At the 2024 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show (CattleCon) held in Orlando, Florida, I had the chance to catch up with the Vice President of Governmental Affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Ethan Lane, about NCBA’s latest policy work and more.

Our coverage from the 2024 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Orlando is being powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

Currently, Lane said one of the biggest issues in Washington, D.C., is the push and pull of an administration that is running an “end game” of four years in office leading up to the next presidential election.



“They do that through putting out regulations that we may or may not like; they do that through new policy proposals and showing aspirations for a second term, and then you have a congress on the other side who is severely limited in their capacity to do much, and you have very tight majorities down to one or two votes for House Republicans and about the same in the Senate,” Lane said. “That spells not a whole lot of real movement or action on a range of topics.”

Today at CattleCon 2024

Today things get busy at the gathering of cattle producers from across the US here at the Orange County Convention Center- I was told by our long time friend Colin Woodall who is the CEO of NCBA that they may end up with close to 7,500 in attendance in Orlando this week.

Today- Cattlemen's College gets underway- and they have changed it this year in that these College sessions are spread out over the next three days- and there are a bunch of them- the opening lunch for Cattlemen's College features Dr. Clay Mathis- head of Animal Science down at Texas A&M.

The first of three General Sessions happens this afternoon- and after that- the massive Trade Show opens for a three day run.

We have a full set of interviews to grab today that we will be sharing with you in the days to come- and that includes reaction this afternoon after USDA releases the Cattle Inventory report which will give us the latest Beef Cow Herd size as we start 2024. OSU's Derrell Peel is going to be here in Orlando and we plan to sit down with him to hash those numbers out.



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Following the conclusion of the annual convention of the U.S Custom Harvesters that took place in Oklahoma City last week, Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to catch up with the president of the group, David Misener, and talk about the highlights from the event and what the U.S. Custom Harvesters are all about.

Misener said the event kicked off with words from Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur. Following Secretary Arthur, Misener said the convention featured an array of impactful speakers, including Congressman Frank Lucas.



“Our membership is everywhere across the U.S., and we also have members in Canada,” Misener said. “I can also say we had some individuals that also showed up from Germany.”

Amarie Bartel of Yukon, Oklahoma Receives National Beef Promotor of the Year Award

Amarie Bartel of Yukon, Oklahoma, was awarded the Beef Promotor of the Year national award by the American CattleWomen at their annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Bartel is the current president-elect of the Oklahoma CattleWomen and serves as the Economic Development Coordinator for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau.

I was able to catch up with Bartel after receiving her award to talk about her journey thus far in advocating for and promoting the beef industry.

Between her family’s involvement in the livestock marketing business and growing up on a cow-calf operation in Cushing, Oklahoma, Bartel said her passion for the beef industry was built on a strong foundation.

“We say that we are in the cattle business, but we are also in the people business,” Bartel said.

When the opportunity to be part of the Oklahoma CattleWomen presented itself, Bartel said the pillars of beef education, legislation, and promotion were conversations she felt called to be a part of.

NCBA Backs FAIR Labels Act to End Deceptive Fake Meat Labeling Practices

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 the cattle market cycle.

The complexity and dynamics of the beef industry can create financial opportunities for cow-calf operations willing to take a business approach to their decision-making process. The cattle cycle, often referred to in this newsletter, is the topic of my article this week. This cycle is repeated time after time and summarized as follows: 

The cattle cycle reflects the impact that supply and demand has on cattle prices. When cow inventory is low the prices of calves and all age and weight categories of cattle will move higher and vice versa. At the onset of 2024, our national cow inventory is the lowest since the early 1960s and prices of calves, yearlings, fed cattle and cull cows are historically high. High profit potential exist for the cow-calf sector in 2024. 

For years, farmers have had to navigate a complex landscape of digital tools to harness the power of their on-farm data. Corteva Agriscience (NYSE: CTVA) and John Deere (NYSE: DE) today announced a partnership to make it easier for farmers to access Corteva’s industry-leading agronomic recommendations through the John Deere Operations Center™. 

This partnership combines the digital and onboard capabilities of John Deere, the global leader in intelligent farm equipment, with the agronomic expertise and analysis of Corteva, the global leader in agricultural solutions. The result is the delivery of precise, customized, agronomic insights to:

• equipment, via John Deere Precision Ag technology;
• Pioneer sales representatives, for providing best-in-class agronomic support; and 
• farmers, for improved productivity and sustainability. 

“We are focused on making it as easy as possible for farmers to unlock even more value through data-driven, scientific recommendations, based on the unique characteristics of their farm. This partnership does exactly that, said Brian Lutz, vice president of agricultural solutions, Corteva. “As a technology company dedicated to putting the best, most innovative tools in the hands of farmers, this partnership, by setting a new standard for the industry, is an exciting next step both for farmers and our companies. We’re pleased to be able to combine Corteva’s cutting-edge science with John Deere’s technology stack to simplify the last mile of execution in the field.”