In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Bray Haven, executive vice president of Cattlemen’s Congress, as the countdown continues to the 2026 event in Oklahoma City. With entries now closed and the show less than a month away, Haven says the picture for planning purposes is becoming clear. “It always sneaks up on us quick,” Haven said. “You get to the end of the year, then people start showing up right after the new year, so we’re excited to welcome people back to Oklahoma City.”
Haven notes that entry numbers for the sixth annual Cattlemen’s Congress show encouraging momentum. “Our entries were up, actually, for the first time since 2022,” he explained, adding that the show has held steady in recent years at around 8,000 to 9,000 head. For 2026, entries came in “right around 8,200,” signaling renewed growth after several stable years.
That growth is spread across much of the show. “Sixteen of the 25 breeds had an increase over their average number that they’ve had at Cattlemen’s Congress,” Haven said. He believes that kind of across-the-board improvement “really speaks volumes to the support that we’ve gotten and to the buy-in that we’ve gotten from the seedstock industry.”
Haven credits the success of Cattlemen’s Congress to listening closely to exhibitors from the very beginning. “When we started, we took a lot of input from folks who showed at all of these shows,” he said. “We tried to accumulate all of the best and really just keep the exhibitor in mind.” He added that focusing on efficiency, customer service, and marketing opportunities helps maximize “not only their time and their dollar, but their overall experience.”
A new addition for 2026 is the Wagyu breed, which Haven says is debuting with strong interest. “We added the Wagyu breed and they had really strong numbers — about 50 entries,” he said. Haven emphasized that giving a new breed a platform matters long-term. “When we do that, it really elevates their whole program, not just the people that are there, but the breed as a whole.” The sixth annual Cattlemen’s Congress runs January 4 through January 14, 2026, in Oklahoma City.
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.
