Howdy Neighbors!

Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Gene Copenhaver, president-elect of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and a fifth-generation Virginia cattle producer, about his stocker operation, market volatility, and policy priorities for the cattle industry. Copenhaver operates in southwest Virginia alongside his son and brings a margin-operator perspective shaped by decades of experience and risk management.

Copenhaver described his family’s grass-based stocker operation, explaining, “We’re a stocker operation back in the southwest corner of Virginia… I’m there with my 32-year-old son full time on the operation.” He noted they buy calves from July through October and sell yearlings from May through November, relying primarily on pasture.

“We depend on our grass,” he said, adding that most of their cattle are shipped to long-time customers in Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota, relationships he called “great, great relationships." With cattle prices surging and volatility increasing, Copenhaver acknowledged the challenges margin operators face. “We got hit pretty good… about $20,000 a load,” he said of a recent shipment, but emphasized the importance of risk management. 

Fellow Oklahoman, At the beginning of the year, when President Trump and Congressional Republicans began the start of our governance, we made several commitments to the American people. So, now, as we approach the end of 2025, I can’t help but reflect on the multitude of promises we have delivered on. For a recap of our accomplishments this year, continue reading below:

When it came to our nation’s immigration policies, the previous administration refused to enforce the law, resulting in a raging illegal immigration disaster. Massive surges of illegals, including criminals, gang members, and terrorists, were swarming our border, resulting in jeopardized national security and free reign for cartels to push deadly fentanyl into every community throughout the United States.

 Now, just a year later, we have seen a historic turn around. Illegal “getaways” at the border are down by 95 percent and migrant crossings are down by 99.99 percent. “Catch and Release” has been reversed and “Remain in Mexico” has been re-established. Congress passed the Laken Riley Act in early January and President Trump immediately signed it into law. On top of that, the One Big Beautiful Bill delivered resources to complete the border wall and hire more Border Patrol agents. 

For the USDA Cattle on Feed report scheduled for release later today on December 19, 2025, analysts anticipate a continued tightening of supplies across several key metrics compared to the previous year. 

The following are the average pre-report guesses from industry analysts: On Feed (Dec 1 Inventory): Expected to be down approximately 1.7% to 2% from last year. Estimates range from 98% to 98.4% of year-ago levels, totaling roughly 11.78 million head. Placements (November): Projected to be down significantly, with average guesses at -7.6% to -8.2%. A primary factor cited for lower placements is the ongoing suspension of live cattle imports from Mexico due to screwworm concerns.

There are several factors that are playing into what the December Cattle on Feed Report may tell us: Import Restrictions: The continued ban on Mexican cattle imports is hitting Texas feedlots particularly hard, contributing to the lower overall placement numbers. Heifer Retention: Some analysts suggest that lower placements may also reflect early signs of ranchers retaining heifers for herd rebuilding, though this remains a slow process.

While the American farmer is often the face of agriculture, a massive economic engine hums quietly in the background between the farm gate and the grocery store shelf. Max Fisher, Chief Economist and Treasurer at the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), recently sat down to discuss the immense scope of the grain and feed sector and the critical policy issues facing the industry as it heads into 2026.

According to Fisher, the NGFA represents the crucial middle ground of the agricultural supply chain—entities that exist “beyond the farmer and before the retailer.” This includes grain elevators, processors, the biofuels industry, exporters, and flour millers.

Fisher revealed that a recent assessment of the industry uncovered a deeper economic footprint than previously imagined. “We knew that we have just under 10,000 facilities scattered throughout the United States,” Fisher said. “We found out that it’s about $400 billion a year worth of economic activity—about 1% of the GDP—plus a little over a million jobs.”

In a recent cow calf article, Scott Clawson writes: It seems like 2025 has set a record for the number of records set. From cattle prices to the average margin of victory for the OKC Thunder this season it is easy to be wowed by the numbers. While we enjoy the records, there are still some things happening in the background that we can focus on. For the OKC Thunder, I will save my thoughts for my living room! But on the livestock side, how we navigate our cost position continues to be important as our dollars don’t seem to stretch as far as they did. 

Coming up in January, there will be several opportunities to focus on this issue. OSU Extension is hosting multiple cost of production workshops with the commercial cow-calf producer in mind. The workshop will work through a sample cow-calf operation going step by step how to establish an economic cost of production.  

Along the way, we discuss some difficult to quantify cost areas like overheads and asset purchases. We also get to look at what parts of the operation may contribute the most to the bottom line and what ones might be subtracting from it. Afterwards, attendees will have a framework to apply to their own operations. 

As producers look toward the 2025 and 2026 growing seasons, they face a familiar and frustrating squeeze: fertilizer prices remain high while crop profits are harder to pencil out. In a recent conversation with Oklahoma Farm Report’s Maci Carter, Jason Gregory of Helena Agri-Enterprises emphasized that while the economic pressure is real, knee-jerk cost-cutting could do more harm than good.

Precision Over Panic: Navigating High Inputs with Data-Driven Fertility Gregory acknowledges the tight margins, noting that Helena’s local representatives are deeply embedded in their communities—going to church and school with the farmers they serve—and understand the financial stress firsthand. However, he warns against the common impulse to simply slash all inputs by a flat percentage, such as cutting everything by 30% to save money.

Instead, Gregory advocates for data-driven decisions anchored in soil sampling. “Maybe you don’t cut everything 30%,” Gregory explained. “Maybe you cut something 40%—this one nutrient, I’m going to cut it 40% because I can—but I better not cut this other nutrient at all, because that’s what’s really going to limit my yield on my farm”. Helena processes about 650,000 soil samples annually to help growers identify exactly which nutrients are expendable and which are critical.

Cattle producers and buyers are gearing up for the Griswold Cattle Company Classic, a multi-day sale event in Stillwater showcasing a wide lineup of bred cows, heifers, and elite genetics. The Classic offers opportunities to view cattle ahead of time, attend in person, or participate online, with sale days highlighting multiple breeds and a special Frozen Classic featuring flushes, embryos, and rare semen.

The cattle are available for viewing at anytime in Stillwater. The cattle will be taken to Bull Run the week of the sale. The address for the sale is 9313 East 6th Ave. Stillwater, OK 74074. View the catalog here and you can watch online at CCI.TV

The schedule for the classic includes Friday December 19- 9:00 AM- Classic Collegiate Judging Contest Friday December 19- 2:30 PM- Classic Day One Featuring Cows and Angus Bred Heifers Saturday December 20- 10 AM- Classic Day Two Featuring Simmental, Maine Anjou, Composite and Hereford Bred Cows- plus The Frozen Classic- featuring flushes, embryos and rare semen.

Checking the Markets...

The livestock complex closed mixed, with the lean hog contracts closing a touch stronger, while the cattle contracts fell lower. February live cattle closed $1.15 lower at $228.40, April live cattle closed $0.97 lower at $228.15 and June live cattle closed $0.65 lower at $222.10. 

Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice up $1.19 ($357.28) and select down $2.46 ($343.97) with a movement of 89 loads 

The feeder cattle complex followed the direction of the live cattle markets and ended the day fully lower. January feeders closed $1.25 lower at $340.27, March feeders closed $1.72 lower at $334.60 and April feeders closed $1.85 lower at $333.17. 

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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