Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is back talking with the Executive Vice President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, Michael Kelsey, about the state of the cattle industry.
Through what Kelsey has seen around the country, he said there is a lot of optimism regarding the beef industry, as well as some concern. Some of that concern, he added, is dependent on weather conditions and when heifer retention will begin.
“The cattle market is strong, and beef demand continues to be strong,” Kelsey said.
Many producers want to begin to retain some heifers, Kelsey said, but they do not have the ability to do so just yet.
“Before you have the ability to do it, you have to have the desire to do it,” Kelsey said. “I have to have the want to. There is a lot of want to out there, and to me, that is very encouraging.”
Kelsey said the majority of cattle producers in the state recognize that there is opportunity in the beef industry for several years to come for reasons beyond profitability.
There is a lot of optimism and a lot of desire to be in this business, and that is a really good thing,” Kelsey said. “That is a great start.”
At the federal level, an ag appropriations bill has not made it across the finish line yet, but Kelsey talked about some amendments that the House voted on, including anti-electronic animal ID.
OCA is in favor of electronic ID, but there were members of Congress, including some from Oklahoma, who voted in favor of an amendment to the Agricultural Appropriations bill that would have prohibited any money to be spent on Electronic ID tags.
“That is a broad issue, but the safety of us producing food is what was being attacked,” Kelsey said. “That is the target.”
Regarding the Farm Bill, Kelsey said we will not see one produced in 2023.
“Hopefully, we will see an extension,” Kelsey said. “Those pieces of the Farm Bill that have been relevant to risk management have been so critical.”
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.
