John H. Pfeiffer Jr., a fourth-generation Oklahoma farmer and rancher, has been awarded the 2025 recipient of Governor Stitt’s Outstanding Achievement in Agriculture Award and is the 28th inductee into the Oklahoma Agriculture Hall of Fame. Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with Pfeiffer to hear his story, which was featured in Tuesday’s BeefBuzz. Yesterday, they discussed the time Pfeiffer spent serving on the American Angus Association’s Board of Directors. Today, the heart of the topic is Pfeiffer’s vision for the future of the cattle industry.

Together with his wife, Gaye, Pfeiffer owns and operates Pfeiffer Angus Farms, a purebred Angus cattle operation. Their participation in a 1981 CAB workshop shifted their focus from show-based to performance-based breeding, with Pfeiffer leading advancements in technology like in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. He is also a former president of the American Angus Association.

Pfeiffer’s vision for the future of the cattle industry is to move further from commodity cattle. He explained, “I think the next step is – and we are beginning to see it already – we’re not going to have just regular commodity products anymore, we’re going to have specialized beef products, like Certified Angus Beef.”

He added that this is already being done in the soybean industry and will soon be seen in wheat production. “If you want to play in agriculture, and you want to be profitable, you are going to have to do some of these other things,” he said. “I think the days of commodity beef and commodity crops are fast disappearing – if you are going to be profitable.”

According to Pfeiffer, it is going to come down the which cattle have more disease resistance so that there are fewer instances of shipping fever, pneumonia, and similar illnesses.

“We’ve all known it for years,” he said. “We can tell when we bring in a set of calves, there are a few of them that always get sick, and some that don’t ever get sick. If we trace that through, and with gene-editing, we’re probably going to be able to move those traits a lot quicker. The problem that comes with the cattle business, especially the registered cattle business, is whether that is still the same kind of registered animal. That is the problem that the board is dealing with.”

He detailed how moving genes, for example, from a Red Angus bull to a Black Angus bull raises questions of purity and also consumer acceptance.

“We can do a lot of things scientifically, but I’m not sure society is ready to accept it, yet,” Pfeiffer commented.

Switching subjects, Pfeiffer shared a story about how his friend, the late Jarold Callahan, President of Express Ranches at the time of his death, with whom he judged livestock at Oklahoma State University, helped him get on the American Angus Association Board of Directors.

Setting the stage, Pfeiffer explained that he had been working with the Farm Bureau and was set up to become an officer in the Cattlemen’s Association or with Farm Bureau, when he received a call from Callahan. After the two had spoken for a while, the conversation went something like this:

Callahan: “We want you to run for the board, John.”

Pfeiffer: “Those people really know how to breed cattle. I don’t think I’m smart enough to be on the American Angus Association Board.”

Callahan: “Well, think about it.”

Pfeiffer: “How soon do you need to know?”

Callahan: “You need to let me know in three or four days.”

Pfeiffer raised the topic with Gaye, and they discussed the opportunities and time requirements of serving. “One of the things that Gaye and I both believe is that if you are going to be on a board, you have to be totally involved,” he said. “You have to commit everything to it, so I told Jarold that I would, but I also told him that I still wasn’t sure that I was smart enough to be on the board, and I didn’t think I could get elected.”

Callahan assured him that he would get elected and would be good for the job. He was correct, and Pfeiffer was elected.

Five years later, Callahan was upset because Pfeiffer, along with the board, had decided to include the Combined Value ($C) Index. “He’s taking me to task one day, asking me if I had asked all of these questions and this and that, and it had been going on about fifteen minutes. Finally, he took a break, which doesn’t happen very often, and I looked at him and said, ‘Do you remember when I told you I’d run for the board?’ He says, ‘Yep!’ I said, ‘Do you remember when I told you that I wasn’t sure I was smart enough to be on the board?’ He says, ‘Well, yeah, I remember that.’ I said, ‘Well, now you know I wasn’t smart enough to be on the board!’” Pfeiffer shared with a laugh. “He just gave up and quit railing me!”

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

The post Angus Breeder John Pfeiffer Believes Commodity Cattle are “Fast Disappearing” first appeared on Oklahoma Farm Report.

