On this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with the Chief Executive Officer of National Livestock, Robert York. York and I talk about the state of the cattle industry.

National Livestock is based in Oklahoma City at the Oklahoma National Stockyards and consists of businesses spread out across the country focused on cattle. York and his team have the chance to interact with cattle producers across the country on a daily basis, including here in the Southern Plains.

York describes the morale of cattle producers around the country to be cautiously optimistic.

“They definitely are excited about the high prices,” York said.

Because of rising prices, York said he believes there will be an opportunity to improve or replace those things that have needed attention on cattle operations for quite some time.

On the other hand, York said producers have concerns regarding labor and rising interest rates.



The Oklahoma Agriculture Mediation Program knows this is a hard time for farmers and ranchers. We want you to know we are still open, and we are still here for you. The Ag Mediation program is a free service that provides mediation to agriculture producers who may need help with ag-related disputes.

At Oklahoma Ag Mediation, we have been helping people in agriculture resolve conflicts since 1987. We know firsthand about working together to resolve conflicts, so you don’t have to go through the court systems. Let our professional mediators help you. Mediation is allowed for lease issues, farmer/neighbor disputes, family farm transitions, and more. These services are available at no cost for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers in all 77 counties. For more information, you can go to ok.gov/mediation, or give us a call at 800 248 5465.

Oklahoma’s Best Beef Competition Welcomes the Public This Saturday in Stockyards City

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, had the chance to visit with the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation, Mariah Reimer, about Oklahoma’s Best Beef Competition coming up on October 21st in Historic Stockyards City at 11 a.m. next to Langston’s.

Visitors are invited to watch local ranches grill their own steaks with Oklahoma celebrities. The event will feature public tastings, Made in Oklahoma vendor booths, Andy’s Frozen Custard, and a Huvepharma tailgate trailer to watch the football games.

“Basically, you bring your ranch’s own prime cuts of beef, we serve that to the public…,” Reimer said.

The unique twist on this event, Reimer said, is there is a “People’s Choice Award,” where visitors at the event have a vote, but the ranchers are also judged by sanctioned judges who award first, second, and third place.

“It really is an opportunity to network,” Reimer said.

Oklahoma’s Best Beef Competition is not only a fun event for all, but Reimer said many of the ranchers came out of last year’s event with new buyers for their direct-to-consumer beef.

“I know one individual, she had over 50 new orders, and another one became the supplier for the governor,” Reimer said.

Noble Research Institute Awarded Conservation Grant to Improve Health and Resilience of Southern Great Plains Grasslands

Noble received one of six grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to improve soil health, support biodiversity and increase carbon sequestration.

Noble Research Institute announced today that the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and partners awarded the independent nonprofit agricultural research organization one of six grants to improve grassland health, support biodiversity and increase carbon sequestration to improve climate resilience in the Southern Great Plains grasslands.

The $471,000 NFWF award to Noble will expedite the expansion of integral water and fencing infrastructure across Noble ranches and facilitate multispecies adaptive grazing, allowing for more rapidly improving soil health reinvigoration across the organization’s 13,500 acres. These production ranches serve as both a canvas for ongoing land-based research and a living laboratory that offers immersive learning experiences for ranchers interested in managing their operations regeneratively. Here, Noble can demonstrate the ecological and economic benefits of applying soil health principles to its management approach.

Consistent application of these principles results in improved soil health over time and can unleash the many benefits of healthy soil. One imperative benefit is increased biodiversity of plants and pollinators as well as enhanced habitat for wildlife.

At the 2023 Rural Economic Outlook Conference, Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to talk with the Chief Meteorologist of KKTV News in Colorado Springs, Brian Bledsoe.

One of the topics Bledsoe touched on at the conference is the role the Pacific Ocean plays in weather patterns.

“The Pacific is so important in how our weather, not only short term, but long term, gets governed,” Bledsoe said. “For the past three years, the Pacific overall has been in a very cold state. We have had not only a broad scale but also with the La Nina episode, we have been dealing with more dryness than not for a large part of the mid-section of the country.”

