Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, caught up with the co-founder of the Agricultural Immersion and Mentorship Program (AIM), Kelli Payne, to hear an update on how the program went this summer and when more student applications will be accepted.

“In the last few years of meeting with employers and talking to college students, you kind of hear the same thing over and over again,” Payne said.

This reoccurring trend Payne said she continues to hear about is that students worry they do not have enough experience for the ag realm outside of school and are unsure what they want to do when they graduate. This issue is what sparked the idea for the AIM program, founded by Kelli Payne and Alisen Anderson.

“We started with two students that had expressed interest last fall, just in exploring different career options in agriculture,” Payne said. “They were in between their sophomore and junior years, and that is a critical time.”

Another intern was also hired to help with marketing and communication work, Payne added.

“The first week and a half to two weeks, they actually lived at our farm in Mustang and worked on the agritourism venture, Growing Paynes,” Payne said. “After that, we really kicked it into high gear. We had great support from a number of folks in the ag industry and from all facets.”

The students in the AIM program had the chance to travel the state and meet with individuals working in the ag sector either at their homes or places of work and hear their stories.



National Livestock was founded in 1932 in Oklahoma City. National’s Marketing Division offers cattle for sale weekly at the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City. The Finance Division lends money to ranchers across several states for cattle production. The Grazing Division works with producers to place cattle for grazing on wheat or grass pastures. 

National also owns and operates other livestock marketing subsidiaries including Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction in Ada, Oklahoma, OKC West Livestock Market in El Reno, Oklahoma, and the nation’s premier livestock video sale, Superior Livestock Auction. National offers customers many services custom made for today’s producer. To learn more, click here for the website or call the Oklahoma City office at 1-800-310-0220.



Derrell Peel Doesn’t See Much Movement on The Cow Herd Rebuilding Front Going into Winter

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am back talking with Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Dr. Derrell Peel, about more on the latest USDA Cattle on Feed report, released September 22, 2023.

The on-feed numbers in the report came in at two percent below a year ago. Placements were down five percent, and marketings were down six percent compared to a year ago.

This particular report does not include a breakdown between steers and heifers; that information will be issued next month.

“We still don’t have any data that would suggest that we are saving heifers or retaining heifers,” Peel said. “I think it might be beginning to a limited degree.”

Peel said he believes the October Cattle on Feed report will show fewer heifers in the feedlot because, since July 4, heifer slaughter has decreased more strongly year-over-year.

Advocates Push for Increased Hemp Regulations in Oklahoma

Experts are urging state lawmakers to pass legislation that would increase regulation of the state’s industrial hemp industry.

Processing plants could move forward with the right state policies and infrastructure in place, said Bruce Niemi, president of Oklahoma Industrial Hemp Foundation. The nonprofit advocates for increased development of hemp in rural areas.

Niemi pressed lawmakers to pass legislation that would create a commission to make regulations for processing plants to expand hemp uses.

“There’s so much testing that has to be done,” he said.

Lawmakers conducted an interim study on industrial hemp uses Monday. Interim studies can help legislators develop ideas for potential legislation. The study was held by Sen. Roland Pederson, R-Burlington, and Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, D-Tulsa.

The state Legislature legalized hemp with Senate Bill 868 in 2019. Hemp crop production was legalized under federal law in 2018.

On today’s Cow-Calf Corner, Mark Z. Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist and Barry Whitworth, Senior Extension Specialist/Oklahoma BQA Coordinator talk about producer disease threat perceptions of BRD and PI BVD.

The Oklahoma Cow-Calf Biosecurity was implemented in early 2022 to gain insight into biosecurity practices on Oklahoma cow-calf operations. The survey was administered for OSU through USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and garnered over 1400 producer responses. The overarching goal of the survey is to find ways to increase producer awareness of biosecurity issues and to assist producers in planning and implementation of best practices with respect to biosecurity on their individual operations.

One constant for cattlemen is considering the potential threat and impact of infectious diseases. A segment of the survey asks producers to rate the threat level of Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD), commonly known as shipping fever or pneumonia, and the threat level from Persistently Infected (PI) Bovine viral Diarrhea (BVD PI) cattle, recognizing that BVD is part of the larger BRD disease complex. BVD PI animals can be a problem for producers because they are BVD carriers that constantly shed the virus creating consistent viral exposure to other members of the herd. The survey asks producers to rate the threat of these diseases to: (1) their own operations due to arrival of cattle from outside sources, and (2) the beef industry overall. Those results are reported in Figure 1.

OKFB YF&R Hosts Successful State Fair Livestock Judging Contest

Nearly 1,600 4-H and FFA students put their skills to the test at the 2023 Oklahoma State Fair Livestock Judging Contest, hosted by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers committee, on Thursday, Sept. 21 in Oklahoma City.

Students in third grade through 12th grade evaluated market and breeding classes of cattle, sheep, goats and hogs. Participants also answered a set of questions about one class of cattle and one class of goats.

The top three individuals in the junior 4-H division were Sage Baird, Waynoka 4-H; Spencer Lewis, Silo 4-H; and Kaisley Onan, Stillwater 4-H. The top three teams were Stillwater 4-H, Valliant 4-H and Silo 4-H.

The top three individuals in the junior FFA division were Jaci McGowen, Maysville FFA; Dally Pederson, Cashion FFA; and Maddie Bishop, Stillwater FFA. The top three teams were Purcell FFA (White), Checotah FFA and Fort Gibson FFA.

The top three individuals in the senior 4-H division were Bodie Jeffries, Blackwell OK Okies; Justin Fast, Kay County 4-H; and Kole Campbell, Alfalfa County 4-H. The top three teams were the Blackwell OK Okies, Kay County 4-H and Keys 4-H.

The top three individuals in the senior FFA division were Hagen Cundiff, Perkins-Tryon FFA; Kyriana Beard, Stillwater FFA; and Aubrie McEndoo, Stillwater FFA. Both Stillwater FFA teams took the top two senior team spots, and Thomas Fay Custer FFA took third.

OSU Extension to host Native Pecan Field Day in October

Oklahoma State University Extension will host the 2023 Native Pecan Field Day on Oct. 12 in Okfuskee County. The free event welcomes commercial pecan growers, landowners with pecans or hobbyists.

Oklahoma is one of the top native pecan producers in the nation, and around 75% of Oklahoma’s total pecan production is native pecans.

“Although the 2017 Census of Agriculture reported Oklahoma at 96,569 acres in pecan production, the number of potential acres could be several times that if native timber was reclaimed for production and management,” said Becky Carroll, OSU Extension specialist for fruit and pecans.

“Okfuskee County was chosen for the fall field day because of its large amount of wild pecan acres as well as those in surrounding counties. We thought the event would be helpful for landowners with questions about how to start the process of cleaning up native pecan land. The field day will also focus on other native pecan topics that affect many pecan producers."

Who and what: The Leon Bailey Family, OSU Pecan Management, Okfuskee County Extension and the Oklahoma Pecan Growers Association will host the field day to share their knowledge of pecan management.