Howdy Neighbors!

Governor Kevin Stitt is back in Oklahoma City after his Tuesday visit to Westville in northeastern Oklahoma. The Governor says he wanted to show support for poultry producers and other agricultural families facing what he called a serious threat to their livelihoods. Speaking after meeting with roughly 300 chicken farmers and cattle ranchers to senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays, Stitt said it was “an amazing opportunity to be over there with some great Oklahomans that really provide a lot of protein for America,” adding, “I’m there to support them, and really to highlight this major issue that’s going on.”

Stitt described the ongoing lawsuit against poultry companies as “an attack on our poultry industry, our farmers,” driven by trial attorney groups and the state’s attorney general. He said the case revives a decades-old issue and threatens to shut down family operations.

“They’re demanding $100 million from these folks and the 100% complete removal of poultry litter out of eastern Oklahoma,” Stitt said, warning that such an outcome “would devastate hay producers, cattle ranchers, poultry industry, everybody.”

Charles McCall reaffirmed his strong support for Oklahoma poultry producers today, criticizing Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s legal campaign against agriculture and rural communities. “Oklahoma agriculture is the backbone of our economy and our values,” McCall said. “When families follow the law and meet environmental standards, they should not be punished by environmental activist lawsuits or government overreach.”

As Speaker of the House, McCall led the passage of SB 1424 in 2024, a law that protects growers from lawsuits when they follow environmental rules set by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. Despite those protections, Drummond has continued legal action against poultry companies and contract producers.

“Instead of standing up for Oklahoma growers, Attorney General Drummond is siding with environmental progressives,” McCall said. “That is not leadership. It is political theater, and it is hurting real people in real Oklahoma communities.”

Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays continues his conversation with Bray Haven, executive vice president of Cattlemen’s Congress, about the scale, growth, and momentum surrounding the event as it heads toward 2026. Haven notes that sales connected to Cattlemen’s Congress topped $10 million last year, including more than $1 million from the Denim and Diamonds Sale, underscoring the Congress’s role as a major hub for seedstock and genetic commerce.

Haven says expectations are high again for 2026, driven by both quality and variety in how sales are conducted. “Some of them will sell 60 live lots. Some of them will sell 10 or 15 live lots. Some of them will be live and online,” he explained, adding that others are entirely online with a live presence. Beyond established sales, Haven says interest is growing from breeders who want to host their own events around Cattlemen’s Congress because of its broad reach.

“People want to host their event around Cattlemen’s Congress… not just because of the people that we capture, but the nationwide — or really North American–wide audience that we have.” While public sale figures are impressive, Haven emphasized that they only tell part of the story. “We sold over $12 million worth of cattle through the sale rings,” he said, quickly adding that those numbers don’t reflect the extensive private-treaty business happening behind the scenes.

Global trade pressures and shifting political dynamics are reshaping how U.S. grains and bio products move into key international markets. Our Own Maci Carter caught up with Andrew Brandt, Director of Trade Policy for U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council, who says current U.S. trade policy is being shaped most heavily by North American relationships, pointing to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as the single most important framework for grain and biofuel exports.

He calls USMCA “the cornerstone of trade policy,” noting that Mexico is “our number one corn market” while Canada stands as “our number one ethanol market.” Brandt explains that the agreement is now under its six-year review process, which will culminate next July with a report from the Trump administration that could determine whether the deal continues unchanged or is modified.

Global political shifts, particularly involving China, have had immediate and painful impacts on U.S. producers, according to Brandt. He says tensions with China led the country to “basically quit buying sorghum altogether” over the summer, a move that was “pretty devastating to some of our soybean sorghum farmers.” In some regions, he notes, growers “couldn’t even get bids for their crops,” a situation Brandt describes as something many corn and soybean farmers have “never had to contemplate.”

In a recent cow calf article, Mark Johnson says Mating decisions made in commercial cow-calf operations determine if (and how much) Gene Combination Value (GCV) we create in the next generation. In the genetic model: Phenotype = Genotype + Environment. Genotype represents the genetic potential of an animal to reach a level of performance and can be split into two components.

