Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to catch up with American Farmers and Ranchers President Scott Blubaugh about the recent Farmers Union Legislative Fly-In and AFR priorities in the 2023 Farm Bill.

This week, 300 Farmers Union members from across the country joined together in Washington, DC, to advocate for family farmers and Farmers Union farm bill priorities.

“We took 13 farmers and ranchers from Oklahoma up there, and we had some great visits, met with all of the Oklahoma delegations, and we met with some of the other delegations in the Southern part of the United States,” Blubaugh said. “We had a meeting at the White House, we had a meeting at the Justice Department, we had a meeting at EPA and the Federal Trade Commission, and of course, our big meeting there with USDA and Secretary Vilsack.”

There was plenty of discussion on the 2023 Farm Bill, which Blubaugh said he does not believe will be produced on time.

“The thought is that we are very unlikely to get a Farm Bill anytime soon,” Blubaugh said. “Washington, D.C. is so divided right now along partisan lines.”



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- check out the latest Drive in Five!

AEM’s Austin Gelling Sees Optimism in Production Agriculture as Technologies Improve

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, had the chance to visit with the Director of Agricultural Services at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), Austin Gelling.

“When you take a look at equipment sales, it is kind of a bit of a mixed bag,” Gellings said. “When you get into the lower horsepower range, we are maybe seeing a bit of a dip. But, I think that’s kind of reflective as to the economy as we’re moving into an election year, but do when you look at starting to get into the upper horsepower range and the four-wheel drive tractors and self-propelled combines, you know, things are still looking good.”

Gelling said he believes that farmer sentiment is still holding strong. It is an exciting time, Gelling added, because of the new technology that is coming out.

“We have got a lot of new and innovative things coming out, that are really helping to make farms more efficient,” Gelling said. “Any farmer will tell you; you know, you operate on the margin. That’s kind of where you live or die and make your bread and butter. So, anything that can come along and help farmers maximize those margins and give them insights into how they can better their operations and become more efficient-that’s really where I think farmer interest is going to lie.”

As some farmers may have mixed feelings about new technology, Gellings said he recommends slowly trying new technologies instead of diving in head first.

NCBA President-Elect Mark Eisele Voices His Priorities and NCBA Leadership

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President-Elect, Mark Eisele, about his cattle operation and his plans going forward.

Eisele is expected to become the next president of NCBA in early 2024. He will take on the role that is currently held by Todd Wilkinson.

“I am a cow-calf and yearling/stocker producer in southeast Wyoming, at about 6500 feet elevation,” Eisele said. “Good grass country and we have had a little rain this year, so it made a big difference.”

Eisele said his decision to run for President of NCBA goes back many years.

“I found out there was more to just raising a family and cows,” Eisele said.

Some of the issues Eisele plans to keep focus on include government overregulation, permitting processes, animal disease traceability, private property rights, and more.

On most ranches, water impoundments — such as ponds, lakes and wetlands — along with  streams, creeks and rivers are beneficial hot spots of plant and animal diversity.

While these water features and their shorelines and flood plains usually represent small percentages of most ranches, these locations typically support more species and more unique species per unit area than the surrounding land.

Some unique plants and animals that depend on these sites include aquatic plants, moist-soil plants, bottomland hardwoods, fish, waterfowl, shorebirds, aquatic reptiles, amphibians, crayfish, mussels and aquatic insects.

The areas adjacent to streams influenced by water and alluvium (the soil, gravel and organic material deposited by moving water) from the streams are called riparian zones. Riparian zones are some of the most productive and important ecosystems in North America and they serve many valuable ecological functions, so protecting them is an important part of grazing management.

When we don’t plan and manage grazing to conserve water features and riparian areas, livestock impacts can negatively limit the diversity and abundance of many plants and animals, degrade water quality, excessively reduce cover, create bare ground and increase erosion. Alternatively, with proper planning and management, livestock can enhance plant and animal diversity and abundance at these locations.

Mullin’s Bill to Strike Down California’s EV Mandates and Protect Consumer Choice Passes U.S. House

Friday, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin’s (R-OK) legislation to restrict the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from issuing Clean Air Act (CAA) waivers to states which seek to ban or otherwise limit the sale of internal combustion engines passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Mullin’s bill, the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act, passed the House with bipartisan support where it will now advance to the Senate.

