After wrapping up the final day at the American Farm Bureau Convention, held in San Antonio, Texas, Farm Director Ron Hays got to speak with Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Rodd Moesel. The event ended with the Delegate Session and Moesel provided details about the various issues that delegates dealt with including taxes and trade, animal health, and more – plus one surprising issue at the state capitol coming NEXT WEEK as the State Legislative Session begins.

Two big issues on the minds of agriculturalists everywhere are the upcoming expiration of important tax policies and the Trump administration’s views on tariffs and trade deals.

Moesel also mentioned that the EID policy concerning cattle, finalized last November, was an important topic covered at the meeting. “That was probably the issue that got the longest amount of debate and the most amendments today,” he said. “In the end, we ended up pretty much back where we have been, that we are strongly supportive of voluntary programs and opposed to mandatory systems.”

During the session, Moesel heard that 11 percent of America’s cowherd is currently wearing electric tags of some sort. He mentioned that the focus is on reproductively complete animals eighteen months or older that are crossing state lines.

Moesel said Farm Bureau is not wanting to roll back the new EID rules- but has no interest in seeing that expanded to younger cattle under 18 months.

Next week- at the State Capitol- one new issue has reared it's ugly head- Annexation- The OKFB is actively looking at an appropriate response to protect land owners in efforts by cities to grab more property into their city limits.

Ron and Rodd covered a lot of ground in their conversation- be sure to take a listen by clicking on the blue button below.

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As the Give-A-Ham Campaign ended with the holiday season last month, Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with the Oklahoma Pork Council’s Executive Director Kylee Deniz at the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Winter Policy Meeting to discuss its success.

“The Give-A-Ham promotion has really become a big ham deal in the state of Oklahoma,” Deniz said. “We had 565 plus hams donated.”

She clarified that the count is tracked through social media, so many hams that were given likely weren’t counted. Additionally, free pork lunches were provided at various locations across the state which amounted to 550 plus volunteer hours, more than 3,000 meals served, over $10,000 in monetary contributions, and more than 31,000 pounds of pork donated to the cause.

“We feel confident that we reached every county across the state and that is special because we have pigs in every county in the state of Oklahoma,” she said.

USDA’s APHIS and Mexico Getting Closer to Reopening the Border for Feeder Cattle With Updated Screwworm Protocols

At the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Winter Policy Meeting, Farm Director KC Sheperd got the chance to talk with Dr. Burke Healey, USDA’s APHIS Executive Director for VS’ Strategy and Policy division, about the screwworm situation in Southern Mexico. Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays is featuring comments from their conversation in today’s BeefBuzz.

Dr. Healey said that the situation is actually in pretty good shape. “We have worked with Mexico to come up with a new protocol to allow us to begin importation of cattle out of Mexico while Mexico’s situation with the screwworm is contained in the Yucatán region of Southern Mexico. This policy will allow us to have cattle trade with Mexico even if that fly should move further North.”

Expectations are that cattle will be able to be moved North into the U.S. in the next few weeks once inspections and corresponding paperwork are completed on the new quarantine facilities in Sonora and Chihuahua. Dr. Healey added that the ports in South Texas will remain closed for the time being.

The most effective way to control screwworms is by sterilizing male flies. The females only mate once in their lifecycle, so when they mate with a sterile male, she will lay sterile eggs.

Phillip Good was elected Chairman of the United Soybean Board last December. Oklahoma Farm Report’s Stevie White caught up with him to determine his goals for the organization going forward.

From Maken, Mississippi, Good brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the position. He and his son raise soybeans, corn, cotton, catfish and cattle. He is beginning his eighth year of service to the United Soybean Board having previously served as Demand Chair, Chair of the Audit and Evaluation Committee, and Secretary and Treasurer.

“It is my great honor and privilege, and I am humbled to serve as Chairman,” he said. “I get the opportunity to work with previous chairs that are still on the Board.”

He decided to run because he enjoys working with those other farmers/leaders who serve and was asked by many of them to do it. “I really look forward to the opportunities this year with the goals that we set as an executive committee,” he said. “I am very honored to work with the staff and executive committee in many different ways, and I think we have an outstanding year ahead of us.”

