The Oklahoma Department of Ag, Food, and Forestry had a board meeting on Friday at the 2023 Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association’s Annual Convention and Trade Show, open to all convention attendees. Following the meeting, Farm Director, KC Sheperd, caught up with Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur and talked about the meeting and more.
“This is the first time we have our board meeting at OCA,” Arthur said. “Very appreciative of Michael Kelsey and his staff for inviting us.”
The board meeting was open for convention attendees to attend, Arthur said, so it was a good opportunity for beef producers to learn more about what the Department of Ag does and why it is important.
“…the biggest crowd we have ever had at a board of ag meeting,” Arthur said.
In Arthur’s travels around the state, she said morale has improved since last summer as many producers are appreciative of recent moisture.
“We also acknowledge there are parts of the state that are still in D3 and D4 drought, there is no question about that, but I think certainly from a beef producer side, cattle prices are up, we have gotten some moisture, the grass is coming on, certainly a tough year for our wheat producers, but I think you hear a lot of optimism out in the countryside and that moisture makes all the difference,” Arthur said.
Arthur also talked about wildfire danger in Oklahoma.
“We see a lot of wildfires,” Arthur said. “We are actually typically ranked in the top ten for the number of acres under wildfires, and folks don’t think about that. They might think about California or another state.”
Last week, Arthur said, the State Forester and Director of Oklahoma Forestry Services, Mark Goeller, was invited by Congressman Frank Lucas to Washington, D.C., to provide testimony about how Oklahoma has been able to utilize technology from the National Weather Center in Norman to predict wildfire.
“Mark mentioned that we have gone now from a 90-minute prep time to a six-minute prep time, and really being able to direct people,” Arthur said.
In Arthur’s new role as the Vice President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, she said she will be focusing on the needs of Oklahoman producers in the 2023 Farm Bill, looking into trade opportunities across the world, animal health, and more.
“More on the Oklahoma side is just highlighting the diversity of agriculture to the broad general audience because I think a lot of folks don’t understand the importance of age and how that directly correlates to our consumers,” Arthur said.
