Howdy Neighbors!

Madilyn Norvell of Amber Pocasset FFA was the first of several Oklahoma FFA speech contestants chasing a national championship at the 98th Annual Convention of the FFA to reach the Final Four in her speech category- Creed.

Norvell advanced out of the preliminary round Wednesday morning- then the national semis in the afternoon where she landed as one of four speakers for the national Final Four in Creed Wednesday evening. She competed against state winners from Texas, Idaho and Hawaii. We will learn if she reached her goal of being a National Champion when the results will be announced on the General Session stage in Lucas Oil Stadium around 2 PM.

Meanwhile, Annie Schneider and Corbin Robbins will hope to hear their names called as finalists for their speech categories on Thursday morning. Both advanced out of the Preliminary rounds on Wednesday and competed in the National Semis in the afternoon. Schneider is in the Prepared Public Speaking Contest- they will announce the final four at 9 AM at the Convention Center with the Final Four competition to follow at 11 AM eastern. Robbins will learn if he will be in the Final Four of the Extemp contest first thing Thursday morning as they will announce those participants at 7:30 AM eastern followed by the Final Four of the Extemp that starts at 8:30 AM. You can watch both of those finals on the FFA Live Streaming platform- available here.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Cattle market analyst Cassie Fish, who says the recent downturn marks a major shift in market momentum, signaling that “we are seeing the end of the bull market as we speak.” She notes that with just a few headlines and social media posts, “the cattle market has been turned totally upside down in a matter of just a few days.”

Fish describes the pace of the decline as unprecedented and deeply concerning. “It certainly is very disconcerting to see these kinds of dramatic declines,” she says, pointing out that “we’ve seen an almost 10% decline in December cattle and 11.6% in November feeders.” The downturn, she adds, “started on the 17th of October—only seven trading days ago—so that is incredible speed that we have never really seen before.”

Despite the sharp market drop, Fish emphasizes that “We have the tightest supply of the entire bull market cycle right in front of us—November into next summer.” Even with historically low cattle numbers, “demand has been excellent, despite the fact that we do have record high prices.” However, she warns that the market’s psychology has shifted from fundamentals to fear: “It just creates worry… we’re more worried about what might happen or what has happened in the past.”

The Oklahoma Ag Expo is just around the corner, taking place November 3–5 in Norman at the Embassy Suites. Ashley Tucker Randolph shared her excitement with farm director KC Sheperd, saying, “We are super excited to welcome everyone this upcoming Monday, we’re looking forward to having everyone.” She explained that the event is a collaboration between the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association and the Oklahoma Ag Retailers, describing it as “a place where agriculture and agribusiness professionals can come together, learn, network, and really just celebrate our industry.”

The Expo will kick off on Monday with a golf tournament at Westwood Park Golf Course, followed by educational sessions led by OSU experts. Randolph noted, “Later in the afternoon, we will have Edmund Bonjour and Kevin Shelton from OSU covering all things fumigation.” Tuesday’s agenda is full of industry sessions on topics such as “fungicide fundamentals, unmanned aerial applications, and herbicide resistance management practices.” She added that the trade show’s grand opening is Tuesday at 10 a.m., and it’s already “a sold-out show this year.”

This year’s speaker lineup is one of the strongest yet. Randolph highlighted several notable names, saying, “We’ll be welcoming Jeff Ball with Bayer Crop Science, Dr. John Long from OSU, Maxwell Smith from IPM for Cotton Assistance, and Dr. Kent Martin from Northwestern in Alva.” She also mentioned that the Expo will close with presentations by “Dr. Steve Phillips and Dr. Ashley Ferris from OSU.” According to Randolph, “We’re certainly excited to have a jam-packed show.”

At the 2025 National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis, National FFA President Thad Bergschneider reflected on a whirlwind year representing more than one million members while speaking with senior far and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays. “You can’t go anywhere without meeting somebody,” he said, describing how FFA connects people from all walks of life. “If not an active member, there is always an alumni on a plane who you’re sitting next to… and all of a sudden you hear their story.” Bergschneider emphasized that even those who never wore the blue jacket are only “a few degrees of connection” away from someone who did.

Thad’s own FFA story began reluctantly. “Freshman year of high school, going to pick out ag classes with my dad, and I work up the courage to tell him I don’t think I want to join FFA,” he recalled. “His response was, ‘Too bad.’” Though he came from a farm background of corn, soybeans, and cattle, Bergschneider said, “I didn’t think FFA was where I belonged. I was interested in math and science… in public speaking and policy.” That all changed when he read the FFA Creed and competed in ag sales. “I realized that, oh no, FFA is where I’m meant to be.”

