Category: Ag News

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 08:18:09 CDT

The inaugural class of the Integrated Beef Cattle Program completed their final module this weekend!

The Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Extension will soon offer a series of courses on intervention strategies for rural veterinary practice sustainability as part of the Integrated Beef Cattle Program for Veterinarians. OSU is developing a veterinary continuing education curriculum that will expand veterinary skills and knowledge of beef cattle herd health, nutrition, forage management, reproductive management, and other common veterinary and producer needs.

The opportunity for expanded veterinary services will allow veterinarians and beef cattle producers to become more productive while simultaneously enhancing animal health and wellbeing. These benefits will ensure greater food safety, public health, and increase opportunities for Oklahoma and the region’s economic development and prosperity. We anticipate practices will experience an improvement in their businesses. Finally, students will attend the program and learn along with practicing DVMs. OSU expects students in this program will graduate ready to enter rural practice with the skills needed to effectively sustain a rural practice and by providing networking opportunities with current rural practitioners.

2022 Module Dates

Module 1: January 21-22, 2022

Module 2: April 8-9, 2022

Module 3: July 29-30, 2022

Module 4: October 14-15, 2022

Modules are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. on Fridays in Stillwater and run through 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

2023 Module Dates

2023 Module dates will be announced in late fall 2023.

The program aims to expand participants’ veterinary skills and knowledge of herd health, food nutrition, forage management, reproductive management and other common needs of beef producers. Applications are now open for the 2023 IBCP! Apply here:

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 08:10:56 CDT

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) is continuing to build business-to-business relationships between domestic producers and global end-users by sponsoring 10 trade teams following the culmination of Export Excha…

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 08:10:08 CDT

On Nov. 8-9, top state and tribal water leaders, researchers and other experts will take the stage at the Seventh Annual Oka’ (Water) Sustainability Conference on the East Central University campus in …

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 08:04:09 CDT

Each week, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Beltway Beef brings you the latest policy news affecting the U.S. cattle and beef industry. Hear from subject-matter experts, producers, and industry leaders on the topics that impact the business viability of farms and ranches across the country.

On this episode, NCBA Chief Counsel Mary-Thomas Hart joins for an in-depth discussion on two major agricultural cases currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case Sackett v. EPA is considering the longstanding issue of “Waters of the United States” and the federal government’s proper jurisdiction in regulating bodies of water, while National Pork Producer’s Council v. Ross is considering the dormant commerce clause and its implications for livestock producers selling goods across state lines. NCBA has filed amicus briefs before the court in both cases to advocate for the unique needs of cattle producers.

Listen below or click here to listen on Sound Cloud.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 17:04:36 CDT

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The inaugural Oklahoma Best Beef Competition, a part of the 2022 Stockyards Steak Out was held over the weekend in Oklahoma City at the Oklahoma National Stockyards and brought out plenty of tasty steaks from local producers into two categories: People’s Choice and The National Judges Award. Beef Producers were teamed with local dignitaries to cook their best steaks and offer up samples to the public. Governor Kevin Stitt, Debbie Harrison, Larry Stein, Jay Steagall, Bailey Ballou, and several others were on hand to help with the preparation of the steaks.

The champion as determined by the a team of national judges was Oklahoma Beef Market LLC of Hulbert, Oklahoma. The People’s Choice Award was presented to 4T Ranch Beef of Agra, Oklahoma.

After the event, Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Mariah Reimer, the Foundation coordinator at Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association. She said this event was the brainchild of Oklahoma National Stockyards President Kelli Payne. Payne has been hosting a State Cookoff Association Event for the past few years. They wanted to come up with an event in which the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s foundation could be the beneficiary of the event. This means every entry fee from the National competition comes to the foundation andgoes straight to scholarships and educational opportunities for students who are going to better the agricultural industry, “She came to me she said, how do we benefit Oklahoma? How do we benefit these producers? And that’s where this event came to life. How do we take cattle producers to the next level? How do we go directly to the consumers and give people options? Go Local. Go Oklahoma, support local, Oklahoma beef.”

Since this was the first time for the event, Reimer said they only took ten finalists to see how the competition would go, “We had such a positive response. The people came out for the people’s choice. National sanctioned judges judging Oklahoma Beef and blown away by their product compared to national steak competitors is just phenomenal when you think about it.”

Producers came from all across the state, and Reimer said the Steak Out offered all types of steak, “It’s all across the board, and that’s what we wanted, Local Oklahomans to experience. Some are grass-fed, and some are grain fed, come see, educate yourself, and learn about the different varieties. It’s not just a hamburger; it’s not just a steak. For these producers, this is their livelihood. So they poured everything they know into it, and it shows through every piece of sample steak today, and just a phenomenal job by every single one of those people.”

Reimer said the National judges were very impressed by what Oklahoma producers were serving and the story of each producer, “That’s what makes them unique, their story, every time people walked out they said, “wow, this is what Oklahoma is serving our consumers, this quality of steak.”

Reimer said next year would be even bigger and better, “We’re hoping to open it up. We’ve had many calls, many producers wanting in on this, and many sponsors wanting in on this. We had phenomenal sponsors, but we’re hoping to open it up to as many as we can handle. We really want to build this and make it its own competition. Fill the entire Stockyard and get as many producers and let’s promote them as much as we can. And let’s really educate the public and allow them to show what Oklahoma producers are made of and what they’re working day in and day out to do.”

