It’s become a tradition for the first Sunday of the State Fair of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City- we are talking about the DairyMAX Cow to Cone Homemade Ice Cream Contest that was held in the Creative Arts Building at the 2024 State Fair of Oklahoma. Yours truly has participated as a judge most of the years the contest has been held since 2010.

The judges sorted through the three categories with a Vanilla Bean recipe winning first in the Vanilla category, a Peach Ice Cream winning in the Fruit Category and a delicious Caramel Apple Pecan Ice Cream grabbing all the first place votes in the Mixed Category

After the judges had rolled through the entries- the public was invited to pay a small fee and have the chance to sample all of the entries and vote for People’s Choice. The winning entry and taking the People’s Choice Purple ribbon was the top Vanilla entry- entered by Cammi Branch.

After the contest- Hays spent a few moments with third generation dairy farmer Lance Brown of Blanchard (pictured above)- one of the five judges. He and his family milk 250 cows twice a day and are the true definition of a family farm. He says that its not easy but that by growing their own feed and watching costs- they are making it.

Brown’s wife Jamie has embraced the farm life- but did not grow up on a farm. She has taken on the job of raising four kids and telling her story on YouTube and other social media channels- where she is known as MrsMilkman. Check out her YouTube Channel by clicking here. Jamie has some great videos featuring REAL Life on a dairy farm!

The vision of the Oklahoma Beef Council is to be a positive difference for Oklahoma's farming and ranching families and the greater beef community, and its mission is to enhance beef demand by strengthening consumer trust and exceeding consumer expectations. 

To learn more, visit www.oklabeef.org. Also, don't forget to like its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oklabeef for stories on Oklahoma's ranching families and great beef recipes. 

And Check out this video below that helps you learn more about the Beef Checkoff- .

We are know that our state climatologist Gary McManus has a "different" kind of sense of humor- but when it comes to hot dry conditions like we are dealing with- sometimes you just need someone to try to lighten the mood. (thus the picture above)

It’s been a while since we’ve seen much meaningful moisture across the state. According to State Climatologist Gary McManus, we just haven’t had many showers lately. “The dryness we saw over the summer has accelerated during September to go along with plenty of heat. You look over that last 30 days, which stretches into the second half of August, and you see lots of forlorn rain totals.”

McManus said these numbers will keep going up by the day, but rainfall could be a possibility, “Relief is on the way!” I keep telling you that, but the rainfall keeps getting pushed to the latter parts of the 7-day forecast, which makes it darned near the fantasy-cast territory. Now we’re looking at a dimmed rainfall forecast through the weekend, with our hopes switching to just after that period.”

Dr. Glynn Tonsor Sees Lots of Red Ink Ahead for Feedlot Closeouts

In this edition of the Beef Buzz, we are featuring comments from Kansas State’s Dr. Glynn Tonsor. Dr. Tonsor explains the feedlot closeouts that are ahead as well as recap domestic beef demand from the latest USDA data.

Tonsor has been saying for awhile that feedlot profitability was going to be a problem for many months ahead- and this week- he has the latest figures here in September that show we have hit red ink and will likely stay there through next April.

Back in July of this year- closeouts suggested a net return for slaughter steers in Kansas feedlots averaged $73.43 per head while slaughter heifers had a positive net return of $86.6 per head.

Fast forward to the August numbers which are the latest available and just released in that September report we referenced above- and it shows a negative $17.63 for steers and a negative $21.16 for heifers as the net return for August in Kansas feedlots.

The projections for September of this year through April of 2025 is solid red- with the peak in red ink expected to come in January 2025 when steers are expected to have a negative net return of $326.57 and heifers $286.91. The next chance for a net return that is positive comes in May 2025- $40.12 for steers and $31.46 for heifers.

Remember- Dr. Tonsor is doing this work based on Kansas feedlots- but red ink does not stop at the state line. What he is seeing in this segment of the cattle business will be happening in feedlots across the southern plains and the rest of the US.

