Agricultural News
Governor Stitt And Other State Leaders Enjoy First Official OCBA Ribeye Steak During Kickoff Event Feb. 4
Fri, 05 Feb 2021 11:11:09 CST
With the bright lights of the Oklahoma City skyline for a backdrop, Governor Kevin Stitt enjoyed the first official Oklahoma Certified Beef Association ribeye steak during an event Thursday night at the Vast restaurant.
Attending the event was Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur and afterwards was interviewed by Radio Oklahoma Agriculture Network Associate Farm Director and Editor KC Sheperd.
Very excited the Governor was able to join us, Arthur said.
This is a great opportunity for our beef producers, she said.
A lot of work went into getting OCBA off the ground beginning with the Oklahoma Legislature last year when Rep. Ty Burns (R-35) and Sen. Casey Murdock (R-27) authored the bill establishing OCBA.
The bill was just part of several positive steps taken by Oklahoma in the past year to boost the livestock economy, including a program to provide grants for training meat processors at Career Tech.
The curriculum and training that goes into this gives us a skilled work force in local communities, Arthur said.
This is all tying together really well, she said.
It is an incredibly important trade and students are telling us they like the hands-on training, Arthur said.
The jobs are there as we have people who want to hire them, and these are good, full time jobs, she said.
The grants have helped expand smaller processing plants in rural areas and Arthur said those dollars are spread all across Oklahoma.
We know this has been a gap and we've made good progress, Arthur said.
With lawmakers beginning a new session Arthur said she is working on several key items important for Oklahoma agriculture.
One big request for the legislature is funding for more state meat inspectors and we have had good response, Arthur said.
There are several bills focused on connecting consumers with producers.
Folks want to expand the local food movement that really took off in 2020, Arthur said.
Last year was hard but we found solutions and certainly expect good things to happen in 2021, she added.
You can click on the listen bar below to hear more of KC's interview with Sec. Arthur.
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