John H. Pfeiffer Jr., a fourth-generation Oklahoma farmer and rancher, has been awarded the 2025 recipient of Governor Stitt’s Outstanding Achievement in Agriculture Award and is the 28th inductee into the Oklahoma Agriculture Hall of Fame. Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with Pfeiffer to hear his story, which was featured in Tuesday’s BeefBuzz. Today, they are discussing the time Pfeiffer spent serving on the American Angus Association’s Board of Directors.

The Pfeiffer’s Angus herd can be traced back to the first Registered Angus bull that John’s great-grandfather bought in 1907, just years after trading $25 and a shotgun for a parcel of Oklahoma land the day after the land run.

Together with his wife, Gaye, Pfeiffer owns and operates Pfeiffer Angus Farms, a purebred Angus cattle operation. Their participation in a 1981 CAB workshop shifted their focus from show-based to performance-based breeding, with Pfeiffer leading advancements in technology like in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer.

Pfeiffer served on the Certified Angus Beef board for five years during his tenure with the American Angus Association. “One year as president, and that was the year that we went over a billion pounds in sales,” he recalled. “That was kind of neat to be president and reach the billion pounds in sales. I knew from the year before we were getting close, and I ran the numbers before the June meeting, and thought, ‘Darn. We are going to be about ten million short.’ So, when we did hit the billion, I was really excited.”

Today, Angus is the gold standard in a lot of ways, including the value-added program and the multitude of technologies embraced within the industry.

Pfeiffer said that the American Angus Association had joined forces with GeneSeek, now known as Neogen Genomics, around the time that he started serving on the board of directors. A year later, it became apparent that Pfeiffer Angus Farms would need to pull genomics on their own herd in order to stay up with the industry. The test cost $75 per head at that time. His wife doubted whether the outcome would be worth the expense.

“It would have been almost eight years later before we really saw any return for it,” he admitted. “When we were finally able to sell the one cow that was worth a whole lot of money, we saw the return, because she was three generations deep with genomic data in her pedigree. That’s why our numbers didn’t change and stayed so good. She is still one of the top cows in the Angus breed today. Those decisions that we made early on were very beneficial and helped to make things a whole lot better.”

He highlighted his confidence in genomic data by sharing that nearly all of his commercial cows also have genomic data on them, now. “Consumers want it, and it’s important that we take care of the consumers,” he emphasized. “If we don’t take care of the consumers, then we aren’t going to be in business for very long.”

He pointed out how much the American Angus Association and Certified Angus Beef are pushing the Beef Quality Assurance Program, and that everyone on this farm is BQA certified and keeps their certification up to date.

“We try to do everything right each and every day,” he said. “Besides creating a quality product, we have to make sure that we take care of things; we’ve got to take care of the environment.”

He believes that the best thing about CAB is that chefs and wholesalers are just as excited about the products as the producers are. “We kind of have this idea that we are the only ones who are really putting forth work, but I guarantee you that some of the chefs and restaurant owners that I’ve seen work harder than I do to make sure that they put out a quality product,” he noted. “If you create a quality product and they can’t get it cooked and served right, then you haven’t accomplished anything. It is all of us together working as a group to make Certified Angus Beef as successful as it has been today.”

You can listen to the entire conversation that Hays had with Pfeiffer by clicking here.

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

The post Longtime Angus Breeder and Angus Leader: John H. Pfeiffer, Jr. first appeared on Oklahoma Farm Report.

John H. Pfeiffer Jr., a fourth-generation Oklahoma farmer and rancher, has been awarded the 2025 recipient of Governor Stitt’s Outstanding Achievement in Agriculture Award and is the 28th inductee into the Oklahoma Agriculture Hall of Fame. Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with Pfeiffer to hear his story.

The Outstanding Achievement in Agriculture Award is the highest award given by an Oklahoma Governor to honor distinguished Oklahoma agriculture producers. This prestigious award honors leaders in the agriculture industry who exemplify personal values, performance, and achievement.

Pfeiffer was surprised when Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur called to give him the news. He double checked the number, then informed Secretary Arthur that she must have mistakenly called the “old John Pfeiffer” rather than the young one! The “young one” is State Representative John Pfeiffer III.

