Farm and ranch leaders gathered at CattleCon 2026 as Oklahoma cattlemen joined policy, checkoff, and federation meetings amid winter weather delays. Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with Michael Kelsey, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association at CattleCon26, who outlined why this meeting mattered for Oklahoma and why recent developments on the national policy front were especially significant.
Kelsey said a major highlight was support from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association on the long-running Oklahoma poultry lawsuit. He explained that NCBA leadership had taken a close look at the case and its wider implications, noting that the lawsuit “was filed 20 years ago, and it’s just kind of been sitting there” until recently. After renewed scrutiny, Kelsey said NCBA identified “some major concerns about potential implication beyond the Illinois River watershed.”
That concern led to decisive action. Kelsey said NCBA’s executive committee “voted unanimously to fund an amicus brief on behalf of the poultry integrators…against the state in the 10th Circuit.” He added that the move “codifies the fact that this is a federal issue,” stressing, “This is not just an Illinois River Watershed issue. This has broad implications for animal production beyond the river basin.”
Kelsey emphasized that the stakes extend well beyond poultry, particularly for cattle producers following nutrient management plans. “When you’ve got a livestock producer who’s following a nutrient management plan, and then they are being held liable for that, the implications of that are far,” he said, warning the case could eventually require all producers to have plans while still exposing them to liability. “It’s just really a messy case, and we’re just so thrilled that NCBA is filing in and active in this.”
He said the goal now is a higher-level review that fully weighs those impacts. “The 10th Circuit is going to have to go, ‘Whoa, This is bigger than poultry,’” Kelsey said, adding that other states are paying attention because “the implications of cattle production in our area, could be tough.” He also noted growing concern over phosphorus management broadly, saying producers are asking, “Where does this go with manure?”
Looking beyond the lawsuit, Kelsey outlined other priorities Oklahoma leaders are tracking at CattleCon, including screwworm preparedness, dietary guidelines, market structure, and federal policy. He called screwworm discussions “pretty important,” said there is reason to celebrate recent dietary guideline changes, and stressed the need to keep science front and center. “The science is what flipped it,” he said, adding that Oklahoma producers are focused on building momentum while also watching issues like live cattle trading, tax policy, and Farm Bill provisions.
