At the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, spoke with NCBA Chief Veterinarian Dr. Kathy Simmons about the appearance of avian bird flu in dairy cattle in March of 2024. Herds have been affected in Texas, Kansas, and in one herd in Oklahoma.

Coverage from the 2024 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in San Diego is being powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

“With any emerging disease [like avian bird flu], we don’t know exactly what we are dealing with when we first see it,” Simmons said. “It was found by PCR testing in a dairy cattle herd in mid to late lactating cows. It has a strong affinity with the mammary gland. We feel that it was a one-time pass from a wild bird to a dairy cow and it may have been in the United States for some time before we identified it.”

Simmons, along with the NCBA, had several concerns when the virus was found, the most prevalent being the safety of the food supply to consumers. Through a number of milk pasteurization studies, the FDA determined that the virus can’t live in pasteurized milk.

Midwest Farm Shows is proud to produce the two best Farm Shows in the State of Oklahoma annually- the Tulsa Farm Show each December and the Oklahoma City Farm Show each April.

The Tulsa Farm Show is Oklahoma’s premier agricultural and ranching event- and returns to the SageNet Center (Expo Square) December, 6-7-8, 2024.

 

Now is the ideal time to contact the Midwest Farm Show Office at 507-437-7969 and book space at the 2024 Tulsa Farm Show.  To learn more about the Tulsa Farm Show, click here. 

In the small town of Stratford, Oklahoma, Stevie White spoke with Little League Foundation President Michelle “Chelli” Schwagel and Jeff Cosby, the owner of Sugar Sand Farms Peach Orchard about the fast-approaching Stratford Peach Festival. The Little League Foundation has been organizing the festival for the past eight years.

This year, the Stratford Peach Festival will be held on Saturday, July 20 at the Stratford City Park. Schwagel said, “It is always held on the third Saturday in July. We start the morning bright and early with the 5K Run in front of Stratford’s schools. People can still walk up and register from 5:30 a.m. to when it starts at 6:30 a.m.”

While the race is going, organizers will be helping set up the tradeshow in the park, and a free Pancake breakfast will be prepared by members of the Compassion Church, available at 7 a.m. on the south end of the park. “Opening ceremonies are at 9 a.m. and that’s really when things start. The vendors will be open and peach sales begin,” Schwagel said.

Additional activities and attractions during the Peach Festival are a Royalty Pageant, local entertainers throughout the day, Food Trucks, a Car Show, a cornhole tournament, axe throwing, bounce houses, a bloodmobile (from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.), and free parking!

Coming This Weekend- The 72nd Annual OCA Convention

I recently spoke with Executive Vice President of the OCA Michael Kelsey about the upcoming OCA Convention slated for July 19 & 20, in Norman, Oklahoma, at the Embassy Suites Convention Center.

“Legacy is our theme: building our beef legacy. We’ve got a packed line-up of speakers and resources,” Kelsey said. “Our goal is for people to leave with more than what they came with, especially with things that can impact their individual businesses regarding their own legacies.”

Whether a person is a sixth-generation cattle rancher or a newcomer to the beef-producing, ranching family, there will be something there to benefit their business. This includes networking and mentoring opportunities.

Opening general session speakers will be Dean Carlos Risco, of the OSU College of Veterinary Medicate, and Dr. Jayson Lusk, Dean of the OSU College of Agriculture, and how they have been working together to benefit Oklahoma’s Agricultural industries.

Meteorologist Matt Makens will follow with discussions about La Nina, and how various weather patterns will affect agricultural businesses.

OSU's Derrell Peel is expected to draw a packed house when he speaks about the cattle market outlook.

Shane Robinson stepped into his new role as head of the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership on June 1. 

Robinson, a Hollis, Oklahoma, native, grew up in a household of teachers, allowing him to discover a passion for teaching and mentoring. As a youth livestock exhibitor, he found a love for agriculture, which led him to a career path that combined both passions.

“I learned early on that both agriculture and people matter, and they matter significantly,” Robinson said. “We should care deeply about both.”

Robinson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural studies from the Ferguson College of Agriculture and earned a doctorate in agricultural education from the University of Missouri. An OSU faculty member since 2007, he has taught courses in agricultural education and graduate studies.

Oklahoma sheriffs can now pursue grant funding to bolster the services they provide to their counties, thanks to a new grant program administered by the Office of Attorney General Gentner Drummond.

House Bill 2914 created the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office Funding Assistance Grant Program during this year’s legislative session and appropriated $18 million to the fund. Counties can apply for grants from $150,000 to $300,000, depending on their total tangible property valuation.

“This funding will help enhance law enforcement services throughout our state,” Drummond said. “I’m pleased we are able to help sheriff’s offices strengthen their operations on behalf of public safety.”

Ray McNair, executive director of the Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association, said all sheriffs will have the opportunity to boost their maintenance and operations budgets this year.

Zoetis announced today that Synovex® Primer™ is now available for cattle producers who need to increase weight gain in growing beef steers or heifers in the dry lot production phase. The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) approved Synovex Primer earlier this year, along with an updated label indication for Synovex Choice® in the dry lot.

Synovex Primer is a low-dose combination product with 50 mg of trenbolone acetate (TBA) and 7 mg of estradiol benzoate. Research demonstrated that Synovex Primer significantly increased average daily gain at 2.47 lbs./head/day (p = 0.0016) when compared with the sham implanted group at 2.21 lbs./head/day over the course of the 90-day study.1

“The addition of Synovex Primer to our implant portfolio gives producers options in the dry lot space,” said Bryan Bernhard, PhD, nutritionist with Zoetis beef strategic technical services. “From dry lot to pasture to confined feeding operations, the portfolio of Synovex implants allows beef producers to dial-in the dose of TBA over the animal’s lifetime and choose a Synovex implant that matches the available nutrition and performance goals.”

For more information on how the expanded label could fit your operation, please visit with your Zoetis sales representative. You also can visit www.Synovex.com to learn more.

Refer to individual labels for complete directions for use, precautions, and warnings. Reimplant only if and as directed in labeling.

Singers Encouraged to Enter Annual NCBA National Anthem Contest

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is looking for the next singing sensation to open CattleCon 2025 in San Antonio, Texas, February 4-6. The 12th annual NCBA National Anthem Contest, sponsored by Norbrook®, is accepting entries through October 15 at convention.ncba.org.

The contest winner will perform the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the convention’s Opening General Session and will receive round trip airfare to San Antonio, Texas, a hotel room for three nights, complimentary convention registration, plus a pair of boots, jeans and a shirt from Roper or Stetson.

Any member of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American National CattleWomen, Cattlemen’s Beef Board, or family member is eligible to participate in the contest. Previous NCBA National Anthem Contest winners are not eligible. The top four finalists will be chosen by October 21, and videos will be posted to the convention website. Voting will be open to the public from November 1 to November 15 (one vote per person per day), and the winner will be announced November 18.

CattleCon 2025 registration opens on August 19, and a variety of ticket options will be available. For more information and to enter the National Anthem Contest, visit convention.ncba.org.