“My son and her talk, at least weekly, and often two or three times a day,” he explained with a chuckle. “She said, ‘No, I want the old one!’”

His next thought was that she would ask him to serve on a committee, and his mind was racing over the plethora of things that needed to be done in the spring on his purebred Angus cattle operation. Once he learned the reason for her call, he was caught off guard.

“I don’t know that I deserve it, but I am appreciative and it’s something I think a whole lot of,” he shared.
His involvement in agriculture began as soon as he was big enough to do a job. He became active in 4-H at 9 years old, showing heifers given to him by his grandfather. He admitted that after that first show season was when he began to see cattle as profitable because once he was finished with his show heifers, his grandfather took them back, bred them, raised and sold a bull out of them, and gave him the check, with no expenses on his part.

“I thought the cattle business was the best thing in the world!” he said. “That was where I started from, and we’ve been continually working with my dad and granddad, and we’ve been in this same area since the land run. My great-granddad bought his first registered Angus bull in 1907, and we’ve been in the Angus business since then.”

He pointed out the irony that he is receiving his award on April 22 – the same day as the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889. He admitted that his great-grandfather bought the farm – reputedly for $25 and a shotgun – the day after the land run rather than the day of, but the irony is not lost on him.

Pfeiffer and his wife, Gaye, have long been recognized as pillars of excellence in the cattle industry. Together, they own and operate Pfeiffer Angus Farms, a purebred Angus cattle operation. Their participation in a 1981 CAB workshop shifted their focus from show-based to performance-based breeding, with Pfeiffer leading advancements in technology like in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer.

His grandfather was a proponent of diversity, so the Pfeiffers also raise crops along with their cattle because “they usually aren’t both bad at the same time.”

Pfeiffer graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1975 and worked as a county extension agent before serving as an educator and principal for 18 years. The Pfeiffers actively support local youth through 4-H and FFA, earning Pfeiffer honorary degrees from the Mulhall-Orlando FFA Chapter and the Oklahoma FFA Association. They welcome hundreds to their farm annually, sharing livestock management practices and educating diverse groups, including chefs, international delegates, STEM educators, and experts.

“Originally, I went to college, and when I came out of college, I thought, ‘If I could be a dentist, I’d have lots of money to raise cows,’ he admitted. “The problem was that I forgot you had to study when you went to college if you wanted to be a dentist.”

After two years, he switched to an agricultural degree and joined the livestock judging team. He admitted that he didn’t do a lot after college and realized that serving as a county extension agent wasn’t for him. That’s when he returned to college to obtain a teaching certificate, saying that his wife put him on the straight and narrow path to success.

He recalled that he and Hays were classmates in Class I of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program, and didn’t really know what they were getting into. “It probably had more to do with changing how I looked at things and did things than anything that has ever happened in my life,” he admitted. “If you go back and look, you’ll see all of the activities that I began to do since I got out of the Ag Leadership Program. It wasn’t long before I was on the co-op board, the Farm Bureau Board, and various other boards, and still continued to teach school.”

After being elected to the board of the American Angus Association, he served as the Chairman of Certified Angus Beef and then the President of the breed Association.

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

The post John Pfeiffer: A Legacy of Excellence in Oklahoma Agriculture first appeared on Oklahoma Farm Report.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays talked to OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel after the latest USDA Cattle-on-Feed Report was released last week. In Friday’s BeefBuzz, Dr. Peel analyzed the numbers. Today, he is discussing rebuilding the nation’s cowherd.

Dr. Peel explained that his basic outlook hasn’t changed in about two years, a period which he described as the longest in his career that something hasn’t come up to change things. “The only thing we’ve done is we’ve extended it farther because it is really this heifer retention question. We’ve been slow to start. We may be starting now, and that may lead to some different things to say at some point, but really it has been the same message for a long time, with the exception, of course, that we are in a much more volatile external environment that the cattle market is working in right now.”

Politics, trade debates, and macroeconomic aspects are the contributing factors to the volatility of the environment; however, they haven’t changed the overall outlook.

