Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is back visiting with the Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture, Blayne Arthur, about the upcoming national cattle show, Cattlemen’s Congress, from the perspective of those in the show cattle industry.
Aside from being Secretary of Agriculture for Oklahoma, Arthur is also a “show mom.”
“My kids are both very active in exhibiting cattle and really like it,” Arthur said. “My husband is, of course too, and we do get the chance to travel to what we consider all the big shows.”
Arthur said having the chance to travel with her family and compete at many national shows such as Kansas City, Louisville, and Denver has made them even more proud of Cattlemen’s Congress.
“We feel like we have had a chance to go to a lot of those national shows and see what they do well and see the caliber of exhibitors and animals that exhibit there, and we know that Cattlemen’s Congress is top tier,” Arthur said. “People bring out their best stuff.”
Many people in the show cattle industry, Arthur said, are bringing their best to Cattlemen’s Congress.
“The thing we see here in Oklahoma is that you have got a livestock event put on by livestock people,” Arthur said. “I think that is why so many people certainly were pleased that first year to see it.”
The Oklahoma Youth Expo team that helps put on Cattlemen’s Congress, Arthur said, is very thoughtful because many of them are involved in the livestock industry.
“When you decide when check-in is going to be, how you are going to get trucks and trailers through the facilities, even just the response in the Oklahoma City community- they welcome these people to Oklahoma,” Arthur said.
Those in the show industry, Arthur said, can tell the difference between how other shows are operated, and Cattlemen’s Congress is run from a showmen’s perspective.
“The numbers in the junior show are incredible, and I think that shows that it is a family-friendly event in a family-friendly environment that they are really highlighting in showcasing those juniors,” Arthur said.
Cattlemen’s Congress has focused on highlighting junior exhibitors in different ways, Arthur said, including on social media.
“Even though the open show part is certainly a big deal, we have got to be bringing these junior exhibitors along because they are the future of so many of these operations and the future of agribusiness,” Arthur said.
Arthur said there is no question that in 2023, many are choosing to exhibit their cattle at Cattlemen’s Congress, and that is something to be proud of.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
Below, listen to Ron and Secretary Arthur’s complete conversation in podcast form about Cattlemen’s Congress.
