Agriculture

Agriculture is central to Vinita’s economy and culture. Craig County is home to some of Oklahoma’s largest, and long-standing, cattle ranches. Vinita is, in fact, where the Brangus (Brahman and Angus cross) breed was pioneered. Cattle are still traded weekly at the Vinita Stockyards, just 0.5 mile east of the Breezeway on Historic Route 66. Known for its first-class agricultural soil, Craig County has more than 1,000 farms, primarily growing hay, soybeans, wheat, and corn. Each August since 1935, our cowboy culture is celebrated with the Will Rogers Memorial Rodeo. The story goes… Will Rogers, who attended Willie Halsell College in Vinita, was attending a school reunion in 1934 and proclaimed “have a rodeo next year and I’ll be back”. The rodeo was scheduled but Rogers was tragically killed in an airplane crash in August 1935. The rodeo went on, and continues, in Will’s memory.