The U.S. cowherd experienced such constriction initially because prices of cattle have been too high to pass up, especially considering the recent prevalence of drought conditions. Producers sold their heifers, reduced the stress on their land, paid off their bills, and some are now looking to begin rebuilding their herds; however, progress will be slow.

“Even if we do start, I don’t know that we are going to see a really aggressive, rapid push here,” Dr. Peel said. “I think it will be a little more moderated kind of pace of herd rebuilding that will take several years to fully develop.”

He explained further that producers and their lenders are being understandably prudent and very cautious about rebuilding, considering the astronomical prices of cattle right now. “Some producers are in better shape to be the ones to go out and make this expansion happen; other producers maybe still need a little time to get themselves in better shape financially, so prudently, might be the ones who hold back a little bit,” he said.

According to the Monthly Retail Price Report, beef prices continue to increase at record levels. When comparing beef prices to those of other proteins, beef is much higher, further exemplifying the value consumers are placing on beef when they don’t move to less expensive alternatives like pork or chicken.

While Dr. Peel doesn’t think consumers will turn away from beef entirely, he expects two things to happen over the next few months: if heifer retention begins, beef production will fall, and consumers will make some adjustments to the mix of protein products they are consuming in favor of a less expensive product.

“I don’t think we’ll see a mass abandonment of beef under, virtually, any circumstance,” Dr. Peel stated. “We will probably see more impacts as we go further and squeeze supplies and push these prices even higher.”

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

The post Dr. Derrell Peel Explains Slow Path to Rebuilding the US Cowherd first appeared on Oklahoma Farm Report.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays talked to OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel after the latest USDA Cattle-on-Feed Report was released on Thursday afternoon, and Dr. Peel analyzed the latest numbers.

According to the April Cattle on Feed Report, March placements were up 105% of last year, and March marketings were up 101% of last year. The total on feed number as of April 1 was 2% down from a year ago, similar to last month.

“The placement number was a little bigger than expected, but it wasn’t outside of the range of expectations, so not a huge surprise, but maybe a little bit bigger,” Dr. Peel detailed. “Markets were pretty close to expected. The on-feed number didn’t really drop further on a year-over-year basis, but we’re maintaining a little bit smaller inventory than we’ve had over the last year or more.”

He expects the inventory to constrict even more as time goes on, simply due to fewer cattle in the countryside. He referred to the “tricks” feedyards have employed to maintain capacity for as long as possible, but even they have limits.

Placements were down sharply in the last report, causing a ripple in the markets. “As we watch the auction volumes through the month of March, they were bigger,” Dr. Peel said. “Some of it was kind of weather-timing, we had some weather impacts in February that reduced placements. Some of those showed up later in March, WEr so I wasn’t overly surprised that it came in a little bigger than the average trade guess, but again, it wasn’t outside the range of expectations.

Because the April publication includes the quarterly report, it provides more in-depth information about females. “That was the most interesting number I wanted to see,” Dr. Peel said, referring to the heifer on feed number. “This heifer on feed number comes in at 37.6 percent of the total feedlot inventory in several quarters,” Dr. Peel said. “For at least two years, if not longer, this is the lowest heifer percentage on feed. It brings that percentage down to about the long-term average level or maybe just a little bit above it.”

The number still isn’t low enough yet to suggest herd rebuilding has begun on a large scale, but Dr. Peel believes it is indicative of a step in that direction.

“If we confirm this in the next quarter for sure, then we can safely say that we might be doing some heifer retention that will eventually lead to herd rebuilding,” he added. “You have to start somewhere, and this could be that start.”

Longer-term forage conditions will dictate whether or not the trend will continue and spread. A statewide significant rain event is in the forecast for Oklahoma, and Dr. Peel said that the timing is prime. “We are at a time now where the next six or eight weeks is really going to set the stage for forage conditions for much of the growing season.”

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

The post Dr . Derrell Peel Sees Placements Higher in Latest Cattle on Feed Report first appeared on Oklahoma Farm Report.

The Cattlemen’s Congress is a stock show for cattlemen and women managed by cattlemen and women. The Cattlemen’s Congress is an opportunity for breeders across North America to showcase their top genetics and connect with fellow beef producers in a central location, in the heart of cattle country. Set for January 4 – 16, 2025, in Oklahoma City, the event is not one to miss.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is catching up with Chairman of the Board for Cattlemen’s Congress Tyler Norvell in this episode of Beef Buzz, talking about the fifth annual Cattlemen’s Congress and the value it adds to the Southern Plains cattle industry.

