Farm Director KC Sheperd is talking with Oklahoma Certified Beef Association board member and producer, Brad Brainard, about Oklahoma Certified Beef.
“Oklahoma Certified Beef is a great program in which we are trying to bring the dollars that are generated by Oklahoma livestock and keep them in Oklahoma,” Brainard said. “The program is Oklahoma bred, born, raised, and processed in Oklahoma.”
As a beef producer, Brainard said the Oklahoma Certified Beef Program has accelerated his ability to market his beef because it provides a well-known brand name to get behind. As defined by the Oklahoma State Legislature, Oklahoma Certified Beef is guaranteed to be bred, born, raised, and processed exclusively within the state of Oklahoma.
All cattle are certified under an affidavit system. Producers testify that their cattle meet requirements and a knowledgeable third-party sign-off for each stage. These third-party verifiers can be veterinarians, processors, bankers, etc. If the individual is familiar with the entire operation, they may sign for all four stages. Also, different verifiers can sign for different stages. For example, a veterinarian can sign off that the cattle are bred, born, and raised here, and a processor can sign off it was processed in Oklahoma. Finally, the affidavit will need to be notarized by a public notary. OCBA’s goal with this is to keep the association as honorable as possible.
To view the application and read more information about OCBA, CLICK HERE.
There are some new things in the pipeline for OCBA, Brainard said, including mention of a 25-million-dollar grant to put a processing plant in Oklahoma that will prioritize Oklahoma Certified Beef. Brainard said this means that when producers bring cattle to sell at the sale barn that qualify as Oklahoma Certified Beef, the buyers for that specific plant will bid those cattle up higher.
Another exciting idea in the works for Oklahoma Certified Beef Brainard talked about is “lockers” at different stores that carry Oklahoma Certified Beef. Brainard explained that in this scenario, local farmers and ranchers would receive orders, payment online or over the phone, and then deliver the beef to the locker for a customer to pick up.
“The farmer would actually sell the beef through his website or advertising, or whatever,” Brainard said. “He will sell his beef, he will retain the ownership of his farm, so his farm name will be on there, and he will set the price.”
