At the Ranchers Sustainable Tour hosted by Clay Burtrum, Oklahoma Farm Report Intern Kate Munson spoke with Ag Secretary Blayne Arthur following her welcome address at the Sustainable Ranchers Tour in Stillwater on June 20.
One focus of the Sustainable Ranchers Tour is to teach producers how to interact with and meet consumers’ needs in the age of sustainable understanding.
“It is really important to the consumer how we are managing our environment,” said Arthur.
The beef cattle industry “has a great story to tell, and for a long time we didn’t have to worry about telling that story, but now consumers are very engaged. They want to ask those questions, they want to have that information,” she added.
Arthur also spoke on the historic panhandle rains and the challenges of receiving half of the average rainfall within 12 hours.
“From a state perspective, we have emergency management teams that were out there yesterday,” Arthur said. “From the ag side of things, we’re trying to see what resources they need immediately.”
However, Arthur is excited to see how this impacts producers’ decision-making on promoting and protecting soil health.
“Mother Nature is a tough business partner,” she added. “But we all have to make the best decisions depending on what situation happens.”
Secretary Arthur also serves as the current president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA). She said NASDA has been very busy, stating that people have been optimistic about a farm bill. However, where optimism lies, she emphasized there is also a need to be realistic.
“We will be surprised if we get a farm bill in 2024, but we’ve spent a significant amount of time on the farm bill and bringing forward NASDA priorities to policymakers at the federal level,” said Arthur.
NASDA is also focusing on mitigating the “unique” HPAI situation in dairy cattle and reminding consumers that the product is safe to consume.
