Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom will be traveling to several different locations today through Thursday for their Bedlam Series Summer Road Trip. Farm Director, KC Sheperd caught up with the professional development coordinator for Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom, Melody Aufill, at the Oklahoma Department of Ag, Food and Forestry, which is the first stop of the trip.

The day kicked off with Suzie Southwest Dairy giving a dairy cow milking presentation in front of ODAFF.

“We are so excited to take 51 teachers with us to do ag bedlam,” Aufill said.

The group will spend some time in Norman at the University of Oklahoma, Aufill said, and then travel to Stillwater for Oklahoma State University. Other stops on the trip include but are not limited to a horseshoeing school, OSU’s FAPC, and the Beef Purebred Center.

Aufill said the trip is a good opportunity to introduce many teachers to agriculture. The teachers attending the trip are from all around the state, teaching all grade levels, Aufill added.

“Some of them have a background in agriculture, and some of them do not,” Aufill said. “We are excited to introduce them to all things ag.”



Oklahoma Farm Bureau works to improve the lives of all Oklahomans by supporting our state’s agriculture community. As Oklahoma’s largest general farm organization led by Oklahoma farmers and ranchers, OKFB takes grassroots values and advocates for agriculture at the state Capitol and in Washington, D.C., to ensure our way of life continues for generations to come.

Farm Bureau hosts leadership events, supports our state’s agricultural youth and connects consumers with agriculture in order to build a brighter future for our state. Become an OKFB member today online at okfarmbureau.org/join. Together, we are rural Oklahoma.



In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am visiting with Kansas State University Extension Livestock Market Economist, Dr. Glynn Tonsor, about meat demand.

Tonsor talks about meat demand as being a three-legged stool. The first leg, Tonsor said, is international meat demand, followed by retail domestic demand, and demand away from home, domestically.

The most recent numbers on export demand based on information from the USDA, Tonsor said, support the statement that foreign demand for U.S. beef is continuing to slip.

“Year-over-year, we have had declines since July,” Tonsor said. “My main thesis on why we have had a decline in foreign demand for U.S beef is a pause in macroeconomic activity uncertainty in general around the world. It is kind of a mixed bag of whom you ask if the next 12 months are going to be that way or not.”

Most people believe that inflation has improved globally, Tonsor said, so there is a chance interest rates are at their peak.

“Potentially, we are hitting that peak on interest rates and some federal reserve parallels around the world might start loosening their monetary policy, which historically stimulates economic activity and then ultimately maybe some buying power,” Tonsor said. “If the U.S. dollar weakens further compared to foreign currencies, that makes our beef cheaper on the global market, so that is possible as well.”

Upcoming LMA Convention to Host Dynamic Speakers and Crown 2023 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion

The 2023 Livestock Marketing Association Convention and the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship is happening this week in southwest Florida- the meeting in Punta Gorda and the upcoming Championship on Saturday at the Arcadia Stockyards in Arcadia, Florida.

A total of 31 semi-finalist auctioneers will compete in the championship event. The auctioneering contest will begin with the interview portion of the competition where each WLAC semi-finalist must clearly establish and demonstrate their knowledge of the livestock marketing industry. The second part of the competition will take place during a live sale at Arcadia Stockyard where contestants will sell cattle to actual bidders in the seats.

One third of the semi- finalists are from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. The three auctioneers in the hunt for a world title that call Oklahoma home include Dakota Davis of Waukomis, Justin Dodson of Welch and Jeremy Miller of Fairland.

Reigning World Livestock Auctioneer Champion, Will Epperly (pictured above), will be in attendance, along with many other former World Livestock Auctioneer Champions. Each will sell cattle during the Parade of Champions, a portion of the WLAC sale between the semi-finalist and finalist rounds.

I'll be covering portions of the meeting- and we'll have interviews with LMA leadership as well as with these world class auctioneeers to share with you- starting later today on our website and tomorrrow in our daily email.

In the meantime- KC Sheperd talked with Izabella Michitsch from the LMA staff and provides a preview of the event- you can hear that by clicking on the blue button below.



