Senate encourages breed associations, cattle exhibitors to return to 2022 Cattlemen's Congress show

The Senate unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 4 on Thursday to encourage and invite exhibitors, breed associations and partners to return to Oklahoma in 2022 and again participate in the second annual Cattlemen’s Congress show. The resolution was authored by Sen. Casey Murdock, R-Felt.   

Oklahoma City played host to the inaugural Cattlemen’s Congress cattle show in January, bringing more than 2,500 exhibitors from 41 states and three Canadian provinces to the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds to showcase their cattle. The exhibition was developed after the National Western Stock Show, held each January since 1906 in Denver, was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

“Oklahoma City was the perfect venue to start the Cattlemen’s Congress show, replacing the National Western in a year where cattlemen and women across North America needed some normalcy and stability,” Murdock said. “The show was a great economic boom for Oklahoma, bringing in $40 million and showcasing our state’s robust agriculture industry. Oklahoma City is the perfect place for the Cattlemen’s Congress, and I want to invite breed associations and cattle exhibitors from across North America to make this show their ‘home’ every January.”

During the two-week long show, nearly 10,000 head of cattle were exhibited, breaking records for the number of head shown, making the Cattlemen’s Congress one of the largest cattle shows in all of North America. Twenty-three cattle sales were also held during the event, grossing more than $10 million in total sales and averaging $7,254 per lot.  

The resolution now heads to the House of Representatives where Rep. John Pfeiffer, R-Orlando, is the House principal author.

“The cancellation of the National Western Stock Show in Denver this year gave Oklahoma a chance to showcase its rich history of animal husbandry and ranching, and it’s diverse and deep knowledge of agriculture,” Pfeiffer said. “This show draws thousands of exhibitors and large numbers of buyers who spend millions of dollars each year, and we would love to see Oklahoma become its home.”

The Cattlemen’s Congress is slated to return to Oklahoma City in January 2022.