Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is visiting with the president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Don Schiefelbein, at the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in New Orleans.
The 2023 Cattle Industry Convention coverage is being powered by Performance Ranch, a part of Zoetis, and by Farm Data Services located in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
While this year has surely presented challenges for cattle producers, Schiefelbein said it has still been a good year.
“Nothing helps people’s attitudes (more) than higher calf prices, and that is one of the things that has really gone our way as these calf prices have kind of turned, it looks like we are going to have the upper leverage here for the next couple of years, so things look pretty good long term if we can just get that moisture that everybody needs,” Schiefelbein said.
Schiefelbein said there are still concerns in the cattle industry about market transparency, but capitalism and the marketplace are holding strong.
“Even though we went through the most crippling, most disruptive period in the history of animal production here just a couple of years ago, who would have through two years removed from that disaster situation, we would be seeing the prices we are, and again, it is that capitalism still works, we sure wish there was more competition, but capitalism still works, and things have gotten better,” Schiefelbein said.
There has been a resurgence of regulatory worry over the past year as the Biden administration has become involved in issues such as redefining WOTUS and more.
“They are getting back into some of the GIPSA type rules that are going to be another concern,” Schiefelbein said. “It just seems like for our industry’s sake, we think we get an issue put to bed, and somebody wakes them up and starts stirring them up.”
Especially in Oklahoma, Schiefelbein said the ramifications of WOTUS leave uncertainty for producers when it comes to potential liabilities for water. While a rule may be written to benefit someone in the industry, Schiefelbein said one flaw could end up doing more harm than good.
Schiefelbein reflected on his time in office at NCBA and said as of now, cooperation is at an all-time high for the cattle industry, which is admirable considering the many differences between those within.
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.
