Howdy Neighbors!

At the 2025 National FFA Convention, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins addressed the Thursday afternoon General Session of the 98th FFA Convention and met with reporters, including senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays, to discuss several key cattle industry issues, including feeder cattle imports from Mexico and the President’s remarks about beef prices. Rollins emphasized that while she values the partnership with Mexico, “our number one biggest priority is to protect the herd that we have in America, which is already at a 75-year low.” She said about 250,000 head of cattle are waiting to move across the border but stressed that the U.S. is “not there yet” in ensuring the new world screwworm threat is fully under control.

Rollins shared that she has been encouraged by “an unprecedented partnership” with Mexican Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué and plans to meet with Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday morning, to further address the issue. She assured reporters that the U.S. government “couldn’t take it more seriously” and that every decision is being made with the goal of protecting American cattle producers. Despite the pressure from both sides of the border, she noted that as tough as it is,” most U.S. cattlemen have been supportive of the cautious approach.

The Secretary also addressed recent discussions about Argentinian beef imports and the President’s comments on lowering beef prices — remarks that caused frustration among many U.S. cattle producers. Rollins explained that “what the President was talking about was nothing much different from what we have done for a really long time,” adding that imports from Argentina would not increase overall beef supply but would “just mix and match” existing levels of lean beef needed for blending.

The 98th Convention and Expo of the FFA in Indianapolis is in the record books- and it was a great even for Oklahoma FFA members- we will be spending the next couple of days recapping some of the success stories from Indy- starting today with a look at two high achieving Oklahoma members and two championship chapters.

Trey Myers of the Perkins- Tryon FFA chapter in central Oklahoma heard his name called Saturday afternoon on the floor of Lucas Oil Stadium to serve for the coming twelve months as the President of the million member FFA. Myers is the tenth National President of the FFA that hails from Oklahoma in the almost 100 years of the National organization- the most recent one before Myers being Riley Pagett of Woodward in 2010-11. Myers now steps into the role of representing nearly one million American youth members, a transition he describes as humbling and intensely focused on the organization’s foundational value of service.

For the tenth time in the history of the FFA and the Future Farmers of America- an Oklahoma member has claimed the title of American Star Farmer- the oldest and original Star award. Ryder Klaassen of Hydro-Eakly heard his name called on stage in Lucas Oil Stadium Friday night as he was named the Star Farmer of America for 2025. Klaassen’s SAE includes producing wheat, black-eyed peas, mungbeans, cotton, corn, and a beef cattle operation consisting of cow/calf, stocker, and show cattle programs. He farms 420 rented acres in a wheat-summer crop rotation, strategically choosing legumes like black-eyed peas and mungbeans to improve soil health, shorten the growing season, and provide winter pasture for his cattle.

Protein, carbohydrates and fat are fundamental nutrients for the human body, and fiber is the most important carbohydrate in the human diet.  Fiber skips the lengthy digestion process and goes straight to the colon – it helps manage blood sugar and sustain a healthy gut – but only 5% of Americans get the recommended 25 grams of fiber per day, with the average person consuming only about 16 grams per day.

The Oklahoma State University Wheat Improvement Team is working to do something about that. Thirty percent of the fiber Americans consume comes from wheat. “There’s a lot of room for improvement in our dietary habits, but I think we can also do some things in science to make that a more realistic goal,” said Brett Carver, OSU wheat genetics chair. “Like everyone else, I love doughnuts, but there are times I wish a doughnut had a little more fiber in it. We are trying to do something about that.”

The Wheat Improvement Team is not working alone. In addition to their independent efforts, they are also working with a variety of plant breeders and geneticists from across the nation through the Coalition for Grain Fiber.

Recent trade progress announced by President Donald Trump during a swing through Asia is creating optimism for U.S. beef and pork exports, according to Dan Halstrom, president and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

While details are still being finalized, Halstrom highlighted positive signs in several key markets.

In Malaysia, where the U.S. has historically faced significant non-tariff trade barriers, progress is being made. “We’re excited to see some of those barriers eliminated,” Halstrom said. He noted that while U.S. pork has made strides, “the larger potentials for US beef.” For other markets in the region, tariffs remain the primary hurdle. In Vietnam, Halstrom stated that “relief on tariffs is going to be mandatory so we can compete on a level playing field.” He called the talks a hopeful “first step” and noted that Thailand is in a similar situation with “prohibitively high tariff rates.”

