September exports of U.S. pork and beef were higher year-over-year, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), with pork exports well-positioned to set annual volume and value records in 2024.

On the beef export side- exports of U.S. beef totaled 103,980 mt in September, up 5% year-over-year, while export value climbed 6% to $843.8 million. January-September exports increased 5% in value to $7.82 billion, despite volume falling 2% to 960,814 mt.

With the exception of China/Hong Kong, September beef exports trended higher than a year ago in all major Asian markets, while demand remained strong in Mexico and shipments to Central America were the largest in 18 months.

CEO of the of the USMEF Dan Halstrom says “The tourism rebound in Asia has certainly provided momentum for U.S. beef, especially in Japan, Taiwan and Korea. “We also saw impressive growth in the Philippines and Indonesia, which are markets where we see a lot of untapped growth potential.”

Dating back to 1891, Stillwater Milling Company has been supplying ranchers with the highest quality feeds made from the highest quality ingredients. Their full line of A & M Feeds can be delivered direct to your farm, found at their Agri-Center stores in Stillwater, Davis, Claremore and Perry or at more than 125 dealers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Texas. We appreciate Stillwater Milling Company’s long time support of the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and we encourage you to click here to learn more about their products and services.

On the sidelines of the American Angus Convention in Ft. Worth, Texas, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Nevil Speer, a beef industry consultant and influential columnist. Yesterday, they covered several topics from herd rebuilding to the positive side of extended droughts. Today, they are discussing the heightened quality of modern beef.

“It is just amazing what has happened over the last ten years,” Speer said. “That is what causes the return of the customer. We have more upper two-thirds choice, more prime; we all have learned to like marbling. It has really made a difference in terms of consumer acceptance and that is what gives us pricing power and drives dollars.”

He emphasized how every dollar in the beef industry comes from the consumer, so the product produced must invoke demand from consumers.

“One thing we have to remember is that there is more equity at risk in this business than ever,” he stated. “This is a big dollar business, and we need to keep that in mind.”

National ACT Professional Development Conference Headed to Stillwater January 16-19th

The Oklahoma State Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) Club is set to host the National ACT Professional Development Conference (PDC) on January 16-19, 2025. This premier event is held annually for agricultural communications students from across the nation. Farm Director KC Sheperd talked to our own Maci Carter who is president of Oklahoma State ACT, about the event.

“Each university usually has their own chapter,” Carter explained. “We have about a hundred due-paying members at Oklahoma State. We threw our names in the hat and received the honor of hosting PDC this year.”

PDC is a three-day conference, providing a platform for students to immerse themselves in a variety of opportunities aimed at advancing their professional and personal growth in the agricultural communications industry.

“Students will get the opportunity to talk with industry professionals, build skills, and network,” Carter said.

Multiple National Ag Groups published public statements regarding President-Elect Donald Trump's decisive victory- which will make him the 47th President of the US when he takes office in January.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall spoke for that organization and NAWG President Keeff Felty also congratulated Trump on his success.

In the case of Oklahoma wheat farmer Keeff Felty- he offered this statement on behalf of the National Association of Wheat Growers:

“Congratulations to President-elect Trump and the incoming members of the 119th Congress. American agriculture faces many challenges, and we look forward to working with the House and Senate leadership and the new Senate Agriculture Committee Chair and Ranking Member in a bipartisan manner to support our farmers.”

“However, there is work yet to be done this year. Wheat growers are seeking action during the lame duck to enact a farm bill and economic assistance by the end of the year that supports growers as we continue to face increased input costs, depressed prices, and weather-related disasters. It is critical that we continue to advance those policy initiatives immediately and work with everyone in the 119th Congress to foster public policy initiatives that help our farmers and rural communities thrive.”

President Elect Trump was also congratulated by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council through their President Tim Canterbury.

On today’s Cow-Calf Corner, Scott Clawson, M.S., Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service NE Area Agricultural Economics Specialist writes about examining overhead.

Overheads have been explained in many ways. I like to describe them as all the things that we need to take care of the cattle, that don’t go into the cattle. For example, a bale of hay is not overhead. But all the things it took to get the bale in front of the cow likely is. The tractor, baler, rake, truck, hay bed, repairs, labor, etc. all are a part of our overhead expense. Costs that fall into the overhead category tend to not follow a normal “commodity trend”. More specifically, when we enter drought and hay supplies are already tight, we can expect hay prices to climb. We expect hay prices to stay high until we have a good hay-growing season and adequate supply returns. Most overhead items don’t behave like this. They tend to have a slow but steady increase in cost over time that is corrosive to our profit margins. 

Don’t get me wrong, there is a degree of overhead that is required to care for the cowherd. That will vary among ranches based on goals, labor and resource availability. Minimizing overhead costs is difficult. Just be aware that the decisions made to repair, replace or upgrade these assets will impact our profitability for many years. As the cost of these items that we need to do business with continues to increase, be especially diligent of how we can stretch each dollar a little further. 

National Farm to School Month offers time to reflect on all that schools, childcare providers, agricultural producers, and partners have done to strengthen local and regional food systems and school supply chains. It also offers a time to look ahead to the future.

This year, the Farm to School Program is celebrating with two new resources to help farm to school partners take stock of their recent efforts and plan for and fund the road ahead. These include the results of the 2023 Farm to School Census (Census) and Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Farm to School Grant Request for Applications.

USDA Farm to School Census (Census)

In the fall of 2023, USDA asked all School Food Authorities (SFAs) to answer a comprehensive survey about their use of local food in school meals and the use of nutrition and agricultural education, edible school gardens, and other relevant farm to school activities in child nutrition program settings during the 2022-2023 school year. Farm to school is growing in Oklahoma with more than 870 schools serving local foods in the cafeteria. 

The 2023 Farm to School Census website includes high-level data snapshots of national and state farm to school activities, individual SFA responses, and public-use datasets for further data analysis and exploration. The 2023 Farm to School Census Report also organizes and summarizes data to help give readers a quick overview of the farm to school landscape, the policies and (physical and staffing) infrastructure of farm to school programs, and opportunities for farm to school to grow and evolve.

Do you want to learn more? Please visit the Farm to School Census Partner Resources.