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It was a night for a record at the top end of the 2012 Sale of Champions, while the champions right under that record sold for slightly less money than in recent years. The record was for the Grand Champion Market Steer, which was bought by a consortium of buyers for $60,000. That eclipsed the previous record of $53,000 that was paid in 2009.  The 2012 Grand Steer is owned and was shown by Logan Davis of Newcastle FFA.   

It was a long list of buyers for the animal at the top of the sale- including Governor Mary Fallin, Teners Western Wear, Bank of Western Oklahoma, Chain Ranches, Robyn Promotions and Printing, McAfee & Taft Law Firm, Bob Moore Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, Express Ranches, Premium Beef, Wynn Feeds and Natural Selection for Livestock.

The Grand Champion Barrow and the Grand Champion Lamb both were sold for $17,500 when their turns came- the top hog shown by Cheyenne Gaff of Timberlake FFA- the barrow bought by Central States Trailers and Chesapeake Energy.  The Top Lamb was shown by Tyler Rhodes of Indiahoma FFA and bought by  Touchstone Energy and the Daily Oklahoman. The sale price in 2012 was down for both of these Champs- with the Lamb bringing $21,000 a year ago and the Barrow $20,000.   

The Grand Champion Meat Goat was sold for $11,500- shown by Braden Shovanec of Garber FFA and purchased by McDonalds, Farm Credit, P&K and Industrial Ignition. 

Click here for our full story on the Sale of Champions- we have details of the Reserve Grand Champion sales results and more.   

AND- we wrapped up our taking of photos at the 2012 OYE- over a thousand all told have been posted- go and take a look by clicking here- we got shots pretty much every day from March 9 through the 19th.   

Oklahoma Cotton Specialist Guardedly Optimistic Following 2011 Drought 

Any way you slice it, last year was a disaster for cotton producers in southwest Oklahoma says Dr. Randy Bowman, director of OSU's Southwest Research and Extension Center near Altus.

Record heat and drought destroyed well over three quarters of the Oklahoma crop. The state only produced about 70,000 bales off of 70,000 standing acres. Approximately 415,000 acres had originally been planted.

"That is the lowest production and the smallest acreage harvested in the state of Oklahoma since 1894," Boman said. "It was an absolute killer. Thank goodness we had a great crop insurance program."

While crop insurance may have softened the blow to farmers, it did nothing for those who make a living off of serving the farmer.

You can read more of our interview with Dr. Randy Boman or listen to it by clicking here.

Spring-like temperatures were felt throughout the state with average temperatures in the 60s and average highs in the upper 70s.

Development of all small grains and canola were ahead of normal, aided by the abnormally warm temperatures. Wheatjointing was 53 percent complete by Sunday, 17 points ahead of last year, and 22 points ahead of the five-year average. Fourteen percent of the wheat crop was rated excellent, 56 percent was good, 23 percent was in fair condition, and seven percent was listed in poor or very poor condition.

Fifty-five percent of the canola crop was reported in good shape with nine percent showing to be in excellent condition. Thirty percent was in fair condition, and only 6 percent was in the poor or very poor categories.

Kansas wheat conditions last week showed 46 percent to be in good shape, 35 percent in fair shape, 11 percent in poor or very poor condition and only eight percent showing to be in excellent condition.

Twenty-eight percent of the Texas wheat crop was in fair condition, 24 percent was good, ten percent was in excellent shape, and the remaining 38 percent was in poor or very poor condition.

Click here for the complete Crop Weather Update for the state of Oklahoma. 

Drought-Damaged Pastures Require Special Care This Spring

Agricultural experts with The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore have words of wisdom for farmers and ranchers following last year's historic drought - be careful with your pastures.

The record-setting drought rivaled the long maligned dry spells of the mid-1950s and even the Dust Bowl period. Agricultural producers across the southern portion of the United States - 14 states in all - experienced varying degrees of drought conditions with Oklahoma and Texas receiving the brunt of the heat and lack of precipitation.

Despite recent rainfall, ramifications of the drought are still being felt throughout the Southern Great Plains as farmers and ranchers prepare for the 2012 forage production season. The hot, dry summer left many pastures severely damaged and thin from overgrazing, meaning producers should take extra precautions this spring. 

Click here to read more about managing drought-damaged pastures.

Finished Cattle and Boxed Beef Prices Drop Again, Ed Czerwien Says

For the second week in a row, the choice cut market dropped again, losing $4.00 reports Ed Czerwien of the USDA Market News Office in Amarillo, Texas.  The choice cut market ended the week at $189.91 cwt.  Volume was higher by nearly 200 loads.

The packers also cleaned up more inventory than the previous week, but at much lower prices. The finished cattle trade ended the week lower also with Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma all selling at $126 cwt. The average live weight last week was up seven pounds from the previous week. 

You can listen to Ed Czerwien's full analysis by clicking here. 

Top 10 Students Named in AFR Ag Achievement Contest

Students from across the state were named the top 10 students of the American Farmers and Ranchers (AFR) Ag Achievement Contest, preceding the selection of grand champion animals at the Oklahoma Youth Expo. The contest recognizes Oklahoma youth who have an interest in livestock, excel in showmanship skills and have knowledge of the livestock industry to include production, management, processing and end product utilization. It is the only contest in the state which recognizes all facets of livestock projects.

The top 10 students, in order of placing, were, Tanner Allread, Union City; Trent Boles, Asher; Barrett Powell, Ringwood; Annie Jo Gilbert, Choctaw; Katie Lippoldt, Kingfisher; K.C. Barnes, Hulbert; Kacey Rogers, Canton; Denton Lowe, Amber-Poccassett; Tylen Layton, Copan and Cassi Allread, Union City.

The program's goal is to stimulate excellence and a quest for knowledge that will result in the development of leadership skills applicable to the livestock industry. Over 40 high school 4-H & FFA members exhibiting breeding and/or market beef, sheep or swine at OYE participated in the contest.
 

Rainfall Totals Pile Up- and an OBI Performance Sale Reminder

Rainfall totals continue to pile up this morning in eastern Oklahoma- there are locations in the northeast with more than five inches of rain according to the Mesonet.  Our western most counties in the Panhandle got left out again- but the most of the body of the state got at least some rainfall to many many locations with over an inch of precipitation.   

Several folks we talked to last night at the OYE Sale of Champions indicated that they had actually gotten enough rain to get some runoff and pond water as a result.  We have been watching Lake Altus Lugert- and it has moved slowly up from around 19% of capacity before the rain began to 19.52% as of 6 AM this morning. 

I have updated my Mesonet rainfall link to give you a 2 day total- we will do a snapshot when the system moves on out- so we can remember this precipitation as we begin Spring 2012- but for now click here for a realtime 2 day window of rain across the state.  

Coming up this Thursday is the 2012 OBI Performance Tested Bull Sale- at the Test Station on Highway 51 west of Stillwater.  They will be selling 143 Angus, 36 Hereford and 10 Simmental bulls from this winter's test. Click here for more details about the OBI Test Station Sale coming at noon this Thursday, March 22.