Norvell compelled every beef producer near enough to drive to spend at least a day at the show. “It is an awesome place to see the most elite genetics in the United States,” Norvell said. “If you need to buy a bull, there will be a bull there that you need or that you want to see in person. If you need some bred heifers, come meet the people who are putting them in the sale. Come talk to the elite purebred breeders from across the United States in one place.”

The Oklahoma State Fairgrounds is centrally located, and parking is free as is admission.

He described the event as the Super Bowl for cattlemen and emphasized that if the Superbowl was within driving distance and free, lots more folks would go.

Also important to the Oklahoma City economy, the show’s placement in January has brought a welcome flood of commerce to Oklahoma City business during what was previously a slow season.

“Everybody involved in the visitor’s bureau here – and the hotels and restaurants around Meridian – say that January was their slowest time of the year,” Norvell shared. “Not only the amount of money we brought but the time of the year that we brought it, makes us the most impactful event they have ever had started here. We know we are around a $50 million economic impact at Oklahoma City and if you calculate in the time of the year that it is in, the impact is significantly larger than that for these businesses.”

He expresses gratitude for the partnership of the Oklahoma City municipality and the Visitors Bureau.

This year’s event will be the last to be held in the iconic Jim Norick arena as it is scheduled to be demolished after its replacement is ready for use in 2026.

“It’s going to be exciting to break that building in next year at the 2026 Cattlemen’s Congress, and the 2026 Oklahoma Youth Expo,” Norvell said. “There will probably be some challenges the first year as we try to figure out how to use it and how to make it the most efficient and the most exhibitor friendly, but I think folks will enjoy the new changes and be patient with us as we adapt.”

For more about the 2025 Cattlemen’s Congress, view yesterday’s BeefBuzz with Norvell for part one of the conversation.

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

The post Explore Elite Beef Genetics at the 2025 Cattlemen’s Congress in Oklahoma City first appeared on Oklahoma Farm Report.

The Cattlemen’s Congress is a stock show for cattlemen and women managed by cattlemen and women. The Cattlemen’s Congress is an opportunity for breeders across North America to showcase their top genetics and connect with fellow beef producers in a central location, in the heart of cattle country. Set for January 4 – 16, 2025, in Oklahoma City, the event is not one to miss.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is catching up with Chairman of the Board for Cattlemen’s Congress Tyler Norvell in this episode of Beef Buzz, talking about the fifth annual Cattlemen’s Congress and the great success it has become in the five years since its inception.

To Norvell, the success of the show five years later is unreal. “I am sitting in the same chair I was in when Bob Funk and Jarold Callahan called me in the fall of 2020 and told me that we were going to try to do this deal, and I thought there was no way it would ever happen. If it did, it would be a one-year deal, but five years later, here we are.

“It has been awesome to be a part of. It’s been incredible for the cattle industry, and incredible for our state.”

According to Norvell, the first and second events held in 2021 and 2022, respectively, were two of the largest cattle shows in the history of the United States. The entry numbers experienced a slight reduction for the next couple of years, but the upcoming show is promising to be bigger.

“This tells me that we are here to stay,” Norvell said.

Even with the reduced numbers, the Cattlemen’s Congress remains the largest cattle show in the world by a significant margin, although Norvell was sure to note, the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky, is the largest purebred livestock show.

The impressive numbers are not only garnered by the number of participating cattle breeders or numbers of cattle but also the increasing number of diverse cattle breeds that are exhibited at the premier event.

“I’m really proud of Bray Haven, who is the executive vice president of Cattleman’s Congress, and the job he has done recruiting new breeds,” Norvell said. “That is where we continue to grow. The Angus, Hereford, Simmental, and Shorthorn – they stay strong, but we continue to get calls from other breeds that are trying to grow by getting in new markets and exposing their breeds. Those have increased each year.”