Zach Bosle, the CEO of Farm Athletes, has launched Tractor Tuesday, an initiative that offers Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals to student-athletes from farm or ranch backgrounds. Farm Athletes is dedicated to supporting NCAA college athletes from farm and ranch backgrounds. It aims to empower these hardworking student-athletes to excel both on the field and in the classroom while honoring their agricultural roots, with no specific GPA or sports requirements.

Bosle also discussed the challenges walk-on athletes face and the potential for female athletes to excel in their respective sports. Additionally, he announced the launch of a new online auction platform, TractorTuesday.com, which is set to launch officially this week. “So Farm Athletes is an NIL initiative under our new startup company called Tractor Tuesday. What we’re trying to accomplish with the farm athletes initiative is any farm or ranch student-athlete that’s participating at the NCAA level, we want you to help represent our brand, tractor Tuesday, and we’re offering nil deals to these great student-athletes all over the country.”

The next steps include inviting student athletes to register at farm.tractortuesday.com if they are interested in becoming a Farm Athlete brand ambassador. “So as long as they’re actively on a roster, they’re participating, and they come from a farm or ranch background, as far as we’re concerned at Tractor Tuesday, they are eligible to be a part of being a brand ambassador.”

So far No Oklahoma Kids have been added to the Farm Athletes program, but Bosle said he knows Oklahoma has some good ones, “We’re hoping we can get some great kids down in Oklahoma. And I know from my personal experience that a lot of those boys and girls, when they’re in high school, are some of the meanest, best, and most dedicated down in Oklahoma. So we really would love them to be a part of it.”

Transitioning your ranchland from a bermudagrass monoculture to more diverse native species is not a neat process. It involves embracing and managing the messiness that comes with change.

For ranchers focused on profit, animal health, soil health and wildlife, a shift from introduced grasses to more diverse native plants is essential to achieving these goals. 

Mike Porter, senior regenerative ranching advisor at Noble Research Institute, explains that by working with nature rather than against it, ranchers can create more sustainable and resilient pasture systems. 

The hallmark of good ranch management commonly has been perceived as well-manicured, monoculture pastures. These pastures, often dominated by bermudagrass, are kept looking pristine through regular fertilization, weed control and haying, mowing or grazing. However, this conventional approach comes with high costs and significant negative environmental impacts. 

“Many ranchers now recognizethe limitations of this system andthe need for a different approach,” Porter explains.

Three online goodies that we have to share with you this morning-

First- the folks from Cattle Fax have a webinar (Free!) set for this evening at 6:30 PM Central time.

CattleFax analysts will discuss a variety of topics in the one-hour session, including:

–In depth analysis and overview of the feedstuff markets

–Cattle market outlook for the remainder of 2024 and early 2025

–Supply expectations for the cattle and beef industry and competing proteins

Details- including a link to register can be had by clicking here

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Oklahoma Secretary of Ag Blayne Arthur is a busy lady- and when she isn't flying around the country as the President of the National Associations of State Departments of Ag- or at a OSU Regents Board Meeting etc etc- she loves investing into the lives of young people.

She has helped host a Podcast just released in the series Young Ag Achievers as she talks with Taylor Kelner of Oklahoma State Ferguson College of Agriculture and Kaylee Junghanns of Medford Oklahoma FFA

We have details- click here to check out this podcast with Blayne and Lee Benson from ODAFF

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FINALLY- Oklahoma State University Row Crop Pathologist Dr. Maira Duffeck talks with OSU’s Red Dirt Agronomy Podcast Host Dave Deken about the significant effects of weather on crop health and management decisions.

Dr. Duffeck said that the beginning of the season was interesting due to increased rainfall and humidity. As the season progressed, however, temperatures have increased and soil moisture has decreased rapidly. A common saying among her peers is that when conditions are favorable for the development of the crop, they are also favorable for the development of their diseases, and the latter part of the season hasn’t been favorable for either.

You want the dirt from Dave and Maira??? Click here and we get you hooked up!

More Stories Are Up on Our Website to Check Out- Bookmark OklahomaFarmReport.Com to Stay Up to Date!!!!!!