After 25 years, Oklahoma State University Extension is announcing the conclusion of the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network.

“OQBN has been one of OSU Extension’s long-term beef industry success stories,” said Paul Beck, OSU Extension beef cattle nutrition specialist. “The program demonstrated that producers could be rewarded for sound management practices. Just as important, it helped change the way many producers, markets and buyers think about calf management before sale.”

OQBN was a joint project between OSU Extension and the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association. The program, started in 2001, built a network of producers, educators, veterinarians and industry professionals to help increase producers’ access to value-added marketing opportunities and improve the quality of cattle producers in the state.

The program’s success was built through collaboration, helping increase communication between all segments of the beef industry.

“It was a team effort,” OSU Extension beef cattle specialist David Lalman said. “It brought research, Extension education, producer commitment and market cooperation together in a way that benefited Oklahoma ranchers and improved the quality of calves entering the beef production system.”

The OQBN VAC-45 program was created to help producers with weaned, castrated, dehorned and vaccinated ranch-raised calves, according to program guidelines. Those requirements were designed to improve calf health and welfare while also providing buyers with greater confidence in the cattle they purchased.

“The fact that preconditioning practices are now more widely understood and used across the industry is part of OQBN’s legacy,” Lalman said.

Economic evaluation also played a crucial role in the program’s success. Through research and market summaries by OSU agricultural economists like Kellie Raper and Derrell Peel, the value of preconditioning and OQBN certification in Oklahoma calf markets was documented. The analysis has helped producers understand costs, returns and marketing value of adopting value-added calf management practices.

That data has allowed OSU to estimate market values for individual value-added calf management practices over time, as well as for the overall value of a preconditioning protocol that bundles those practices, Raper explained.

“We continue to learn from the detailed OQBN and auction data regarding the economics of feeder cattle management and marketing that will continue to benefit the cattle industry in Oklahoma and elsewhere,” Peel said.

OSU Extension will continue to provide education and support related to calf health, Beef Quality Assurance, marketing decisions and value-added management. Producers are encouraged to work with their OSU Extension county educators to evaluate management and marketing options.

“Having the opportunity to interact with cattle producers across Oklahoma through OQBN Extension programs was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career,” said Jeff Matty, a practicing veterinarian and former OQBN coordinator. “It also gave me a greater appreciation for the challenges they face and the impact that practical science-based herd health strategies can have on both cattle health and profitability.”