The Cattlemen’s Congress is the only show of its caliber that offers a Supreme just for the American breed division. Norvell shared, “This year, we have seen our American cattle grow, and the diversity that we have brought here has been awesome for the cattle industry and for those particular breeds that may not get the traditional exposure that other breeds have.”

As a show for cattlemen and cattlewomen and put on by cattlemen and cattlewomen, the diverse breeds exhibited at the event only have one qualifying requirement – that they are beef cattle only.

“There is no other show in the world that brings the cattle industry together like we do here, and I think that is why people look forward to it,” Norvell stated. “Not that they don’t love other species and the people in those species, but they do love a gathering of cattlemen only. It makes it pretty neat.”

With the collection of beef breeds, the Cattlemen’s Congress also features several purebred cattle sales – nineteen to be exact!

“The amount of sales that we have here and the amount of money that changes hands, whether it be genetics or live cattle are second to none,” Norvell said. “We want to continue to grow that. I took for granted how important that was to the industry until the fall of 2020, and Jarold Callahan made it very clear to me that this is vital. It’s not optional to put this on. It has to happen for the backbone of the financial well-being of the purebred industry. We are going to continue to be committed to that to make sure cattle producers have the opportunity to market their genetics here each year at the Cattlemen’s Congress and that we do our part each year to try to get buyers here.

“That’s why I’m super excited about the commercial heifer sale that we are going to have this year, that Matt Sims is heading up and Bray has done a lot of work on. The interest in that has been sky-high, and I couldn’t be more excited to be adding that event this year.”

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

The post The Fifth Annual Cattlemen’s Congress: Celebrating Unmatched Success first appeared on Oklahoma Farm Report.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with Kentucky cattle producer Andy Bishop about why he serves the industry as Chairman of the Cattleman’s Beef Promotion Board.

“For me, it is about the people,” Bishop said. “I enjoy getting out and meeting all of the producers across the country who are passionate about promoting our product and telling that story. That is what has driven me to get to where I am today and to share the beef message with everybody across the country that I can.”

Bishop’s own operation is a small cow-calf facility impressively diversified and run by him, his wife, and their four children. He keeps about sixty mama cows and raises Angus bulls, but has recently added Balancer and Lim-Flex bulls to the list.

“That was primarily because my daughter wants to show cattle,” he said. “We bought a Gelbvieh bull and some Limousins, but we sell mostly registered bulls and some freezer beef off of the farm as well.”

Bishop understands that diversifying is important to small operations as is capturing as much added value as possible. “Those calves that we don’t keep for freezer beef, the bulls that don’t make the grade, or even the heifers that we don’t keep for replacements, we background those heifers and try to add value that way through a Certified Pre-Conditioned for Health (CPH-45) program in Kentucky,” Bishop shared. “If you are going to stay in this game as a producer today, you have to be pretty clever with capturing as much value as you can.”

The Beef Checkoff programs that appeal most to Bishop are promotion and education. He especially likes what Farm Bureau, as a Beef Checkoff contractor, is doing with the STEM program to teach science teachers how to add a beef and agricultural emphasis to their curriculums.

He said, “The U.S. Meat Export Federation is probably one of my favorite programs along with the work they do internationally to add value to a carcass. They do an outstanding job of promoting those products overseas.”

He emphasized the value added to the variety-meats that aren’t typically used in the United States such as tongue, tripe, and liver. “Thanks to the work of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, consumers abroad love those products, know how to utilize them in their diets, and are willing to pay a premium for them,” he said.

In Japan, U.S. beef tongue brings $11 – $12 per pound, and tripe is worth $4 – $6 per pound. “I’ve only had tripe one time in my life, and it was when I was in Japan,” he added. “It isn’t something that I’m going to consume in my diet regularly, but they enjoy it there and they are willing to pay for it. I am thankful that the U.S. Meat Export Federation is doing the work there.”

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

The post Promoting Beef and Education: Andy Bishop’s Vision as Cattleman’s Beef Promotion Board Chairman first appeared on Oklahoma Farm Report.

The Noble Research Institute has been a trusted resource for farmers and ranchers since 1945, and Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays caught up with Hugh Aljoe, Director of Ranches, Outreach & Partnerships at The Noble Research Institute, to discuss regenerative ranching. Yesterday’s BeefBuzz featured Hays and Aljoe talking about the partnership between Certified Angus Beef and the Noble Research Institute to produce land stewardship courses for producers.

