At Cattlemen’s Conference Part 2: Blueprint for the Future, I had the chance to visit with Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist, Mark Johnson about this year’s conference and discussions that are taking place. The conference is being held at OSU’s Totusek Arena and will run through midday Thursday. Johnson has been the leader in pulling together this year's event.

“At OSU, we have a history of significant beef cattle conferences,” Johnson said. “A few years ago, we began the idea of having the first one, and last year we found ourselves addressing a variety of topics from ethics in marketing to late-day morbidity in feedlot cattle, to selection for extremes. By the time we were done after two days, we had a really good event and a good crowd, and we decided that we had some pretty important topics left.”

Over the next few days, Johnson said there will be a great set of speakers discussing topics from selection and mating to regenerative ranching and gene editing.

“Our hope is that people will take advantage of what this conference has to offer and leave with more information, the opportunity to dialogue with their peers while they are here the next couple of days, and feel empowered to improve upon what they are doing, and take their beef operation to the next level,” Johnson said.

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.

The Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA) welcomes the release of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act from House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson. One of FACA’s core principles is bipartisanship, and we urge Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member David Scott, as well as Senate Agriculture Committee leadership, to find common ground and finalize a bipartisan farm bill by the end of the year.

In February 2023, FACA released a suite of farm bill recommendations. We applaud the inclusion of the following priorities that will help our industries achieve our climate mitigation potential while preserving and creating new economic opportunities. Some of those include support for the continued growth of the bioeconomy and Updated loan limits to reflect increased costs of production.

We appreciate the chairman’s robust investments in Title II and language prioritizing practices that address methane and nitrous oxide emissions in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. We hope this will lead to a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on supporting voluntary climate-smart practices through other USDA conservation programs as well.

The introduction of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act is an important step toward enacting a farm bill this year, and we commend the chairman for his leadership in moving the process forward. We encourage bipartisan collaboration as this process continues.

NCBA Pleased to See No Livestock Title Included in GT Thompson’s Farm Bill Proposal

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am back talking with Vice President of Governmental Affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Ethan Lane about House Committee on Agriculture Chairman GT Thompson’s 2024 Farm Bill proposal.

The markup of the 2024 Farm Bill is scheduled for today, May 23, 2024- click here for current details as found on the House Ag Committee website.

CLICK HERE to listen to Part One of the conversation with NCBA’s Ethan Lane.

“Our goal with the Farm Bill was never to be too deeply involved in the Farm Bill,” Lane said. “The cattle industry is not like other parts of agriculture. Our producers are pretty independent, and they don’t necessarily want to be so tied to the federal government that their livelihood depends on money coming from the federal government or support programs with strings tied to them.”

While cattle producers are in favor of programs related to conservation and disaster relief, Lane said the industry has not been involved in issues more pertinent to the farming industry such as those present in the Farm Bill. Lane added there will not be a livestock title in the 2024 Farm Bill, as it is unnecessary.

At the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) annual Washington Watch event in Washington, D.C., Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to talk with the President and CEO of the Agricultural Retailers Association, Daren Coppock.

The ARA recently wrapped up their annual Washington, D.C. fly-in, which Coppock said focused heavily on the 2024 Farm Bill.

“In our case, we are trying to get some provisions in the Farm Bill that will allow people that have professional certifications in agronomy, so a certified crop advisor, those kinds of certifications, to be considered as third-party service providers under NRCS programs,” Coppock said. “That would allow them to write conservation plans for growers and to provide the service for a fee, whereas today if they want to do that, they still have to go to NRCS, even after earning that professional certification and jumping through more hoops to be able to do that.”

Coppock said the feedback for this provision has been positive, so when the Farm Bill makes it across the finish line, he is optimistic that it will be included.

More than 17,500 marijuana plants seized in Blaine County bust

Thanks to an investigative tip from the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, agents of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) led a raid May 21 on an illegal marijuana grow west of Watonga that resulted in the confiscation of more than 17,500 untagged marijuana plants and 600 pounds of untraceable, processed marijuana. The seizure was a joint operation of the OAG’s Organized Crime Task Force and the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, with additional assistance from the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) and the Oklahoma City Police Department.

Investigators allege the plants, found in a search of more than 100 hoop houses and other structures in a densely packed area, was headed for the black market.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the bust is emblematic of how the Organized Crime Task Force is partnering with local law enforcement agencies to stamp out the illegal grows that have invaded Oklahoma since the legalization of medical marijuana.

“The drug cartels and crime syndicates are steadily getting the message that Oklahoma will not tolerate their nefarious activities,” he said. “We want them out of our state and out of our lives. Law enforcement will continue to crack down and do what needs to be done to eliminate this pestilence.”

USDA Announces Approval of D-SNAP for Oklahoma Disaster Areas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that low-income Oklahoma residents recovering from severe storms and tornadoes beginning April 25, 2024, could be eligible for a helping hand from the USDA’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP).

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that approximately 1,000 households that may not normally be eligible under regular Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) rules may qualify for D-SNAP – if they meet certain criteria, including the disaster income limits and have qualifying disaster-related expenses.

“USDA is committed to making sure that the Oklahoma residents affected by the severe storms and tornados get the vital assistance they need,” said Secretary Vilsack. “Helping residents of Oklahoma get back on their feet is a top priority, and we will continue working to expedite access to USDA’s nutrition assistance programs.”