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 talks about profitability of creep feeding.

This week we revisit the question of the profitability of creep feeding. As a general rule of thumb, in most circumstances involving a commercial cow/calf operation, creep feeding is not cost effective. That being said, managing your cattle operation as a business enterprise should always be based economics. Evaluating the current cost of inputs versus the value those inputs create is the only logical way to accurately assess profit potential. In the case of creep feeding versus profitability this gets interesting because:

• Creep feeding can increase weaning weights from 20 – 80 pounds but typically the value of added weight gain will not cover the added feed, labor and equipment needed unless feed is exceptionally inexpensive and (or) when value of added weight gain is exceptionally high.

• It is worth noting that currently, feed is relatively expensive AND the value of added weight gain is exceptionally high.

• In a summary of 31 experiments where calves had unlimited access to creep feed, average increased calf weaning weight was 58 pounds. Average creep feed conversion was nine pounds of additional feed to one pound of added calf weight gain.

Southern Plains Perspective: Climate Conversations in Oklahoma

There is a new blog post out at the Southern Plains Perspective! Read below:

Where is the conservation partnership on Climate change? Climate Conversations in Oklahoma help shed some light on the matter:

This last fall the USDA Southern Plains Climate Hub and Oklahoma State University (OSU) embarked on a series of “climate conversation” presentations at the five area meetings of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD). In addition, as part of this effort, OSU Ag Policy Extension Specialist Dr. Amy Hagerman conducted a pre- and post- presentation survey to find out what the opinions and attitudes were of those in attendance on the subject of climate change and the role that conservation programs can play in helping ag producers both to mitigating climate change while also adapting to the extreme weather that climate change exacerbates.

What follows is a story that we wrote for our monthly newsletter concerning this effort—if you want to skip ahead and look at the actual survey, you can find it here. 

AFT Releases White Papers Detailing Farm Bill Recommendations

American Farmland Trust today released two new white papers that further illustrate its priorities to increase adoption of conservation practices in the next Farm Bill. These priorities include the creation of a federal match to help states and Tribes build up their soil health programs, and increased support for farmer-to-farmer education to accelerate adoption of conservation practices.  

“AFT’s is working this Farm Bill to keep land in farming, keep farmers on the land, and to help farmers adopt sound farming practices,” said Tim Fink, AFT’s Policy Director. “Increasing adoption of soil health practices is a win-win for farmers and for the communities they serve. These practices can increase profitability and benefit water quality while also helping build resilience to and combat climate change. The white papers released today outline innovative and cost-effective ways for Congress to support farmers and ranchers build soil health in their fields.” 

Creating a Federal Match for State and Tribal Soil Health Programs in the Next Farm Bill urges Congress to build up locally-led programs that supplement and fill gaps in NRCS conservation support. For example, many state programs fund purchases of soil health equipment—a key barrier to adoption that farmers report facing and which NRCS does not fund. Since the last Farm Bill, states have been leading the way, creating new policies and programs that help producers improve their soil health. These locally-led programs are tailored to meet the needs of producers, are popular and often oversubscribed, and they invest in innovations that can inform NRCS program implementation and future Farm Bills.  

Ok Dept of Wildlife Conservation Activates CWD Response Strategy After Diseased Wild Deer Found in Panhandle

A white-tailed deer in the Oklahoma Panhandle has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD).

A Texas County landowner reported the deer to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation after witnessing it behaving abnormally. The deer was recovered near Optima and testing was conducted.

This marks the first case of CWD in a wild deer in Oklahoma.

ODWC has activated the next stage of the CWD Response Strategy jointly produced with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

“While this is unfortunate news, it is not unexpected since CWD has already been detected in every state that borders Oklahoma. We will be working through our response plan to ensure we can monitor potential spread and keep our state’s deer herd healthy,” said Jerry Shaw, Wildlife Programs Supervisor with ODWC.

CWD is an always-fatal neurological disease that affects the brains of deer, elk, moose, and other members of the cervid family, creating holes that resemble those in sponges. It’s important to note that CWD transmission from wild animals to people or to livestock has never been documented