Agricultural News
Oklahoma Cattlemen Finish Annual Convention by Naming Richard Gebhart as New President
Sun, 28 Jul 2013 07:05:07 CDT
Richard Gebhart, is the new President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association and stepped into that role officially on Saturday morning at the 61st Annual Convention and Trade Show of the OCA. Richard Gebhart will serve as the President of the organization for a two year term. In addition to this new hat that Gebhart has put on at the OCA convention in Midwest City, he is serving in 2013-2014 as the Chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils within the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Richard Gebhart is a Rogers County Hereford rancher and operates the Langley-area Beacon Hill Ranch, which has been a family owned Hereford ranch since 1909. He has served in leadership positions with the Oklahoma Beef Council, the Oklahoma Hereford Association, the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association and the Rogers County Cattlemen's Association. He is a fourth generation Hereford breeder and a former recipient of the Golden Hereford Breeder award.
In addition to his ranching operation, Gebhart is professor of operations management and director of assessment in the business college at the University of Tulsa (TU). He is a retired U.S. colonel and holds a law degree from TU; an MBA from Syracuse; a master's degree in agricultural economics/animal science from Mississippi State University; and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Arkansas.
Gebhart talked with Farm Director Ron Hays on Saturday morning after he officially took the reins of the OCA for the next couple of years- and they talked about his decision to take on this additional leadership role within the beef industry- Richard telling Ron "I think the industry is under great pressure right now- and the industry has been very good to me and my family for generations and I think it's important that all of us give back to the industry in this time of trouble and move us forward."
Gebhart thanked Scott Dewald, who left OCA earlier in 2013 to lead REI in southeastern Oklahoma, for leaving the organization in such great shape with an excellent staff in place for the new Executive Vice President who came on board the first of July- Michael Kelsey.
In a wide ranging conversation- Hays and Gebhart talked about the road to recovery from the multi year drought in Oklahoma, the high priority of protecting private property rights at the state level for cattle producers, as well as protecting the sales tax exemption for farm and ranch inputs, NGOs who don't like the US Beef Cattle industry and want it downsized or eliminated outright, his role as the Chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils, the relationship of NCBA and the Federation of State Beef Councils, how the Beef Checkoff entities (including the Federation of State Beef Councils) are dealing with a shrinking beef checkoff dollar, visions he might like to help cast for the future of the beef industry in Oklahoma and the US, dealing with the skeptical consumer of today as a cattle producer and finally- the reality of needing more resources than the present Beef Checkoff dollar provides- and how you accomplish an increase in the beef checkoff at either the state or federal level.
Click on the LISTEN BAR below to listen to Ron and Richard's full conversation at the 61st annual convention and trade show of the OCA as recorded Saturday, July 27, 2013.
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