On May 9, at the 2023 Sirloin Gallery of Grands, the Sirloin Club of Oklahoma announced their five award winners for the 2023 agriculturalists under 40. The Sirloin Club of Oklahoma is a group of agriculture enthusiasts who gather each year to support Oklahoma’s 4-H and FFA students. The Sirloin Club supports exhibitors at the Oklahoma Youth Expo and Tulsa State Fair in their premium sales and also sponsors the National Land and Range Judging Contest.

Over the next few days, we will be showcasing the five award winners from five different categories: agricultural education, agricultural business, agricultural professional, crop production agriculturalist, and livestock production agriculturalist.

Today we will spotlight the first of the five- Alisen Anderson of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, who received the 2023 Agricultural Education Award.

Anderson teaches a wide variety of courses at NEO, including plant and soil science, soil systems, agricultural leadership, pasture and range management, agriculture capstone, freshman year experience, and many more.

“It is an incredible honor to be recognized with this organization, and I am just so humbled,” Anderson said.



Midwest Farm Shows is proud to produce the two best Farm Shows in the State of Oklahoma annually- the Tulsa Farm Show each December and the Oklahoma City Farm Show each April.

The Tulsa Farm Show is Oklahoma’s premier agricultural and ranching event- and returns to the SageNet Center (Expo Square) December, 7-8-9, 2023. 

Now is the ideal time to contact the Midwest Farm Show Office at 507-437-7969 and book space at the 2022 Tulsa Farm Show.  To learn more about the Tulsa Farm Show, click here. 

While in Washington, D.C., the National Association of Farm Broadcasters had the chance to talk with Congressman Tracy Mann. Farm Director KC Sheperd is featuring comments from the Kansas Republican talking about some of the latest issues concerning agriculture, including the Waters of the U.S. Rule, the lesser prairie chicken, and more.

Mann first talked about threats from the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) regarding regulating on the use of atrazine.

“These products are safe; they have been used for decades,” Mann said. “My big thing is to follow the science, not the political science, but the science, and provide certainty.”

Mann said he does not support the Biden administration’s position on fossil fuels and the biofuel industry.

“I co-sponsored legislation for year-round E15,” Mann said. “It is way past time, in my view, that we approve E15 year-round. We have Republican and Democrat administrations that have been okay with it. We just need to move forward and get that done.”

This next farm bill, Mann said, will need to reflect the record high prices producers are being faced with.

“We do farm bills every five years for a reason, and that is so that the bill is long enough to provide some certainty but short enough that it can respond and react to changing market conditions and dynamics for our ag producers,” Mann said.

Inflation Takes its Toll on U.S. Beef Demand

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with Kansas State University Extension Livestock Market Economist, Dr. Glynn Tonsor, about the latest data from the meat demand monitor he helps oversee at Kansas State University.

“That is a beef and pork checkoff-funded project that is a domestic survey-based effort,” Tonsor said. “All the information, the raw data, the surveys, all the reports, you name it, is on our agmanager.info website as well. This is a national effort. A lot of stakeholders behind it.”

Retail and food service demand are the two different market channels tracked in the survey, Tonsor said, and those channels give insight on beef, pork, and chicken demand.

“Retail demand was up for three of the eight categories that we track in April compared to March, however, in all eight categories we track, demand was down compared to April of ’22,” Tonsor said. “Grocery store channel demand has slipped below a year before. We have a few instances, including the two beef categories, where it was up a little bit compared to March.

Food service demand was up versus March, Tonsor said, specifically willingness to pay for a meal with a meat entre at dinner. Demand for all types of meals, Tonsor said, were flat or down compared to a year earlier.

“We are having some demand slippage,” Tonsor said.

The drop in demand, Tonsor said, could be because of rising costs impacting consumer buying power.

Michael Peters Reappointed to Oklahoma Wheat Commission

Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture, Blayne Arthur, has re-appointed Michael Peters to a five-year term on the Oklahoma Wheat Commission Board. Peters, a wheat producer from Okarche, will represent District III, which includes Beckham, Blaine, Canadian, Custer, Dewey, Kingfisher, Roger Mills and Washita counties.

“We are excited that Michael Peters has been re-appointed to the Oklahoma Wheat Commission board,” said Mike Schulte, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. “His knowledge and experience with wheat production as a farmer and active roles held with the OWC Board and U.S. Wheat Associates Board (USW) continue to make him a valuable leader for the wheat industry on both state and national levels. It has been wonderful having him move up in leadership roles for our industry at a national level serving as an officer for USW. He will become Chairman of USW this summer in 2023 for a one-year term.” USW is the export market development organization for the U.S. wheat industry. USW promotes reliability, quality and value of all six U.S. wheat classes to wheat buyers, millers, bakers, food processors and government officials in more than 100 countries around the world. Its mission is to develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance wheat’s profitability for U.S. wheat producers and its value for their customers.

