Jimmy Taylor Emphasizes the Value of Producer’s Dollars for the Beef Checkoff

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am visiting with Oklahoma rancher and Chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion Board, Jimmy Taylor.

The Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion Board is responsible for collecting and investing the dollar/head at beef checkoff. Taylor has been Chairman of the board for nearly a year.

Taylor said his favorite part of Beef Checkoff leadership has been the people.

“We have got 101 board members, and they are all volunteers,” Taylor said. “When we have meetings, they have hay to bale back home, and they have cattle to work, but they are willing to set that aside and give it their own time to help the industry and try to figure out how to promote and have research programs and educate consumers and health professionals about beef…”

Aside from the volunteers who sacrifice valuable time for the well-being of the beef industry, Taylor said the staff does a great job with the resources and limited funding they have available.

Sponsor Spotlight

The Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association is the trusted voice of the Oklahoma Cattle Industry. With headquarters in Oklahoma City, the OCA has a regular presence at the State Capitol to protect and defend the interests of cattlemen and cattlewomen.

Their Vision Statement explains the highest priority of the organization- "Leadership that serves, strengthens and advocates for the Oklahoma cattle industry."

To learn more about the OCA and how you can be a part of this forward-looking group of cattle producers, click here for their website. For more information- call 405-235-4391.

From 9,400 Down to 3,200 Grow Licenses- Medical Marijuana Invasion is on the Run

Oklahoma's medical marijuana program has seen a "drastic reduction" in the number of criminal organizations that operate illegal farms in the state, officials announced in a press conference on Tuesday.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority said the registrations from growers are down from 9,400 in 2021 to 3,200 today.

"We can account for 1,000 of those grows that we physically touched and served search warrants on and shut down," officials said.

Once known as the "Wild West of Weed", the agencies said Oklahoma is now getting attention for some of the most "effective enforcement practices in the country."

The OBN created full-time Marijuana Enforcement Teams across the state and said those agents had made more than 200 arrests, seized over 700,000 pounds of black market-bound marijuana, and produced evidence to indict and arrest individuals involved in these "criminal" organizations, the agencies said.

News on 6 in Tulsa has a great story on the battle being waged by state officials- click on the Blue Button below to check it out.

Bayer Carbon Program to Help Growers Earn Income While Improving Their Soils

At the recent National Association of Broadcasters Convention in Kansas City, Associate Farm Editor Reagan Calk had the chance to visit with Bayer Director of Communications Brian Leake about Bayer’s carbon program.

“Our Bayer Carbon program is really a program that we have designed to help growers adopt some of these regenerative ag practices,” Leake said. “Whether it is cover crops, no-till, strip-till, things like that- we want to encourage farmers to adopt these practices that will ultimately help sequester carbon…”

Participating in Bayer’s carbon program not only helps farmers financially, Leake said, but also creates healthier soil for their crops and future yields.

“We pay growers on a per-practice adoption basis, per acre,” Leake said. “It is a flat rate, and it is based on the adoption of, whether they are deciding to for the first time to implement cover crops, no-till or strip-till.”

Leake said the program also offers partnerships with different companies with an interest in identifying growers that are growing products in a particular way.

Two Oklahomans Qualify as Top Ten Semifinalists at World Livestock Auctioneer Championship Qualifier

After a day of competitive bid-calling in Paris, Kentucky, 10 more auctioneers have advanced to the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship. The qualifiers, led by Daniel Mitchell, Cumberland, Ohio, will next compete in the semifinals, to be held at the Oklahoma National Stockyards in June.

The bid-caller from the Buckeye state said it was both exciting and humbling to win, especially with such tough competition. But even if he hadn’t come out on top, it’s still a great time.

“The competition is always exciting,” Mitchell said, adding that he understands why it’s such a popular event for spectators both in-person and online. “They say the people that have the best chant are cattle auctioneers because of the rhythmic ability and moving fast and repetition. I think it’s so popular with people because it’s a very pleasing sound to hear. The people like to hear the speed, the rhythm and try to keep up with that.”

Neil Bouray, Webber, Kansas, was named runner-up. Completing the Top 10 and semi-finalist qualifiers for June are: Andy Baumeister, Goldthwaite, Texas; Justin Dodson, Welch, Oklahoma; Jeremy Miller, Fairland, Oklahoma; Ben Morgan, Union, West Virginia; Ross Parks, New Concord, Ohio; Ethan Schuette, Washington, Kansas; and Jeff Showalter, Broadway, Virginia. Kyle Nisly, Montezuma, Georgia, was named high score rookie.

In addition to Dodson and Miller- Dakota Davis of Waukomis and Dustin Smith of Jay have also qualified to be in the field of 30 that will compete next June in Oklahoma City as LMA meets for their annual convention.

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, recently had the chance to talk with AMVAC Marketing Manager, Mark Foster, and talk about new products that can help cotton production and a few other crops.

“We are American-based, and our head office is in California,” Foster said. “We have four manufacturing plants located here in the U.S., and are happily and proudly U.S. owned and operated.”

A new product called Zalo, Foster said, is pending approval from the EPA. This brand-new herbicide, with a combination of two modes of action, will be available for cotton use, soybean use, and canola use for glufosinate-tolerant cotton.

Zalo will feature both broadleaf and grass control with a quick speed-to-kill.

“Our registration that is still pending is anywhere from emergence through two weeks before bloom, so it is a very wide application for a cotton grower to utilize,” Foster said. “As mentioned, many cotton growers also grow soybeans, so the same product can be used on both, pending they are both glufosinate tolerant."

Weaning Weight Versus Reproductive Efficiency with OSU’s Mark Johnson

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 weaning weight and reproductive efficiency.

Economic analysis of cow-calf operations shows a strong relationship between Profitability and both Percent Calf Crop Weaned per Exposed Female, and Pounds Weaned per Exposed Female. This “economic analysis” discussion often leads to a debate of what has more value to the profit potential of a commercial cow-calf operation that sells calves at weaning. Is it reproductive efficiency in the form of a higher Percent Calf Crop Weaned? Or is it the Weaning Weight of the calves? This week we take a look at the value of an extra 50 pounds of Weaning Weight versus an extra 5% Calf Crop Weaned per Exposed Female relative to current market values. 

AFBF Disappointed in USMCA Dairy Report

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the report released by a dispute settlement panel established under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement regarding Canada’s dairy tariff-rate quota allocation measures.

“AFBF is disappointed in the findings released by the dispute panel. We believe Canada’s TRQ policies put America’s hardworking dairy farmers at a disadvantage and don’t live up to the spirit of agreements put in place under USMCA.

“Canada has long been a strong trading partner for American farmers and ranchers, but that relationship relies on both sides playing fair. We encourage USTR Ambassador Tai and Secretary Vilsack to continue to fight to ensure our dairy farmers have access to a level playing field and Canadian consumers have access to a variety of choices at the supermarket.”