. has sold just over $7 million worth of American beef to Argentina. Argentina also has a history of foot-and-mouth disease, which if brought to the United States, could decimate our domestic livestock production.”

Oklahoma Cattlemens Association's Michael Kelsey "President Trump’s notion to bring more beef in from Argentina in order to lower consumer beef price is very bad policy. This action of government intervention will cause tremendous negative impacts on Oklahoma and America’s beef producers. Further compounding this is the lack of reciprocal trade and the potential animal health concerns with foot and mouth disease. We urge the President to not follow through on this policy."

National Farmers Union National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew reaffirmed the need to strengthen fairness and competition within the U.S. beef industry rather than rely on imported products. “Lowering beef prices for consumers starts with restoring fairness in the marketplace, not by importing beef from Argentina and undercutting American ranchers,” said Larew. “

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall commented “We know America’s families face challenges when food prices rise, but it’s important for President Trump to remember that farmers are facing an economic storm as well, and a vibrant U.S. cattle herd is at stake. Many of America’s beef farmers have operated in the red for several years. Adverse weather and low prices drove cattle herds down to levels not seen in decades. Weakened cattle prices are the last thing needed in farm country, where farmers are being paid historically low prices for crops across the board while expenses remain high. “

As high-speed broadband reaches more rural communities, it is important to explore how farms are utilizing the internet and advanced technologies in their operations. Every two years since 1997, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has conducted a survey to get an overview of technology use on farms (USDA, 2025). The survey asks producers about what devices they own, whether or not they can access the internet (and if so, if their services are through fiber, cable, etc.), and how they use the internet for business-related purposes. The most recent survey’s findings were released in August 2025 and include comparisons, where applicable, to responses from the 2023 survey. 

The 2025 response rates for the percentage of farms that purchase agricultural inputs over the internet, conduct agricultural marketing activities over the internet, and use precision agriculture to manage crops or livestock for states in the Southern Region. The values in parentheses are percentage changes in response rates between the 2023 and 2025 surveys.

Looking at changes in the percentage of farms purchasing agricultural inputs over the internet, all southern states saw increased use of the internet to purchase inputs between 2023 and 2025. Notably, four states (Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas) saw over a 100% increase in the percentage of farms reporting that they buy inputs online. Given the farm financial situation over the last couple of years, farmers could be exploring non-traditional ways of buying inputs to find better deals.

On September 19th, 215 members of the Republican conference and I voted for a clean continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded at existing levels through November 21st. By passing a CR without any poison pill policy changes, House Republicans ensured the federal government could remain open until Congress decided on longer-term funding.

If signed into law, our CR would have ensured our troops and federal employees did not miss a single paycheck. Instead, the CR sits in the Senate, where nearly every Democrat has voted against it multiple times. Liberals are not being forthright towards the American people when they insist Republicans are to blame for this shutdown simply because we have the majority in the House and Senate. What they conveniently leave out is that Senate rules require funding bills to receive approval from 60 of the 100 Senators.

With the current Senate breakdown, Republicans hold 53 seats, meaning at least 7 Democrats must vote for the CR for it to pass. Let us not forget that, despite initially asking for a clean CR and voting for CRs (at enhanced COVID-era/Biden levels) 13 times over the last several years, all but four Democrats (three Senators and one Representative) have voted against reopening the government and are now demanding, through their legislative alternative, an extra $1.5 trillion in new spending.

Checking the Markets...

Choice Boxed Beef values climbed again on Monday, October 20, 2025, with the Choice cutout reaching $369.18, up $2.41 from Friday and marking the highest level so far this month. The Select cutout rose $3.19 to $353.46, narrowing the Choice-Select spread to $15.72. Monday’s load count came in at 86, down from Friday’s 188.

Oklahoma National in Oklahoma City had a total of 6,800 cattle on Monday- Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers 5.00-15.00 lower, some loads near steady as futures board has improved. Steer calves steady, except 400-500 lbs 10.00-20.00 higher. Heifer calves 5.00-15.00 lower. 

Joplin Regional Stockyards had 7,131 head selling on Monday- Compared to last week feeder steers under 800 lbs. sold 5.00-10.00 lower with heavier weights selling steady to 5.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs. sold steady to 10.00 higher with heavier weights selling 5.00-12.00 lower. Overall quality was off considerably from last week with a lot of plain cattle in the offering.

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.

Our daily email is free because of our Sponsors!

© 2025 Oklahoma Farm Report - All rights reserved