Peters’ responsibilities as a member of the commission include working with the other members to develop and oversee the implementation of policy and programs, approve budget expenditures, direct the funding of research, market development and public education, represent district producer interests, and promote Oklahoma wheat.

In Washington, D.C., Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk visited with the CEO and president of the Corn Refiners Association, John Bode. Bode is originally from Geary, Oklahoma, where his family raised wheat and cattle.

“Products made from corn are all around us,” Bode said. “We know about the food, we know about the fuels, but do we know about pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and industrial materials? All the building materials in whatever building you are in; the adhesives are probably made from corn.

Increasingly, renewable chemicals, including renewable plastics, are made from corn. It is all because American farmers are more efficient at producing carbohydrates than anyone in the world, and they support this industry of chemical engineering.”

As there are countless different uses for corn and other agricultural products today, Bode said the future holds even more opportunities for the industry.

“There is tremendous growth in renewables, and that is showing up in plastics, textiles and all kinds of things,” Bode said. “That is the big growth opportunity, but I want to emphasize it is not just corn. It is agricultural products broadly.”

While there is not an abundance of corn grown in the state of Oklahoma, Bode said many commodities hold tremendous promise for growth in different areas.

“The benefits reach far beyond the farm gate,” Bode said. “We have twice as many Americans working in manufacturing of agricultural products as automobiles.”

Beef Calf Preconditioning Practices Improve Calf Health while Increasing Performance and Carcass Quality

On today’s cow-calf corner, Paul Vining, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service OQBN Coordinator, talks about preconditioning practices while yeilding multiple performance benefits.

Calves enrolled in the OQBN Vac-45 Program attained an average market premium of $18.67/cwt in 2022 and an average of $13.06/cwt over the past 12 years, compared to similar nonpreconditioned calves in the same sales. Common beef calf preconditioning practices include weaning calves for 45 days or more, providing vaccinations for clostridial bacteria (blackleg) and bovine respiratory disease (BRD), castrating, dehorning, and bunk training. Implementing these practices bolsters the immune system, allowing calves to remain healthy during the rigors of the stocker and feedlot phases.

It has been shown that healthy calves usually outgain sick calves during the beginning of the feedlot period (4 to 6 weeks). A study by Richeson et al., (2012) indicated that upon entering the feedlot, preconditioned beef steers exhibited an increased average daily gain (ADG) of 0.77 lbs. and a 90% reduction in BRD morbidity (sickness) compared to nonpreconditioned beef steers. Calves that receive medical treatment for BRD may recover and often exhibit compensatory gain, allowing them to achieve similar final body weights compared to their untreated, healthy counterparts. However, medical treatment and additional days on feed increase production costs and decrease profitability. Calves that must be treated for BRD exhibit a decrease in carcass quality compared to healthy, untreated cattle. An Oklahoma State University study by Wilson et al. (2017), indicated that healthy beef calves (not requiring treatment for BRD) graded choice or prime 70% of the time, while calves treated for BRD once, twice, and three or more times, graded choice or prime 56%, 60%, and 36% of the time respectively (Figure 1). Reduced carcass quality results in a decrease in carcass value. Wilson et al. (2017) indicated the average carcass values of calves treated for BRD once, twice, and three or more times were reduced by $31, $54, and $103 respectively, compared to the carcass value of untreated, healthy calves (Figure 2).

Can Management Alone Build Plant Diversity, or Are Cover Crops Always Needed? One Expert Weighs In.

Cover crops have skyrocketed in popularity over the last several years — and for good reason. But are they always the only answer? Steve Swaffar, ag consultant at Noble Research Institute, says, “it depends.”

Below, Swaffar outlines three scenarios and gives his recommendations to answer the question of “plant or manage” for each one, as well as tips for how and when to plant or overseed cover crops. The No. 1 goal in all of them is to increase forage diversity to improve soil health, ideally while still being able to graze.

Scenario 1: Park the sprayer and close the gates.

He says there are certain situations where “you can park the sprayer and close the gates and let the forages rest. You will begin to see more native species starting to express themselves, because you’re no longer spraying them out.”

However, Swaffar says, the natives that start to come up are typically forbs (still grazeable), and not immediately the “big four” desirable native grasses: little bluestem, Indiangrass, big bluestem and switchgrass.

And, he puts the emphasis on resting the forage, “because it won’t reset seed if you continue to graze it. Realistically, you’re talking about a lengthier restoration project if you’re just going to let it happen through rest. It is probably the most cost-effective way to do it just from an investment standpoint, but you’ve got a temporary loss in available forage as well.”