The big talk now, Bledsoe said, is the El Nino that is coming on. Bledsoe said there has been some mixed messaging on the arrival of El Nino, and it won’t exactly cure every problem regarding drought.

“The thing to keep in mind right now is that the Pacific overall is still cold in that long-range cycle, despite the fact we have this El Nino here,” Bledsoe said. “While we might have good moisture, I think going forward here for the next few months, the fact that the Pacific is cold needs to be in the back of our minds, and we need to be looking out for potential dryness late in ’24 and possibly even in ‘25.”

Oklahoma Water Resources Center to Offer Free Water Well Testing

Oklahoma well owners are on their way to healthier drinking water this fall thanks to the Oklahoma Well Owner Network.

The program, led by the Oklahoma Water Resources Center and Oklahoma State University Extension, provides free residential well water testing and training to rural counties in Oklahoma through a $200,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a $350,000 grant from the USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Rural Health and Safety Education Program.

“In 2018 we surveyed citizens across Oklahoma on what their biggest water resource concerns were,” said Kevin Wagner, water resource center director. “Consistently across the state, Oklahomans’ key concern was drinking water quality.”

To address water issues in rural Oklahoma, the water center conducted a pilot program in Alfalfa, Pontotoc and Tillman counties in spring 2022 with the help of OSU environmental science students. More than 150 water samples were tested during the program with two-thirds of participants saying they planned to adopt annual well water testing.

“This program demonstrates OSU’s land-grant mission in terms of Extension, ag research and education,” said Abu Mansaray, a research specialist with the water center, who has helped plan and execute the water testing. “We are reaching out to Oklahoma communities to help address a critical problem that is not covered by federal and state agencies.”

Survey: Agriculture Industry Confident about Future Profitability; Businesses Prioritizing Efficiency to Drive Growth

Agriculture leaders anticipate the overall economic conditions of the U.S. will improve in the next 12 months despite lingering economic concerns. They are keenly focused on managing profitability by taking command of the business areas they have control over such as increasing efficiencies through automation, adding new products and services with higher profit margins, and leveraging artificial intelligence to analyze data and support decision-making.

These insights are drawn from a nationwide survey of small and middle market companies across the U.S. conducted by Umpqua Bank as part of its annual 2023 Business Barometer report.

Based on the study’s results, more than half of respondents from the agricultural sector are optimistic about future economic conditions, and 59% expect revenues to increase. In terms of profitability, 68% expect an increase in the next 12 months, compared to 62% of healthcare businesses that responded to the survey, 56% of manufacturing, and 53% and 52% of business service and wholesale companies, respectively.

“The agriculture sector is an important part of our livelihood and our economy, and business leaders in this industry are confident in their prospects and planning investments to fuel growth,” said Bill Barclay, Umpqua’s Head of Community and Business Banking. “To tackle factors under their control over the next 12 months, agribusiness plan to invest in marketing, artificial intelligence, and automation, which could further improve their operational efficiency, expand market reach, and bolster bottom lines.”

OKFB Members Urged to Comment on EPA Proposed Herbicide Strategy

Oklahoma Farm Bureau members are invited to submit their concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed herbicide strategy before the Oct. 22 comment period deadline.

EPA released the Draft Herbicide Strategy Framework in July in response to extensive litigation from environmental groups about EPA’s noncompliance with the Endangered Species Act. The proposed framework is EPA’s attempt to protect some 900 endangered species and their habitats through significant use restrictions and mitigations on most agricultural herbicide uses.

Growers located in pesticide use limitation areas – or PULAs – which include many parts of Oklahoma, could be subject to even greater restrictions. Many of the proposed restrictions will be unworkable, forcing growers to adopt outdated cropping practices that are costly, burdensome and irrelevant to modern agriculture.

The agency extended the original 60-day public comment period on the proposed framework an additional 30 days, and OKFB members are encouraged to make the voice of farmers and ranchers heard through submitting a comment urging the EPA to withdraw the proposal.