Oklahoma's Latest Farm
and Ranch News
Friday, October 24, 2025
| | Its time for the friday farm funny!! Farming and ranching can be stressful so enjoy a little laugh!! | | Severe Drought Spreads In This Weeks Drought Monitor | | |
According to the latest Oklahoma Drought Monitor report, exceptional drought remains at 0 percent, unchanged from the start of the calendar year.
Severe Drought: Severe drought (D2) has now spread in southwestern Oklahoma, affecting Gerrer, Jackson, Tillman, and Kiowa counties, covering 5.73 percent of the state. Widespread Dryness: Over 72 percent of the state is now experiencing abnormally dry to drought conditions.
According to the 6-to-10-day precipitation outlook map, Eastern Oklahoma will experience near normal conditions, while Western Oklahoma is leaning below 33-40% chance of rain. The panhandle and far southwestern Oklahoma are leaning below 40-50% chance of rain.
In the southern plains, Moderate to heavy rain resulted in several areas of improvement in Tennessee, central and northern Mississippi, northeastern Louisiana, and eastern Oklahoma. Farther south and west, subnormal precipitation continued for another week, resulting in numerous areas of deterioration from central and southern Louisiana westward across Texas and central through western Oklahoma.
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| Foreign Beef Imports and Political Games: NFU Demands Market Fairness and Shutdown End | | |
In an interview with Farm Director KC Sheperd, National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew sharply criticized both the administration’s suggestion to increase foreign beef imports and the ongoing government shutdown, arguing that both actions actively harm American farm families.
Larew reserved his strongest criticism for the suggestion that the U.S. might import more beef from Argentina to lower consumer prices, noting that the idea has only served to unite and infuriate the entire industry.
“Nothing will unite this industry more than a crazy suggestion like that,” Larew told Sheperd. “The idea of more foreign imports is not it.” Larew asserted that the focus on imports destabilizes a cattle market that is currently one of the few financial “bright spots” in farm country. He emphasized that the cattle herd is at its lowest level in a generation, and rebuilding it will take years. The sudden threat of imports creates market instability and discourages ranchers from investing.
| | Dr. Nevil Speer: Markets, Not Government, Should Decide Beef Prices | | |
Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with beef industry consultant Dr. Nevil Speer about President Donald Trump’s recent comments about beef prices, which sparked strong reactions across the cattle industry. Trump claimed that cattle ranchers were only “doing so well because I put tariffs on cattle coming into the United States,” and suggested beef prices were “a little bit too high.” Dr. Speer acknowledged the complexity of the issue, noting that Trump’s statement raises a basic but critical question: “The first thing I would want to ask him is, what does that even mean? Is the retail price too high by 10 cents, 20 cents, 30 cents?”
Speer argued that the notion of a “just right” beef price is misguided and dangerous when dictated by government officials. “There’s this implication that there is some price that is just right,” he said. “And then that ultimately leads to the question, who decides that? He warned that “this great economic principle of the knowledge problem,” emphasizing that “we never have enough knowledge to ultimately decide those things,” which leads to “all kinds of unintended consequences.”
For Speer, the real frustration lies in the potential undoing of decades of progress within the beef industry. “We as a beef industry have worked for 40 years to get to this place where we have this wonderful demand-driven market,” he said. “Consumers are saying, ‘We really like your product,’ and producers are making money—it’s a win-win. And all of a sudden, the government wants to jump in the middle of it.”
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The vision of the Oklahoma Beef Council is to be a positive difference for Oklahoma's farming and ranching families and the greater beef community, and its mission is to enhance beef demand by strengthening consumer trust and exceeding consumer expectations.
To learn more, visit www.oklabeef.org. Also, don't forget to like its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oklabeef for stories on Oklahoma's ranching families and great beef recipes.
And Check out this video below that helps you learn more about the Beef Checkoff-
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The Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association is the trusted voice of the Oklahoma Cattle Industry. With headquarters in Oklahoma City, the OCA has a regular presence at the State Capitol to protect and defend the interests of cattlemen and cattlewomen.
Their Vision Statement explains the highest priority of the organization- "Leadership that serves, strengthens and advocates for the Oklahoma cattle industry."
OCA invites you to check out their Fall Gatherings- they start October 27th- click here for details.
To learn more about the OCA and how you can be a part of this forward-looking group of cattle producers, click here for their website. For more information- call 405-235-4391.
| | | Oklahoma’s Trey Myers Competes for 2025–26 National FFA Office | | |
Oklahoma’s Trey Myers, a proud member of the Perkins-Tryon FFA Chapter, is representing his state in the selection process for the 2025–2026 National FFA Officer Team. Senior Farm and Ranch broadcaster Ron Hays had a chance to talk with Trey about this opportunity. Deeply rooted in his community and passionate about agricultural education, Trey has carried his hometown values into every step of his FFA journey. His enthusiasm and dedication to leadership have made him a strong contender as he prepares to represent Oklahoma on the national stage.
Trey’s FFA journey began modestly, sparked more by curiosity than ambition. “To be fully transparent, I first joined just to get out of school,” he admits with a laugh. Following in his brother’s footsteps, he started showing goats, but the turning point came when his teacher encouraged him to attend Alumni Leadership Camp. “Those three days completely changed how I viewed the organization and just honestly changed my life for the better,” Trey recalls. The camp revealed to him that FFA was “a lot more than just being able to win some awards or being able to miss school.”
Trey is headed for Indianapolis later today as the selection process to pick the six national officers gets underway this weekend- half of the candidates will be eliminated on Monday evening- and the twenty or so remaining will wait for Saturday, November first to learn if they will continue their service as a national officer or not. That announcement is the last thing that happens at a national FFA convention- we wish Trey all the best in the process.