Even smaller markets like Cambodia, seen as a potential beef opportunity, are showing promise. “The commitment there for duty free access is also encouraging,” Halstrom noted. He emphasized that these Southeast Asian markets, while small individually, add up. “Won’t be a big market, but honestly, in that whole Southeast Asia region, you add all these markets together, it is significant.”

Smithfield Foods donated $150,000 to 30 food banks in its 22-state operational footprint to support neighbors in local communities experiencing food insecurity, including the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.

“Smithfield believes in the power of community and the importance of supporting hunger relief,” said Jim Monroe, vice president of corporate affairs for Smithfield Foods. “This donation helps provide critical support to our neighbors facing hunger and reflects our continuing commitment to doing good in the places we call home.”

Smithfield’s hunger relief program, Helping Hungry Homes®, has provided hundreds of millions of servings of protein in all 50 U.S. states since 2008. Smithfield donated more than 25 million servings of protein, valued at nearly $28 million, to food banks, disaster relief efforts and community outreach programs across the U.S. in 2024. 

House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) released the below statement following the rulings of Judge Indira Talwani of the District of Massachusetts and Judge John McConnell of the District of Rhode Island regarding the Trump administration’s decision to illegally withhold food assistance funding from needy families in November.

“As we’ve said from the start, the Trump administration was acting illegally. They have congressionally appropriated dollars to issue SNAP benefits in November and made the cruel decision to let Americans go hungry instead. It should not take a court order for a president to care for his people. I hope this acts as a wakeup call to Republicans who continue to enable and appease this lawless administration at the expense of the people they serve.”

American farmers are preparing to face higher input costs in 2026, primarily driven by the impact of recent and anticipated tariffs on international trade. According to John Appel, Vice President of Category Management for the Farmers Business Network (FBN), the effects will not be uniform, with some critical agricultural products facing significantly steeper price hikes than others.

While general input costs are expected to rise, the increase is highly specific to the sourcing and trade status of the active ingredients. Appel points out that the impact is not “one size fits all” across crop protection products. Maximum Tariff Exposure Several widely used products will be subject to the maximum amount of tariffs, with no current exemptions: S-Metolachlor, Clethodim, Dicamba.

Layered Duties on 2,4-D The herbicide 2,4-D faces a particularly complex and severe cost increase. Its price is impacted by multiple layers of trade duties: Significant Tariffs: General tariffs imposed on products from major source countries like China and India. Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duties: Additional duties resulting from a Corteva lawsuit filed last year. This layering of duties has already caused the cost of 2,4-D to significantly increase throughout 2025, a trend expected to carry into 2026 planning.

Several dozen Oklahoma FFA Chapters competed and were honored this past week at the National FFA Convention- but two landed at the top in their respective categories- the Ft Gibson FFA fielded the Livestock Judging team that represented Oklahoma while Stillwater FFA qualified to compete in one of the three Premiere Chapter competitions- the one called Strengthening Agriculture. Both came home National Champions!

The National Championship in Livestock Evaluation is returning once again to Oklahoma as the Livestock Judging team representing the state from the Ft. Gibson FFA Chapter is the first place team in the 2025 National Contest at the 98th National FFA Convention. The Ft. Gibson team included Avery White, Kennedy Lockhart, Gracie Gist and Raygan Greathouse. Greathouse is the National Individual Champion while Kennedy Lockhart was the seventh high individual. The Advisor at Ft. Gibson is Lane Howe.

Stillwater FFA was named the 2025 Premier Chapter: Strengthening Agriculture during the sixth general session of the 98th National FFA Convention & Expo this year in Indianapolis. The Chapter created an activity that included comedy as well as serious safety lessons with the chapter’s “Don’t Be a Griswold: Safety Skits.” The activity’s purpose was to encourage members to make safe decisions with winter-related agriculture activities. The activity took place through safety skits conducted by members to educate their peers about electrical, livestock, temperature, water, and other winter hazards, and concluded with a safety pledge.

Checking the Markets...

Cash cattle trade in the southern plains ended up down this past week- according to the Texas Cattle Feeders- both steers and heifers were $2.50 lower in light trade at $235.50.

Choice Boxed Beef closed mixed on Friday, with the Choice cutout at $378.13, down $0.14 from Thursday but up $2.37 from last Friday. Select slipped $0.87 to $358.65, widening the spread to $19.48.

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