The National Livestock Companies are pleased to announce their support, once again, for the All American Beef Battalion (AABB). On Monday, December 18th, the Oklahoma National Stockyards will auction a calf for the benefit of the AABB, along with National Livestock providing lunch for those in attendance.

The AABB crew is bringing in their cooker and will be preparing a ribeye lunch. Lunch will begin at 11:00 a.m. and the actual sale will take place at approximately 12:30 p.m. in the sale arena of the Stockyards. The calf to be auctioned is again being donated by 3C Cattle Feeders and the Clyde Runyan family of Mill Creek, Oklahoma.

A very special thanks go out to Penny, along with her sons Casey and Bear, who have donated the calf for 10 years. Clyde was with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam and always considered this as a privilege to be able to give back to the troops. Runyan passed away in 2019 and his family continues the legacy of donating the calf in his honor.

This is the 12th year for the National Livestock companies to be involved in supporting the AABB. With the 2022 auction bringing in more than $69,000, contributors to this event have raised over $586,800 from the annual auction of a donated calf. Many organizations and individuals have joined together for this worthy cause each year. The efforts of many have made this successful and we thank all our partners and friends for their help.



Union Mutual of Oklahoma Turns 85 Years Old



Union Mutual was created 85 years ago for one purpose, that was and is to serve and protect rural Oklahomans and their property. That mission has bever wavered.

Union Mutual Insurance of Oklahoma was chartered in 1938 to write property and casualty insurance in the state of Oklahoma. Over the years, Union Mutual has maintained the attitude that started the company, “Protection for Oklahomans by Oklahomans.” In poor economic times, in times when national insurance companies either stopped writing or completely left the state, Union Mutual has been there for Oklahomans. Today, Union Mutual writes insurance in all 77 counties of Oklahoma through almost 300 agency locations. These agents provide fast and reliable quotes for most lines of insurance.

Union Mutual of Oklahoma CEO Monica Collison had this to say on the company turning 85 years old. “I am humbled to lead such and extraordinary company and team with the history and legacy of Union Mutual. Union Mutual has stood with rural Oklahoma for 85 solid years and I look forward to helping it for the next 85 years.”

For the agent nearest you, go to unionmutualic.com or give them a call at 405 286-7703. 

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am back talking with the president of Angus Gentics, Inc. (AGI), Kelli Retallick-Riley, about genomic progress in the beef cattle industry.

One of the things Angus Genetics is working on, Retallick-Riley said, is continuing to appreciate the value of the current database and find ways to yield more information with those tools.

“The other thing we continue to hear, and probably a more practical application, is going to be trying to match these cattle to their environments,” Retallick-Riley said.

As the climate conversation has been one of popularity, Retallick-Riley said there has been work towards having a methane emissions EPD eventually.

“It is not an easy trait to measure,” Retallick-Riley said. “It is a hard trait to capture, and it is an expensive trait to capture, much like our feed intake data is an expensive trait to capture.”

Corey Rosenbusch Sees Good Fertilizer Supply and Demand for 2024

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, is talking with the President and CEO of The Fertilizer Institute, Corey Rosenbusch, about an update on the fertilizer market and more.

The market softened earlier in 2023, Rosenbusch said, and he sees the market to be in a more stable place going into the growing season.

“We are watching what is going on in Israel right now,” Rosenbusch said. “ICL is a major fertilizer producer. Right now, none of their operations or ports have been disrupted.”

As 90 percent of fertilizer is consumed outside of the United States, Rosenbusch said when the markets are impacted internationally by geopolitical events, it impacts the U.S.

“When all of these strange trade flows happen, at the end of the day, that adds logistics cost that the farmer ends up picking up in the end,” Rosenbusch said. “Even something that far away is going to have an impact on a grower here in the heartland.”

At the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Oklahoma Grassroots Rural and Ag Business Accelerators Demo Day, Associate Farm Editor Reagan Calk had the chance to visit with the owner of Cimarron Maltworks, Jeffrey Cole.

The Oklahoma Grassroots Rural & Ag Business Accelerators program is a collaborative rural development initiative from the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and national and state-level partners developing Oklahoma-based innovators creating ideas, technologies, and products creating economic Opportunities in rural Oklahoma.

Cimarron Maltworks participated in the Active Oklahoma cohort, which connects rural entrepreneurs and innovators with resources from Oklahoma’s world-class business development community to build an even brighter future for rural Oklahoma. With roots in rural Oklahoma and a mission to help innovators reach new heights, Activate Oklahoma helps local hometown visionaries bring their ideas to life all across our state.

Cimarron Maltworks is an Oklahoma-based malthouse. Malting is the process of converting barley or other cereal grains into malt for use in brewing, distilling, or foods, and takes place in a malting, sometimes called a malthouse or malting floor.

Winter Wheat Researchers Educate Producers on Late Planting System

Oklahoma State University 2020 winter wheat variety Butler’s Gold is growing more prominent on the commercial market, and researchers want to ensure that producers know when and how to plant it.

“Wheat producers are interested in the late planting system,” said Amanda Silva, assistant professor and state Extension specialist for small grains. “There are producers in Oklahoma wanting to harvest cotton and soybeans in late October, so they need to delay wheat planting. It’s important for them to find a variety well adapted for planting in November and December.”

Silva’s research shows Butler’s Gold is the only short-season winter wheat variety in the U.S. In a recently completed three-year study, Silva and her master’s student, Israel Cyrineu, compared the performance and seeding rate of the short-season variety with eight other varieties of winter wheat planted in October and December at two locations.

“Sometimes, producers plant late because they are trying to fit in double cropping systems, but sometimes weather or other factors prevent them from planting in time,” Silva said.

COP28 Panel: Nutrition Investments Should Be Part of Climate Solution

Climate change is a major contributor to malnutrition and food insecurity around the world, but investments in research, innovation, and local capacity building can help drive solutions, according to a panel of experts who spoke today at COP28 in Dubai.

Global shocks including climate change, conflict, and COVID-19 have increased food and nutrition insecurity, with about 3 billion people now unable to afford a well-balanced, healthy diet that includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and animal-sourced foods, according to a new report commissioned by Farm Journal Foundation previewed at COP28. Wednesday’s panel, held at the Food and Agriculture Pavilion at COP28, discussed how the international community, governments, and other important stakeholders can accelerate climate and agriculture solutions to advance global food security and nutrition outcomes. 

“With science, we can reduce the carbon footprint of food systems and design them to be sustainable, resilient and equitable, while at the same time enhancing food and nutrition security,” said Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, the Executive Managing Director of CGIAR. “But to unlock the full potential of innovation, the global community must increase its investments in climate and agriculture R&D.”