OCA News & Views

President • Tom Karr 740-591-9900, tom@karrcontracting.com Vice President • Bill Tom 937-694-5378, btom@uproducers.com Treasurer • Linde Sutherly 937-875-0670, linde@lindeslivestockphotos.com Past President • Aaron Arnett 614-947-9931, aaronarnett16@gmail.com

OCA Directors

Tom Karr Director At-Large Pomeroy • Term expires 2024 740-597-9900, tom@karrcontracting.com Bill Tom Director At-Large Washington C.H. • Term expires 2023 937-694-5378, btom@uproducers.com J.L. Draganic Director At-Large Wakeman • Term expires 2022 440-821-6576, paintcreekcattle@gmail.com Jaymes Maciejewski District 1 New Bavaria • Term expires 2023 309-222-0850, jaymes.maciejewski@gmail.com Andy Lohr District 2 Bucyrus • Term expires 2024 419-569-3613, andylohr61@gmail.com John Ferguson District 3 Chardon • Term expires 2024 440-478-0782, john@fergusonshowcattle.com Mark Goecke District 4 Spencerville • Term expires 2023 419-233-3101, goeckefarms@gmail.com Jason Dagger District 5 Cable• Term expires 2024 937-604-8820, jason.dagger@rwe.com Pam Haley District 6 West Salem • Term expires 2022 419-853-4657, phaley@haley-farms.com Brad Thornburg District 7 Barnesville • Term expires 2023 740-310-9196, thornburgcattle@yahoo.com Linde Sutherly District 8 New Carlisle • Term expires 2024 937-875-0670, linde@lindeslivestockphotos.com Jim Jepsen District 9 Amanda • Term expires 2022 614-560-5919, jepsen.drfarms@gmail.com Sarah Ison District 10 Moscow • Term expires 2023 513-314-5382, sarah.ison01@gmail.com Lindsey Hall District 11 Hillsboro • Term expires 2024 937-763-8115, lindseycgrimes@gmail.com Luke Vollborn • District 12 Bidwell • Term expires 2022 740-441-5740, vollborncattle@yahoo.com

Hoping for a heifer

By Tom Karr, OCA President

The only more confusing current event other than our U.S. energy strategy, and I use the term “strategy” very loosely, is trying to read a beef import/export forecast based on past history. I understand Japan and South Korea continuing to be our largest export markets for 2021 at 826 and 666 million pounds, respectively. They are relatively small land mass countries with large populations per square mile and have very few domestic cattle. But our number three and four export destinations are Mexico and Canada at 319 and 286 million pounds which are a bit more confusing. On the import side, Canada is number one at 825 while Mexico is number two at 651 million pounds. Both countries are large land masses and sparsely populated. But over 900 million pounds of beef are passing both directions on the highways somewhere between Canada, USA and Mexico. I acknowledge the difference in quality and types of beef exchanged among our trading group. From live cattle to be processed coming in, to high-end boxed beef going out, it just seems that with some efficiency and logistics we could save a lot of $5 diesel fuel. We have tankers of Russian, Venezuelan and Saudi oil coming in, and oil and gas drilling curtailed domestically. I don’t profess to have the answers to all of the world’s problems, but, “if I am elected, I will serve.” I’ll bet you have heard that before. The world is looking to the international farming community to try to prevent a massive food shortage that will affect the poorest and most impoverished people on the planet with no solution in sight for the war in Ukraine. We will whine and moan when our government stops our beef exports to China in retaliation for their assistance to the Russians, but we should be accustomed to having food products being first on the list as retaliation for bad behavior. There is a quiet solace to having beef in our freezers, compared to no wheat to make flour. Our prayers go out to those innocent people that suffer from political unrest. On the bright side, the forecast includes a shrinking cow herd, domestically, and a record demand for our quality beef at home and abroad. This should result in better prices for cow/calf operations which is the real basis of the beef industry. If everyone would just leave us alone and let us go out and check for new calves standing, nursing and waiting to be tagged. I’m hoping it’s another heifer!