Oklahoma State University Extension is offering a new Ag Econ After Hours series designed to help producers work through current agricultural and economic decisions. Northeast Area Extension Specialist Scott Clawson said the series was developed around questions producers are bringing to county Extension offices and will provide information in a format that producers can access on their own time.
Building a Framework for Fall Decisions
Clawson said the series is intended to address issues producers may be facing as they head into the fall. “It’s just a way for us to tackle some of the current issues that producers might be facing, and some of the topics that may be coming into our county offices that we’re getting questions about,” Clawson said.
Rather than providing producers with a single answer for complicated market decisions, Clawson said the sessions will focus on the factors that should be considered. “Markets move up and down, so we don’t have any—it’s not going to be necessarily about coming up with a firm answer,” he said. “But it’s going to be looking at what are some of the things that are going to go into the decision, and maybe kind of building a framework for producers to kind of work through as they’re making that decision on their place.”
The first two sessions will focus on fall cattle decisions, including what producers should consider when dealing with cull cows and calves. “The first couple we wanted to get in kind of before we started seeing the big sale barn runs,” Clawson said. “We’re going to tackle kind of what to do with cold cows this fall, and then what to do with calves this fall as well.”
Six Sessions Starting September 21
Ag Econ After Hours will feature six sessions beginning September 21, with a new discussion available each Monday for six weeks.
Clawson said the sessions are pre-recorded earlier in the day and delivered to participants by email at 6 p.m the day of the discussion. “Those folks that sign up will get an email at 6 p.m. that night, and it’ll just be a link to that particular discussion,” he said. “So they can log on immediately or whenever they get time.”
The pre-recorded format is designed to give producers flexibility while still providing access to the information.
Virtual Fencing and Tax Decisions
The six-session lineup will cover several agricultural economic topics. Clawson said he is particularly interested in the market-focused sessions, but also highlighted virtual fencing and agricultural tax decisions.
“Virtual fencing’s gotten really popular out there right now,” he said.
Clawson will be joined by Callie Clifton, his counterpart in Southeast Oklahoma, for the virtual fencing discussion. “She’s going to tackle the virtual fencing issue. I think that one will be really good,” Clawson said.
Another topic Clawson is looking forward to is taxes, particularly the decisions producers face when considering equipment purchases at the end of the year. “Personally, I’m really—sounds strange to be excited about a tax topic—but the tax one about kind of the age-old decision of do we pay taxes, do we buy some equipment, how do we navigate kind of those fall decision-making issues on taxes?” he said.
Clawson said the topic becomes more interesting when producers take a closer look at the decision-making process. “I think is really interesting once you kind of dive into the process and look at it a little further,” he said.
How Producers Can Sign Up
Producers interested in participating can sign up by contacting Clawson through email or by reaching out to their local county Extension office.
Clawson said, “The easiest way is just to email me. scott.clawson@okstate.edu.
Producers who already work with a local county office can also ask staff there to help them register. “If you’ve got a local county office that you work with, you can pop in there and tell them you want to sign up, and they’ll shoot an email over to me,” Clawson said.
