Category: Ag News

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 10:05:10 CDT

CME Group, National Cattlemen’s Foundation and NCBA to Award 10 Scholarships to College Students Pursuing Careers in the Beef Industry

The?National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF) is now accept…

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 13:54:39 CDT

According to the Oklahoma Mesonet, 76% of the state is in Extreme/Exceptional (D3/D4) drought on the Drought Monitor, which is territory not seen in the state since early February 2013. Through the next seve…

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 09:21:26 CDT

The fed cattle slaughter pace continues on a strong course with last week’s steer/heifer total coming in at 521,000 head. Friday’s smaller head count of 89,000 head stood out from the Monday thro…

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 09:21:26 CDT

The fed cattle slaughter pace continues on a strong course with last week’s steer/heifer total coming in at 521,000 head. Friday’s smaller head count of 89,000 head stood out from the Monday thro…

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 09:03:56 CDT

According to state climatologist Gary McManus We now have 76% of the state in that Extreme/Exceptional (D3/D4) drought on the Drought Monitor. McManus says “This is territory not seen in the state since early February 2013. While that was year three of our horrible 2010-15 drought period, what I remember from that time was empty lakes, water emergencies, and runaway wildfires. While we’re not in emergency territory yet with our lakes, they ain’t good. And we are going to have a horrible wildfire season without help. We might anyway.”

Not Many rain chances are showing up on the radar, McManus says the forecast for far Western Oklahoma and the Panhandle have the best chances over the next seven days.

Oklahoma reservoir Levels show most of the lake levels are below normal pool storage with Lake Lugert-Altus at -25ft below the normal pool elevation, Draper is -10ft, and Broken Bow -12ft.

McManus says fall weather is headed this way next week though starting on Friday with the arrival of the strongest cold front we have seen thus far, “I would expect to see highs struggle to reach the 60s where it’s drizzly/rainy out west, especially in NW OK…60s and 70s elsewhere. Then a longer stretch of “hey, shouldn’t we be in the 70s” weather coming back with highs up into the 80s again. “

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 08:46:41 CDT

Sam Hands and Marisa Kleysteuber recognized for feeding high-quality Angus at the Certified Angus Beef 2022 Annual Conference.

By Morgan Boecker

Rocking in Adirondack chairs on the patio, a glass of tea in hand, Sam Hands and daughter Marisa Kleysteuber make their game plan. It’s the only slow part of their day, reflecting on what happened, how to improve and what needs attention next at Triangle H.

Together, they care for more than 8,000 feeder cattle between a feedyard at Garden City, Kan., and another 20 miles west near Deerfield.

For Hands, there are no short answers. Problems are met with careful consideration of every possible outcome, solutions executed with care and evaluation. It’s simply the Triangle H way to deal with every challenge from people to cattle to equipment. Work to be the best in everything they do – a mindset Hands is passing on to his daughter.

Their sharp focus on quality and thoughtful customer service earned Triangle H the 2022 Feedyard Commitment to Excellence Award from Certified Angus Beef (CAB), presented Sept. 30 at the brand’s Annual Conference in Phoenix.

Located in the heart of prime cattle country where genetics excel equally at the ranch and feedyard, bulls for the family’s own commercial Angus herd are selected knowing calves will be in their feeding pens within 15-18 months.

“I just hope from a feeder’s standpoint that we don’t prevent them from reaching their genetic potential,” Hands says.

Raising premium beef starts with genetics, then it’s on the shoulders of the caretakers.

“Good cattle can’t afford to have a bad day,” Kleysteuber says. “So we do everything in our power to give them every opportunity to perform and express the genetics that are there.”

Hands is the kind who wants to understand an entire process. In the 1970s and ’80s, he and wife Janet spent hours in the packing plant coolers tracking their cattle through harvest to know exactly how they were performing.

“If I’m going to produce beef knowing I’m going to sell on the rail, then I want to know if I’m getting the dollars that I hope to reach,” he says. “I’ve got to be on target.”

Size, scale and decades of experience allow them to uniquely tailor each customers’ feedyard and carcass data to best cattle performance.

“This is a powerful tool that we can share with our customers to make improvements with their herd and add more value to their bottom line,” Kleysteuber says.

Through the U.S. Premium Beef grid, Hands knows individual carcass performance. As long as a pen stays above average, they see black in their bottom line.

And they do. In the first quarter of 2022, Triangle H averaged 97% Choice or better, 18% Prime and 44% CAB resulting in a $91.60 per head premium. At certain times of the year, premiums can reach more than $200 per head.

But cattle don’t perform to their greatest potential without the right people. A reoccurring question for the father-daughter duo is how to bring in good employees and then help them grow and develop.

“We may not be a big yard, but we feel there are some natural niches where we can give opportunities to a person to have a career opportunity,” Hands says. “Especially those who may not be in a position to marry into ag or inherit it.”

Their investments pay off with tenured employees.

“We give them a lot of responsibility to make decisions and keep things moving,” he says. “This lets us focus on more of the business side at the office.”

“Over time dad has helped me gain more confidence in different areas of the business,” Kleysteuber says. Every day she accepts more of the daily weight that comes with managing a feedyard.

She naturally fills the role but continues to take full advantage of the time spent with her dad. “As long as he can get up and come out here, I plan on us working side-by-side.”

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 08:42:19 CDT

Food waste is a serious issue that contributes to food insecurity and lack of sustainability, and solving it will require stakeholders to consider issues of food access, affordability, and cultural acceptabi…

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 08:10:25 CDT

More than 100 members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation that would shield agricultural producers from a climate disclosure rule proposed earlier this year by the Securities Exchange Commission.

The “Protect Americas Farmers from the SEC Act” prohibits the SEC from requiring an issuer of securities to disclose greenhouse gas emissions from upstream and downstream activities in the issuer’s value chain arising from a farm.

The SEC’s proposed rule issued earlier this year stated that registrants would be required to disclose information about its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and “climate-related risks.” The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) submitted public comments in June opposing the rule.

USCA President Brooke Miller issued the following statement:

“U.S. farmers and ranchers absolutely need this exemption from the Securities Exchange Commission’s climate disclosure proposal.

“Our producer members already face nearly insurmountable proposed and ongoing regulatory burdens from an array of federal agencies. Their main job should be putting American beef on American plates, not managing the complex clerical duties of SEC compliance rules.

“USCA appreciates Rep. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma for his leadership on introducing this important legislation.”

For bill text of Protect Farmers from the SEC Act, click here.

For a summary, click here.

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 08:06:52 CDT

This week, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President and Minnesota farmer Tom Haag held a news conference with the media to outline his goals for his year as president.

Haag told reporters, …