Ag Secretary Blayne Arthur Speaks on Serving Oklahoma Ag Industry at OKFB Leadership Conference

At the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Leadership Conference, Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to visit with Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture, Blayne Arthur about serving producers in the state, her new appointment with NASDA, Oklahoma Youth Expo and more.

As Arthur has attended several meetings across the state, she described the overall outlook from producers she has talked with to be hopefully optimistic.

“A little bit of a tone of optimism as some places have gotten moisture, but certainly a lot of places are looking for more moisture and kind of deciding what their planting decisions and management decisions are going to be for this year, so we are hopeful that we get some good rain and kind of go into a good spring and summertime,” Arthur said.

With the legislative session rolling out, Arthur also talked about some of those big-ticket items she has been tackling.

“There are certainly lots of bills that kicked around at the legislature,” Arthur said. “I think this year there are over 3,000 bills filed. Thankfully, not all of those have anything to do with agriculture. We are really focused on certainly anything that is specific to the agency, to the Department of Ag, Food and Forestry.”



The Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association is the trusted voice of the Oklahoma Cattle Industry. With headquarters in Oklahoma City, the OCA has a regular presence at the State Capitol to protect and defend the interests of cattlemen and cattlewomen.

Their Vision Statement explains the highest priority of the organization- "Leadership that serves, strengthens and advocates for the Oklahoma cattle industry."

To learn more about the OCA and how you can be a part of this forward-looking group of cattle producers, click here for their website. For more information- call 405-235-4391.



OALP International Experience Provides Class XX the Chance to Bring Home Broader Knowledge of Agriculture

I got the chance to sit down and visit with Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program Class XX member, Aaron Schantz, about what he has learned traveling Israel thus far in terms of agriculture.

Aaron Schantz from the Hydro Oklahoma area where he farms with his father, Merlin Schantz and his brother, Benjamin Schantz.

With the drought taking a toll on many crops this year, Schantz said he has remained optimistic and he believes next year will be a better year.

“If you are a religious person, you draw to your faith to get through the bad times, and whenever you have those good years, you hold onto that memory,” Schantz said. “I think there is good opportunities for agriculture coming forward.”

One lesson seen clearly in Israel, Schantz said, is that every drop of water is precious.

“We have seen areas that have one inch per year average rainfall, and some that have up to 18,” Schantz said. “In Oklahoma, we are about at 32, is kind of our average, so we have almost twice the amount of water that they do, and yet they are growing some of these amazing crops.”

Two-thirds of the way finished with the trip, Schantz said he is most impressed with how much he has found in common with Israel's agriculture, while still being very different.

Mark Nichols Talks Cotton Industry Update and Upcoming 2023 Denim Ball

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, is visiting with Mark Nichols, a cotton grower from Altus, Oklahoma, about the National Cotton Council’s annual meeting, Oklahoma’s cotton industry, and the upcoming Denim Ball to be held this April in Oklahoma City.

Nichols was recently selected to serve as ACP (American Cotton Producers) Producer Chairman for Oklahoma.

Regarding the National Cotton Council’s annual meeting, which was held earlier this month in Dallas, Nichols began by explaining that there are seven segments of the National Cotton Council, and every segment of the cotton industry is represented, from producers to ginners and more.

“Any action that moves forward within the National Cotton Council has to get buy-ins from all the different segments, so that is one of the reasons the National Cotton Council is so effected in Washington working on legislation for the industry is, there is buy-in from all the different segments, so each of the segments has meetings.”

The producer segment, Nichols said, is currently working on what the cotton industry would like to see in the 2023 Farm Bill.

This year was a tough year for Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas because of the drought, Nichols said, as those three states produce fifty percent of the cotton grown in the county.

“There was legislation passed right at the end of the year to have another disaster program, ERP is what they are calling it now, and they expect to roll that program out sometime this spring,” Nichols said.