The Noble Research Institute converted all of its ranches to regenerative agriculture practices in 2021 and then began to focus on an educational curriculum to teach the practices to others.

“Right now, we have our Noble Land Essentials, which really focuses on soil health,” Aljoe described. “We have our Grazing Essentials, which is the application of adaptive grazing, and the Business of Grazing which along with Grazing Essentials, was developed with the help of Dr. Jim Gerrish, who most people would know his management intensive grazing approach that has been available to us for a number of years.”

Producers must ask themselves how they can apply the learned principles to garner increased profitability which brings about the Profitability Essentials course examining enterprise analysis and ranch profitability.

 “We want the curriculum to be something that will be meaningful to our rancher network,” Aljoe commented. “The next courses will be based on the feedback that our peers provide us about what else they need to continue down this regenerative journey.”

Aljoe was proud to say that despite persistent drought, the Noble Research Institute’s ranches have turned profits every year.

He said that essentially, producers must be able to proactively manage the grazing on their land as well as their profit. “Begin to look at those areas where you have the potential for the biggest change, and financially, you look at the areas where you have the biggest dollar amounts in your expense accounts. Then determine what you can do to change your management in order to reduce your inputs.”

Land management is all about proactively building resiliency through good stewardship practices through changes in rainfall, stocking rates, forage supplies, and other challenges.

Aljoe listed two key points to good management: “Always manage for really good residual and always allow your pastures to be fully recovered before you go back in there,” he said.

He said that one of the biggest challenges of convincing producers to emulate regenerative practices is the fear of wearing a label whether it be sustainable or regenerative.

“For us, it is really a journey,” he added. “We want to build resiliency, soil health, and profitability. To us, that is what regenerative is. It goes back to our founders’ original intent to rebuild, regenerate, and rejuvenate soils and keep people on the land. That is what we are trying to do at Noble.”

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

The post Hugh Aljoe on How Regenerative Agriculture Enhances Resilience and Profitability first appeared on Oklahoma Farm Report.

The Noble Research Institute, a trusted resource for farmers and ranchers since 1945, and Certified Angus Beef, a brand known for its commitment to quality beef, have partnered to develop and deliver Land Stewardship, an educational course designed for livestock producers worldwide. Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays caught up with Hugh Aljoe, Director of Ranches, Outreach & Partnerships at The Noble Research Institute, to discuss the joint efforts of the two companies.

In 2022, CAB reached out to the Noble Research Institute in pursuit of a way to focus on land stewardship, similar to the Beef Quality Assurance organization’s positive influence on animal husbandry and management practices.

“We wanted to make sure the land was considered a true resource that would have value through greater appreciation for what outcomes could be,” Aljoe explained. “How do we manage for improved soil health, enhance our grazing lands, and enhance our profitability long term?”

The Noble Research Institute helps producers assess where are as land stewards, and how they can improve.

The Noble Research Institute has been very open about its support of regenerative ranching practices. Aljoe said, “We’d like to be able to think about regenerative ranching as part of our continual improvement of the land, profitability, and our livestock. With that in mind, how do we begin to reassess our thought process.”

He complimented BQA on their success in improving overall animal health, husbandry, and management techniques, then related that to how the Noble Research Institute and CAB can help to improve land stewardship through rebuilding soil health and in effect, the land’s resiliency.

Once producers complete the educational Land Stewardship courses, they will receive a certificate of completion. Aljoe admitted that the certificate won’t mean much immediately but hopes that it will begin to invoke consumer confidence in the safety of natural resources where their beef is being raised and therefore in the producers themselves.

The course can be found at www.noble.org. Click Find A Course and look for Land Stewardship. The course is available online, free, and open to everyone. The course includes five modules that may take two to three continuous hours to complete; however, participants can work through the course at their own speed and convenience. Once completed, participants will receive the certificate of completion and discounts on the Soil Haney test and a future course at the Noble Research Institute.

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

The post The Noble Research Institute and CAB Unite for Global Land Stewardship Education for Ranchers first appeared on Oklahoma Farm Report.