This event coincided with the Stockyard Stampede, with events for the whole family taking place in the stockyards throughout the day.

National Judging Awards went to:
1) Oklahoma Beef LLC, Hulbert
2) Grasslands Wagyu, Tuttle
3) Diamond H Cattle Company, Pryor

Winners of the People Choice Award went to:
1) 4T Ranch Beef, Agra
2) Piguets Prime Time, Vinita
3) Cowgirl Beef, Ft. Cobb

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 15:11:46 CDT

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture are now putting the Daily Cash Grain Report into a PDF format – we are saving that PDF and archiving them for today’s specific report. To see today’s update, click on the PDF report link at the bottom of this story.

In addition to the PDF of the daily report, you can also listen to the Cash Grain Report by calling 405-621-5533. Push 2 for the grain report.

Click here: 04457_OklaCashGrain10142022.pdf

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 14:38:55 CDT

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Listen to today’s report with Justin Lewis, by clicking or tapping on the LISTEN bar

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 12:16:02 CDT

The National Ranching Heritage Center hosted a groundbreaking ceremony today.

Envisioned as an indoor and outdoor comprehensive learning experience for the public, The Cash Family Ranch Life Learning Ce…

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 11:15:38 CDT

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KC Sheperd, Farm Director, is visiting with Bob Rodenberger, a partner with Stockman Oklahoma Livestock Marketing. Rodenberger and Sheperd talk about the current cattle market and the upcoming Emergency Drought Commission Meeting.

“We are still seeing an ample number of calves come to down,” Rodenberger said.

On the positive side, Rodenberger said he has seen that many people have dusted their wheat in, and some wheat has come up, so people are optimistic.

“We have a chance of rain later in next week sometime,” Rodenberger said. “A little rain continuously will help some of these people that have got this wheat up.”

The calf market, Rodenberger said, has limited places to go.

“The cow market was not saturated- we saturated it back four or five months ago,” Rodenberger said. “But we have got ample amount of cows available and the killing condition keeps dropping off, and when your cow gets thinner, it doesn’t matter whether she weighs 1000 or 1500 (pounds), she is worth less dollars because there is less meat to salvage off of her.”

As for the feeder cattle market, Rodenberger said he did not see many feeders, even in Oklahoma City on Monday.

“It would have steady at best,” Rodenberger said. “We have dropped the index down five or six dollars in the last three months, so it is back down.”

In general, Rodenberger said the overall market is doing well for this time of year for the situation we are going through.

“What I am seeing coming to town now is calves that are normally put on wheat and carried and sold after the first of the year, you know, January through March,” Rodenberger said.

This coming Monday, on October 17th, there will be another Oklahoma Emergency Drought Commission meeting to discuss the allocation of funds and additional funds for drought relief in the state.

Click the LISTEN BAR below to hear KC’s full conversation with Bob Rodenberger as he gives a cattle market update.
   

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 10:33:44 CDT

Armadillos are sneaky critters that destroy flower beds, root up lawns and test the sanity of homeowners. Oklahoma State University Extension offers advice on how to control armadillo damage during warm months when the animal’s destructive behavior is most visible.

“There is seldom a quick and easy fix to any wildlife damage problem,” said Dwayne Elmore, OSU Extension wildlife specialist. “Often the cost (time and money) of control exceeds the damage caused, and in this particular case, damage is mostly aesthetics or nuisance.”

Elmore’s OSU Extension fact sheet on nuisance armadillos suggests the following:

• Armadillo damage to Bermudagrass is manageable because healthy grass will quickly fill in bare patches.

• Bare patches in cool season grasses will need to be reseeded in the fall.

• The extra irrigation required by cool season grasses makes them especially attractive to armadillos.

• Wear gloves when filling in holes with soil and turf or smoothing out flower beds.

• Repellants and scare tactics are not effective in keeping armadillos out of the landscape.

• Fences more than 12 inches tall should eliminate most armadillo activity.

The armadillo is a mammal that typically gives birth to four identical young. They have sparse hair under their armored shell. They feed on insects and earthworms by digging in loose soil with their long claws.

“The armadillo expanded its distribution north in recent decades but is not adapted to the cold,” Elmore said. “Its population is sometimes reduced in northern Oklahoma following prolonged cold winters.”

Other interesting facts about armadillos:

• Armadillos have an excellent sense of smell but poor eyesight.

• They can swim and sometimes walk under water when crossing shallow ditches.

• They do not hibernate but become less active in the winter.

• Armadillos are the only other mammal other than humans known to carry leprosy.

• During the hottest months of the year, they are most active from 2 to 5 a.m.

• It is illegal to move an armadillo to another location for release unless the landowner grants permission.

Elmore said armadillos are not protected in Oklahoma and may be trapped or shot year-round. Trapping is highly effective using a live catch trap that is 12 inches tall, 12 inches wide and 32 inches deep. Traps that include a door work best.

As a safety reminder to those who may encounter an armadillo in close range, they often jump several feet off the ground when frightened and can cause injury if a person is standing too close. While the probability of a leprosy infection is low, Elmore cautions against handling armadillos or disturbed soil with bare skin.

OSU Extension uses research-based information to help all Oklahomans solve local issues and concerns, promote leadership and manage resources wisely throughout the state’s 77 counties. Most information is available at little to no cost.