Howdy Neighbors!

As 2025 winds down and the holiday season approaches, grain markets are digesting a flurry of data released by the USDA following recent delays. Oklahoma Farm Report Farm Director KC Sheperd recently sat down with Oklahoma State University Extension Crop Marketing Specialist Dr. Todd Hubbs to unpack the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) and what the numbers mean for producers heading into 2026.

While corn exports remain a bright spot, the wheat market has faced significant headwinds, establishing a challenging landscape for the start of the new year.

The most immediate concern for local producers is the sharp decline in wheat prices. Following the release of the WASDE report, the market reacted negatively to data showing increased global supplies.

“It’s brutal today,” Hubbs said regarding the recent market performance. “We’re setting new contract lows in the futures market for KC Hard Red. The run down started last Friday and the bears are moving.”

Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Chris Carroll, president of National Livestock Credit Corporation, about the company’s long-standing partnership with the All American Beef Battalion and the outlook for the cattle industry. Carroll joined Hays at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, where National Livestock helped host a steak dinner prepared by the Beef Battalion as a thank-you for years of fundraising support tied to cattle sales at the yards.

Carroll said National Livestock is proud of its roughly 15-year partnership with the All American Beef Battalion, an organization founded by Vietnam veterans. “A lot of those guys came back from the Vietnam War and didn’t feel like they were welcomed home,” Carroll explained.

He noted that although many of the founders have passed on, the mission continues. “We’ll sell a calf here today, and we’ll sell him multiple times over and try to raise, you know, $50,000 to $55,000 today, and this is all going to go back to help, basically say thank you to troops.”

Oklahoma State University is building on its long-standing tradition of leadership in animal agriculture with the launch of the OSU Agriculture Animal Excellence initiative, a comprehensive effort to elevate teaching, research and Extension programs that impact animal health.

At the heart of this initiative is the creation of the Beef Center of Excellence, a cross-disciplinary hub designed to unite experts across the beef supply chain.

The Beef Center of Excellence will drive innovation through cutting-edge research, advanced Extension services and collaborative partnerships aimed at improving profitability and sustainability for beef producers today and in the future, said Robert Hodgen, president and CEO of King Ranch Inc. and a member of the Beef Center of Excellence advisory board.

As digital technology becomes essential across modern farming, Oklahoma Farm Report’s Maci Carter caught up with John Deere’s Erin Jost to discuss how the Operations Center is empowering producers with clearer, faster insights. Jost described it as “our data hub for the farming operation,” where both agronomic and machine information flows together.

Jost emphasized that this system helps producers “analyze that data, monitor what’s happening today and start to make better decisions for the future.” Jost also highlighted several new features released this year, noting that the platform continues to evolve alongside John Deere’s technology.

One of the most impactful additions, she said, is Work Overview, which provides farmers “a one-stop shop where you can see how your operation is running at a glance.” She also pointed to the tech utilization dashboard, which helps growers understand productivity differences “when you have those technologies actually turned on versus when they’re off.”

Meghan Filbert introduces her role as the community and partnerships manager for NoFence to intern Karleigh Erramouspe and explains how the company’s virtual fencing technology works. Filbert describes the system as GPS-enabled collars for cattle, sheep, and goats that connect to a phone app to set and adjust boundaries. 

As she puts it, the collars guide animals using “a scale of tones,” followed by a mild electrical pulse if the animal continues forward.” Filbert emphasizes that livestock learn the system quickly, saying animals are “trained in about seven days,” which then opens up extensive new grazing opportunities.

Filbert explains that virtual fencing has become a practical way for producers to expand or streamline rotational grazing. Many farmers, she says, use the collars “as a substitute for internal cross fencing,” which means they can create and alter paddocks instantly without the labor of installing physical fences. Because the animals “essentially move themselves,” producers can increase their rotational frequency without additional time or workload. This flexibility makes intensively managed grazing far more accessible.

In a cow calf article by David Lalman and Bailey Tomson, they wrote that in recent years, substantial progress has been made in understanding biological and genetic sources of variation in feed efficiency of growing cattle consuming energy-dense, mixed diets during the post-weaning phase. In contrast, much less is known about feed efficiency of cattle consuming moderate- to low-quality forage diets.

This is important because approximately 74% of the total feed required to produce beef comes from forage. Indeed, the ruminant animal’s primary advantage over non-ruminant species is its ability to convert forage—essentially sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide—into a high-quality human food source. With increased heifer retention over the next few years, perhaps now is an opportune time to consider strategies for improving forage use efficiency in replacement females.

Forage utilization efficiency has been a major research focus of our group at Oklahoma State University. Although grazing studies are ultimately the goal, we began this line of work in a controlled pen setting where forage intake can be measured accurately. Each year, we evaluate a contemporary group of weaned replacement heifers and a contemporary group of five-year-old cows. The cows are tested during lactation and again during gestation. During each test period, cattle spend approximately 90 days in our forage intake facility

Raising elite Angus cattle takes more than hard work; it demands vision, precision and perseverance. This year, four outstanding cattlemen have been nominated for the 2026 Herdsman of the Year Award. This recognition honors an Angus enthusiast who has committed wholeheartedly to the management, strategy and advancement of their herd.

Peers select the award winner from a set of candidates through voting, hosted by the American Angus Association®. Voting begins December 15, and all votes must be submitted by noon CST on January 8, 2026.

To be eligible to vote, exhibitors must have entered at least one of the following shows in 2025: Cattlemen’s Congress, National Western Stock Show, Western National Angus Futurity, Atlantic National, American Royal or North American International Livestock Exposition. Eligible exhibitors will receive an email with a unique login and password from the American Angus Association® through the Election Runner platform to vote. Only one vote per member code is allowed.

Nominees for this year’s award are Michael Jones, Express Ranches; Cole Kaufman, Oakley Farms; Craig Sand, Circle M Farms; and Brad Paetzel, Hortsman Cattle Company.

The Oklahoma State University Alumni Association is honoring Dr. Myriah Johnson and ten others as the inaugural recipients of the OSU Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

This award recognizes alumni of the Cowboy family who are age 40 or younger who have distinguished themselves through their profession and the betterment of their community while serving as a champion for OSU.

Dr. Myriah Johnson graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in agricultural economics in 2009. She went on to earn her master’s degree in agricultural economics and a Ph.D. in animal science from Texas A&M University.

Dr. Johnson grew up on a cattle, wheat and soybean farm in Perry, Oklahoma and remains involved in the operation with her family.

Checking the Markets...

The livestock complex closed fully lower Wednesday afternoon as the market hit a lull spot, not receiving the fundamental support it needed, and as traders began to show less interest in the market with the holidays nearing. February live cattle closed $1.15 lower at $229.55, April live cattle closed $1.15 lower at $229.12 and June live cattle closed $0.95 lower at $222.75. 

Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $2.79 ($356.09) and select down $2.67 ($346.43) with a movement of 170 loads

January feeders closed $1.80 lower at $341.52, March feeders closed $1.27 lower at $336.32 and April feeders closed $1.27 lower at $335.02. 



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