Mon, 17 Oct 2022 11:09:14 CDT
Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is featuring comments from Mariah Reimer, the Foundation coordinator at Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association talking about the inaugural Oklahoma Best Beef Competition, a part of the 2022 Stockyards Steak Out, which was held at the Oklahoma National Stockyards over the weekend. This event coincided with the Stockyard Stampede, with events for the whole family taking place throughout the day.
During this event, local beef producers cooked their best steaks and offered them to the public. These steaks were judged by national judges who chose a champion, and then the general public had the opportunity to taste and vote for a separate award, the “People’s Choice”.
After hosting a state cookoff association event for the past few years, Reimer said Oklahoma National Stockyards President, Kelli Payne, sought to create an event where the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation could be the beneficiary. The goal of the event, Reimer said, was to take Oklahoma producers and the cattle industry to the next level.
“Every entry fee from that national competition comes to the foundation and goes straight to scholarships and educational opportunities for students who are going to better the agricultural industry and really make an impact and give back,” Reimer said.
Reimer said nationally sanctioned judges were blown away by Oklahoma beef.
“We only did ten finalists this year because we wanted to test it out and see how it went and we had such a positive response,” Reimer said. “At the end of the day, all of this goes to scholarships for students who are going to do this exact same thing in the future- 20 years, 30 years, and continue this legacy.”
National judges selected Oklahoma Beef Market LLC of Hulbert, Oklahoma as the champion of the competition, and the People's Choice Award was presented to 4T Ranch Beef of Agra, Oklahoma.
"We had such a positive response,” Reimer said. “The people came out for the people's choice. National sanctioned judges, judging Oklahoma Beef and blown away by their product compared to national steak competitors is just phenomenal when you think about it."
This event is unique, Reimer said, because it features all different kinds of beef raised in Oklahoma from grassland Wagyu to grain-fed beef. Reimer said the event was a good opportunity for Oklahomans to see the many choices of beef in the state and encourage them to shop local.
“Come see, educate yourself, and learn about the different varieties, it is not just a hamburger; it is not just steak,” Reimer said. “These producers- this is their livelihood and they have poured everything they know into it, and it shows through every piece of sample steak today and just a phenomenal job by every single one of those people.”
Click the LISTEN BAR below to listen to Mariah Reimer talking about the 2022 Stockyards Steak Out.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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