NEO Agriculture Department

05/28/2026

Welcome Braylon!!

💙👏 Welcome to NEO, Braylon Spears! 💛

NEO is excited to welcome Braylon Spears as the new Livestock Judging Team Coach for the NEO Agriculture Department!

A Hartshorne, Oklahoma native, Braylon brings a strong background in agriculture, livestock evaluation, and agricultural education. He earned his associate degree from Eastern Oklahoma State College before completing his bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Oklahoma State University in 2025.

Braylon has competed on nationally recognized livestock and meat-evaluation teams and, in his first year teaching, recently coached the Wagoner FFA Livestock Judging Team to a State Championship.

We are excited to have Braylon join the Norse family and lead the next generation of NEO livestock judging students!

05/08/2026

The NEO Equine and Livestock Sales and Marketing class had an incredible Spring semester filled with industry insight!

Throughout the semester, students had the privilege of hearing from several outstanding guest speakers, including Alyssa Walsh with Sweet Briar Creative, Brittany Parker with BC Parker Co, Tyler Dewey with Merck Animal Health, and Jara Settles with the Livestock Marketing Association. Each speaker shared valuable insight into marketing, branding, communication, animal health, and livestock industry relations.

Students also had the opportunity to visit with Mark Harmon at the Joplin Regional Stockyards, where they gained firsthand experience observing livestock marketing and auction operations in action.
We are incredibly thankful for the professionals and organizations who invested their time into our students this semester and helped connect classroom concepts to real-world industry experiences!

05/06/2026

The NEO Meat Animal & Carcass Evaluation class wrapped up the semester with a great visit to multi generation, family-owned Cloud Meats in Carthage, getting a behind-the-scenes look at meat safety and product prep with a highlight of sampling the variety of snack sticks! Pictured with owner, Chris Cloud.

05/05/2026

NEO Ag is set up and ready for the Oklahoma FFA State Convention!! Stop by to visit and win some amazing prizes!!

04/27/2026

NEO Ag students represented our program at the OSU Board of Regents reception held at our multipurpose arena prior to their monthly meeting.

The event highlighted our agriculture program, and our students did an outstanding job sharing their stories and experiences. Proud of the way they continue to represent NEO!

04/23/2026

NEO Feedlot Management students hit the road and headed to West Texas for an unforgettable, hands-on learning experience!

Throughout the trip, students had the opportunity to see real-world feedlot operations, connect with industry professionals, and gain valuable insight into cattle feeding and management. Stops along the way included Great Plains Breeder Services, Kirkland Feedlot, Texas Cattle Feeders, a visit with Clint Savoni of Elanco Animal Health, MC6 Feedyard, Levi Berry Feeders, and West Texas A&M University.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who took the time to invest in our students and showcase the impact of feedlot management in action!

04/20/2026

🔷NEO Agriculture Students Recognized for Excellence🔷

We are proud to celebrate our NEO Agriculture students who were recognized at the Honors Recognition Ceremony for their hard work, leadership, and dedication.

Congratulations to Kylie Hurd, Shane Kendall, Jadyn McDonald, and Cooper McNally on completing the Honors Program!

Special recognition goes to:
🔹Outstanding Service: Jadyn McDonald
🔹Outstanding Research: Kylie Hurd

Your commitment to excellence both in and out of the classroom represents NEO Agriculture at the highest level. We are incredibly proud of each of you!

04/17/2026

⭐️NEO Agriculture students have been on the road this week⭐️

Our students had the opportunity to explore a variety of operations and industries, gaining hands-on experience and real-world insight along the way.

🔷Agriculture Ambassadors visited the Tulsa Ports in Catoosa
🔷Animal Science Lab traveled to the Modoc Nation Buffalo Ranch
🔷Livestock Production toured Phillip Hofschulte's stocker operation
🔷Plant & Soil Science and Fundamentals of Soil Science visited J&M Farms

A big thank you to all of our hosts for taking the time to invest in our students—we appreciate your support and willingness to share your operations!

04/10/2026

NEO Livestock Production had an exciting week filled with valuable knowledge and hands-on experiences!

A big thank you to NEO alumnus Tory Chasteen, Herdsman and Farm Manager at Frank Hazlerigg Cattle Company in Fulton, Missouri, for joining our class via Zoom and sharing his insight with our students.

We also appreciate Dillon Johnson of Johnson Brothers Grain and Cattle for hosting our class for a tour of their operation. Students got to see firsthand how crop production supports their cattle operation—it was great to see these two areas go hand in hand.

These kinds of experiences are exactly what deepen understanding and make our brand in tradition so special!

04/09/2026

16 NEO Collegiate Farm Bureau members traveled to Oklahoma City this week for the 2026 YF&R and Collegiate Farm Bureau Day at the Capitol!

These young agriculturalists had the opportunity to learn more about OKFB’s priority issues and walk the halls to visit with legislators about key agricultural topics impacting our state.

We were especially grateful for the chance to connect with our own Oklahoma House District 7 Representative, Steve Bashore, as well as NEO President Dr. Stafford.

We are incredibly thankful for the continued support of our students from Oklahoma Farm Bureau, our state legislators, and our alumni—who truly are everywhere!