Oklahoma State University has a new hard red winter wheat variety on its way to the commercial market this fall. I had the chance to visit with OSU’s Brett Carver about this new variety, and what it has to offer.

OK18510, which will be called High Cotton, first came into existence in 2010 in what OSU wheat genetics chair Brett Carver called the “maternity ward” of wheat varieties — an OSU greenhouse in Stillwater.

“We have to meet a certain yield standard to go forward with a release, and I think High Cotton really meets and exceeds that standard,” Carver said. “It really has a good performance record across a broad swath of Oklahoma, including dual-purpose acres.”

This variety not only has qualities to make it stand out in Oklahoma’s environment, Carver said, but the variety is special because it can yield great results in many different environments.

Seed producers can expect to have access to this variety by the summer, Carver said, if everything goes according to plan.



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Breeding animals were front and center since this past Friday at the OKC Fairgrounds at the 2023 Oklahoma Youth Expo. Our coverage of all the young people involved at the OYE is powered by Hilliary Communications.

Last Friday- we saw the Supreme Commercial Gilt drive- with the best of the dark and light crossbreds shown and lined up for their part of the Night of Stars Sale coming Wednesday evening.

Supreme Champion was the Champion Dark Cross owned by Kensley Whittington of Tecumseh 4-H- Kensley wins $3,000 plus the number three position in the Night of Stars Gilt sale.(Kensely is pictured above)

Reserve Supreme Commercial was also a dark cross- owned by Gage Winters of Altus FFA-and his gilt will be number four in the sale.

Friday and Saturday- the purebred gilts were judged- and the Supreme Purebred of the 2023 OYE is the Chester White Champ- Jadyn Gwartney of Mayes County 4-H wins Supreme honors and the right to lead off the Night of Stars sale Wednesday PM. (Jadyn was all smiles in the show ring- below)

The second gilt in the sale will be the Reserve Supreme Purebred- the Spotted Poland China Champ shown by Preston Haines of the Tecumseh 4-H Club.

Meanwhile in the Super Barn Arena- the Breeding Doe show was being called the largest Hair Doe show in the country with 720 Does competing for top honors.

The Best of Show was the Division Three Champ- shown by Madison Church of Canute FFA (Her picture is further down this column in the email- under the NPPC story on the Beagle Brigade)

The reserve Supreme Breeding Doe was the reserve in Division Three-owned by Tabrey Lierle of Hydro Eakley FFA.

On Sunday- just over 300 Purebred Ewes were shown- with the Supreme Champion of the Purebred Breeding Ewe Show coming from the Hampshire competition- Jamison Scott of Central High FFA.

483 Commercial Breeding Ewes were judged- and best of the show- the Grand Champion Commercial Breeding Ewe- was shown by Brody Scroggins of Tuttle FFA.

Bill Rishel says Cattle Producers Have Always Been Sustainable- Even Before ESG

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am visiting with Angus Breeder Bill Rishel about why the cattle industry needs to be paying attention to the ESG conversation.

“The more I researched ESG and studied it, the more I believed that it had already made great progress, but at the same time, there are unintended consequences, which so often happens,” Rishel said. “There are some things that certainly I think going forward are beneficial that we need to look at as an industry, but there are often unintended consequences that are major problems that always somehow rare their ugly head, and they cause everybody issues and problems when they don’t address in the right way.”

Many agendas to increase sustainability, Rishel said, go about it the wrong way by trying to make everything mandatory.

“In doing so, they really take away many of the opportunities that have made this country the great country it is in terms of food production, looking at it from animal agriculture, farming, all of the above,” Rishel said. “I am convinced that we are already leading the world in a lot of these categories and doing great work and will continue to do that. But I am against programs and efforts that take away freedom individual opportunity and the pursuit of excellence.”

Rishel referred to the cattle industry as the ‘original animal welfare people,’ because cattle producers would not be in business very long if they did not take care of their livestock and the land in the proper way.

The sixty one percent of Oklahomans voting NO on State Question 820 were clearly in rural and suburban areas of the state. Outside of Oklahoma City and Tulsa- the precinct by precinct counts were overwhelmingly in favor of rejecting Recreational Marijuana.

Oklahoma Watch has taken Election Board data and built an interactive map of Oklahoma showing this clearly at the precinct level.

Click here to check out the precinct by precinct voting info as developed by Oklahoma Watch.

