In today’s beef buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Bray Haven, Executive Vice President of Cattlemen’s Congress, as they recap the sixth year of the event and reflect on record-setting growth. Haven says the 2026 Congress finished strong and continues to gain momentum across the cattle industry.
Haven noted that this year marked the largest number of cattle ever to come through the show ring. “It was by far our biggest year of actual cattle that showed that walked through the show ring,” he said, adding that there were “four or 500 more cattle through the show ring” compared to previous years. He emphasized that the continued growth shows exhibitors are embracing the event as a must-attend stop on their annual schedules.
As Cattlemen’s Congress settles into the national show-season calendar, Haven believes its central timing has helped solidify its role. “What we found is that people come to our show and maybe go to one or two of the others, but they’re all coming to our show,” he explained, calling that trend “really exciting and really good for Cattlemen’s Congress.”
With 24 breeds represented and multiple breed sales held during the week, Haven said the numbers back up the enthusiasm. “We added three sales this year to the grounds,” he said, noting those sales were pleased with the facility, traffic flow, and results. Those successes, he added, have already sparked conversations with additional breed groups interested in moving their sales on site in the future.
Sales totals during the 2026 Congress were especially impressive. “Gross sales on site was really close to $10 million,” Haven said, and when including all Oklahoma City sales during the event, “we had over $14 million worth of cattle sold during the 2026 Cattlemen’s Congress.” He called the increase of roughly $2 million from the prior year “really phenomenal,” reinforcing the Congress’s goal of being both exhibitor-friendly and a central hub for commerce in the seedstock industry.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
