Oklahoma's Latest Farm

And Ranch News

Friday, December 29, 2023



This is Our Final Email of 2023- See You on Tuesday January 2, 2024!

Howdy Neighbors!

Here is Your Daily Oklahoma Farm and Ranch News Update: 

 

  • Drought Monitor Numbers Show Continued Improvement as 2023 Ends


  • OCA Year in Review with Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey


  • 2024 Expected to be the Baseline Year for the Ranch to Table Certified Angus Beef Program


  • Celebration of Life for Jarold Callahan is Today- It Will Be Live Streamed


  • USMEF Works to Increase Volume and Value of US Beef, Pork and Lamb Exports


  • Former USDA Ag Secretary Ann Veneman Looks Back on the Cow that Stole Christmas


  • LDS Church Continues to Buy Farmland in 2023- Own Over $2 Billion Nationwide

Drought Monitor Numbers Continue Improvement Across Oklahoma as 2023 Ends

As we wind up 2023- there is zero amount of extreme or exceptional drought to be found in Oklahoma.


Severe drought now stands at 3.08 percent of the state versus 4.49% a week ago and at 80.92 percent at the end of 2022.


Moderate drought 21.64% this week- versus 26.15% last week and 89.73% in the last report of 2022.


Abnormally dry conditions are now found in less than half of the state- at 46.38% versus 61.81% of the state last week and 98.18% of the state one year ago.


To view the latest Oklahoma drought map, CLICK HERE.


Jump to our story on our website to check out the surrounding states as well as the national drought outlook as wrap up the reports for 2023.


Read Drought Monitor Reports from surrounding states as well as the National Outlook

Sponsor Spotlight



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



OCA Year-in-Review with Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey

Earlier here in December-I talked with the Executive Vice President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, Michael Kelsey, as Kelsey gives a year in review for OCA and talks about what is coming up for 2024.


Overall, Kelsey said 2023 has been a year of challenges and opportunities. In all of his years serving the cattle industry, Kelsey said 2023 has been the most unique with the mix of drought, declining cow numbers, government regulations, attacks from animal rights groups, and more.


Kelsey said he is proud of OCA members for being open to new innovations in a changing industry.

“We have a lot of members who have changed their marketing to new methods,” Kelsey said. “What I mean by newer is newer to them. Communicating more actively with their marketer…”


Kelsey also applauded OCA members for continually preparing their cattle better for the market.


“It is almost to the point where we knew this was coming,” Kelsey said. “It is not so much as a premium market anymore; It is a discounted market. There are fewer and fewer cattle that are getting discounted because people are doing a better job of preparing their cattle.”


We also talked about 2024- and you can read Michael's comments and listen to our conversation by clicking on the Blue Button below.

Read More and Listen to Ron and Michael Kelsey talk about 2023 highlights and 2024 hopes

2024 to be Baseline Year for Ranch to Table CAB Program

I had the opportunity in recent days to talk with the Director of Producer Engagement Kara Lee about the Certified Angus Beef Ranch to Table program that was established in 2023- and is expected to gain momentum in 2024. Lee says “We really see the Ranch to Table line extension as a producer engagement effort that allows those producers who are willing to jump through the hoops- accessing grading and going through all that whole process to be able to access Certified Angus Beef branding where it makes sense.”


Angus cattle producers who sell beef directly to consumers now have access to a new program called Ranch to Table, which permits them to use the Certified Angus Beef stamp to market their product. Ranch to Table is a program offered through CAB and was created to allow producers the opportunity to sell premium Angus products to their customers. 


To be eligible for the program, producers must raise cattle with registered Angus genetics, provide proof of Angus bull registrations, have current Beef Quality Assurance certification and provide standard procedures from their meat processors. Additionally, cattle must meet the CAB brand’s live-animal assessment with predominantly solid-black hides.


There's more hoops to jump thru- but already multiple producers are working to make this a part of their marketing strategy- and Lee is hopeful that 2024 will be a year where we start to see significant results of this new way that consumers can buy and enjoy Certified Angus Beef.

Read More and Listen to Ron and Kara Lee talk Ranch to Table on this edition of the Beef Buzz
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For our farmers who have either- always have had cotton on their farms- or those who have more recently have added the fiber crop to their operations- we have a daily report heard on several of our Radio Stations- It's Called Cotton Talk!

Click on the Button below to listen to our most recent report
Click here for our Latest Cotton Talk- Hosted by KC Sheperd




Celebration of Life for Jarold Callahan Happening Today- It Will Be Live Streamed

The Celebration of Life for Jarold Callahan will be held on Friday, December 29, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, at 1700 Northeast 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73111.


