Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Altus Cotton Producer and Cotton Board Chairman Mark Nichols to talk about the recent National Cotton Council meeting, which was held August 6-8, at The Phoenician Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona.

As Cotton Board Chairman

One issue that the Cotton Board continues to work on is profitability on both the producer’s and the importer’s sides. “There are requests for proposals out right now to do a strategic evaluation of Cotton Incorporated’s procedures to reassure our stakeholders – producers and importers – that they are doing everything they can do to make sure that we are trying to help. We know that we are, but it is good to be able to show that we are doing everything we can,” Nichols said. “The next step is evaluating the cotton board’s communication staff which goes out to the stakeholders to assure them that we are doing everything we can in this tough market situation.”

While these evaluations have been a goal of Nichols’s since he took the Chairman position, he said that it wasn’t easy to get it done as Cotton Incorporated has never before had an evaluation conducted from an outside entity. “It was a challenge for everybody to come together on a path moving forward. We were able to get the process rolling and I will continue to chair the committee that will be in charge of the process.”

He added that his close friend and Cotton Incorporated Chairman James Johnson will serve as Vice Chair of the committee, and the evaluation is projected to be completed within 8 to 9 months.

National Livestock was founded in 1932 in Oklahoma City. National’s Marketing Division offers cattle for sale weekly at the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City. The Finance Division lends money to ranchers across several states for cattle production. The Grazing Division works with producers to place cattle for grazing on wheat or grass pastures. 

One of the newest additions to the National Family is Dakota Moss- and Livestock Risk Services.

National also owns and operates other livestock marketing subsidiaries including Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction in Ada, Oklahoma, OKC West Livestock Market in El Reno, Oklahoma, and the nation’s premier livestock video sale, Superior Livestock Auction. National offers customers many services custom made for today’s producer. To learn more, click here for the website or call the Oklahoma City office at 1-800-310-0220.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Dr. Carlos Risco, the Oklahoma State University Dean of Veterinary Medicine, about the importance of teaching student vets to cultivate positive relationships with their clients in the future and the importance of the research conducted in the OSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

This is the second part of a two-part conversation with Dr. Risco. The first was about OSU rising to the challenge of the current shortage of large animal and rural veterinarians which can be found here.

“One of the things that we emphasize to our students as we train them to go into food-animal practice is that it goes beyond diagnosis and treatment,” Dr. Risco said. “The veterinarian must really be a partner in the management of the operation. So, if we have too many problems calving, what can we do to reduce that number? That is part of the partnership”

According to Dr. Risco, the veterinarian should act as a consultant in improving herd health, suggesting good nutrition practices, and recommending preventative medicines.

Glen Dolezal Honored by Certified Angus Beef with Industry Achievement Award

On the surface, he’s a meat scientist. Others know him as a meat-judging coach. Some call him “the father of instrument grading.” To those who’ve worked most closely with him, Dr. Glen Dolezal is much more. The hard-nosed, fierce competitor and brilliant researcher, with a knack for explaining science in layman’s terms, is a trusted counselor and prankster.

He deflects credit to others while letting his own success speak for itself.

And it has. With notable contributions to academia and trade, Dolezal left his mark on the meat science world – its people, the science and implications for all sectors of the beef industry. He was presented the 2024 Certified Angus Beef (CAB) Industry Achievement Award at Feeding Quality Forum August 20 in Dodge City, Kansas.

The 2024 Pro Farmer Crop Tour has completed three days on their east and west routes- and the "I" states have big crop potential for both corn and soybeans. The graphic above is courtesy of fellow farm broadcaster Todd Gleason from Illinois- who says if weather cooperates that farmers in his state will harvest record or close to record crops this season.

Brian Grete with Pro Farmer who heads up the east tour that started over in Ohio and is headed into eastern Iowa today posted this picture on X and says this is what 260 bushel per acre corn looks like. The numbers for both corn and soybeans have both been above year ago levels in Indiana and Illinois- but not Ohio in the east this year.

