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Cary King: President’s Thoughts

Presidents Thoughts

Cary King President, Kentucky Cattlemen's Association

Well here comes August! I don’t know about you but we have been very dry since the last article, rains have been spotty, few and far between. I hope the clouds have been kind to your hay fields and pasture. My wife, Representative Kim King, and I have just returned from a road trip to the west to attend some legislative workshops in Oklahoma City. We decided to cancel our airline tickets because of the issues that they have been having, and I’m glad we drove. This is a beautiful and diverse country we are blessed to live in. We were in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. As we drove through the large crop lands it was sad to see most of the corn looking more like pineapples than corn, short and twisted leaves, nowhere near where you would expect it to be by this time of year. The beans were short and in some places not even a very good stand came up. On out into the cattle country pasture was very dry and some were bailing grass hay that looked more like straw. After reaching our destination of Oklahoma City, Kim had meetings with other southern state legislators all through the days, so I headed into the large cattle producing ranches to see how they were faring. Most were at least supplementing their pasture with hay. One State Senator that I talked to said they usually run 600 mama cows. He had sold down to just 40, hoping to use them to rebuild his herd, but said the hay he was trucking in was so expensive, he might have to sell those. That would be the first time in 5 generations to not have any cattle. The day I visited Express Ranch it was 104 degrees, the hottest day we had was 109. Some of their grass was Bermuda and was still producing some forage. They register more Angus cattle than anyone in the country and it is a beautiful operation. I then visited the Oklahoma National Stockyards, I had been there before but this time I contacted Kelli Payne, the President of the yard, she was so nice, and such a source of information. She gave me a great tour and explained all of the challenges they face. Built in 1910, they are the largest stocker/feeder cattle market in the world. The city is growing rapidly and the large area where the yard sits is in danger of being developed. I sure hope this never happens. It’s such an old western treasure. I was there three days, on Sunday night she said they had a little over 16,000 head to sell at the Monday and Tuesday sales. They provide feed, water, and sprinklers to keep cattle comfortable, semi pots were sitting everywhere waiting until the cooler overnight hours to load out. Probably her greatest concern was the large numbers of cows they are seeing sold because of the drought. I know we are seeing a lot of cows in our state going to market too. She told me that if we have females, she thinks there will be an opportunity to sell replacement cows back to farmers and ranchers when the grass comes back. So I think we might think about keeping those feeder heifers, and getting them bred instead of selling them light. I believe we could see some very high prices in the near future. No trip to Stockyard City would be complete without eating at the Cattlemen’s Cafe and Steakhouse and I managed to eat there twice! It’s been at the same location for over 110 years, not a very fancy looking place, but may well be the best beef in the world! And also some of the most friendly people you will ever meet. I highly recommend you try it when in town. Lot’s of nice older western stores line the streets, selling everything a cowboy could ever need. So as we return home to the bluegrass state, I feel the need to count my blessings. We might be a little dry, but it looks like heaven compared to a lot of what our western friends are experiencing. Please remember all of our cattle and grain producers in your prayers. It’s all about when the good Lord decides to send us the rain that we just can’t live without. Remember, if I can be of help to you, or visit your county, just give me a call. Enjoy your Kentucky summer!

Cary King

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