Mark Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist, offers herd health advice as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner,” published electronically by Dr. Derrell Peel, Johnson, and Paul Beck. Today, Johnson crunches the numbers on what a good bull is worth this year.

The spring bull buying season is here it’s time to revisit the age-old question. The question has been asked forever, or at least as long as we have been breeding cattle with the notion of trying to make the next generation better. It is a classic and timeless question. It is an important question. At this time of year, when many bulls are being marketed and we are planning ahead for spring breeding season, it is a question that is asked a lot!

The Answer

I remember first hearing the answer nearly 40 years ago as a student at OSU. “A good bull is worth the value of five calves he sires.” I’ve heard that answer again many times over the years. It is a good answer and a good rule of thumb to follow, the problem is it doesn’t exactly narrow down the range. If we do a little “cowboy math,” this answer may in fact lead to more questions...

DATE & TIME

Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025

12 – 1 p.m. ET

Dive into the challenges of H5N1 avian influenza in dairy cattle during this hour-long webinar, cohosted by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the National Dairy FARM Program. This session will provide dairy farmers and industry stakeholders with essential updates on USDA’s milk testing strategy in response to the H5N1 outbreak. Attendees will also be briefed on the latest research about the virus’s impact and transmission and receive an update on vaccine development and available resources.

SPEAKERS:

Dr. Jen Siembieda has over 20 years of working in response and preparedness for foreign animal diseases both globally and domestically. She started with USDA APHIS in 2017 as an epidemiologist with the Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health and then transferred to the Ruminant Health Center as a staff officer managing the chronic wasting disease program. She has been in her current role since 2023 and since April 2024 has been involved in developing policy for the ongoing HPAI outbreak.

Dr. Jason Lombard is an Associate Professor at Colorado State University where he received his doctorate in veterinary medicine. Dr. Lombard practiced dairy cattle medicine in Wisconsin for nearly 10 years before returning to CSU and completing his master’s degree in epidemiology. During this time, he worked for USDA’s National Animal Health Monitoring System. While with USDA, he also participated on an Incident Management Team and was deployed for multiple cattle and poultry diseases during his 20-year federal career.

Dr. David White is the Director of Policy, Evaluation and Licensing at USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics. Dr. White was previously the Safety and Security Unit Lead, and was formerly the Biosafety Manager, of the National Centers for Animal Health in Ames, IA. Previously, Dr. White worked as a researcher in containment facilities for the USDA-Agricultural Research Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Before leaving CDC, he was a Team Lead in the Division of Select Agents and Toxins.

This session is specifically intended for dairy farmers, including FARM Program participants, cooperative staff and associate members affiliated with NMPF. NMPF and the FARM Program reserve the right to deny participation in this webinar to non-members and non-program participants.

Farm Bureau Sets Policy in San Antonio- Renewables, Broadband and More

Earlier in the email- we featured comments from Rodd Moesel of Oklahoma Farm Bureau on the policy making session of the just concluded AFBF Convention.

Last night- the AFBF media team released their take from a national perspective on the delegate session- and their list looked a little different.

“Today, Farm Bureau demonstrated what truly makes it the voice of American agriculture,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Delegates from each state Farm Bureau and Puerto Rico directly addressed the challenges and opportunities facing farmers and ranchers. The policies they set today give us a roadmap to work with the new administration and Congress to address the needs of rural America. It includes the passage of a new farm bill, enacting regulatory reform, and creating new markets for the men and women who are dedicated to keeping America’s pantries stocked.”

Delegates also adopted policy supporting the development and sale of domestically sourced sustainable aviation fuel, including expanding the list of acceptable conservation practices for feedstock eligibility.

They strengthened policy on alternative energy production, including increasing the responsibility of energy companies to manage land used for development, and prioritizing energy production on land not suitable for agriculture.

On trade, delegates added policy in support of a United States—Mexico—Canada Agreement review process to encourage new opportunities while protecting U.S. agriculture from unfair competition.

Policy on rural broadband was revised to support requiring companies that win broadband loans or grants to quickly complete projects in underserved rural areas. Delegates also directed AFBF to press more forcefully for reform of the current requirements for small-scale meat, dairy and value-added processing facilities.

The group updated their Board of Directors- but for our part of the country- they simply reelected the State Presidents of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas to another two year term. (Rodd Moesel, Joe Newland and Russell Boening)