Game On! The 2024 Oklahoma Legislative Session is underway with the State of the State Address given by Governor Kevin Stitt.

In listening to the Governor- there was not a lot for the agricultural community to hang their hat on. Non Doc reports "In a wide-ranging speech that repeatedly emphasized Christian principles, getting “government out of the way” and business recruitment goals, Gov. Kevin Stitt kicked off Oklahoma’s 2024 regular legislative session with a call for “flat budgets across state government” and a pledge to “sign any tax cut that comes to my desk.”

“To be clear, I’m not advocating for cutting core services. What I am advocating for is a sustainable amount of growth where we are funding needs not wants,” Stitt said.

There were a few things that jumped out at me:

The income tax cut talk has the Governor and the House angling for a way to get Senator Leader Greg Treat on board. The Governor dreams of a zero personal income tax rate down the road and Speaker Charles McCall and the House agree a small tax cut is needed. But for Senator Treat- not so much.

The Governor loves Charter Schools- sees the need for consolidation for some of our colleges and Universities(no specifics) and did NOT mention Career Tech when he was talking workforce development skills needing to be taught.

He did tip his hat to the efforts of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics for getting a lot of the illegal grow operations in mostly rural Oklahoma shut down- saying the numbers of medical marijuana grow licenses are down over 70 percent.

Tribal leaders did not seem impressed with Governor Stitt's discussion of the impact of the Supreme Court McGirt case- and his ideas of how to work with them going forward. That remains a massive challenge for the remaining years as Governor. 



The Oklahoma Agriculture Mediation Program knows this is a hard time for farmers and ranchers. We want you to know we are still open, and we are still here for you. The Ag Mediation program is a free service that provides mediation to agriculture producers who may need help with ag-related disputes.

At Oklahoma Ag Mediation, we have been helping people in agriculture resolve conflicts since 1987. We know firsthand about working together to resolve conflicts, so you don’t have to go through the court systems. Let our professional mediators help you. Mediation is allowed for lease issues, farmer/neighbor disputes, family farm transitions, and more. These services are available at no cost for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers in all 77 counties. For more information, you can go to ok.gov/mediation, or give us a call at 800 248 5465.



At the 2024 CattleCon held in Orlando, Florida, I had the chance to talk with the President and CEO of CattleFax, Randy Blach, about the USDA Cattle Inventory Report released on January 31, 2024.

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

Blach said he didn’t see too many surprises in the latest Cattle Inventory Report, as it lined up well with his expectations.

“We haven’t been able to really see nationwide heifer expansion or retention any time through 2023, so we weren’t surprised by the smaller numbers the USDA presented through the industry,” Blach said.

Hopefully, Blach said, the industry will start to see heifer retention soon, along with a slow-down in cow harvest levels. While drought was the main factor contributing to cow herd liquidation, Blach said labor, economy, and ranchers’ age are also at play.

U.S. Cattle Inventory Reaches 73 Year Low

Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, offers his economic analysis of the beef cattle industry as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner,” published electronically by Dr. Peel and Mark Johnson. Today, Dr. Peel talks about the U.S. cattle inventory.

Not many ranchers active today will remember the last time the U.S. cattle industry was this small. On January 1, 2024, the All Cattle and Calves inventory was 87.15 million head, the smallest total inventory since 1951. The All Cattle and Calves inventory is 1.9 percent smaller year over year and is the fifth consecutive year of declining cattle inventories, a total decrease of 7.65 million head or 8.1 percent since the most recent peak in 2019. The 2023 calf crop was 33.6 million head, down 2.5 percent year over year and the smallest calf crop since 2014.

The inventory of beef replacement heifers on January 1, 2024 was 4.86 million head, down 1.4 percent year over year. However, the 2023 beef replacement heifer inventory was revised down by 4.5 percent from the initial value reported one year ago. Thus, the 2024 inventory of beef replacement heifers is down 11.4 percent from the 2022 inventory and is the smallest beef replacement heifer total since 1950.  Since 2001, USDA has provided the portion of beef replacement heifers that are expected to calve in the coming year. The current inventory of these bred beef heifers is 3.05 million head, the smallest in the data back to 2001.

Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, today said the time to cut the state portion of the grocery tax is now. 

Pro Tem Treat’s Senate Bill 1283, filed in December, would eliminate the state’s portion of the grocery tax. According to recent data average Oklahomans spend nearly $300 per trip to the grocery store, putting the state in the top 10 in the nation for highest grocery bill per week. 

“Eliminating the grocery tax would provide Oklahomans immediate relief and savings they would see every time they go to the grocery store,” Pro Tem Treat said. “I have long been an advocate of eliminating the state portion of the grocery tax, and it’s why I have filed another bill this year to get rid of it. I hope this session we can get it done to benefit all Oklahoma families.” 

According to estimates, eliminating the grocery tax would save average Oklahomans 5.5 times more money than a 0.25% income tax cut. 

The data indicates that cutting the state portion of the grocery tax, depending on individual household spending, would save Oklahomans around $700 per year, while a 0.25% income tax cut would save most Oklahomans around $110 at the end of every year after they file their taxes. 

SPECIAL EDITION Lankford Letter – Securing Our Southern Border

Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors:

It is time to close the wide open southern border now. 

From the first week they came into office, the Biden Administration invited the world to cross our border, and the world came—not just from Mexico, Guatemala, or El Salvador, but from China, Russia, Mauritania, Iran, Syria, Pakistan, and more. There is no question that President Biden has failed to use all the authorities at his disposal to secure our porous border. But it is also true that our border security laws are weak and out of date. 

No matter who is in the White House, we need laws in place that will require enforcement and deportation. We cannot allow the border to stay open now or for any president in the future. 

In the last three years, there have been more illegal border crossings at our southern border than the previous 12 years combined. Last September was the highest number of illegal crossings of any September. October was the highest number of illegal crossings of any October. November was the highest number of illegal crossings of any November. And December was not only the highest number of illegal crossings of any December, it had the highest single day of illegal crossings (over 12,000).

Only seven days in the past four months have had fewer than 5,000 people crossing illegally. 

The Oklahoma Pecan Management Program offered through Oklahoma State University Extension will host a free pecan workshop on Feb. 22 to help growers with pest management. The event will also offer producers five continuing education units for a private pesticide applicator license.

Who:

Pecan growers, OSU Extension specialists and county educators

What:

One-day workshop covering new pest management options, current and best practices for pest control, and opportunities to receive continuing education units for a private pesticide applicator license.

Program highlights and presenters include:

• Partnership for success: Opportunities for grower-academia partnerships in managing emerging pecan disease frontiers, Mustafa Jibrin, OSU assistant professor
• Opportunities and challenges for microbial biopesticides in pecan weevil control, Kelly Seuhs, OSU associate Extension specialist
• View the story to read more.

BONUS Pic of Cows Per Capita Across the USA

This pic was developed by John Newton, who is the Economist for the ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee- John Boozman of Arkansas.

Oklahoma is one of nine states with more cows than people. Our state has 116 cows per 100 people.