Last fall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that they were moving forward with allowing the nation of Paraguay to send their fresh beef into the U.S. Following this decision, Cattle organizations in the U.S. raised immediate concern along with members of Congress because of the risk of disease outbreak in the U.S. In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with Congressman Frank Lucas about the risks of importing beef from Paraguay.

Lucas said that he and over two dozen members of Congress wrote a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture but have yet to hear a response. The letter, Lucas said demanded that the rule to allow fresh beef from Paraguay be put to a halt until more research is conducted.

“It appears, based on our understanding, that they are using info that is a decade old, almost, that no one physically was in the field down there to verify the results,” Lucas said. “This is just not good science.”

Foot and Mouth disease is an incredibly contagious disease that impacts livestock, Lucas said, and importing fresh beef from Paraguay without taking the necessary precautions puts the entire U.S. at risk of an outbreak.

“We have had a major national focus on eradicating and keeping it (Foot and Mouth disease) out of the country for a century and a half,” Lucas said. “As a matter of fact, there has not been a case of Foot and Mouth in the United States since 1929, which says something about our state departments of agriculture and USDA’s success.”

Lucas said the type of quarantine that would take place if there was a Foot and Mouth outbreak in the United States is unimaginable. 



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Only a day after Attorney General Gentner Drummond told a U.S. House committee how illegal immigration is fueling criminal activity in Oklahoma, members of his office’s Organized Crime Task Force arrested several foreign nationals in connection with the seizure of a significant amount of marijuana allegedly headed for the illegal drug market.

“As I told Congress last week, the border crisis is imperiling public safety in our state,” Drummond said. “It is unconscionable that Oklahomans continue to pay the price for the failure of the Biden Administration to secure the border.”

Task force agents, in collaboration with several law enforcement agencies, executed two search warrants in Muskogee County on Jan. 11 that led to the seizure. Multiple firearms also were discovered in the search, as well as evidence that led agents to a half-million-dollar marijuana “stash house” in Bixby where they discovered signs of drug trafficking. 

Five individuals are facing various criminal charges, including aggravated trafficking, unlawful manufacturing of marijuana, and the possession of firearms in the commission of a felony. Four of those arrested are in the country illegally and listed as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers.

Drummond commended the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and the Bixby Police Department for their help with the investigation.

Oklahoma Forestry Services Reports 2023 Wildfire Numbers

Oklahoma Forestry Services (OFS) closed out 2023 with below-normal wildfire occurrence and acres burned. OFS responded to 536 wildfires burning 47,222 acres.

Compared to the 10-year average of 1,203 fires burning 230,247 acres annually, OFS responded to only 45% of normal fires burning less than 21% of normal acres burned.

“The ongoing drought from 2022 into 2023 resulted in less available wildland fuel on the landscape during the winter and spring months, which is the primary fire season in Oklahoma,” said State Forester and Director of Oklahoma Forestry Services, Mark Goeller. “Abundant rainfall early in the growing season prompted vigorous, early green-up. Additional rainfall through early summer kept live wildland fuel moisture high which kept wildfire occurrence low.”

Additionally, OFS ended the year completing 46 prescribed fires treating 7,946.7 acres. The burning was targeted at achieving multiple objectives with most of the activity focused on both ecological restoration and hazard fuels mitigation.

Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to talk with Aaron Sumrall, the Director of Outreach, Education and Research at Pig Brig Trap Systems, about what these trapping systems have to offer for a variety of operations and properties.

“Big Brig is something that is unique and innovative to the pig trapping world/pig management option world,” Sumrall said.

The Pig Brig trap is a silent, continuous catch system that is tough, easy to transport, and simple to use.

“We don’t require technology, we don’t require staying up all night to watch a gate or to shut a door when the pigs go in,” Sumrall said. “We don’t require data plans or anything of that nature. It is basically a passive catch system that allows an unbelievable ability to remove large numbers of pigs in a short period of time.”

Sumrall said wild pigs impact anyone who eats, wears clothes, or lives in a house. While producers are impacted at the ground level, Sumrall said, because the production of commodities is impacted by wild pigs, the consumer is affected as well.

Another thing to remember is that wild pigs are going to reproduce, Sumrall said, so if they are not being controlled, the population will multiply. Sumrall added that wild pigs directly impact agricultural production in a negative direction.

Congressman Josh Brecheen To Host First Telephone Town Hall of 2024 on January 30th at 7 PM CT

Congressman Josh Brecheen will be hosting a telephone town hall on January 30th at 7:00pm CT.

During the call, Congressman Brecheen will provide an update on some of the most pressing policy issues facing our country, including our more than $34 trillion national debt, and answer live questions from constituents.

Details for participating in the call are below:

Date: Tuesday, January 30th, 2024

Time: 7:00-8:00 p.m. CT

Dial-in Number: 888-480-3675

Constituents should dial 888-480-3675 if they would like to participate in the call. To watch a live stream of the call, constituents can visit our Facebook page here.

CAB Insider: Winter Weather Impacts on Beef Production

Abbreviated slaughter schedules have been prevalent because of last week’s weather burdening packers with power outages and transportation issues. Following two reduced weekly head counts, due to holidays, last week’s estimated 549,000 head total was 17% smaller than the same week a year ago. This week also started below recent normal weekday head counts with just 112,000 head harvested compared to the more typical 125,000 head range.

Although last week’s $173.80/cwt. fed steer price was down $0.70/cwt., the market found decent support as packer needs to fill the supply chain were offset by cattle being pushed back in the harvest schedule.

Live Cattle futures prices have been mounting a comeback in seesaw fashion since the first of the year. The February contract has gained $3.50/cwt. since January 2, but the setbacks have been as frequent as progress.

Boxed beef are reflecting the recent smaller production volume with the Choice cutout up 2% or $5.83/cwt. this Monday versus last Monday. The CAB cutout shows a decline of $2.75/cwt. in the week-to-week average. Yet the decrease follows a week when the CAB price advanced while the Choice cutout trended lower, generating an abnormally wide CAB-Choice price spread of $26.31/cwt. Last week’s opposite relationship between the two was a trailing realignment.

On average across several years, January through the first week of February is typically a lower beef demand period when prices move generally sideways. It’s a time when high-flying middle meat values deflate from December and end meats strengthen a bit as the cheaper roasting items come into focus. Logically, spot market cutout prices may remain more elevated in light of recent supply struggles.

From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting: KC Sheperd Recognized by NAFB for Her Award from OkFB Last Fall

KC Sheperd, director of farm and ranch programming for Radio Oklahoma Ag Network, received the Journalist of the Year award from Oklahoma Farm Bureau during their 82nd Annual Meeting in November 2023.

Sheperd graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University with her bachelor’s degree in English literature in 1999. During her time in undergrad, she interned at a KWEY radio station in Weatherford, Oklahoma, where she fell in love with the broadcasting world. After graduation, she went to work full-time for the radio station where she interned in college.

She worked there for two years before she transitioned to a radio station in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 2003, she moved back to Weatherford to work at KWEY as the program director. Around that time, her former English professor contacted her with a special request.

“My former professor said that my old college wanted me to teach a radio class,” Sheperd said. “However, I had to get my master’s degree to be able to teach at a collegiate level. So, I graduated with my master’s degree in English literature only to teach radio to students.”