Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur added her signature to a letter urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to pause the implementation of a rule that would allow the importation of beef from Paraguay. Agriculture leaders from Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Ohio, Wyoming, and South Dakota joined Arthur in signing the letter.

The Importation of Fresh Beef From Paraguay, a final rule determined by USDA – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, is set to go into effect Thursday, Dec. 14.

“While trade is important to our industry, disease risks and animal health are critical considerations in the process of building a trade relationship,” Arthur said.

Paraguay has been impacted by Foot and Mouth Disease in the past, most recently in 2012.

Click here to view the letter.

The Oklahoma Cattlemens Association is a hundred percent behind Secretary Arthur- Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey says, “USDA is basing their decision to allow beef imports from Paraguay on nine-plus-year-old data. 

"OCA’s understanding from USDA’s own reports is the most recent inspections in Paraguay by USDA officials were done in 2014. Given Paraguay’s longstanding challenges with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), it is unacceptable to allow imports without more recent and up-to-date information.”

AND- we feature this story in our Thursday morning farm and ranch news- with comments from NCBA's Kent Bacus on how we got to this point of allowing fresh beef from Paraguay into the US- click here to listen.



Midwest Farm Shows is proud to produce the two best Farm Shows in the State of Oklahoma annually- the Tulsa Farm Show each December and the Oklahoma City Farm Show each April. 

They would like to thank all of you who participated in their 2023 Tulsa City Farm Show. 

Up next will be the Oklahoma City’s premier spring agricultural and ranching event with returns to the State Fair Park April 4-5-6, 2024.

Now is the ideal time to contact the Midwest Farm Show Office at 507-437-7969 and book space at the 2024 Oklahoma City Farm Show.  To learn more about the Oklahoma City Farm Show, click here. 



Recently, I had the chance to visit with the former national advisor of the FFA organization, Dr. Larry Case about the positive impact the national FFA organization has made on the lives of youth across the United States.

Case served as the national advisor of the FFA organization from 1984 until 2010.

When talking about the difference that the FFA organization has made in the life of countless youth, Case first gives credit to the teachers.

“They are master teachers of being able to bring the best out of kids,” Case said. “I think a lot of it is that we are in an aera where values are seen as being important, and those values seem to carry traditions with them.”

Looking back at the progression of the FFA, Case said the 1980s brought about a change in agriculture, which impacted the organization in a negative fashion.

Beef Quality Assurance Boosts Consumer Confidence

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with Kara Lee of Certified Angus Beef about Beef Quality Assurance.

“When we look at consumer demand today, I think everyone can admit that one of the most regularly heard buzzwords today is sustainability,” Lee said. “If you poll 100 different people on what sustainability means to them, you probably get at least 99 different answers.”

Lee said consumers consistently continue to align sustainability with humane cattle care.

When one of Certified Angus Beef’s largest partners, Sysco was looking for ways to invest in the cattle industry, Lee said the company wanted to help producers better communicate their cattle care effort to consumers.

As one of the largest animal protein providers across the nation, Lee said relaying this message to consumers is just as important to Sysco as it is for cattle producers.

Rain showers are currently making their way across the state which is great news for the month of December in Oklahoma! State Climatologist Gary McManus says the storm will be moving East and then dive South- and the rainfall pattern will mirror that movement.

“We do have some pretty good totals thus far across far Western Oklahoma, especially for December," McManus said.

McManus says the current totals will continue to go up over the next few days as rain will continue through Friday morning across parts of the state.

Plan Ahead To Meet Sheep and Goat Dietary Needs in the Dormant Season

The dormant season is meant to be a time of rest and rejuvenation for your land. It also can be a time that your livestock, especially sheep and goats, need extra care when it comes to nutrition.

With the proper preparation, you can rest assured your small ruminants will be in good nutritional shape through the dormant season. Kevin Lynch offers advice from his years of experience with sheep and goats both as a rancher and as a current Noble research associate.

COVER THE BASICS:

When considering small-ruminant nutritional needs through the dormant months, start with the basics: energy, protein, vitamins and minerals, fiber, and water.

A rule of thumb is to allow for about 2-3% of the animal’s body weight in dry matter per day, Lynch says, although that varies by breed, production goals, their proximity to feed and water, and where they are in the production cycle. Planning for winter grazing in your adaptive grazing management may account for a large part of your basic nutrition, but many ranchers will still need to provide some forms of supplement.

Oklahoma State University Agriculture launched a Dean’s Dialogue series Nov. 30 focusing on vital conversations in the agricultural industry.

“The Dean’s Dialogue allows us to get together and talk in ways that will challenge us to think more broadly about some of the problems and issues we all care about,” said Jayson Lusk, vice president and dean of OSU Agriculture. “We want to elevate discussions about agriculture both within the Ferguson College of Agriculture and across the university, raising visibility for our programs and faculty here at home and around the country.”

During the first Dean’s Dialogue event, Lusk sat down with Gabrielle (Ellie) Rubenstein, co-founder and managing partner of Manna Tree. Manna Tree is a global private equity firm committed to improving human health through nutrition. The firm invests and actively partners with growth-stage companies, driven by the core belief that health, well-being and longevity are attainable through food innovation. 

What are the Benefits of Compensatory Gains in the Feedlot Following Grazing?

Weekly, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Nutrition Specialist Paul Beck offers his expertise on the beef cattle industry. This is a part of the weekly series known as the “Cow-Calf Corner.” Today, he talks about supplementation for stocker cattle.

Supplementation programs for stocker cattle on pasture to improve animal performance and overall productivity and profitability of stocker programs is a common management practice. Nevertheless, it is generally perceived that increased weight gains during the stocker/backgrounder phase are negatively related to performance and efficiency during finishing, and therefore can reduce feeder calf sales price. Alternatively, reduced gains during the stocker period is perceived to allow for compensatory gains during finishing, increasing performance and efficiency.

A paper coming out in the December edition of the Applied Animal Science journal from the Oklahoma State University Department of Animal and Food Sciences (Adams and others; Applied Animal Science, volume 39, issue 6 December 2023; https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2023-02434) is adding to our understanding of stocker cattle nutrition programs and its effect on finishing performance. objectives of this research were to evaluate the effects of pre-finishing plane of nutrition of stocker steers on subsequent feedlot performance and carcass characteristics over two years. Crossbred steers (140 head each year) grazed tall fescue/bermudagrass pastures at the OSU Eastern Research Station near Haskell without supplementation on fertilized pastures; supplemented with 2.5 lbs/day of a distiller’s grains cube on fertilized pastures, or were supplemented with 0.75% of BW/day of supplemental distiller’s grains cubes on unfertilized pastures to replace fertilizer and increase performance. Across years, supplemented steers gained more rapidly and were heavier at the end of the grazing season than non-supplemented steers. It was determined that extruded distiller’s grains cubes are a suitable supplement for steers grazing introduced pastures, and higher supplementation rates could effectively replace N fertilization.