Purebred and Commercial cattle industry leaders are gathering for the first industry “type” conference in a quarter of a century as they hope to assess the current status of the US Beef Cattle Industry- and discuss where to point the ship in the weeks and months and years ahead.

The two day meeting will not just talk about cattle production and topics like Genomics and breeding traits- but because the world has changed compared to the 1980s and 1990s- outside influences that demand attention. The agenda includes a look at soil health as it relates to the ranch, the need to be sustainable, the need to prioritize animal well being in how we raise our animals, what the consumer is thinking when they decide to buy beef or another protein for their family and even show ring ethics.

The Wednesday evening keynote speaker is the Greenhouse Guru- Dr. Frank Mitloehner of the University of California- Davis who will talk about the carbon footprint of our US Beef Cattle Industry- a story that he believes we can be very proud of.

The CEO of the American Angus Association, Mark McCully, will help set the table on Wednesday morning as he asks the question- Why Are We Here? He tells me that in prepping for his presentation that he looked back 25 years to a previous “type” conference and studied what former head of the Department of Animal Science, Dr, Bob Totusek, who said in 1998 that these type meetings help separate “truth from the trends.”



The vision of the Oklahoma Beef Council is to be a positive difference for Oklahoma's farming and ranching families and the greater beef community, and its mission is to enhance beef demand by strengthening consumer trust and exceeding consumer expectations. 

To learn more, visit www.oklabeef.org. Also, don't forget to like its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oklabeef for stories on Oklahoma's ranching families and great beef recipes. 

And Check out this video below that helps you learn more about the Beef Checkoff- .

Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to catch up with Oklahoma State University Extension grain market economist Kim Anderson, and talk about the wheat markets and Oklahoma’s wheat crop.

As this year will mark year two of a short hard red winter wheat crop in Oklahoma, Anderson said the weather will get all the credit.

“We had problems putting wheat in the ground, and we had problems in the growing season in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas,” Anderson said.

Oklahoma had a tremendous number of planted acres to start out with, Anderson said, but there were numerous troubles regarding growth.

“Just like prices, weather is unpredictable,”

Anderson said. “We will know what we got when we get there. What we do know is that you are going to have bad years, and you are going to have good years. In the good years, you have to prepare yourself financially with your equipment and your plans so that you can build up that nest egg for the last two years like we have had this time.”

NBQA Showcases Beef Industry Efforts to Achieve Excellence from Every Angle

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking about the 2022 National Beef Quality Audit with the Director and Endowed Chair of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Dr. Clay Mathis.

“These quality audits have been a great tool for our industry to be able to benchmark our progress, to help us build strategy to make improvements as an industry, and I think at the same time when we do this, and we get better at what we do, that is good for our industry because consumers can see that,” Mathis said.

The NBQA is a tool that supports continuous improvement in the beef cattle industry, Mathis said, on many different fronts.

“This Beef Quality Insurance program and information in Beef Quality Insurance trainings is key to being able to do a good job and continually do better,” Mathis said.

Mathis also talked about the quality of our slaughter cattle, as the audit showed that some are carrying more fat than preferred.  

“The market signals that we want to feed these cattle a little bit longer to make sure they will grade in that upper part of choice and into prime,” Mathis said. “So, there are incentives to get these cattle a little fatter. We just need to be thoughtful when we consider those incentives and getting back more money for those higher-quality carcasses. We just need to be thoughtful about how much trim is going to come off those yield grade four and yield grade five cattle.”

At this year’s Lahoma Wheat Field Day, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Intern, Maci Carter, had a chance to visit with Associate Professor and Extension Economist of Cropping Systems, Josh Lofton, about the benefits of implementing cover crops.

“We’ve found that if growers are interested in it, they can fit it in their system and select the right cover crops to get to get the outcome they really desire,” said Lofton.

Lofton said he has no doubt that cover crops can be implemented in almost any operation. He explains they may not always be the answer, but they are a broad tool for improving soil health.