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| Dr. Rosslyn Biggs: Emerging Bovine Disease Update Asian Longhorned Tick | | |
The Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) is an invasive species established in more than 20 U.S. states. Believed to have entered the country around 2010, it was first identified on cattle in northeastern Oklahoma in summer 2024. For the first time in early October 2025, the Kansas Department of Agriculture announced that the tick had been identified in their state.
Researchers at Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine are continuing their project through the end of the year to evaluate the status of the Asian longhorned tick and its pathogens in Oklahoma and bordering states cattle herds. Preliminary results have detected Theileria orientalis genotype Chitose but not Ikeda, the pathogen of greatest concern. No Asian longhorned ticks have been identified. Additional participation from across the state is needed and encouraged. Cattle producers are urged to take part during fall processing.
Eleven herds have submitted samples thus far, and an additional 20 to 40 farms have the opportunity to participate by submitting blood, ticks, or both. All sampling supplies, shipping labels, and testing are provided at no cost to producers. Samples may be collected by veterinarians or producers with a consulting herd veterinarian. Blood collections will process twice weekly with results emailed to the address on the submission form and the consulting herd veterinarian. Anaplasma marginale testing will also be provided at no cost, (up to 20 samples per herd) if anaplasmosis is suspected in the herd.
| | “5 Democrats Could End The Schumer Shutdown In 5 Minutes” | | |
U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) released his latest Mullin It Over column slamming Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats for holding the American people hostage on Day 23 of the Schumer Shutdown. He suggests a straightforward solution: re-open the federal government and stop the madness.
5 Democrats Could End The Schumer Shutdown In 5 Minutes. By Senator Markwayne Mullin “As the Democrat Shutdown enters its third week, over 500,000 federal workers are preparing to not receive a paycheck on Friday, October 24th.
I have said this for years: nobody wins in a government shutdown. Shutdowns are costly, painful, and accomplish nothing.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has told the media, “Every day gets better for us.” Just yesterday, the number two House Democrat, Rep. Katherine Clark, told press, “Of course there will be families that are going to suffer… but it is one of the few leverage times we have.” They’re saying the quiet part out loud. Can you believe that? Every day the government is shutdown is a better day for the Democrats while their selfish shutdown continues to harm millions of Americans.
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| Now Accepting Applications: Aflatoxin Research Grant Opportunities | | |
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is calling for a new round of research grants to help farmers manage aflatoxin issues. Letters of intent from principal investigators, co-principal investigators, and collaborators—and not exceeding the $100,000 per year limit—will be accepted by the Aflatoxin Mitigation Center of Excellence (AMCOE) no later than Monday, December 1, 2025.
AMCOE’s Competitive Grants Program offers research grants for projects focused on solving profit-robbing aflatoxin issues for farmers. The program was developed by a consortium of southern state corn checkoff boards to provide a unified approach to funding projects affecting growers across the region. NCGA serves as the management structure in order to leverage more dollars for solving aflatoxin issues and to build strong regional teams which would be highly competitive for federal, public, and private funding. As we move into the future, we will be expanding the scope of AMCOE to become the broader MCOE and include other mycotoxins including vomitoxin, as well as additional states and industry partners.
“Corn growers are committed to delivering safe, top-quality products to consumers,” said Texas grower and AMCOE Committee Chair Charles Ring. “Thanks to AMCOE’s initiatives, we’ve achieved meaningful progress in identifying and reducing risks from aflatoxin and other mycotoxins. Our competitive grants program is fueling innovative research and equipping our industry with better tools and solutions to address these challenges.”
| | R-CALF USA Statement on USDA’s Plan to Rebuild the U.S. Cattle Industry | | |
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced her agency’s plan for American ranchers and consumers. The plan includes increasing grazing access on federally managed lands, ending the current practice by global beef packers of labeling foreign beef with a “Product of USA” label, encouraging procurement of domestic beef for USDA Child Nutrition Programs, expanding opportunities for smaller beef packers, and working with the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure cattle markets remain competitive and fair.
Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA, issued the following statement in response to the secretary’s plan. “We greatly appreciate Secretary Rollins’ proposed reforms for the U.S. cattle industry. It’s the first comprehensive government plan issued in decades for the express purpose of revitalizing the domestic cattle industry, which has been shrinking at an alarming rate since the 80s.
“Increasing grazing access on federally managed lands will increase our industry’s capacity to grow, and her plan to enforce the voluntary ‘Product of USA’ rule that goes into effect on Jan. 1 is an acknowledgement that differentiating USA beef from foreign beef is beneficial to U.S. ranchers and consumers. “The secretary’s reference to conducting regulatory compliance to ensure cattle markets remain open, transparent and fair, and her plan to work with the Department of Justice to achieve this compliance, suggests to us that the USDA understands the serious concerns we’ve been expressing for years regarding the lack of antitrust and fair competition law enforcement.
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According to DTN- cash cattle trade remains in limbo as we come to the end of the week- "no major trade had been reported, but asking prices are noted at $243 plus in the South and are still not established in the North."
On Thursday, October 23, 2025, the Boxed Beef cutout rose $2.49 with Choice at $373.14 and Select up $1.13 at $354.74, widening the spread to $18.40. This marks the highest Choice value since September 24th. A total of 117 loads were reported.
Woodward Livestock had a big run of 4,132 head on Thursday- Compared to last week: Feeder steers 10.00 to 20.00 lower. Feeder heifers 5.00 to 15.00 lower. Steer calves 10.00 to 20.00 lower. Heifer calves steady to 10.00 lower. Demand was moderate.
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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