At Cattlemen’s Congress, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with the Vice President and Dean of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Dr. Jayson Lusk. Hays and Lusk talk about the show, his time at OSU, and more.
“It is a great place to come see some of our current students, hopefully some of our future students, and some of the top purebred breeders in the country,” Lusk said.
Some of Oklahoma State University’s bulls competed at Cattlemen’s Congress, Lusk said, as the University aims to continue support of the purebred genetics industry.
Since accepting his position at OSU, Lusk said he is pleased with how welcoming the school has been.
“It has been a whirlwind, but I am learning more every day,” Lusk said. “It has been a great experience.”
Lusk said the current freshman class enrolled at OSU is the largest in the school’s history. President of the University, Dr. Shrum, has a strategic plan underway to put into place, Lusk said, and the division of agriculture will also have a strategic plan that aligns with the University and prioritizes agriculture in the state.
“I don’t want to pre-judge the outcome, but it would probably be a mistake if we didn’t do something to really focus in on the two most important agricultural commodities in the state: beef and wheat,” Lusk said.
Looking into the beef and wheat sector, Lusk said he would like to see work to make investments to prepare for the future.
“We have got a top-notch, world-class wheat breeding program that produces varieties that are grown on 70 percent of Oklahoma acres, but frankly, we are doing that out of 1940s-era technology and facilities,” Lusk said. “If we really want to work toward a future and use modern science to continue to produce varieties of wheat that are healthy, that are disease resistant, we are going to need to think about that future.”
Regarding cow-calf production, Lusk said Oklahoma is an important part of the supply chain, so focusing on what kinds of research and extension the university can continue to do to allow the state to continue to play that large role is essential.
“We are blessed in this state to have been able to maintain a system where we have county educators in all 77 Oklahoma counties, and we need to work to maintain that presence we have in people’s lives and to make sure and continue to make sure we have the capacity to take the latest research and translate if for people both as it relates to agriculture production, but also health, STEM education and all of the things that are important today and to today’s communities,” Lusk said.
