The first update I saw Tuesday night had SQ 820 had the "NOs" with just over 60% of the vote- and that percentage stayed right there all the way to the final update with 100% of the precincts reporting.

Major Ag Groups within Oklahoma were a driving force in the success of the NO vote that prevailed in the statewide special ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana. Unofficial results show that all 77 counties voted no- with Oklahoma County the last of the counties that have ended up with the a no vote-with a narrow 36 vote lead for the “no”s with all of the County vote now in.

We talked to Rodd Moesel of Oklahoma Farm Bureau about 9 PM after the AP had called the election- and told us “we are just ecstatic that the voters of Oklahoma have responded and voted no” and he added “it was a unique situation – the only issue on the ballot and it gave voters a chance to study the question before they voted” and clearly a significant number broke to the “NO” side.

Moesel added that the “YES” side had close to $5 million dollars to market their side while the Protect Our Kids coalition urging a NO vote on 820 had less than a quarter of a million dollars to urge voters to vote no.

Scott Blubaugh, President of the AFR was watching the results from the NFU Convention in San Francisco and told us “Today’s vote was a big victory for rural Oklahoma and the farmers, ranchers and families that live there. This vote clearly demonstrates the values that have been present in our organization from the very beginning. We were honored to join with other Oklahoma agriculture groups in the successful effort to defeat what would have been another great challenge for the rural areas of our state.”

AND- Michael Kelsey with the Oklahoma Cattlemen had this to say- “Oklahoma has strongly rejected recreational marijuana with rural Oklahoma leading an overwhelming “NO” vote. OCA’s membership approved strong policy against recreational marijuana in 2021 and then carried that policy into action Tuesday as a proud participant in a big coalition to defend our great state. March 7th was a great day for all of Oklahoma!”



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House Committee on Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) brought the Committee to Oklahoma and held its second field hearing on the State of the American Economy: The Heartland. The hearing took place on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, in Yukon, Oklahoma.

Congressman Frank Lucas was invited to sit with Ways and Means Committee members- hearing testimony and asking questions.

The Committee heard from farmers, small business owners, workers, and those in the U.S. energy sector about the challenges facing working-class Americans in our state and how they think Congress can help.

Two of the witnesses had farm, ranch and agribusiness ties. Bryan Jackson, Co-Founder, Route 66 Processing in Sayre offered his perspectives on a small meat processing business start up that he and his wife ramped up during the COVID Pandemic. He told the Committee that two of the biggest challenges to his business and it’s survival was in finding and keeping workers- and then the recent impacts of inflation. He surmised that if he had to replace the building they are in- it would cost twice as much to rebuild it compared to it’s original cost.

The Committee also heard the testimony of Cattle Producer Kelli Payne from Mustang- who detailed the harsh impacts of the drought of the last year on the beef cattle industry in the region.

Ag Mechanics Contest to Kick Off 2023 Oklahoma Youth Expo

The contest that will once again lead off a jam-packed ten days at the 2023 Oklahoma Youth Expo at the OKC Fairgrounds is the 4th Ag Mechanics contest. As the last of the entries were being brought in on Tuesday afternoon- Show Superintendent Jerry Renshaw and OYE’s Vice President of Operations Bray Haven were excited about the continued growth of the show with around 200 projects to be judged on Wednesday by almost two dozen judges- with $20,000 in prizes on the line.

Renshaw talked for a couple of minutes with me on Tuesday afternoon about the 2023 event and was very pleased that they have outgrown the one wing of the Oklahoma Expo Hall- and will be occupying both sides here this week.

Ag based projects- stock trailers, hay trailers, livestock handling equipment, feeders, loading chutes and restored tractors as well as wildlife projects can be found in the building used in previous years- Renshaw tells me that the second building will feature decorative items- swings, picnic tables, games, cookers and more.

County and district shows continue to grow across Oklahoma- and that is helping feed more projects to the OYE- and Renshaw said, “it’s a growing effect- hold on folks, it’s getting better.”

Our coverage of the 2023 Oklahoma Youth Expo is sponsored by Hilliary Communications- proud to support the rural youth of Oklahoma.

Our own KC Sheperd will be hosting several Facebook Live reports from the OKC Fairgrounds- the first of those will be this morning at 9 AM- check her report out on the OYE Facebook page or the Kennedy Ventures Facebook page.

Sustainability in the beef cattle business is a topic that has grown in importance as it is advancing faster now with the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) conversation as well as commitments for net-zero and climate neutrality that have been made by many companies and organizations.

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am back talking with Colorado State University Feedlot Systems Specialist, Dr. Sara Place, about the ESG conversation and what it means for those in the cattle industry.

Place said she believes that climate neutrality is potentially achievable.

“When you think about climate neutrality and beef, it is really about cutting methane emissions from cattle in ways that are practical, and ways that make economic sense will help get us there,” Place said.

