Agricultural News
Oklahoma Quality Beef Network Vac-45 Fall Sales Starting Soon
Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:09:41 CDT
Writing in the latest Cow-Calf Newsletter, Gant Mourer, Oklahoma State University Beef Value Enhancement Specialist draws cattle producers' attention to the benefits and opportunities for adding value through the OQBN program.
Successful cow-calf producers strive to receive the highest possible value for their calves at sale date. The Oklahoma Quality Beef Network (OQBN) is a program, which began in 2001, and is a joint effort by Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service and the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association. OQBN offers unbiased information on beef cattle value enhancement. It provides producers and others in the beef industry education and tools to improve access to value-added programs. In the beginning of OQBN, the program was designed to be a process verification and certification program for preconditioned calves. Today, the OQBN is the "complete" value-added program as it is a network of Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, beef producers, and allied beef industry. It offers participation in value-added markets such as health management verification, age verification, source verification, production system verification, and genetic verification.
The OQBN Vac-45 is an example of a health management verification option for beef producers to participate in a value-added market. The OQBN Vac-45 is still a viable and important program as it benefits buyers and sellers in several ways. In addition to healthier, heavier calves when sold, sellers may earn higher prices per/cwt. Research has found buyers paid $3-6/cwt more for preconditioned calves in recognition of buying healthier, higher-performing calves in a stocker or feedlot program. In 2011, OQBN participants realized $6.54/cwt premium over cattle that had no weaning or health history.
There are several benefits to participate in the OQBN Vac-45 program. Benefits include reduced cattle stress and shrink, improved immune system, increased sale weight of cattle, increased market demands, brand-neutral (you and your veterinarian select the products to be used and the timing of vaccinations), and OQBN can be dual certified in other health management verification programs.
The following is a list of several OQBN sales scheduled this fall across the state. For a producer to take advantage of these value-added opportunities, the cattle must be enrolled in the OQBN, follow one of three health protocols, be weaned by the deadline, and be third-party verified by extension personnel.
OQBN LocationOQBN Sale DateOQBN Weaning Deadline
· OKC West, November 7; September 23, 2012
· Durant Stockyards, November 8; September 24, 2012
· McAlester Stockyards, November 13; September 29, 2012
· Blackwell Livestock, November 17; October 3, 2012
· Pawnee Livestock, December 1; October 17, 2012
· Tulsa Stockyards, December 3; October 19, 2012
· OKC West, December 5, October 21, 2012
· Durant Stockyards, January 10. 2013; November 26, 2012
For additional information or questions about the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network, producers can contact their local OSU Extension Office or Gant Mourer, Beef Value Enhancement Specialist at 405-744-6060 or at gantm@okstate.edu . Additional information may be found at www.oqbn.okstate.edu.
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