As for the west tour routes- Karen Braun with Reuters is one of my favorites to follow on X and she says the South Dakota yields were slightly under year ago levels- Nebraska was somewhat above what was seen a year ago (She has been traveling basically the same routes on the tour for ten years) and she writes about western Iowa for corn- "#Pftour24 finds mostly strong #corn potential in western Iowa. Average yields in the west central & SW districts were above average but shy of the 2021 levels, when Iowa posted a record corn yield. But NW yields were the tour's lowest since at least 2016. Too much early rain."

As for soybeans in Western Iowa according to Karen- "#Pftour24 finds solid potential for #soybeans in western Iowa. Excessive spring rains in the northwest limited pod counts to average levels, but pod counts in the west central and southwest districts were notably above the recent tour averages."

Today- the east and west routes meet in Rochester, Minnesota and wrap things up.

A study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) has once again confirmed the value of livestock grazing as a tool to protect western rangelands from devastating wildfire. The Public Lands Council (PLC), which represents ranchers who hold federal grazing permits, hailed this research as more proof of the important role livestock grazing plays in protecting our natural resources.

“In a year where wildfire has run rampant across the West, this study is a great reminder that livestock grazing must be an integral part of land management and wildfire mitigation. We continue to see the scientific community confirm what generations of ranchers have demonstrated: managed livestock grazing is the best, most nimble tool to support biodiversity, protect wildlife habitat, and stabilize ecosystems plagued by fire and invasive species,” said PLC President and Colorado grazing permittee Mark Roeber. “This study should be heeded by media outlets and environmental activists who have wrongly called for the end of livestock grazing because if you don’t have grazing in the West, you don’t have conservation.”

A recent decision by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) laid the track for a potential strike by nearly 10,000 rail workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway (CPKC). The looming strike, approved by the CIRB to start on Aug. 22(TODAY), would severely disrupt U.S.-Canada agricultural trade, leading to commodity and input delivery delays, shortages, commodity price volatility and other rippling impacts on the integrated North American agricultural supply chain.

The potential strike, approved on May 1 by members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, was initially delayed while the CIRB assessed whether it would threaten public health and safety. On Aug. 9, the CIRB ruled that the strike would not pose an immediate danger, citing “reasonable alternatives” like long-haul trucking.

CN and CPKC own 50% and 30% of the 26,800 track miles in Canada, respectively, with the remainder managed by about 40 short-line railroads that provide first-mile/last-mile service to customers not served directly by Class 1 railways. U.S. class 1 railroads including Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and CSX, which all interchange with CN and CPKC at crossings along the border. Both CN and CPKC also operate track in the U.S., while BNSF and CSX have tracks extending into Canada. A potential strike would disrupt rail movements only within Canada on CN and CPKC lines; operations in the U.S. could continue unaffected.

OKFB YF&R Shotgun Shoot raises more than $10,000 for OKFB Foundation for Agriculture

The Oklahoma Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers held their annual shotgun shoot fundraiser Friday, Aug. 9, at Silverleaf Shooting Sports in Guthrie. More than $10,000 was raised for the OKFB Foundation for Agriculture to continue to support Oklahoma agriculture and promote agriculture throughout the state.

More than 47 of teams with a total of 188 shooters participated in the sporting-clay-style tournament across 12 stations that tested their skills with real-world hunting scenarios.

Awards were given to top shooters in youth and open divisions. The winning team in the open division received $100 for each shooter and shotgun shell pouch. The winning junior division team also won $100 for each shooter and a shotgun shell pouch. The top shooters in both divisions received a shotgun shell pouch and $50. The second and third place team received gift cards.

The top team in the junior division was Woodward FFA with Kash Rose earning the top shooter award in the junior division. The open division was won by the Eskridge Chevy team with Dayne Perryman receiving the top shooter award in the top open division.

Proceeds from the event were donated to the OKFB Foundation for Agriculture, which supports Oklahoma’s farming and ranching community through philanthropic efforts while providing educational resources and opportunities to increase awareness and knowledge of Oklahoma agriculture.