On Monday, December 16th, the Oklahoma National Stockyards auctioned a calf for the All American Beef Battalion (AABB). National Livestock and the AABB crew prepared a ribeye lunch for those in attendance. Senior Farm and Ranch Director Ron Hays got the details from Chris Carroll, Finance Division President of the National Livestock Credit Corporation.

The calf was donated by 3C Cattle Feeders and the Clyde Runyan family of Mill Creek, Oklahoma. They have donated a calf for this cause annually or the last 11 years. Runyan was with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam and always considered this a privilege to be able to give back to the troops. Runyan passed away in 2019 and his family continues the legacy of donating the calf in his honor.

Through these auctions, approximately 65,000 troops have been fed the sixteen-ounce steak, corn, hot roll, cheesy potatoes, and dessert or a similar meal, upon their return home from deployment or prior to their deployment.

The calf was sold and resold more than thirty times. “We raised 54,000 dollars here today,” Carroll said. “We are one of the largest fund-raising events that they have. We are happy to help keep their mission going. The veterans who helped cook today for the Beef Battalion are just paying it forward for those that maybe did it for them.”

The Oklahoma Agriculture Mediation Program knows this is a hard time for farmers and ranchers. We want you to know we are still open, and we are still here for you. The Ag Mediation program is a free service that provides mediation to agriculture producers who may need help with ag-related disputes.

At Oklahoma Ag Mediation, we have been helping people in agriculture resolve conflicts since 1987. We know firsthand about working together to resolve conflicts, so you don’t have to go through the court systems. Let our professional mediators help you. Mediation is allowed for lease issues, farmer/neighbor disputes, family farm transitions, and more. These services are available at no cost for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers in all 77 counties. For more information, you can go to ok.gov/mediation, or give us a call at 800 248 5465.

LATE NOTE FROM THE EDITOR- As of 5 AM Tuesday morning- there is still no CR officially released- The Hill reported yesterday afternoon "House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters Monday that the “differences are narrowing” between all sides as they try to hash out the last significant funding deal in the divided Congress." It's still unknown the status of a Farm Bill extension and extra dollars to help shore up the farm economy in the face of low prices and high input costs.

Farm Director KC Sheperd and Mike Sanders, the executive director of the Oklahoma Broadband Office, discussed the significant progress made in broadband investment in Oklahoma.

When Sanders took the job eighteen months ago, he promised to deliver for Oklahoma. Talking to Sheperd, he highlighted that over 500 million dollars in grants have been deployed to connect homes and businesses to high-speed internet, with a major project involving 374 million dollars awarded in January to fund 130 projects in 55 of the 77 counties.

“That was a tremendously successful lift,” Sanders said. “I want to thank our legislature because they had the foresight to hold back some of the money that ARPA provided during the COVID years to help build up broadband access. So, I have to give a lot of kudos to the leadership in the House and Senate and the Governor.”

Although the project was announced in January, the Oklahoma Broadband Office received another infrastructure buildout, also as part of the ARPA program, called the Capital Projects Fund that provided another 159 million dollars.

How IGRs Are Revolutionizing Fly Control for Livestock

At this year’s National Association of Farm Broadcasters Convention, Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Dennis Myer, Director of Central Life Science, to talk about flies. Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays is featuring comments from that conversation in today’s BeefBuzz.

Central Life Science has long been researching economic losses, discomfort, and the spread of disease caused by flies. They also research ways to control the pests.

“We control flies differently than most, in that we don’t use insecticides,” Myer said. “We use IGR or insect growth regulator.”

IGRs affect a part of the insect’s life cycle, usually the larval stage. It prevents the insect from becoming an adult so that it cannot reproduce.

In Mexico, Costco is a leading distributor of U.S. beef and pork cuts – not just to everyday shoppers, but also to businesses. With Costco looking to expand its sales of U.S. red meat to food service clientele in Mexico, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) recently held training seminars aimed at educating Costco sales personnel on the needs of chefs working in Mexico’s restaurant and hospitality sectors. The training sessions were made possible through support from USDA, the Beef Checkoff Program and the National Pork Board.

USMEF Corporate Chef German Navarrete, who is based in Mexico City, explains that the seminars were tailored to each Costco location based on the region’s target audience of chefs and food service professionals. While information was presented on the attributes of U.S. beef and pork cuts, the program also detailed restaurant preparation methods and kitchen equipment, to give Costco personnel a strong knowledge base when approaching these customers.

U.S. pork exports to Mexico are reaching new heights in 2024. Through October, exports totaled nearly 950,000 metric tons, up 6% from last year’s record pace, valued at $2.1 billion (up 11%). Beef exports increased 13% to 193,000 metric tons, while value climbed 15% to $1.12 billion. 

On December 16, 2024, the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA), the Council of Producers and Distributors of Agrotechnology (CPDA), CropLife America (CLA), and The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) released the following joint statement:

“As Congressional leaders deliberate on a year-end stopgap government funding bill, it is critical that any package includes disaster assistance and economic aid for farmers. Farmers are facing severe financial hardships, and they need robust support from this legislation to help ensure the viability of their livelihoods, our rural communities, and our food supply. We urge House and Senate leadership to reach a spending package deal that includes disaster assistance and economic aid for farmers.”

LATE NOTE FROM THE EDITOR- As of 5 AM Tuesday morning- there is still no CR officially released- The Hill reported yesterday afternoon "House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters Monday that the “differences are narrowing” between all sides as they try to hash out the last significant funding deal in the divided Congress." It's still unknown the status of a Farm Bill extension and extra dollars to help shore up the farm economy in the face of low prices and high input costs.

Congressman Frank Lucas released the following statement regarding the Department of Energy’s rescission of the “Delta Plains Corridor” from the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor Designation.

“I am pleased that the Department of Energy is rescinding the ‘Delta Plains Corridor’ as a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor. This action will return eminent domain authority to the state and preserve landowners’ rights in Oklahoma. Throughout my time in Congress, I have fought diligently for the rights of landowners both in Oklahoma and across the country. Today, I am extremely pleased to know that those rights are protected and upheld.”

OSU Turf Team Drives Decades of Innovation

In his 34 years at Oklahoma State University, Dennis Martin, OSU Extension specialist for turfgrass, has served as the bridge between turfgrass scientists and the turfgrass industry.

“Some people think of the university as THE giant county Extension office,” Martin said. “In some ways, it is, and in some ways, it isn’t. As specialists, we like to spend our time on specialty issues that require a higher level of problem-solving. When we have a lot of problem solvers who can take care of general questions, the university and the state’s investment is best used by letting our specialists work on specialty problems.”

Martin stepped into his role as the state Extension specialist in 1990, adding professor to his title in 2004. More than 30 years later, he still finds joy in talking about turf.

“People think of me as being versed only in turfgrass, but as an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, I started in forestry, then rapidly moved into greenhouse production, then to nursery management, then to turf,” Martin said. “In Oklahoma, I think my biggest impact has been working with sod producers, golf course superintendents, and parks and grounds managers.”