In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am visiting with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Chief Counsel Mary-Thomas Hart, about the latest on WOTUS (Waters of the U.S.).

The NCBA has expressed strong disappointment in a decision by the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas to deny a nationwide preliminary injunction that would have halted the Biden administration’s harmful Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule from taking effect.

While this decision was disappointing, Hart said that Judge Brown from the Southern District of Texas offered a very detailed opinion in response to NCBA’s request for a nationwide preliminary injunction of the Biden administration’s WOTUS definition.

“I think it is worth noting that if you are in Texas or Idaho, you are not going to be subject to the Biden WOTUS rule,” Hart said. “There was a preliminary injunction applied in two states, but for the other 48 states, the Biden administration’s rule takes effect on Monday, March 20th.”

The Environmental Protection Agency finalized the latest WOTUS rule at the end of 2022. NCBA and its litigation partners filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the rule on January 18, 2023. NCBA sought a nationwide preliminary injunction, which would have prevented the federal government from implementing the WOTUS rule until the entire case is decided. Instead, the court granted a limited injunction in only two states—Texas and Idaho.



KIS FUTURES specializes in Futures and Options for Institutions, Commercials, Hedgers, and Individual Traders and executes trades for its clients in the following markets: Livestock, Grains, Energy, Metals, Softs, Financials, Currencies, and Stock Index Futures. For more information, please give them a call Toll Free at (800) 256-2555. Click here for their website to learn more.

And- their iPhone App, which provides all electronic futures quotes is available at the App Store- click here for the KIS Futures App for your iPhone.  

Attorney General Gentner Drummond praised state legislators on Tuesday for approving a trio of measures aimed at addressing the rise of illegal marijuana grow operations in Oklahoma. The bills have passed their legislative chamber of origin and are now headed for the opposite chamber.

“Oklahoma’s illegal marijuana grow operations pose a serious threat to public safety, particularly in rural communities invaded by organized criminals from China and Mexico,” Drummond said. “As the state’s chief law enforcement officer, I am committed to working arm-in-arm with Oklahoma’s law enforcement agencies to deliver justice and restore peaceful order.”

The state has witnessed an explosion of marijuana grow operations in the aftermath of Oklahoma’s 2018 legalization of medical marijuana. While many marijuana grow businesses abide by the law, medical marijuana has been a Trojan horse for organized criminals whose illicit activities also include human trafficking, sex trafficking and distribution of deadly drugs like fentanyl. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control estimates that nearly half of the state’s 6,299 marijuana grow operations are illegal.

The Attorney General noted that a number of other pending bills were drafted to assist law enforcement in this area.

“I am thankful the Legislature is working on many pieces of legislation to support law enforcement and protect public safety,” Drummond said.

Oklahoma City Farm Show Set for April 13-15 at OKC Fairgrounds

The 19th Annual Oklahoma City Farm Show is set to feature the latest agricultural machinery, equipment, technology, and services from hundreds of exhibitors representing more than 1000 products and services. Indoor exhibits will fill the Bennett Event Center, along with outdoor exhibits located directly in front of the event center. The show is free to attend and there is plenty of free parking at the OKC Fairgrounds complex.

Attendees can stay up to date on the event and view the interactive show floor plan at the event website, OklahomaCityFarmShow.com. The interactive floor plan provides the most up-to-date exhibitor information, along with contact information and exhibit location. Social media users can also stay informed of daily event announcements and interact with fellow attendees and exhibitors by following the show at facebook.com\OklahomaCityFarmShow.

In addition to more than 150,000 square feet of agricultural and ranching exhibits, the show kicks off each morning with complimentary coffee and rolls until 10:00 AM. Early attendees can also take advantage of the opportunity to sign up for the daily $1,000 Showbucks prize drawing, sponsored by Great Plains Kubota. The Showbucks drawing will be held each day at 1:00PM. Showbucks can be used as cash to purchase products from show exhibitors. Attendees can sign up for the drawing at the Great Plains Kubota exhibit.

Spartan Mowers will be offering a Ride-and-Drive demonstration area, featuring it’s full line of zeroturn riding mowers. Attendees who take a test drive on any day of the show will be entered in a drawing to win a new Spartan Zero-Turn mower, given away at 3:00pm on Saturday. The winner does not need to be present to win. Visit the Spartan mower exhibit for full details.

