At the Oklahoma Cattleman’s Association Convention, Dr. Cheryl DeVuyst, was named OCW Cattlewoman of the Year. Farm Director, KC Sheperd, who was named Honorary Cattlewoman of the Year at the same event, grabbed an interview with her about her role in the cattle industry.
Dr. DeVuyst and her husband, Eric, own DeVuyst Ranch, a cow-calf and stocker operation near Morrison, Oklahoma. Dr. DeVuyst has also been a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University since 2008 and became the Ag Economics department head in 2020.
She is involved with numerous agricultural organizations, including Oklahoma Cattlewomen, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Pawnee County Cattlewomen, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, and American National Cattlewomen.
“I was extremely surprised [to be named the OCW Cattlewoman of the Year, especially when I saw my family in the background, all of the students there, and my sisters who traveled from other states to be here,” she said. “It was great timing to look up and see all of them!”
Dr. DeVuyst was raised on a dairy farm in Indiana and feels that by having not grown up on an Oklahoma ranch, the honor is even greater to be a part of the Cattlewoman’s Association and to be involved with what she referred to as a group of inspiring women of all ages.
She has been involved with the OCW for several years, but as an educator, she said it was most important to her to be working with the youth. “Sometimes people think about the term ‘youth’ only as our 4H-ers and FFA-ers, but we still have our college students who are building their careers, and figuring out where they want to be in the cattle industry,” she said.
“As one of the advisors to the Oklahoma Collegiate Cattlewomen, it has truly been a blessing to be able to work with those young women who are now in professions across the country that are impacting cattle and helping to build beef demand,” she added.
Some of the highlights of her time with the OCW are her time at the Tulsa Beef Tent where she was able to serve prime ribeye steak sandwiches to fair-goers, taking students to the National Cattleman’s Beef Association and American National Cattlewoman meetings year after year, and watching those students gain confidence and grow in the industry.
