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Cooper Kline Pursues American Star Farmer Award With Oklahoma Show Pig Operation

Cooper Kline, a member of the North Rock Creek FFA chapter and former Oklahoma FFA Association state president, is pursuing the American Star Farmer Award at the 2026 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis while also seeking to become a national FFA officer.

Kline’s show pig operation, marketing strategies and commitment to helping young livestock exhibitors succeed have helped distinguish his agricultural project among the national finalists.

Kline recently participated in the judging process for the Star Farmer Award, which included a virtual interview with judges from across the country. Speaking with Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays, Kline described the experience as an opportunity to share his Oklahoma-based operation on a national stage. Our coverage of the 2026 National FFA Convention is powered by Hilliary Communications, Always Innovating, Because Every Community Matters.

Visitors to Oklahoma City’s historic Stockyards City got an up-close look at one of the most recognizable symbols of the American West during the annual Stockyards Stampede, where Texas Longhorn cattle were among the featured attractions.

Oklahoma Farm Report intern Haden Snelson spoke with Wes Sander of Woodward, Oklahoma, who, along with his son Cody, brought the Longhorns to the event.

Sander discussed the careful selection process behind the cattle, their distinctive characteristics and the importance of introducing the animals to new generations.

Sander explained that the Longhorns are carefully selected over several generations to ensure they have the right temperament for traveling and interacting with large crowds.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced an update to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service’s Livestock Mandatory Reporting cash cattle reports as part of the Department’s broader effort to implement two of President Trump’s Executive Orders on “Supporting American Ranchers” and “Promoting Fair Competition in Livestock Markets and Expanding Market Access for American Meat Producers” to bring greater transparency to cattle market cash reporting.

“President Trump tasked our agency with bringing clarity and consistency to cattle markets and protecting rancher viability, and today’s action is one of several steps we are taking to deliver on that promise,” said Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins.

“Maintaining reliable and transparent price information is critical to a well-functioning cattle market. We are making these changes to address those challenges and make the best use possible of the market information that AMS gathers.”

Dr. Derrell Peel Talks Market Uncertainty and Previews Cattle on Feed

Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Oklahoma State University livestock market economist Dr. Derrell Peel ahead of his presentation at the TCFA Annual Convention in downtown OKC about cattle market volatility, political uncertainty, herd rebuilding, and expectations for the upcoming Cattle on Feed report.

Despite a difficult summer and fall for the cattle industry, Peel says the underlying market fundamentals have not changed. Peel said the cattle market has experienced significant volatility, much of it driven by outside influences.

While prices have faced an extended correction, he said the underlying fundamentals remain in place. “This market has just had a tremendous amount of volatility injected into it, most of it from the outside,” Peel said.

A developing winter weather pattern across the Southern Plains will deliver a sharp contrast in seasonal moisture, cold air, and frozen precipitation for Oklahoma agricultural producers.

Farm Director KC Sheperd recently sat down with AccuWeather meteorologist Chad Merrill to examine the full winter outlook, breaking down projected temperatures, snowfall expectations, ice storm probabilities, and the suite of forecasting tools available to help farmers and ranchers plan operations through a shifting El Niño season.

While recent storms brought drought-breaking downpours across the Southern Plains, Merrill emphasized that the atmosphere is locking into a robust El Niño regime that will dominate late fall and winter. That pattern shift brings a steady transition from unseasonable warmth into much cooler, seasonal conditions.

In a recent Cow-Calf Corner article, Paul Beck writes: As we discussed last week, only about 60% of cull beef cows are marketed in the Utility grades (Boning or Breaking Utility) with 20 to 25% in the USDA Cutter and 5 to 15% in the Canner grade.

Feeding thin cows to higher BCS before marketing can make a large difference in their value. Beef cutout research indicated that cows in BCS 3 were 33% Boning or Breaking Utility grade while cows in BCS 6 and 7 were 73 and 100% Boning or Breaking Utility.

So, body condition of cows at market has a large impact on their value. I calculated the value of cull cows using current cull cow prices, expected weight changes between BCS, and expected changes in cull cow grades. Feeding to add weight and condition of a thin cow from a BCS 3 to 7 can increase her value by over $450.

Grant Gardner writes in Southern Ag Today: In the October WASDE, USDA raised soybean yield expectations by 0.3 bushels to a record 53.1 bushels per acre, which lifts production by 27 million bushels to a record 4.56 billion.

A bigger crop did not lower USDA’s season-average price projection. USDA also cut beginning stocks by 10 million bushels and raised exports by 10 million, so carryout rose only 5 million bushels to 315 million and the projection held at $12.00 per bushel.

Prices have slipped since the report. November soybean futures closed up 4.5 cents at $12.92 on report day, then lower five days in a row, to $12.61 on October 16 (Barchart, 2026).

The National FFA Talent Contest will have 11 acts performing ahead of the evening General Session on Thursday in what is considered the National Semis- and the Oklahoma trio of Tyse Buck, Jolie Marshall and Liam McMahan are performing on the Lucas Oil Stadium stage at that time. The top three acts on Thursday will be in the finals on Friday evening. Ron Hays talked with Jolie and Tyse and you can hear their conversation by clicking here.

Wednesday was a full day of speeches and teams competing on the national level at the 99th National FFA Convention. That included Jalyn Lundry of Haworth FFA in southweastern Oklahoma. She is shown above on the Finals Stage in the Indiana Convention Center as she gave the Creed as the final speaker in the Final Four Wednesday evening. We will learn her final placing in this national championship on Thursday afternoon during the Second Convention Session.

Oklahoma’s other speakers also moved forward during the day- as Annie Schneider of Seiling FFA advanced to the Semi Finals of the Extemporaneous Speech Contest- and Cierra Collins advanced and spoke in the Semi Finals of the Prepared Public Speech Contest on Wednesday as well. Both of those contests will have a morning announcement of who will be in the Final Four. with the National Championship to be decided midday Thursday. At least two teams representing Oklahoma advanced on Wednesday into the national semi finals- Stillwater FFA advancing in the Conduct of Meetings Contest and Lomega moved into the second round of the Ag Issues Contest.

Checking the Markets...

Futures Markets

• Feeder Cattle: Led the complex with solid gains. November 2026 gained $2.525 to settle at $348.825/cwt, January 2027 advanced $3.200 to $345.825/cwt, and March 2027 jumped $3.625 to close at $342.375/cwt after tapping an intraday high of $344.900.
• Live Cattle: Maintained steady support throughout the session. December 2026 rose $0.950 to $231.125/cwt, February 2027 added $0.725 to $233.825/cwt, and April 2027 finished $0.875 higher at $235.275/cwt.

OKC West Livestock Market (El Reno, OK)

• Receipts: Totaled 4,727 head (100% feeder cattle), compared to 5,066 last week and 7,395 last year.   
• Feeder Steers & Heifers: Feeder steers traded $10.00–$20.00 higher, while feeder heifers were $2.00–$8.00 higher.   
• Calves: Steer calves sold $10.00–$20.00 higher with instances up to $40.00 higher; heifer calves traded $10.00–$15.00 higher.   
• Market Notes: Demand remained very good despite lighter test numbers across some weight categories. Higher cattle futures alongside cooler weather and recent beneficial rains boosted overall producer and buyer optimism. Wheat planted ahead of the moisture is thriving, though some freshly planted fields require replanting after heavy rain runoff.

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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