In comments delivered during a public hearing hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Growth Energy, the nation’s leading biofuels trade association, urged EPA to finalize its proposal to implement the request of eight midwestern Governors to “opt-out” of the one-psi Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver, as well as to issue an emergency RVP waiver by this summer that would allow fuel retailers to continue selling E15—a lower-cost, lower-carbon fuel blend made with 15% biofuels. 

EPA hosted the hearing in reference to its recent proposal that implements the request of eight midwestern Governors to allow for permanent year-round sale of E15, but only starting in 2024. Without an emergency RVP waiver in place by June 1, 2023, consumers would lose access to E15 for the upcoming summer driving season and many fuel retailers would stop offering E15 altogether. 

“It is vital that EPA finalize this proposal to be effective next summer, and, in the meantime, issue an emergency RVP waiver for 2023, so that E15 will remain available year-round as it has since the summer of 2019,” said Growth Energy Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley in his remarks at the hearing. “The benefits are clear: if adopted nationally, E15 would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 17 million tons, the equivalent of taking nearly 4 million cars off the road and would save consumers more than $20B in fuel costs while creating nearly 190,000 new jobs.” 

Benefits of Estrus Synchronization and Artificial Insemination

Mark Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist, offers herd health advice as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner” published electronically by Dr. Peel, Mark Johnson, and Paul Beck. Today, Johnson is talking about Estrus Synchronization and Artificial Insemination.

Regardless of when your calving season occurs, manipulating the reproductive process of your cow herd can result in shorter breeding and calving seasons. Accordingly, more calves born earlier in the calving season result in an older, heavier, more uniform calf crop when you wean. Shortened calving seasons permit improvements in herd health and management such as timing of vaccinations and practices that add to calf value with less labor requirements (or at the very least concentrating labor efforts into a shorter time frame). Cows that are closer to the same stage of gestation can also be fed and grouped accordingly which facilitates a higher level of management.

Estrus synchronization can be used for natural mating or breeding by Artificial Insemination (AI). Synchronization protocols permit us to concentrate the labor needed for heat detection to a few days, and in some cases eliminate the need for heat detection when cows can be bred on a timed basis. Choosing an estrous synchronization protocol which can be used with AI or natural mating can be difficult as a number of synchronization methods are available. Traditional protocols are designed to mimic or control the corpus luteum on the ovary. Newer protocols have been designed to control ovulation and/or the follicular waves that occur on the ovary during the 21-day estrous cycle. Estrus synchronization systems vary in cost, labor required, and effectiveness. 

Sorghum Ups Investment Game with Venture Capital Platform Launch

The Collaborative Sorghum Marketing Transformation Program (cSmart) today announced the launch of the first-ever venture capital platform dedicated exclusively to attracting capital for companies, projects and innovations that create opportunities for sorghum farmers.

“The number of opportunities to add value to sorghum farmers by attracting capital to our industry is truly unprecedented,” cSmart board director and sorghum farmer from Keyes, Oklahoma, JB Stewart said. “From San Francisco to New York, businesses across the U.S. are seeing the value in investing in agriculture, and cSmart is proud to come alongside these businesses to facilitate investment in Sorghum: The Resource Conserving Crop™.”

cSmart matches private capital with funding to support startups and established companies investing in sorghum and also facilitates a network of private investors seeking opportunities for competitive returns in agriculture.

“To date, cSmart has invested in support of a container facility for specialty sorghum exports, matched private investment with funds for marketing efforts for an all-female run sorghum food startup and facilitated networking and due diligence for an industrial sorghum starch project,” cSmart consultant John Duff said. “The diversity of these investments demonstrates the wide net cSmart intends to cast, supporting and financing innovation in American agriculture—a necessity we are proud to announce this National Ag Day.”

From National Ag Day- USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack Helps Lead the Celebration

In celebration of National Agriculture Day on Tuesday, Ag Secretary, Tom Vilsack shared some comments about the great contributions America’s producers have made to the nation and the world in providing a reliable source of food, fuel, and fiber.

“We are a food-secure nation,” Vilsack said. “Very few nations on Earth have the opportunity to basically say that their farmers, ranchers, and producers produce everything that is necessary to feed the people. Many countries would like to have that advantage. It makes us a much more secure nation.”

National Agriculture Day, Vilsack said, gives Americans the opportunity to remember that America’s strength in producing its own food is national security.

“Every single one of us that isn’t a farmer is able to be a farmer because we do not have to worry about where the food is going to come from to feed our family,” Vilsack said. We just need a paycheck to go to the grocery store.”