The National Pork Producers Council, joined more than a dozen other production agriculture groups yesterday in signing a letter that was sent to President Donald Trump's administration.

Recently, the White House has tossed around the idea of placing restrictions on the importation of aluminum and steel.

The correspondence from the ag groups cautioned the administration that such action, could potentially spark a trade war, with affected nations retaliating with tariffs of their own - ones that would most likely impact US agricultural products.

The groups pointed out in the letter that many of the countries exporting aluminum and steel to America are the same nations importing large quantities of US agricultural goods.

 

Critics of the proposed restrictions on steel and aluminum imports say that the US would be setting a slippery precedent, that other countries will mimic in the future as a way to circumvent existing trade agreements.

You can read more about the NPPC's involvement with this letter, and even read said letter for yourself, by clicking here.

 

More than 700 cattle industry leaders are gathering at the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in Denver this week to help create direction for industry programs. The meeting runs through Saturday morning.

The event includes sessions of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Cattlemen's Beef Board, American National CattleWomen and National Cattlemen's Foundation. Among the purposes of the yearly conference is to create a framework for checkoff and policy efforts on behalf of U.S. cattle producers for the 2018 fiscal year, which for NCBA and the Cattlemen's Beef Board begins October first.

The true highlight of the 2017 Summer Business Meeting will come Thursday morning as the results from the 2016 National Beef Quality Audit are unveiled. About every five years since 1991 the NBQA has delivered a set of guideposts and measurements for cattle producers and others to help determine quality conformance of the U.S. beef supply.

The Cattlemen's Beef Board has a pair of Oklahoma cattlemen in their leadership ranks. The 2017 Chairman of the CBB is Brett Morris of Ninekah, while Chuck Coffey serves this year as the Secretary-Treasurer.

Click or tap here for more of our preview on the 2017 Summer Meeting- we are headed for Denver and will be reporting on what's on the mind of cattle producers as they meet over the next couple of days.

In today's market, if you are not using the best management practices in your cattle operation, then you are falling behind. Oklahoma State University Beef Cattle Specialist Gant Mourer told me that in response to the decline in cattle prices, the majority of producers have implemented some form of value-added program to their ranching business in order to capture the highest possible premiums for their cattle. He says this strategy has actually become the new norm.


"Really all it boils down to, is quality genetics and quality management - that's all value-added really is," Mourer said. "These well-managed cattle have become the norm and if you're not managing your cattle to this standard, you're actually receiving a discount."


Depending on how you look at it, this premium or discount, could cost you up to $10 or $12 a head, he says. More often than not though, Mourer insists most producers are typically managing their cattle with, if nothing else, a VAC45 program. He believes you can add as much or as little value as you want through the various programs that could potentially be implemented on your place, but suggests you start by evaluating your existing management style and decide what programs fit best with your current operation.


"With these programs, we're simply identifying those calves that have been managed well," he said. "That could be a genetics program, nutrition, vaccinations... whatever. A lot of producers are already doing that."


Listen to Mourer explain the value-added landscape of the beef business with me, on yesterday's Beef Buzz - click here.

Each year, the American Angus Association offers young producers between the ages of 25-45 an opportunity to meet and mingle with other like-minded leaders of the industry and a chance to become more involved with the people linked by the breed organization that as the slogan says, "means business."

Two hand-picked producers from Oklahoma, Jordan Davis-Cook of Cordell and Jeremy Leister of Stillwater, joined 18 other producers from across the country, on this five day tour known as the Beef Leaders Institute, for a complete pasture-to-plate experience that explores the quality genetics, performance programs, genomic technology of the Angus breed and much more.

"BLI is designed to provide Angus producers the opportunity to see all sectors of the beef industry after cattle leave their farms," said Caitlyn Brandt, event coordinator for the American Angus Association. "Participants go home with knowledge and information that provides better insight into making production decisions on their operations."

"As a young producer, to continue your education in the industry you have to have some forward-thinking and be able to go outside the box of your comfort zone and learn and see how you can make your industry better," Leister said. "I think going through some off-the-farm experience puts perspective into young producers, or anybody's, mind."

Click here to learn more about the BLI, who else participated in this year's class, and find out how to apply for your chance to be selected for the next class in 2018.

Prescribed fires are an essential tool in resource management, that provides balance to ecosystems, cleansing them of invasive plant species and organic build up that if not properly managed, can become quite hazardous.

However, prescribed burns must be conducted in a safe and proper manner, which requires planning.

For landowners and others interested in learning how to safely and successfully implement prescribed fires on property they manage, the Noble Research Institute is partnering with some of the state's leading environmental groups to host a Prescribed Fire Field Day. The event is scheduled for July 13th in Marietta, Oklahoma. Registration is $20 and includes lunch.

Attendees will learn from prescribed burn specialists each part of a written burn plan, and even have the chance to participate in a small demonstration burn, weather permitting.

For more information about the event, including location details and how to register, click here.

  Over 600 complaints about dicamba drift damage have been filed by Arkansas farmers through Tuesday July 11th.

Whether it's standing in the field or baled as hay, your forages, although seemingly innocent, can in some cases pose a significant danger to your cattle.

In this week's edition of the Cow/Calf Corner newsletter, Glenn Selk dedicates his article to alerting producers of the invisible killer in ordinary plants like forage sorghum.

"Heat stressed plants can occasionally accumulate dangerous concentrations of nitrates," Selk writes. "These high nitrate plants, can cause abortion in pregnant cattle, or death if consumed in great enough quantities. Nitrates do not dissipate from suncured hay, and therefore, once the hay is cut the nitrate levels remain constant."

To prevent an unintentional accident from happening, Selk advises producers to test their hay fields before they cut them for hay.

"Testing the forage before cutting gives the producer an additional option of waiting and allowing for the nitrate to lower in concentration before harvesting the hay," Selk states. "The major sources of nitrate toxicity in Oklahoma will be summer annual sorghum type plants, including sudan hybrids, sorgo-sudans, sorghum-sudans, millets, and Johnsongrass."

For Dr. Selk's tips on avoiding nitrate poisoning in your herd, check out his full article, by clicking over to our website.