The 2023 OYE is in the record books- and the Sale of Champions provided a strong finish- the sale of 211 top market animals sold for $1.5 million- matching last year’s record!

Finley Yocham of Sapulpa 4-H saw her Grand Champion Steer bring $102,000- matching last years number and second only to the 2018 Grand Steer record. Yocham’s steer(shown above) was the Champion Crossbred at the 2023 show. The buyers group included Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Bank of the West, Express Ranches, First Liberty, Bob Funk and Jarold Callahan.

The Grand Champion Barrow– owned by Brigham Bunt of Ringwood 4-H sold for $30,000. The best barrow of over 2,000 in the 2023 market hog show was the Champion Hampshire. The buyers who participated in the group to buy his barrow included Westgate Market Developers and AFR.

Next up was the Grand Champion Market Lamb that sold for $15,000- owned by Connor Anthony of Bethel FFA. Connor’s lamb was purchased by the Oklahoma State Fair and CSTK Trailers.

The final Grand Champion that was brought into the ring was owned by Cara Cummins of Hollis FFA, who showed the Grand Champion Goat– and he brought $15,000. The buyers group for the best Market Goat to be found at OYE in 2023 included McDonalds, Diamond Hats and Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma.

We have more pictures here in the email down towards the bottom of this column- and you can see even more from the Sale and the entire 2023 OYE in our Flickr album by clicking here.

Our coverage of all the young people involved at the OYE is powered by Hilliary Communications.



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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced this week that they are awarding the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) with $445,396 in funding to advance the Secure Beef Supply Plan (SBS) in the event of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the U.S. 

“NCBA thanks USDA for awarding this critical funding to help continue defending the U.S. cattle herd from the threat of foot-and-mouth disease. The Secure Beef Supply Plan combined with USDA’s national vaccine bank provides a strong safety net for cattle producers and multiple tools to mitigate risk from a potential outbreak,” said Allison Rivera, NCBA executive director of government affairs. “This funding was made available through the 2018 Farm Bill, showing why continued support and further funding for animal disease preparation measures like the Secure Beef Supply Plan and the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasure Bank are so important as Congress works on the 2023 Farm Bill.”

Background

The SBS Plan provides guidance on workable business continuity measures for beef cattle operations with no evidence of FMD infection during an FMD outbreak. The SBS Plan is the result of a multi-year collaborative effort by industry, state, federal, and academic representatives to provide guidance on moving uninfected cattle to continue beef cattle production and keep grocery store shelves stocked.

Kim Anderson Gives Crop Market Update in the Midst of a Few Uncertainties

This Week on SUNUP is Oklahoma State University Extension grain market economist Kim Anderson. During this week’s edition, with an above average amount of uncertainty in the market lately, Anderson talks about the latest information in the grain markets.

“Some of the uncertainty is the financial risk that is going on, but that is mostly in the financial markets,” Anderson said. “I don’t think it has bled over into the crop markets very much.”

Brazil is seeing record soybean and corn production, Anderson said, and may become the number one exporter of corn this year. China, he added is speculated to be importing corn from Brazil relative to the U.S.

“You’ve got the drought in Argentina, you have got the record crops in Australia, and of course you have got the war,” Anderson said.

There is some protection for producers for yield and price, Anderson said, with the crop insurance program. Sign up ended on March 15 for the summer crops and the wheat, he added.

Guaranteed price wheat is $8.77, Anderson said, and corn is $5.91. Grain sorghum is $5.84, and soybeans are $13.76 and cotton is 84 cents.

AG Drummond Granted Additional Time for Agreement in Water Pollution Case

A federal judge on Friday granted Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond an additional 90 days to reach an agreement that would resolve an 18-year-old lawsuit over poultry litter pollution in state watersheds.

Oklahoma Northern District Judge Gregory Frizzell on Jan. 18 decided in favor of Oklahoma in its lawsuit against poultry companies for environmental damage to state waters, particularly the Illinois River watershed and Lake Tenkiller. At that time, the judge set a March 17 deadline for the Office of the Attorney General to forge an agreement with the 11 poultry companies and subsidiaries.