“We cannot allow California’s costly and extreme Green New Deal agenda to eliminate consumer choice for hundreds of millions of American families,” said Senator Mullin. “Our bill, the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act is an important step in rejecting the far-Left’s attempt to control every aspect of Americans’ lives– including what car they drive. I’m thrilled that my colleagues in the House recognize the importance of protecting consumers and maintaining competition in the automotive industry, and I look forward to this bill’s consideration in the United States Senate.”

U.S. Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), John Barrasso (R-WY), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and John Hoeven (R-ND)joined Mullin in cosponsoring this legislation. Representative John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13) led introduction of the companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Quality Is King: Maintaining The High Standard Of U.S. Grains

It’s an exciting time of year for U.S. farmers – corn harvest is just beginning in a handful of states. The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) supports the successful export of U.S. feed grains and their co-products all the way from planting to shipment by providing timely updates on the quantity and quality of each crop.

U.S. agriculture’s reputation as a reliable source of food and fuel makes it the preferred choice for importers in countless countries, and it is the responsibility of everyone from seed suppliers to producers to transportation, storage and logistic companies to ensure U.S. grains maintain their high quality at each step of the value chain.

“Harvest season is the culmination of months of tireless work from farmers, and a reminder that the importance of crop quality cannot be understated,” said USGC Vice President Cary Sifferath. “Committing to industry best practices and easing quality concerns from importers is the best way to keep business flowing and export sales high for U.S. producers.”

Several variables can contribute to a lower-quality crop of corn, barley or sorghum. Importers keep a close eye on the percentage of damaged grains and the amount of foreign material that can accidentally find its way into shipments during harvest or transport. This is why attention to detail from everyone along the supply chain is vitally important to the industry’s reputation, since even a misstep early in the process can create lasting damage to the positive image of U.S. grains and reduce future sales. On behalf of our international customers, USGC asks everyone in the supply chain to do their best to keep various types of foreign materials out of the grain supply chain.

USDA Celebrates First Year of Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Market Opportunity

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity’s initial project selection. Joining producers, project leaders, and project partners, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited a farm in Wisconsin, where he commemorated the progress made thus far in standing up these initial projects. He highlighted how projects from this effort will raise awareness and implementation at scale of climate-smart production practices, activities, and systems on working lands and with a diverse range of farmers, ranchers, and private landowners, and emphasized how this effort will promote rural prosperity and support the fight against climate change.

“Over the past year, our Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities partners have started to hit the ground running, working to enroll farmers and landowners and stand up their projects that hold tremendous promise for both the future of American agriculture and our environment,” Vilsack said. “These wide-ranging, innovative, and forward-looking efforts will not only jumpstart the creation of new markets for climate-smart commodities, but also help producers and forest landowners of all sizes implement climate-smart practices on their lands and pilot innovative and cost-effective methods of quantifying the climate benefits of those practices. I’m excited to see the work that’s been done so far and look forward to seeing these projects continue to progress – as well as their benefits – over the coming months and years.”

USDA is investing more than $3.1 billion for 141 projects through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities effort, which seeks to build and expand market opportunities for American commodities produced using climate-smart practices through pilot projects, positioning American producers as global leaders in climate-smart agricultural production.

Next Meeting of Oklahoma Drought Commission Set for Tuesday September 19 at ODAFF

The next meeting of the Oklahoma’s Emergency Drought Commission will happen tomorrow- Tuesday September 19th at 1:30 PM in the Board Room at the Oklahoma Department of Ag headquarters in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma’s Emergency Drought Commission, enabled through passage of Enrolled House Bill 1923 in 2013, provides funding for drought mitigation and related projects in Oklahoma in conjunction with a formal gubernatorial drought declaration. The Emergency Drought Commission consists of the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. In addition- two new members have been seated here in 2023- as the Legislature passed a measure that allows the House and Senate leadership to each appoint one member to the Commission.

The two new members that first participated in the meeting held in August are Pete Nichols of Washita County (appointed by the Speaker of the House) and Josh Emerson of McIntosh County (appointed by the Senate Pro Tem)

Click here for our story on our website recapping the August meeting of the Commission and click here for our story from the August meeting highlighting KC Sheperd's conversation with House Ag Committee Chair Dell Kerbs about new money allocated by the Legislature earlier this year for the Commission and the value of the Commission to the farm and ranch community in the state.