Discussing the evolution of the FFA Creed and the organization’s identity, Bergschneider reaffirmed the group’s agricultural roots. “It’s important to say that FFA is still farming,” he said, “and it’s the veterinarians, the scientists, the chemists, the IT experts, the technologists, the… artificial intelligence specialists, the data learning specialists, who continue to support those endeavors.” His message underscored that the FFA remains grounded in agriculture while embracing the growing world of ag-related science and technology.

The president of the National Corn Growers Association said today that Congress and the administration can support farmers through the ongoing difficult economic circumstances through a combination of market expansion and a bridge assistance program.

“Opening new foreign markets and expanding access to higher ethanol blends year-round are not only NCGA’s top priorities, but they are also important to the survival of the nation’s corn growers,” said Ohio farmer and NCGA President Jed Bower. “Recognizing that market expansion takes time and farmers need help now, corn growers support the development of a bridge program to help navigate this difficult economy.”

NCGA has intensified its call for new and improved markets in recent months. Corn grower leaders have urged Congress to pass the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025, which would expand year-round nationwide consumer access to fuels with a 15% ethanol blend, also referred to as E15. They have also supported the Trump administration’s efforts to open new trade markets. 

David Lalman, Oklahoma State University beef cattle specialist, says an accurate estimate of feed intake is a critical element in determining a cow’s nutrient requirements at different stages of production. It is also necessary to establish appropriate stocking rate and carrying capacity for a given land base.

About a year ago, I shared our group’s work to evaluate and update estimates of feed intake for beef cows. One of the popular sources for feed intake estimates is a table published by Hibberd and Thrift in 1982. I provided the original table in the September 16, 2024 Cow Calf Corner Newsletter.

In those guidelines, feed intake is expressed as a percentage of body weight and intake estimates are sensitive to diet quality, stage of production, and cow body weight. As mentioned in the previous article, the 43-year-old Hibberd and Thrift guidelines overestimated feed intake of gestating cows by about 3 pounds per day. However, the estimates for lactating cows were reasonably accurate.

Eleven Oklahoma educators were selected to receive a basket of accurate agriculture books as part of Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Bushels for Books program.

A collaboration between the OKFB Foundation for Agriculture and the OKFB Women’s Leadership Committee, Bushels for Books is designed to spread agriculture literacy to children around the state through providing a selection of books that accurately portray the agriculture industry.

“As people become further removed from production agriculture, it is important for children to learn where their food comes from,” said Mignon Bolay, WLC chair. “We hope these books will provide a fun way for them to learn more about agriculture.”

The program is open to Pre-K through eighth-grade teachers and librarians in Oklahoma. “We are proud to support Oklahoma educators and students through the Bushels for Books program every year,” said OKFB Foundation for Agriculture President Kerry Givens. “We appreciate these teachers prioritizing agriculture education in their classrooms.”

House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) released the following statement regarding the lawsuit filed by a multistate coalition of 26 attorneys general to hold the Trump administration accountable for withholding food assistance from 42 million hungry Americans.

“A coalition of attorneys general from across 25 states and the District of Columbia stood up for the 42 million Americans who rely on federal food assistance to keep food on their table every month. I applaud their courage and principled stance against a lawless administration that is unilaterally depriving eligible American seniors, veterans, people with disabilities and children of food assistance.

Enough is enough. President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins must disburse the congressionally appropriated funds and use all available legal authority to ensure the most vulnerable members of our communities can keep food on their tables come November.”

Checking the Markets...

Choice Boxed Beef prices moved higher again on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, with the Choice cutout up $1.73 to $381.38 and Select up $1.79 to $361.79. This marks five consecutive days of gains, and the Choice cutout is now up $17.47 since October 13, reaching the highest price recorded in October in U.S. history. The Choice/Select spread was $19.59, with 137 loads reported.

OKC West in El Reno has a total of 4,056 head on Tuesday and Wednesday. Manager Bill Barnhart writes about this week- "After an unprecedented free fall the futures market finally closed higher today. Since last Friday November Feeders dropped 33.00 before rebounding today. Never has there been a steeper or more precipitous drop in cattle prices. True we’ve enjoyed quite the run up in prices since Summer and were probably due an adjustment but in some instances 300.00 per head in a weeks time is way out of line. The combination of a bull market pushing too far past reality and politicians getting involved in the cattle market is the most likely culprit of the collapse. Our politicians should have much bigger worries than the price of beef where supply and demand rule the market."

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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