According to Oklahoma Watch- “Pockets of yes votes can also be found in densely populated areas of Edmond, Stillwater, Lawton and Muskogee.

“Elsewhere throughout the state, it was a lopsided rejection of State Question 820, according to a precinct-level map of results. All 77 counties and more than 80% of precinct locations statewide voted against the measure.”

In a quick look at the map- one precinct in Jefferson County had just 10 votes cast- all against the State Question. The Precinct in the southeastern corner of Beaver County had 99 votes cast- 97% were no.

In contrast- the precinct that seems to have the most yes votes was in Oklahoma County- 274 votes were cast in that precinct and 77% were yes. Tulsa County had a precinct with 133 votes cast- and 76% were for State Question 820.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) hailed the passage of H.J. Res. 27, a joint resolution that would invalidate the Biden administration’s new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule through the Congressional Review Act.

“This vote is a win for America’s cattlemen and women and NCBA is thrilled to see a majority of House members reject the Biden administration’s burdensome WOTUS rule,” said NCBA President Todd Wilkinson, a South Dakota cattle producer. “Shifting WOTUS rules have plagued cattle producers for generations and this latest rule only continues the decades of uncertainty. We urge the Senate to pass this resolution as well so it can take full effect. At the same time, we look forward to the Supreme Court’s verdict in the WOTUS case Sackett v. EPA and hope that this ruling finally places guardrails on the federal government’s attempt to regulate small, isolated bodies of water on private farms and ranches.” 

The Biden administration’s WOTUS rule creates more uncertainty for cattle producers by putting the burden on individual producers to determine if a water feature on their land is considered federally regulated. Additionally, NCBA has expressed strong opposition to the Environmental Protect Agency (EPA) finalizing this rule in the middle of a Supreme Court case that addresses this very issue. NCBA is also pursuing litigation against this rule to prevent it from taking effect and harming cattle producers.

The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to invalidate an executive agency’s rule by passing a joint resolution through both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The resolution will now go to the Senate for consideration.

Farm Bureau Member Testimony Warns Congress of WOTUS Overreach Implications

A Florida Farm Bureau member, rancher, small business owner and environmental lawyer presented a first-hand account of the implications of the federal government’s overreach to the House Committee on Small Business this week.

Katherine English, who grows citrus and raises cows and calves in Fort Myers, Florida, participated on a panel comprised of small business owners. English provided an overview of the uncertainty faced by farmers, ranchers, homebuilders and more during the hearing titled “Small Business Perspectives on the Impacts of the Biden Administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule.”

“Farmers and ranchers’ livelihoods depend on healthy soil and clean water. We support the Clean Water Act and its goals,” English explained during her opening statement to the committee. “What we cannot support is a Waters of the United States rule that is so ambiguous it creates unmanageable risk and confusion for farmers.

“Farmers have struggled with uncertainty for decades, with near-constant rulemaking and litigation in regard to WOTUS. A workable definition of WOTUS is critically important to our members and they are extremely disappointed that the Biden administration’s new WOTUS rule fails to provide that.”

NPPC Urges Quick Passage of the Beagle Brigade Act of 2023

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) applauds the reintroduction of the Beagle Brigade Act of 2023. This legislation would provide congressional authority to the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Detector Dog Training Center — a vital program in training agricultural canine teams that work daily to prevent foreign animal and plant diseases from entering the United States.

“Safe and reliable food production is critical to the United States’ continued national and economic security,” said Terry Wolters, NPPC president and owner of Stoney Creek Farms in Pipestone, Minnesota. “As African swine fever continues to plague the Dominican Republic and Haiti, strengthening early detection capabilities at our U.S. borders is more important than ever.”

The “Beagle Brigade” serves as the first line of defense for early detection at the nation’s ports of entry and is critical in keeping foreign animal diseases, like African swine fever, out of the United States. NPPC led over 50 agricultural and other organizations in supporting the Beagle Brigade Act’s reintroduction and urges Congress to pass this bipartisan bill.

“We urge Congress to act fast and we thank Representatives Sandford Bishop (D-GA) and Drew Ferguson (R-GA) in the House and Senators Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) in the Senate for their bipartisan efforts,” said Wolters.

Pics from the Supreme Breeding Doe Show- OYE 2023

Above- Supreme Champion Breeding Doe- shown by Madison Church of Canute FFA

Below- Reserve Supreme Breeding Doe- shown by Tabrey Lierle of Hydro Eakley FFA