The Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend Has Arrived

Thanksgiving is here- and that means many folks gathering with family or perhaps with friends.

It's a day that many will step away from the work schedule to celebrate with family.

Banks and the government offices across this land will be closed on Thursday- as will the stock market and our ag futures. Most businesses are off at least on Thursday- and others are closed longer than that this week.

Most of our cattle auction barns that sell today through Friday are off this week as well.

Friday is a holiday for many- but the ag markets and Wall Street will have a partial day of trade- and of course- it's called Black Friday- when deals are everywhere- of course- some stores have been offering Black Friday deals for several weeks- buyer beware!

Our crew will take Thanksgiving day off when it comes to our reports- they do return on Friday across our network of over 50 radio stations and updates on our website. This email takes a two day break- we will be back on Monday morning with more great farm and ranch news.

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!!!!! And be sure to enjoy some personal Thanksgiving thoughts from both KC and Ron further down in the email.

Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays talked with Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association about the encroachment of the New World Screwworm into southern Mexico as it has marched from Panama in recent months across Central America.

At the end of last week, the Chief Veterinary Officer of Mexico notified the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of a positive detection of New World screwworm (NWS) in Mexico. The NWS was found in a cow in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas, at an inspection checkpoint close to the border with Guatemala.

“There is really nothing ‘New World’ about this,” Kelsey said. “It is the same pest that the cattle industry became very familiar with back in the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. Then we eradicated them in the mid-’60s.”

It cost about $750 million to eradicate the flies in the ‘60s, so that number might translate to a much higher cost in today’s economy if they were to make a comeback.

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:

AARP represents 150,000 members in rural Oklahoma- making them one of the leading groups that represent the non-metro areas of the state – so says State Director Sean Voskuhl. Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays and Voskuhl talked at the 2024 National Association of Farm Broadcasting about Medicare changes planned for 2025.

Voskuhl is excited about being able to limit out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs. In 2025, there will be an annual cap of $2,000 on those out-of-pocket expenses.

Updated benefits for social security have also been announced for 2025. “When you look at rural Oklahoma, a lot of folks may not have access to pensions or 401Ks,” Voskuhl said. “So social security is the main source of retirement income for some folks. The cola increase next year will be 2.5 percent; that’ll be about a $49 per month increase.”

He admitted that it isn’t much but hopes for more good news in 2026.

Denver, Sonoma, Berkeley: How Ballot Initiatives Are Impacting Animal Agriculture

On November 5, several ballot initiatives around the country pertained to animal agriculture, at least three of which were front and center to the Animal Agricultural Alliance (AAA). On today’s BeefBuzz, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays is talking with Hannah Thompson Wieman President and CEO of the AAA about the three major ballot initiatives.

“Unfortunately, there is never a dull moment when it comes to monitoring issues impacting animal agriculture, and that was certainly true this past election season,” Wieman said. “State-level ballot initiatives are nothing new, but now activist groups are taking it a step further and going all the way to a hyper-local level, even to the city level. They see that as a stepping stone to their twenty-year approach plan.”

The City of Denver experienced a processing plant and fur ban ballot initiative from Pro Animal Future. In Sonoma County, California, a ballot initiative was introduced as a factory farm ban, but “factory farm” was defined as a concentrated animal feeding operation, which would have affected roughly twenty farms, including dairies, egg, broiler, and duck producers. The City of Berkeley was presented with a similar ban on factory farms and confined animals that would have affected a horse racing facility.

“All of those measures that we follow originated from animal activist groups,” Wieman detailed. “On the positive side, in Denver, we saw both of those initiatives fail by a pretty healthy margin. Eighty-five percent of voters in Sonoma County opposed that ban on farms of a certain size. While the initiative in Berkeley did pass, because nobody really worked to oppose it. It was more of a symbolic move for them, and they are really heralding that as a victorious sign of what is to come.”

This Thanksgiving feels special this year. It always does, but I’m really trying to take in all the things this year. I only have 7 more Thanksgivings with my girls until they Graduate, so I’m really trying to focus on making memories with them. As they say, the days are long but the years are short. I remember when the girls were little My mantra was “Let me be singing when the evening comes,” because everything was such a struggle, but now that they are growing into their own special little people its been so incredibly rewarding to watch them come into their own. My daily Mantra now is “Oh I will sing...of the goodness of God”

As I reflect back on this year I’m so Grateful for so many opportunities. Londyn and I being asked to sing at the National Association of Farm Broadcasters banquet was so special. Watching my girl light up on stage while saluting our Veterans makes my mom heart smile, then turning to the Vets behind her and saying “Thank you for your service,” made me realize that I’m doing some things right! 

Receiving the Honorary Cattle woman of the year award from the Cattlewomen was surprising and humbling. Cross excelling at Softball, but also excelling at being a human. Volunteering with me to go visit our folks in the nursing home with our therapy dog Tabitha when she could be on her ipad or doing something else. I’m grateful for her giving heart (it comes from her daddy).

I’m thankful for a Happy Marriage. It takes hard work, but I’m go blessed that God gave me my person to do life with. We are healthy, we are happy, and we are blessed. I hope everyone finds special blessings this Holiday season. Thank you for allowing me to be on your radio and thank you for sitting through my terrible Friday farm funnies, I have the best job with the best folks, and for that I am also grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In a surprise move over this past weekend, Texas attorney Brooke Rollins was announced as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Rollins is the president and CEO of the conservative nonprofit America First Policy Institute (AFPI), which was launched in 2021.

“As our next Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke will spearhead the effort to protect American farmers, who are truly the backbone of our country,” Trump said in a statement.

The move came one day after a report from CNN pointed toward former Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) getting the nomination. This was the last major Cabinet post to be filled in the transition to Trump’s second administration, and according to reports from Politico, there was “ongoing fighting” about the position as the week went on.

CNN reported on Saturday that Rollins was an early candidate for the chief of staff role before it went to Susan Wiles — after which Rollins “told the transition team that Agriculture secretary would be another role she would be interested in.” Rollins and Trump discussed the role earlier in the week, CNN sources said.

One of my grandsons, Parker, was determined to share his cup of feed pellets with all of the goats in the pen this past weekend as we were at one of the great Agritourism venues in central Oklahoma- Chester's Party Barn.

This particular goat was "all in" to receive the generous offering from our five year old. He was in "full tongue!"

This time of year makes a lot of us reflect on not just being thankful but also about giving to others. The writer of Proverbs explains it well in Proverbs 11:25- "The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed."

There is a great deal of satisfaction in turning your focus away from yourself and turning it on others- especially those who might need a kind word, a warm coat, a hot meal or a cool drink. God will refresh us when we give generously from the bounty He has given us.

God has blessed many of us with so much- and I would challenge you to be a blessing this holiday season- from now through the Christmas season. Be creative- but be generous!!!!!

God was and is so generous to us- offering his Son that we celebrate in the weeks to come as we observe the Christmas season. It's that gift that allows us to have fellowship with Him. And when God's love is poured out on us- that gives us every reason to care for others in the name of Jesus.

Our family will actually gather on Friday- that will include my beautiful wife Jan, Parker and his brother Peyton- their Mom and Dad- and the rest of our clan (all five of our kids and spouses and most of our grandkids). Our prayer and wish for each of you is for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday- and to know and be thankful for that special gift from God the Father. And we hope you will be outrageously generous, too!!!

Here's Come Additional Stories to Check Out This Weekend