The service at 10 AM Central will be live streamed on the Live Auctions.TV platform- the link to utilize can be found by Clicking Here.



In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Jarold Callahan Memorial Fund, a Lasting Legacy established with Cattlemen's Congress with the designation Callahan Memorial Fund. Contributions can be mailed to: Cattlemen's Congress, Attention: Kass Newell, 21 Land Rush St, Oklahoma City, OK 73107. 

Read the Obituary for Jarold Callahan Here
In Case You Missed It- Here is our conversation with Jarold where he talked about growing up in NE Oklahoma and more

We invite you to listen to us on great radio stations across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network weekdays-

if you missed this morning's Farm News - or you are in an area where you can't hear it- click below for this morning's Farm news from Ron Hays and KC Sheperd on RON.
Listen to our latest Farm and Ranch News for Friday with Ron Hays
Subscribe To the Daily Email

Sponsor Spotlight



Union Mutual of Oklahoma Turns 85 Years Old


Back in July of 1938 when Union Mutual of Oklahoma was founded, FDR was in the White House, EW Marland was in the Governor’s Mansion, and the Soldiers of Gettysburg were gathering for a reunion on the old battlefield. Union Mutual was born out of necessity in Oklahoma and serves as one of the oldest rural insurance carriers serving only the people of Oklahoma. 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



USMEF Works to Increase Volume and Value of U.S. Beef, Pork and Lamb Exports

Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Intern, Maci Carter, visited a few weeks back with the Chairman of the 2023 U.S. Meat Export Federation 2024 Executive Committee, Randy Spronk, about how USMEF works to promote animal proteins around the globe.


Randy Spronk, a pork and grain producer from Edgerton, Minn., is the new USMEF chair.


A past president of National Pork Producers Council and Minnesota Pork Producers Association, Spronk is president and managing partner for Spronk Brothers Holding, which includes operations that produce pork and feedgrains along with feed milling and delivery. Spronk is also part of a group of producers that purchased a former Hormel plant and is marketing pork products under the label of Wholestone Foods.


“We go into international countries, and we market U.S protein- beef, pork, and lamb,” Spronk said. “It is a really unique cooperation among many different sectors of agriculture that come together to promote beef pork and lamb worldwide.”


Looking into the current U.S. meat market, Spronk said there are headwinds, and there are positives.


“From a pork standpoint, we are at record levels at volume and value,” Spronk said.


As the beef cow herd in the U.S. has declined and there is less product to export, Spronk said prices have gone up.



“The exports of beef, pork, and lamb add a lot of value back to U.S. agriculture,” Spronk said.


Click Here To Read and Listen to Maci and Randy Spronk talk US Meat Exports

Former USDA Ag Secretary Ann Veneman Looks Back on the Cow that Stole Christmas

Our Latest Ag Perspective’s Podcast features a conversation that I had with former USDA Secretary of Ag Ann Veneman had about the first case of BSE that was found in the US in December 2003. The 20th Anniversary of that animal health event was this past weekend.


In May 2003, the first North American case of BSE was reported in Alberta, Canada, sending shockwaves through the highly integrated North American beef supply chain. The United States, along with many other countries around the world, immediately closed its border to Canadian beef and cattle.


Despite the import bans, in late December 2003, APHIS confirmed the first U.S. case of BSE in a dairy cow that had been imported from Canada to Washington State. The ‘cow that stole Christmas,’ as then Veterinary Services Deputy Administrator Dr. W. Ron DeHaven put it, sent the agency into full-on emergency mode. Holiday plans were canceled, and hundreds of APHIS employees were mobilized to determine the source of the disease, ensure that no animals from the affected herd had entered the food supply, and—along with other USDA agencies and the Food and Drug Administration—implement new prevention and surveillance measures.


Secretary Veneman and I talk about those days twenty years ago from the USDA and Bush Administration perspective.


Click here to jump to hear Ron and Secretary Ann Veneman go back 20 years and relive some of the key moments as the US Cattle Industry Dealt with BSE

LDS Church Continues to Buy Farmland in 2023- Own Over $2 Billion Nationwide

The LDS Church (often referred to as the Mormon church) has sparked some backlash from local farmers after snapping up about 370,000 acres of prime ranch land in Nebraska. The Utah-based religious organization now owns at least $2 billion worth of agricultural terrain across the country. It now owns an estimated $134 million worth of agricultural land in Nebraska and is on track to surpass CNN founder Ted Turner as the single largest landowner in the country.