“Generally speaking, the more you integrate some of these practices, you know, things like cover crops, and no-till, good crop rotation, good diversity in your cropping systems, the more resilient your system is going to be,” Lofton said. “So the more likely it is over time, they will fit in better and better.”

Lofton said soil health has proven benefits; however, it is not an overnight fix. He explained that these things take time to make a large and positive impact, but the benefits they can provide to a farm have proven to be worth it.

Cargill expands its award-winning regenerative agriculture program to Europe

Cargill is leveraging its unique position in the supply chain to pioneer its award-winning regenerative agriculture program in Europe, which will see farmers in Germany, Poland, Romania, and France financially compensated to adopt climate-friendly farming practices.

Building on two years of success in North America, Cargill RegenConnectTM will also expand from 15 to 24 states, introducing the program in nine new states including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Colorado, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas. It will also provide U.S. farmers with higher payments, cover more commodities (such as cotton) and improve ease and access to enrollment via mobile devices.

Cargill RegenConnectTM has not only received positive feedback from growers and customers but has also been recognized by the prestigious 2023 Edison Awards™ for its innovative approach to creating a more resilient and secure food system. Its expansion demonstrates Cargill’s commitment to helping farmers adopt sustainable agricultural practices across its global supply chain, rooted in the firm belief that change starts where the food system begins – at the farm.

USDA Previews Emergency Relief Assistance for Agricultural Producers Who Incurred Losses Due to 2022 Natural Disaster Events

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced plans to roll out $3.7 billion in Emergency Relief Program (ERP) and Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) assistance to crop and livestock producers who sustained losses due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar year 2022. USDA is sharing early information to allow producers time to gather documents in advance of program delivery. Through distribution of remaining funds, USDA is also concluding the 2021 ELRP program by sending payments in the amount of 20% of the initial ELRP payment to all existing recipients.

“U.S. agricultural producers nationwide endured crippling natural disaster events in 2022 including a megadrought, Hurricane Ian, epic flooding and catastrophic wildfires. To say these events were costly is an understatement,” Vilsack said. “Last year USDA streamlined the delivery of natural disaster assistance, speeding up the timing of payments and cutting the time spent on paperwork by 90% or one million hours relative to previous disaster programs. While we will use the same streamlined approaches, funding is limited and significantly less than the estimated losses. We are designing payment factors that ensure the fair, equitable and efficient delivery of program benefits to help as many producers as possible offset the significant financial impacts resulting from these ongoing and widespread natural disasters.”

HB 2053 Now Through the House- Ag Groups Asking Members to Encourage Their Senator to Help With Final Passage

There is one final hurdle to get a priority of several of our ag groups across the finish line at the Oklahoma State Capitol- HB 2053. It has now had final approval in the State House- but needs a final vote it in the Senate before it can be sent to the Governor.

From an earlier story that we did on House Bill 2053 here's some of the background:Oklahoma Farm Bureau's SteveThompson says that this measure, authored by David Hardin in the House and Brent Howard in the Senate, is all about water and water rights- and basically protects a farmer, rancher or landowner’s rights when they apply for a water permit for a legitimate purpose. It would stop opponents of production agriculture to simply protest because they don’t like agriculture- they can only protest if they have evidence that the permit would result in pollution or degradation of the water supply that overlies the property linked to the permit.

This measure has come from a fight between an Eastern Oklahoma poultry grower and activists that saw the grower lose his water permit and was forced out of business.

Thompson says that several Ag Groups at the Capitol believe that “If we don’t address this, it could really spread to any type of farm or ranch operation- it could serve as a playbook for environmental activists that just simply don’t like what we do in agriculture” but it does offer protections to the water supply when a genuine concern is raised about the supply or availability of ground water.

While there has been a speed bump in the last day or so in the Senate- Ag groups feel that may be behind us- they are urging farmers, ranchers and landowners to contact their State Senator on a final yes vote on HB 2053- we are told it could be on the agenda before the end of this week. CALL TODAY!