The component of Breeding Value (additive genetic merit) was covered last week. The focus of this article is GCV which can also be thought of as the non-additive part. GCV is based on the effect of gene pairs at loci across the genome. It is part of the animal’s genotypic value and impacts the animal’s performance potential; however, since it is based on gene pairs, it can’t be transmitted from parent to offspring. In commercial cow-calf operations we can create GCV through mating decisions. The decision to crossbreed is a mating decision.

Crossbreeding provides commercial cattlemen the opportunity to combine desirable characteristics of two or more breeds (breed complementarity) and increase performance due to hybrid vigor (heterosis). Hybrid vigor is the result of GCV.

In an interview with Farm Director KC Sheperd, Allen Hensley, Technical Sales Specialist at Streamline Ag, discussed the company’s approach to simplifying agricultural inputs, emphasizing a focus on data-driven, seed-centered strategies to maximize farmer profitability.

Streamline Ag is an independent, U.S.-owned input company operating in the biological and input space. Simplifying Inputs: Hensley notes that the market is saturated with “a lot of noise” surrounding biologicals and inputs, and Streamline Ag’s mission is to simplify that process for farmers. Seed-Driven Focus: Their core approach is enhancing the seed, as that is where the farmer makes their money. The company supports the seed from pre-plant through planting and into the season.

When a farmer approaches Streamline Ag, the first step is to establish the farmer’s specific goals: Goal Identification: Every farm has a different approach, plan, and ultimate goal. The company first determines what the farmer is looking for, such as: Increasing yield. Reducing input costs (a hot topic given current commodity prices). Improving nutrient use efficiency (reducing reliance on commercial fertilizer while maintaining or increasing yields).

American Soybean Association leader and North Dakota soybean farmer Josh Gackle testified today before the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) during a public hearing to review China’s follow-through on commitments made as part of the 2020 U.S.–China Phase One Agreement.

The hearing was held as part of a Section 301 investigation examining whether China had fully implemented its commitments under the Agreement. Gackle urged USTR to avoid repeating the mistakes of the last trade war and instead focus on enforcing existing commitments while keeping markets open for U.S. soybean farmers.

Gackle explained that soybeans are the nation’s largest agricultural export and that China remains the single most important market for U.S. soybeans. In Marketing Year (MY) 2023/2024, China purchased nearly 25 million metric tons valued at approximately $13 billion. The Chinese market represents more than half of all U.S. soybean exports, and no other market can replace that demand.

Joby Young is executive vice president at the American Farm Bureau Federation- It’s fair to say that 2025 has been a year of meaningful progress for agriculture, on top of some very big challenges.

Farm Bureau helped farmers and ranchers across the country navigate the roller coaster ride. From policy wins that strengthen farm families to initiatives that support rural communities—our members, leaders and Farm Bureau staff rallied to ensure farmers and ranchers could hold on through the ups and downs. Here’s a look at some of the key victories and steps forward that shaped the year.

Congress took some big steps to provide certainty for farmers with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It extends critical tax provisions that farm and ranch families rely on to keep their businesses running. It also improves access to and affordability of critical risk management programs like crop insurance and commodity support programs, increases funding for conservation programs, and enhances risk management support for dairy farmers.

Checking the Markets...

The livestock complex closed mostly higher as traders remain active and thoroughly supportive of the livestock contracts. February live cattle closed $0.15 higher at $230.70, April live cattle closed $0.25 higher at $230.27 and June live cattle closed $0.27 higher at $223.70. 

Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice down $0.58 ($358.88) and select up $1.80 ($349.10) with a movement of 119 loads

January feeders are up $3.40 at $343.32, March feeders are up $2.75 at $337.60 and April feeders are up $2.52 at $336.30.

At Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, compared to last week, feeder steers traded $4.00 to $8.00 higher, and feeder heifers sold steady to $3.00 higher. Steer calves sold $5.00 to $10.00 lower and heifer calves traded $10.00 to $20.00 lower. 

Click here for our Markets Page on OklahomaFarmReport.Com- there you will find our latest reports on cattle auctions, boxed beef, cash grains and market analysis.

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