Cowboy Blues

Oklahoma ranchers seem to have a pessimistic attitude these days.  Not only has cattle producers suffered tremendous losses with the economic recession, there has been no stimulus packages, rebates, or recovery offers.  The survivors are forced to live off inherited wealth or rely on off-farm income to stay in the cattle business.     

Did you know?  Agriculture is one of Oklahoma’s largest industries, contributing $7.1 billion annually to the state’s economy.  Oklahoma agriculture represents 10% of the state’s gross product and provides one of every six jobs.  Oklahoma has 85,000 farms and ranches.  The average size of its farms is 400 acres, although it has many farms and ranches of 5,000 acres.  About 73 percent of the state’s 45 million acres of land is used for farming and ranching. 

Oklahoma ranchers have an annual inventory of 5.2 million head of cattle worth $3.4 billion, in 59,000 operations.  It is the fourth largest beef-producing state and accounts for about $2 billion of the state’s annual agricultural cash receipts. 

Even with the best management, it is extremely difficult to make a profit when the costs of feed, fuel, and other expenses keep increasing and revenues decrease.  The prices of all classes of cattle have been down.  So, cow-calf producers cannot benefit from selling a weaning calf, preconditioning, or retaining ownership while grazing a yearling on wheat pasture.  It doesn’t matter how many statistics or what portion of the market we serve, the Oklahoma cattle rancher is sadly ignored.