At the 2023 Oklahoma Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, I had the opportunity to talk with the President of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Zippy Duvall.

At the meeting, Duvall announced that the AFBF board is working with Oklahoma City to bring the 2028 AFBF National Convention to Oklahoma City. The meeting will bring over 5,000 individuals to downtown Oklahoma City in January of 2028.

“I think Oklahoma City will be a place that everybody will look forward to going to,” Duvall said

Duvall told me that there is still a lot of work to do to finalize the deal- but that he looks forward to bringing AFBF to OKC in 2028.

Regarding the 2023 Farm Bill, Duvall talked about how an extension has been acknowledged.

“We are not going to let up on the pressure,” Duvall said. “It is absolutely crucial that our farmers and ranchers continue to put pressure on and make Congress understand the urgency of getting this Farm Bill done no later than the first quarter of the year,” Duvall said.

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A plan to extend the Farm Bill through Sept. 2024 has been reached by the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate and House Ag Committees. That plan is part of a proposal by House Speaker Mike Johnson to extend government spending after Nov. 17.

Congressmen GT Thompson and David Scott, along with Senators Debbie Stabenow and John Boozman- the four leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees- released the following statement on a Farm Bill extension:

“As negotiations on funding the government progress, we were able to come together to avoid a lapse in funding for critical agricultural programs and provide certainty to producers. This extension is in no way a substitute for passing a 5-year Farm Bill and we remain committed to working together to get it done next year.”

Can Speaker Johnson pull off his two step CR plan? That's a tough question to answer- click here for one of the many mainstream media articles on the CR that faces a lot of critics.

It appears that Tom Cole's Rules Committee is one of the first votes that he faces as early as today.

Portrait Unveiled! Jarold Callahan is the Newest Honoree in Saddle and Sirloin Portrait Gallery

Jarold Callahan, President of Express Ranches in Yukon is the 2023 inductee of the prestigious Saddle and Sirloin Portrait Gallery. He is the 378th member of the gallery, and his portrait was unveiled during an induction banquet held on during the North American Livestock Exposition last night in Louisville.

Callahan was born and raised in far northeast Oklahoma in Welch on a farm where they raised crops, hay and cattle. Jarold attended NEO and then Oklahoma State- judging livestock both places- and later was the Livestock Judging Coach at both institutions. After a lot of success in those coaching and teaching positions- he took on the role of Executive Vice President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association for five years before becoming President of Express Ranches in 1996.

As President of Express Ranches, Callahan oversees one of the largest seed stock operations in North America, and he has also been at the forefront of bringing forward the newest major livestock show in North America: Cattlemen’s Congress.

Rodd Moesel of Oklahoma County will serve his last two years as President of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau in 2024 and 2025 after being reelected by the general farm organization on Saturday afternoon by acclimation.

Moesel will face term limits after this fourth two year term as President.

After the Saturday afternoon general session in downtown Oklahoma City- I talked with Moesel about his past six years serving as President- and what work remains to be done in the next two years in his role as the leader of the state’s largest farm group. Moesel thanked Farm Bureau members for their confidence in him to continue to lead the organization for the next two years.

Florida Auctioneer Awarded Top Honors at World Livestock Auctioneer Championship Qualifier

Oct. 25 was no ordinary sale day at the Tri-County Stockyards in Motley, Minnesota. While cattle came through the ring and buyers placed their bids like any other Wednesday, the block was manned by 35 different auctioneers vying for top honors.

The competitors, from all over the United States, battled it out for buckles, bragging rights and an opportunity to call bids at the annual World Livestock Auctioneer Championship next June at the Oklahoma National Stockyards. At the end of the day, Marcus Kent, Dunnellon, Florida, came out on top.

“My goal has always been to make the finals,” Kent said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would win one.”

Two Oklahomans qualified for their right to compete in Oklahoma City next June- Runner-Up Champion Dakota Davis from Waukomis, Oklahoma. and Dustin Smith of Jay, Oklahoma.

USDA Announces Progress to Further Competition in Agriculture, Level Playing Field for Farmers

New rule under the Packers and Stockyards Act enhances transparency for contract poultry farmers; additional USDA actions will support crop and livestock producers.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced progress on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) comprehensive approach to address the many, complex competition issues in agricultural markets and create a fairer playing field for small- and mid-size farmers. In support of these efforts, USDA has finalized the first in a series of rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act, which is aimed at helping contract poultry growers compete more effectively and better understand the terms of their agreements with major processing companies.

USDA also announced updates on several other efforts the department has undertaken as part of President Biden’s historic Executive Order on Promoting Competition in America’s Economy, a key pillar of Bidenomics. These include a notice to seed companies clarifying expectations that they share clear and meaningful information to farmers about the seed varietals they are purchasing; clarifying the domestic origin requirements a farmer must fulfill to sell meat products to meet USDA’s food purchases for nutrition assistance programs; and creating a new, senior- level career position to formalize and enhance implementation of key competition policy priorities across the Department.

NCBA Again Strongly Opposes USDA’s Decision to Allow Paraguayan Beef Imports

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) strongly opposes the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to allow Paraguayan beef imports starting next month. NCBA has repeatedly raised concerns with USDA over Paraguay’s history of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and the outdated information used to justify Paraguay’s access to the U.S. market. NCBA is concerned that USDA’s failure to use information from recent site visits in the risk assessment may pose great risk to the safety of the U.S. cattle herd.

“USDA based their decision to allow beef imports from Paraguay on a deeply flawed risk assessment that uses old data from site visits that were conducted more than nine years ago. Paraguay has a history of FMD outbreaks, and it is unclear if their inspection system can provide an equivalent level of safety for animal health to prevent a possible FMD outbreak on U.S. soil,” said NCBA Executive Director of Government Affairs Kent Bacus. “Paraguay heavily relies on private sector funding for most of its FMD mitigation measures, and USDA did not consider the risk associated with Paraguay’s economic downturn over the last several years.

“Gaining beef access to the U.S. market has been the top priority for Paraguay in multiple rounds of trade discussions. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a foreign country’s beef access to the United States was a pre-determined outcome and used as a bargaining tool for other U.S. interests. The dismissal of legitimate concerns from U.S. cattle producers is unacceptable and USDA should halt this unscientific, unsafe rulemaking. While winning friends and allies in South America may be part of the long-term interests of U.S. diplomacy, it should not be done on the backs of U.S. cattle producers or by putting at risk the health and livelihood of the safest and most efficient cattle and beef production system in the world.”