Nebraska Farmers Union President John Hansen told news outlets in recent days that the land grab was artificially driving up land prices and forcing out local farmers. “It’s not fair competition when folks bring in that much outside money and bid against local farmers and ranchers,” Hansen says. “They’ll become the number one landowner in the state if they continue this buying spree at the current rate.”


The church is the largest landowner in Florida after buying almost 383,000 acres of timberland in that state's panhandle. The 315,000-acre Deseret Ranches, bought in the 1950s, is home to orange groves and cattle. Deseret is located just south of Orlando.


Of course- they have owned land in Osage County for decades. In 1989, the church paid about $14 million for 70,000 acres of ranchland in Oklahoma and Kansas, where its Sooner Land and Livestock Co. raises beef.

Let's Check The Markets!
OKC West is our Market Links Sponsor- they sell cattle three days a week- Cows on Mondays, Stockers on Tuesday and Feeders on Wednesday- Call 405-262-8800 to learn more.
Today's First Look:
Ron on RON Markets as heard on K101  
mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
Hear Today's First Look

Wholesale Boxed Beef Prices were higher- Choice Beef was down 20 cents and Select Beef was down $1.08 on Thursday, December 28, 2023.


Click on the Button below for the latest report from USDA Market News

Boxed Beef Report for Thursday, December 28, 2023

Weekly Cattle Auction Reports


The buttons below allow you to check out the weekly Cattle Auctions in the region that we post on our website and here in our daily email update.


These are the final sales for these markets- all will be returning shortly after the start of 2024.



Oklahoma National Stockyards Market Report from 12/18/2023
Tulsa Stockyards for Monday December 18, 2023
Joplin Regional Stockyards Market from Monday 12/18/2023
Oklahoma National Stockyards Cows and Bulls Sold Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Joplin Replacement Sale- Over 3,000 Head at Standing Room Only Sale- 12/20/2023
OKC West in El Reno Market Report from 12/19 and 12/20/2023
Woodward Livestock Market from Thursday 12/21/2023
Okla Cash Grain:  
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture- The report available after the close of the Futures Trade for that day.
Read Cash Grain Markets Across Oklahoma from Thursday, December 28, 2023
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network - analyzing the Futures Markets for that trading day- as reported by KC Sheperd.
Click to Listen to Our Weekday Wrap with KC
Slaughter Cattle Recap: 
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by the USDA Market News
Read Report
TCFA Feedlot Recap:  
Finally, here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
Read Report
Our Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
 
Ron Hays, Senior Farm/Ranch Broadcaster and Editor
 
KC Sheperd, Farm Director and Editor

Dave Lanning, Markets and Production

Reagan Calk, Farm News and Email Editor

Pam Arterburn, Calendar and Template Manager

Rural Oklahoma is full of some of the greatest success stories throughout the entire state and is a big reason why Oklahoma is on track to become a top 10 state. 


The Road to Rural Prosperity dives into these stories, bringing you stories covering rural life, agriculture, energy, healthcare, tourism, and politics affecting rural America. 


The Road to Rural Prosperity is here to tell stories about rural America, for rural America.

Cattle Industry Leader Bob Drake sits down and talks with Ron Hays about his lifetime of service in the cattle business. Drake has served as the President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, the last President of the old National Cattlemen's Association and Vice President of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau.


He loves politics and being a change agent for the cattle producer back up at the fork of the creek. Drake had a front row seat as the Beef Checkoff was approved by cattle producers and he believes it's way past time to find a way to get a second dollar at the national level.


Search for Road to Rural Prosperity and subscribe on your favorite Podcast platform.


To hear this podcast, you can click here or tap below:

Listen to Episode 86 with Ron Hays talking with one of the legends in the Beef Cattle Business- Bob Drake of Davis, Oklahoma
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Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, Oklahoma Farm BureauOklahoma Ag Mediation ProgramGreat Plains KubotaStillwater Milling CompanyNational Livestock Credit CorporationOklahoma Beef CouncilOklahoma AgCredit, Union Mutual Insurance, Oklahoma Pork Council, the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association, and  KIS Futures for their support of our daily Farm News Update.


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We invite you to check out our website at the link below too that includes an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.

Head to Our Website OklahomaFarmReport.Com
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Tim West
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KC Sheperd
Farm Director
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network

405-443-5717

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Ron Hays
Senior Farm/Ranch Broadcaster
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network

405.473.6144
Email Ron