On Wednesday afternoon, Farm Director KC Sheperd talked with the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation, Mariah Reimer, about the OCF Wildfire Disaster Relief Fund that is open for donations for farmers and ranchers affected by the wildfires plaguing the home state. Established in 2017, the OCF Disaster Relief Fund is a year-round fund set in place to help producers in times of need. (The picture above is from Oklahoma Ag Secretary Blayne Arthur- she says its hard to tell- but those piles of ashes were Round Bales before fire arrived)

Reimer said on the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation website, visitors can click the Wildfire Disaster Relief button on the homepage to access a hub of links for Texas and Oklahoma.

For more ways to help contact Mariah Reimer at Mreimer@okcattlemen.org or 405.308.3030.

View our Disaster Relief Fund page at https://www.oklahomacattlemensfoundation.com/giving.

To visit the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation Wildfire Disaster Relief page, CLICK HERE.

OKFB Foundation

The OKFB Foundation for Agriculture is now accepting donations for wildfire relief efforts. Up to $10,000 of donations will be matched by the foundation, OKFB, and Oklahoma Farm Bureau Insurance. Donate online today through March 15: https://okfb.news/FireRelief24

Make your donation to the OKFB Foundation for Agriculture 2024 Oklahoma Wildfire Relief efforts online via PayPal by March 15.

Donate today to the 2024 Oklahoma Wildfire Relief efforts on PayPal

TSCRA

Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is urging donors to give to the TSCRA Disaster Relief Fund amid widespread wildfires impacting the Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma. Donations will go on to aid victims of the ongoing natural disasters.

For more information, including how to donate and how to apply for funding visit tscra.org/disaster-relief-fund/ or contact TSCRA at 800-242-7820. Additional resources for victims impacted by these wildfires are also available tscra.org/disaster-relief-fund/ . 



Oklahoma AgCredit supports rural Oklahoma with reliable and consistent credit, today and tomorrow. We offer loans for land, livestock, equipment, operating costs and country homes (NMLSR #809962) to farmers, ranchers and rural businesses across 60 counties. As a cooperative, we are owned by the members we serve. Through our Patronage Program, we have returned more than $74 million to our members since 1997.

For more information on our services or to find a location near you, visit our website here.

Wildfires Have Burned a Million Acres Across Texas and Oklahoma Since Monday- Blayne Arthur Provides Update

Oklahoma State Secretary of Ag Blayne Arthur was out in northwest Oklahoma on Wednesday looking at the damage already done in Oklahoma this week (with some fires still burning) on Wednesday night.

We traded messages and she sent us some pics she captured before dark on Wednesday- and we share a few with you now- like the left behind stock trailer that the fire swallowed up (above). Or the calf that tried to get away but could not. (Below)

Secretary Arthur says "Here is some info from our team:

"Aerial mapping of the fires was done Wednesday. Individual fire sizes are as follows:

"Slapout Fire (Beaver County) - 26,048 acres

"Catesby Fire (Ellis County) - 90,570 acres

"Smokehouse Creek (Ellis/Roger Mills County) - 31,590 acres (Note: this fire originated in Texas and burned into Oklahoma late yesterday afternoon. Acres listed reflect only the Oklahoma portion of that incident)

"Oklahoma Forestry Services firefighting resources will return to the incidents this morning to resume control efforts.

"Total of these three fires is 148,208." (These are the largest fires in Oklahoma but several thousand more acres have burned in smaller blazes)

MEANWHILE in Texas- a news release from Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller reports The Smokehouse Creek Fire, one of five active fires scorching the region, has become the state's second largest in history, having burned over 500,000 acres with minimal containment. Additionally, several grain and seed operations have reported total losses." 

Bottom line from both states- over a million acres have burned since Monday (One more pic from Blayne below- a couple of ladies packing lunches at the Gage Fire Department on Wednesday- firefighters gotta eat)

At the 2024 American Farmers and Ranchers Convention in Oklahoma City, Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to visit with State Treasurer Todd Russ about Oklahoma’s January 2024 Investment Report, some initiatives he has been working on while in office, and more.

Regarding the latest investment report, Russ said Oklahoma is looking good and can only get better.

“Oklahoma is in as good of shape as it has ever been in history, and everything is pointing north, and it looks like it is going to continue to be that way for quite a while,” Russ said.

Russ discussed many financial accomplishments he has achieved so far for the state while in office that have resulted in more revenue. When it comes to bringing money into the state, Russ talked about how events like Cattlemen’s Congress play a vital role.

