Oklahoma's Ag Economy Remains Split Between Crops and Cattle

By Anna Pope

It's still a tale of two agricultural economies.

This spring, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has published several reports on the U.S. agricultural economy, looking at the first part of the year. In its most recent report, economists write that U.S. agriculture is facing challenges but as a whole, it's relatively stable.

In the first quarter, farmers growing crops had slim chances of turning a profit, but ranchers saw continued high beef prices and farm real estate remained solid. The Federal Reserve's April Agricultural Finance Update shows producers took out more loans to start 2026.

There's uncertainty paired with erratic commodity, energy and fertilizer markets. Despite the hurdles, economists say the value of farmland remains strong, and government payments have provided some support.

"I don't think that overall, the agricultural economy is in necessarily a historic situation," Reserve economist Cortney Cowley said. "I think there's still, when you consider that 80% of farm balance sheets are still made up of farm real estate, and farm real estate values are still very solid."

In Oklahoma, there are producers who raise only crops or only rear cattle, but many have diversified operations, growing both crops and livestock.

Because of the cattle industry, the state has been more stable compared to other crop-heavy states in the region. At the same time, Cowley said there is weakness and concern, even in Oklahoma, on the crop side, especially for producers who raise crops exclusively.

Increase of livestock loans

Large operating and livestock loans drove the increase in leading, according to the finance update.

"Why this is important for Oklahoma is because 50% of our farm revenues come from cattle production, primarily beef cattle production," Cowley said. "So we're seeing, those feeder livestock lending increase alongside larger loan sizes that have also grown with higher cattle prices."

Those steep cattle prices result in pricier ground beef, chuck roasts and ribeye steaks at the grocery store. The cost of beef has been at an all-time high, and the cost keeps climbing, reaching about $6.90 per pound on average for ground beef last month.