Drummond said the additional days are necessary to fulfill the judge’s directive.

“We have had lengthy and productive discussions with the poultry companies about a resolution that both looks to the future and mitigates past damages,” he said. 



“The poultry industry has made significant improvements over the years in its litter abatement process, and I am hopeful we can craft a plan that protects Oklahoma’s natural resources without placing unreasonable burdens on the companies.”

On this episode of Beef Buzz, I am featuring a “best of,” talking again with Kevin Milliner, Cattle Genetics Specialist at Zoetis, and talk about Zoetis efforts to aid commercial cow producers in improving their beef cow herds.

The real challenge for the commercial producer, Milliner said, is making genetic improvement faster.

“Our extension folks have told us we need to buy the very best bull we can afford,” Milliner said. “Still good wisdom, but the missing link is that female.”

Having the chance to know more about their females in an operation, Milliner said, is critical in making genetic process.

“That is why we breed cattle,” Milliner said. “We want the next generation to be better than the previous generation, much like we as parents want our kids to be better than we were.”

The following is a brief analysis by Krista Swanson, the lead economist for the National Corn Growers Association.

Phosphorus, an essential nutrient for plant growth and development, is important for corn productivity. Farmers use fertilizers to replenish phosphorus and other nutrients in the soil to maintain healthy and fertile land, but vital fertilizer management comes at a high cost. This is especially true for corn producers, particularly right now.

Since 1996, average annual fertilizer costs were about one-third of total operating costs incurred in growing a corn crop. For 2023, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects fertilizer to make up 46% of the total operating costs incurred by the U.S. farmer in growing a corn crop, unchanged from 2022, but up from 37% for the 2021 crop and 35% for the 2020 crop. Aside from 2008, the current fertilizer-to-operating-cost ratio is at the highest point since the 1970s.

Compared to other major commodity crops, corn not only has the highest fertilizer costs in dollar value, but also the highest fertilizer-to-operating-cost ratio. Wheat is a close second, with the USDA forecast at 45% for 2023, but fertilizer costs are only 23-26% of the total operating costs for soybeans, cotton and rice.

Oklahoma State Grabs High Team Honors in Livestock Judging at Houston Livestock Show

OSU Cowboys are headed back with a victory from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo! The team won the swine, cattle and reasons divisions leading them to win high team overall.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:

Caden Church

2nd Overall

4th Reasons

2nd Placings

9th Cattle

4th Swine

8th Sheep and Goats

Jentry Squires

4th Overall

10th Reasons

3rd Placings

6th Cattle

1st Swine

Pace Mittelstaedt

6th Overall

2nd Reasons

7th Cattle

Kade Pendley

5th Reasons

Baxter Blair

3rd Overall Alternate

Luke Daniels

7th Overall Alternate



Quentin Riley Scott

9th Overall Alternate

OYE By the Numbers- and More Sale of Champion Pics

Here are a few of the key numbers about the 2023 OYE:

$1.5 Million Sale of Champions- equals 2022 which was a record

$1.26 Million Sale of Champions- smashed the 2021 record by a quarter of a million dollars

$102,000 Grand Champion Market Steer- Second highest Grand Steer ever sold

$80,000 Reserve Supreme Commercial Gilt setting new record for OYE Night of Stars Sale for about 60 minutes

$92,000 for 75th Gilt sold- an OYE and National record for a crossbred gilt

$9612- the per head average for the 131 gilts sold in the Night of Stars- 23% higher than the previous record in 2021

720 Breeding Does- the largest Doe Show in the United States

205 Exhibits in the 4th Ag Mechanics Contest- 68% increase from 2022

Close to 7,000 exhibitors representing all 77 Oklahoma Counties

Over 9,600 animals on the OKC fairgrounds for the 2023 OYE

Countless Friendships made that will last a lifetime

All a part of why it's the Greatest Show