Youth News
OYE's Tyler Norvell Looks Forward to a Normal Flow of Events Generating Millions of Dollars for Oklahoma FFA and 4-Hers
Mon, 07 Mar 2022 15:47:31 CST
Tyler Norvell, President of the Oklahoma Youth Expo and the Onward Foundation, is excited for the prospect to see a more "normal" flow of events for the 2022 Oklahoma Youth Expo- billed as the World's Largest Junior Livestock Show. Norvell says the last three years have been hit by disease issues- telling Oklahoma Farm Report's Ron Hays that in 2019- it was PED that spread through the hog barns towards the end of that year's show- followed by the 2020 OYE where COVID 19 struck and ended the event at the midway point and keeping the market shows from happening- and then 2021 had fears of PEDv in the hog barns causing a decision to flip the swine show- having the market show in its normal time frame but delaying the breeding gilt show to after the Sale of Champions when the hog barns were emptied of the barrows.
"This year it's gonna be fun to have the normal schedule- I'm very much looking to be able to have the gilt sale normal like we had during the barrow show- I mean that's always been one of my favorite events and it always has been- The number of people, the opportunity for those young people to sell their livstock breeding gilts- there's a lot of optmisim around it- knock on wood we hope everything stays normal this year.
OYE is a multi million dollar event. That Night of Stars Breeding Gilt Sale, to be held Wednesday, March 16th- generated a million dollars for the 120 gilts that were sold. Then- there is the premium sale of the top market animals in the four species- hogs, sheep, goats and cattle. Norvell says he can't absolutely guarantee it- but he expects a million dollar plus sale for those top placing market animals- and then there will be another $200,000 worth of scholarships handed out to 4-H and FFA members from across the state of Oklahoma.
Norvell says that many major Oklahoma companies with no direct ties to agriculture are lining up to support the OYE program- saying they do so because the type of young people that livestock showing produces are the type of young adults that they want to hire in the years to come.
Hays also talked with Norvell about the multi million dollar impact on the central Oklahoma economy- north of $25 million- and the respect that the Oklahoma Youth Expo has commanded- not just in Oklahoma- but in states all across the country.
Click on the listen bar below to hear their complete conversation just ahead of the start of the competitions that will be happening between now and THursday evening, March 17th.
Click here for the complete schedule of the 2022 OYE. The complete OYE website is available here.
Our coverage of the 2022 Oklahoma Youth Expo is sponsored by Hilliary Communications, serving more than 19,000 customers with telephone service in 22 counties throughout Oklahoma & Texas. The company also offers IP television service and internet speeds up to 1 Gig. Hilliary Communications continuously researches the marketplace for innovations and strives to improve underdeveloped areas, offering services that exceed customer expectations. Click here to learn more about Hilliary Communications.
You can see all of our pictures from the 2022 OYE in our 2022 OYE Flickr album- available here.
Our stories from the Oklahoma Youth Expo will be located on our website within our Blue Green Gazette pages- and stories from this year and last can be seen by clicking here.
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