“All the things that we stand for have become quite attractive for much of the nation,” Russ said. “I used to say it was one of the best-kept secrets, and now I say it has gotten out because people are moving into Oklahoma. A lot of attention, a lot of amazing, great things…”

One issue Russ has been tackling while in office is Environmental, Social, and Governance, or ESG. Russ said international banks have begun to put restrictions on entities that do not follow ESG criteria.

Commodity Classic Underway in Houston- USDA's Vilsack and EPA's Regan to Keynote General Session on Friday

United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan will keynote the General Session of the 2024 Commodity Classic in Houston. The General Session is Friday, March 1, 8:30-10:30 a.m. (CST) at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

The 2024 show, entitled “New Frontiers in Agriculture,” will also feature Mike Massimino in the esteemed General Session speaker lineup. Massimino is a former NASA astronaut, New York Times bestselling author, and Columbia University professor, in addition to media and television personality. Retaining a longstanding crowd-pleaser, the session will again include a panel discussion with leaders of the five associations that present Commodity Classic each year: American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Sorghum Producers, and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

Classic is a massive ag event- with lots of educational sessions- a huge trade show and more- underway today through Saturday.

More details on this year's Commodity Classic are available here.

Beef Checkoff Research Shows Positive Headway in Consumers’ Perspective of Tenderness and Eating Experience

I had the chance to talk with the Senior Executive Director of Scientific Affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Dr. Mandy Carr Johnson, about research funded by the Beef Checkoff.

Carr oversees all cattle industry research efforts funded under the Beef Checkoff, including beef safety, the mind of the consumer, and more. Carr said it is key to keep up with what the consumer is thinking when it comes to beef.

“Something we are seeing is that in the last two years, really the elevation of consumers wanting to know more about how cattle are raised and grown for food, and also nutrition,” Carr said. “Consumers are looking at how to have a healthy and well-balanced life, and how does food fit into that and how does beef in particular fit it.”

Carr said there have been shifts in buying patterns, such as using a mobile app for grocery pickup. After COVID-19, Carr said they have also seen some trends level off that should be long-term, such as food service.

“Many of us, during COVID, didn’t have food service restaurants available- they were closed or gradually worked until they could have takeout,” Carr said. “We got tired of cooking. We were excited as consumers to have that opportunity to have a restaurant in the food service, and restaurants are a key component of making beef available to consumers. We are seeing that coming back to where it was pre-COVID, which is a great thing for the industry.”

A new resource developed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and CattleFax helps cattle producers maximize profitability from their culling decisions. “Right Way. Right Time. – A Guide to Cull Cattle Management” is now available at www.ncba.org. 

With effective planning, cull cattle can be a significant source of revenue and should not be overlooked. In essence, cull cattle are market cattle. This new document addresses key problem areas, provides strategies for making timely culling decisions to prioritize animal welfare, and is designed to help producers capture more value through effective management regarding cull cattle.

“Cull animals can contribute significantly to the profitability of the ranch,” said Dr. Trey Patterson, president/CEO of Padlock Ranch Company. “We spend extensive time and money adding replacement cattle to our herd, so it is imperative that we capture good value for cull cattle to offset these expenses.”

For cattle producers across the country, whether beef or dairy, cull cattle are part of doing business. Animals age, they no longer breed back, and their health deteriorates. Incorporating culling decisions into an operation’s best management practices benefits both animal welfare as well as the producer’s bottom line.

The Value of Calving Distribution

On today’s Cow-Calf Corner, Scott Clawson, OSU Cooperative Extension NE Area Agriculture Economics Specialist writes about the value of calving distribution.

Commercial cow-calf producers can face an overwhelming number of records, data, and ratios that promise to boost the bottom line. Hidden in these options is one simple measure that can provide useful information about the cowherd’s performance that we can start tracking today. That measure is our calving distribution. Calving distribution is simply tracking when our calves are born within our calving season.

This measure is useful in three areas.



1. There is a litany of research that emphasizes the improved individual animal performance of calves born early in the calving season. Better weaning weights, stronger feedlot/carcass performance, and improved reproductive efficiency of retained heifers are all well documented research.
2. It helps us identify which females are excelling within our environment and management by settling early in the breeding season.
3. It can help us identify which cows are making the largest annual profit contribution to the ranch. It is common to discuss annual cow cost or cost per cow. This is a bit misleading in the sense that we manage the herd not the individual. As a result, the cows all share an equal part of the annual cost. The cows that calve early in the season will bring in more revenue (via older and generally heavier calves) than the late calving cows that share the same portion of the cost.