Marty Williams of Red Rock is the recipient of the 2023 Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award.

The award honors farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land.

Marty, a farmer from Noble County, was revealed as the award recipient at the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts’ Annual Meeting on February 26. He and his wife Crystal receive $10,000 for being selected.

After Marty and family were honored on stage- he talked with Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays about his operation- his love for conservation and the journey he and Crystal have taken in implementing soil health, cover cropping and more in their Red Rock operation.

Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present the Leopold Conservation Award to private landowners in 27 states. In Oklahoma the award is presented annually with ITC Great Plains, Noble Research Institute, Oklahoma Conservation Commission, Oklahoma Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.



Dating back to 1891, Stillwater Milling Company has been supplying ranchers with the highest quality feeds made from the highest quality ingredients. Their full line of A & M Feeds can be delivered direct to your farm, found at their Agri-Center stores in Stillwater, Davis, Claremore and Perry or at more than 125 dealers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Texas. We appreciate Stillwater Milling Company’s long time support of the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and we encourage you to click here to learn more about their products and services. 



At the 2024 American Farmers and Ranchers Convention in Oklahoma City, Associate Farm Editor Reagan Calk had the chance to visit with Attorney General Gentner Drummond about his latest battles with illegal marijuana grow operations in Oklahoma and the Environmental Protection Agency.

During his remarks at the convention, Drummond stated that the most impactful thing that has happened in Oklahoma since 2018 is the invasion of foreign nationals due to the marijuana industry.

“When we passed medical marijuana, we didn’t put good rules and laws in place,” Drummond said. “What happened is the bad guys figured that out, and they invaded Oklahoma.”



With over 12,000 marijuana grow operations in the state of Oklahoma, Drummond said over 11,000 of those operations were illegal. Drummond added that Chinese syndicated crime organizations and Sinaloa Mexican drug cartels populated these illegal operations.

At the convention, Drummond informed audience members that his “agents of 75 strong work every day to drive out illegal grow operations in the state of Oklahoma.” In fact, Drummond said they have been averaging shutdowns of 15 illegal operations per day for the last 12 months.

Express Spring Bull Sale to Feature Fresh, New Genetics This Friday

As the 2024 spring bull sale at Express Ranches is coming up later this week, I had the chance to talk with the Vice President of Operations at Express Ranches, Kevin Hafner, about the sale. The 2024 sale will be held at the ranch in Yukon, Oklahoma, on Friday, March 1.

When it comes to helping customers decide what bulls will fit best into their individual operations, Hafner said the first step is building relationships with the customers. Hafner said it helps to know a customer’s operation so they can match them with a bull that will help meet their needs and marketing goals.

As each operation is different, Hafner said particular EPDs will be more important to one buyer than the next. Because of this, Hafner said Express Ranch staff spends a significant amount of time working with customers on which livestock will work best for their operation based on the numbers available.

At this year’s sale, there will be 443 Angus bulls available and 53 Hereford bulls.

“We have got some new sires that we are kind of highlighting this year that are new to us,” Hafner said. “One bull that comes to mind is a ‘cover the bases’ bull that we sold a couple of years ago. He is a high carcass bull, really high marbling, but sure above average muscle. He is one that doesn’t look like a high-marbling bull. This bull has got some thickness and stoutness, and we are offering about 25 to 30 of those sons in this sale.”

Wildfires have hit northwestern Oklahoma hard in the last 18 hours- even as we watch one wildfire cross three counties in the Texas Panhandle and reach into Oklahoma(Roger Mills County) by yesterday afternoon late. The SmokeHouse Creek fire has blackened 300,000 acres- has caused several communities to be evacuated- including Canadian, Texas.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma has seen 30,000 acres burn with multiple fires- here's a list from the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and the Oklahoma Forestry Services:

Ellis County Emergency Management reported a large fire that began near Catesby caused multiple fire warnings with multiple evacuations including the towns of Gage and Shattuck. Three structures burned. This fire later merged with the fire near Slapout in Beaver County. (One report shows the Catesby Fire covering 76,000 acres)

Beaver County Emergency Management reported two large fires including one that started near Slapout. Multiple fire warnings were issued and evacuations were ordered for residents on the northern side of Slapout.

Roger Mills County Emergency Management reported the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Texas crossed the state line and moved into the county. A fire warning was issued and Durham and Crawford were evacuated as a result of the fire.

Texas County Emergency Management reported the Road L Fire caused evacuations earlier today. A temporary shelter was set up at the Texas County Emergency Management Office in Guymon. The evacuation order has been lifted and all fire departments were released.

Additional fires were reported in Alfalfa, Dewey, Kay, Logan, Major, Mayes, Okfuskee, Pittsburg, Pottawatomie, Wagoner, and Woods counties.

The hope is that air support can be used today after we get daylight- winds were too high to allow that to happen yesterday across northwest Oklahoma.

(Picture above from Facebook post by Texas Department of Ag)

Selection of Replacement Heifers with OSU’s Mark Johnson

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 selecting replacement heifers.

Low cow herd inventories, historically high calf prices, looking for the first hollow stem, breeding season just a month or two away and the recent USDA Cattle Inventory report shows a tight supply of beef replacement heifers. All leading to the topic of selection criteria for replacement heifers. Selecting the heifers that will have the optimum mature size and milk level to fit our production system, breed quickly, wean a calf annually and have longevity is important. What should we consider when selecting yearling heifers as replacements?

Mark Johnson goes on to break down how to select replacement heifers based on milking ease, growth rate, calving ease and more.

American Farmers & Ranchers/Oklahoma Farmers Union (AFR/OFU) hosted the organization’s 119th annual state convention at the Embassy Suites & Conference Center – Norman Feb. 23-25. The event features educational speakers and entertainment, the annual business meeting of Oklahoma Farmers Union and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company, discussion and adoption of AFR legislative policy and officer elections. This year’s convention theme is “Serving Through the Storm.”

“This year’s convention theme speaks to our history as an organization, always doing what we can to help rural people during troubled times,” said AFR Cooperative President Scott Blubaugh.

This year, member delegates voted on one contested seat on the AFR Board of Directors—District 2 Southwest Independent Director. Two additional seats were up for reelection, with candidates running unopposed—District 1 Northwest Agent Director and District 4 Southeast Agent Director. In addition, the AFR Cooperative held a contested election for its vice president. In the race for District 2 Southwest Independent Director, incumbent Brett Morris, Ninnekah, was defeated by challenger Barry Squires, Alfalfa. Squires will begin his first three-year term.



Squires is a long-time AFR member and has practiced law in rural southwest Oklahoma for 30 years. He is currently the senior partner at Buzbee, Upchurch, Squires & Eastwood in Anadarko, where he focuses on real estate, estate planning and solving rural business challenges. Squires and his family grow irrigated corn and cotton and raise livestock through their cow-calf and stocker operations.

FFA Alumni Give Back to Your Roots and Legacy Grants are Due March 1

Give Back to Your Roots grants, sponsored by Nutrien Ag Solutions, can be used to fund FFA student chapter affiliation fees, plant science-based educational opportunities or to purchase necessary supplies and materials for local agricultural education programs. 2024 Grant deadlines are March 1, June 1 and Sept. 1; each grant application can receive up to $5,000.

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Legacy Grants, sponsored by Tractor Supply Company, can be used to create an FFA Alumni and Supporters Chapter, improve the quality of existing FFA Alumni and Supporters Chapters or to provide more opportunities for partnership between FFA Chapters and Alumni and Supporters Chapters. Preference will be given to new applicants and projects with sustainable and impactful items. The 2024 Grant deadlines are March 1, June 1 and Sept. 1.

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