To achieve climate neutrality by 2040, Place said one important factor will be more technologies that are commercially available. Economics will play another role, Place added, in making sure those technologies can be accessed out in the pasture or in a feed yard.

“It makes economic sense that you get a payment basically, right, in some cases for reducing methane, because you are creating another commodity when you do that,” Place said.

Farmer Sentiment Dips in February

The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer dipped 5 points to a reading of 125 in February. Farmers’ perspectives regarding both current conditions on their farms and their expectations for the future also weakened. The Index of Current Conditions fell 2 points to 134 and the Index of Future Expectations declined 6 points to 121. The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone survey. This month’s survey was conducted between February 13-17.

“Increased concern over the risk of falling output prices, rising interest rates, and uncertainty over the future growth of U.S. agricultural exports is weighing on producers’ minds,” said James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.

Producers’ expectations for their farms’ financial performance in 2023 compared to 2022 weakened in February. The Farm Financial Performance Index declined 7 points to a reading of 86. Farmers continue to point to concerns about higher input costs (38% of respondents), rising interest rates (24% of respondents), and lower output prices (18% of respondents), as their biggest concern for the year ahead.

Agricultural exports have been a key source of growth for U.S. agriculture for decades. Beginning in 2019, the Ag Economy Barometer survey routinely included a question asking producers about their expectations for agricultural exports in the upcoming 5 years. Since peaking in 2020, when just over 70% of respondents said they expected exports to increase in the upcoming 5 years, the percentage of farmers looking for exports to grow over time has drifted lower. In February, just 33% of survey respondents said they expect exports to increase, which leads Mintert to suggest that a lack of confidence in future agricultural export growth is contributing to weakened sentiment among producers.

Growth Energy Again Urges EPA to Use Best Available Science When Measuring Environmental Impact of Biofuels, RFS

Growth Energy, the nation’s leading biofuels trade association, again today called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rely on the best available science in its assessment of the environmental impacts of ethanol production and of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

In response to a call for comments on EPA’s Third Triennial Report on biofuels and the environment, Growth Energy noted that while EPA’s draft of the report correctly makes several important conclusions about the biofuels industry, it continues to rely too heavily on outdated science that inaccurately measures the nature and scale of the environmental impacts attributable to the RFS.

“Biofuels are an essential tool for combatting climate change with enormous potential for decarbonizing the transportation fuel sector, while bolstering domestic energy security, providing jobs in rural areas, and lowering the price at the pump for consumers,” said Growth Energy. “For the full potential of biofuels to be realized and to provide a balanced and credible review of the science on environmental impacts, EPA must use the best, most up-to-date science that omits reliance on flawed data and studies that have been discredited by other government agencies and academics.”

Previously, Growth Energy has urged EPA to update its approach to modeling on several occasions. Most recently, in response to EPA’s proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2023-2025, Growth Energy introduced two new studies (available here and here) that further contributed to the growing body of research showing the overall environmental benefits of ethanol and the RFS.

Don’t Make These Regenerative Ranching Mistakes

Noble Research Institute staff share four things they’d never do again — so you can learn from them.

Since transitioning our ranches to a management style that focuses on soil health and profitability, we’ve aimed to be fully transparent. We want to show you the challenges, the lessons we’ve learned, and the victories along the way.

We know in ranching, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows (or blue skies and green grass). But we also know, as with any endeavor, you can learn more from the hard times than the good ones. That’s why we asked our ranch staff to share mistakes they made early on, to help others learn what not to do.

Here’s what they said:

1. DON’T IGNORE THE FORECAST

Paul Luna, ranch facility manager, says he learned a valuable lesson when much-needed rains came in.

“If you know rain is on the way, plan to give your livestock a bigger area, to graze,” he says. “Otherwise, they’ll muck it up pretty bad.”

2. DON’T JUST “TURN OUT” COWS DURING THE DORMANT SEASON

Joe Pokay, general ranch manager, says one of the biggest opportunities he sees (and originally missed) was managing cool season plants the same way we manage warm-season ones.

OYE- Bits and Pieces

LAST Chance to Enter is TODAY!



The Oklahoma Beef Council through the Beef Checkoff is excited to once again provide an incentive program for quality assurance certification for cattle competitors at the Oklahoma Youth Expo with $2,500 in prizes. 

The Oklahoma Beef Council will draw for the winners with twenty lucky competitors winning $100 and one lucky participant winning $500. You must have a current Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) certification or Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certification. Just a note, it takes only about an hour to complete the YQCA certification.

Entries are due by Wednesday, March 8, 2023 and winners will be drawn for during the Oklahoma Youth Expo starting March 10, 2023. The OBC will mail the gift cards to the winners. You do not have to be present to win. To register, click here. 

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We are once again posting pics from the 2023 OYE on Flickr- enjoy looking at them- or download them for your own memory book- ENJOY!

Click here for our 2023 OYE FLickr Album- powered by Hilliary Communications!