Earlier this summer, Dr. Derrell Peel led a group of OSU students to the UK- including time on the Shetland Islands, the northern most part of the U.K. where he got to witness traditional forms of agriculture such as croft farming, sheep farming, and the chance to take in archaeological and historical information.
Fast forward to the end of July and the start of August and Dr. Peel is back in the states, where the cattle markets are still at the forefront of cattle producers minds, and Dr. Peel says that herds continue to shrink and significant signs of herd rebuilding have yet to appear.
“There are two things that will happen when we start herd rebuilding,” Dr. Peel said. “One will be heifer retention – that’s the big one that we are looking for – the other one is that cow-culling will reduce to minimal levels as producers try to hang on to cows a little bit longer than usual.”
He said that cow slaughter is down about 16 percent this year, but in the broader field of numbers, that isn’t enough of an indication that producers are rebuilding herds. In addition, Peel said that feedlot cattle on feed numbers indicate that 40 percent of their numbers are heifers.
With the prediction of La Nina returning to the forecast, Dr. Peel says that it might still be a while before producers begin to rebuild their herds notably.
This week on SUNUP:
- Eric DeVuyst, OSU Extension agricultural economist, discusses the economics of a bale of hay.
- Wes Lee, OSU Mesonet agricultural coordinator, looks into how climate change has impacted rainfall in Oklahoma over the years. State Climatologist Gary McManus shows us how drought is expanding.
- SUNUP’s Kurtis Hair packs his bags and heads to Scotland to follow a group of OSU students studying abroad and learning about agriculture in the UK.
- Derrel Peel, OSU Extension livestock marketing specialist, says there is still no clear indications to whether herd rebuilding has started yet.
- SUNUP previews the upcoming Regional Canola Meeting.
- We welcome John Michael Riley to the show! John Michael is covering crop markets for SUNUP.
- Finally, Mark Johnson discusses the role cover crops play in the cattle industry.
Oklahoma Agriculture Starts at SUNUP!
Weekly Statewide Broadcast: Saturday at 7:30 a.m. & Sunday at 6 a.m. on OETA (PBS)
Stream Anytime: YouTube.com/SUNUPtv