Zoetis Provides Cattle Producers with Technology Aimed to Speed Up Genetic Improvement

At the recent 2023 Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans, I had the chance to catch up with Kevin Milliner, Cattle Genetics Specialist at Zoetis, and talk about Zoetis efforts to aid commercial cow producers in improving their beef cow herds.

The 2023 Cattle Industry Convention coverage is being powered by Performance Ranch, a part of Zoetis, and by Farm Data Services located in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The real challenge for the commercial producer, Milliner said, is making genetic improvement faster.

“Our extension folks have told us we need to buy the very best bull we can afford,” Milliner said. “Still good wisdom, but the missing link is that female.”

Having the chance to know more about their females in an operation, Milliner said, is critical in making genetic process.

“That is why we breed cattle,” Milliner said. “We want the next generation to be better than the previous generation, much like we as parents want our kids to be better than we were.”

The product Zoetis is offering, Milliner said, offers cow-calf producers the ability to calculate genomic EPDs for 19 traits.

“The EPD is actually calculated from the genomic information,” Milliner said. “When you look at how accurate that is, it is as accurate as the old EPDs were before genomics. Certainly, something much more powerful than what we have ever had for the commercial female.”

Oklahoma Cattlemen Endorse Speaker’s Education Plan

The Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) announced today support for the House Education Plan offered by Speaker Charles McCall last week. “After reviewing the plan and an opportunity to talk with Speaker McCall, OCA is pleased to announce our support for the House Education plan found in HB’s 1935 and 2775. OCA member policy strongly supports funding for education alternative to ad valorem taxes which is primary in this package,” stated OCA President Byron Yeoman.

Both bills passed the House Appropriations and Budget Committee last week and are anticipated for the full House floor agenda soon.

“Speaker McCall clearly outlined a very good plan that recognizes funding priorities for schools both specifically, such as the $2,500 across the board teacher salary increase, as well as generally allowing schools to determine their most important needs for the funding,” added Yeoman, “This is a good plan, and OCA is pleased to support it.”

The OCA is the trusted voice of the Oklahoma Cattle Industry. OCA is the only voice that speaks solely for the cattlemen of Oklahoma and represents beef producers in all 77 counties across the state. The OCA officers, board of directors and membership encourages you to join us in our advocacy efforts to ensure less government intervention, lower taxes and a better bottom line. For more information about OCA membership, the theft reward program or activities call 405-235-4391 or visit www.okcattlemen.org.

National Farmers Union President Rob Larew Outlines NFU Priorities for 2023 Farm Bill

At the 118th American Farmers and Ranchers state convention in Norman, Oklahoma, Farm Director KC Sheperd sat down and talked with National Farmers Union President Rob Larew about the Fairness for Farmers campaign and the 2023 Farm Bill.

“Oklahoma is really kind of legendary in the youth programming that they have got going on here,” Larew said.

Larew also talked about Oklahoma youth who were given the chance to travel to Washington, DC, to be part of the NFU Young Leaders.

“These leaders that we are getting from Oklahoma and other states are just right for doing a lot of things,” Larew said. “Not even on a national scale but being able to make sure that these leaders are as impactful on the local levels that they are at the state, and hopefully national levels as well.”

The NFU Legislative Fly-In that took place in Washington, DC, this September, Larew said, was a great success.

“This was a chance to get back and really stretch our legs more,” Larew said. “This year was different too because we went directly to a lot of those agencies that you don’t typically think about with a fly-in for farmers, and that is like the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Trade Representatives office, all those folks. If it impacts farmers and ranchers in those rural communities, we wanted to make sure that they heard from farmers union members.”

Quartermaster Creek Spring Bull Sale in Leedey, Oklahoma Today

The 19th Annual Quartermaster Creek Spring Bull Sale will be held in Leedey, Oklahoma at the ranch TODAY- February 22 at 12:30 p.m.

Lunch will be served at 11:00, with the sale beginning at 12:30 with the females, followed by the bulls.

150 two-year-old bulls will be sold along with commercial females carrying QC genetics.

For more information- call Mike Switzer at  580-445-8275.