On Friday- Jalei Watts of Warner FFA had her Dark Cross picked as the Supreme Champion Commercial Gilt. (pictured below)

Then Saturday- the Champion Berk shown by Roman Hinkle of Yukon(pictured above) was declared the Supreme Purebred Gilt for the 2022 OYE- and this lady will lead off the Night of Stars Gilt Sale on Wednesday evening.

Our coverage of the 2022 OYE is being powered by Hilliary Communications,  serving more than 19,000 customers with telephone service in 22 counties throughout Oklahoma & Texas. Click here to learn more about the Hilliary family and their efforts to serve rural Oklahoma!

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is a grassroots organization working to improve the lives of all Oklahomans by supporting our state’s agriculture community. As Oklahoma’s largest general farm organization, OKFB advocates for farmers and ranchers at the state Capitol and in Washington, D.C., to ensure our way of life continues for generations to come. With leadership events, supporting our state’s agricultural youth and connecting consumers with agriculture, Farm Bureau promotes and sustains Oklahoma agriculture in numerous ways. Join with OKFB today by becoming a member at okfarmbureau.org/join. Together, we are rural Oklahoma.

Merck Animal Health, through its Allflex Livestock Intelligence division, has introduced an illuminating electronic ear tag that can help feedlots spot sick animals quicker. It's called SenseHub Feedlot.

I talked with Dr. Jason Nickell, Merck Cattle Veterinarian about Sensehub. "The objective of this technology is centered around the bovine's hard wired ability to conceal disease. And in the post weaning phase of beef production, the most troublesome disease that we deal with is Bovine Respiratory Disease. And because of the ability of the bovine to conceal disease- our current method of diagnosing BRD, which is human observation followed by rectal temperature is not accurate enough to avoid the negative impact of the disease. And so this technology was developed with that in mind to get around those evolutionary tendencies."

“We are grateful to Ranking Member Hoeven and Chairwoman Baldwin for spearheading this effort, as well as the many members of Congress who worked behind the scenes to advance this important transparency tool for cattle producers," said NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane. "This pilot program will allow USDA to work on the model for a contract library that works for everyone in the supply chain while Congress and industry continue to work out the details of a permanent library in subsequent legislation like the Cattle Contract Library Act.”

NCBA adds that they will monitor the implementation of the pilot program to ensure it is helpful for cattle producers.

For our farmers who have either- always have had cotton on their farms- or those who have more recently have added the fiber crop to their operations- we have a daily report heard on several of our Radio Stations- It's Called Cotton Talk!

“You can’t forget the basics when you’re in a disaster situation and they’re not your animals,” said Donna Patterson , agriculture and 4-H Extension educator for Rogers County. “Their behavior is going to be much different in a crisis. We want to ensure all animals and humans are safe.”

The Oklahoma Beef Council through the Beef Checkoff is once again providing an incentive program for quality assurance certification for cattle competitors at the Oklahoma Youth Expo with $2,500 in prizes.

I talked with Heather Buckmaster about the program- and you can listen to their conversation by clicking on the Blue Button Below

Farm Director KC Sheperd spoke with Don Parker, Vice President of Technology Services with National Cotton Council. He said the critical thing for this year is Top management, "It's going to be thinking about the timing of things, planning ahead, and making sure you've taken every measure you can get so that if shipping does become an issue, you have a backup plan." Parker encourages producers to make a plan if they haven't already and then think about the what-ifs, "If something interrupts your plan do you have a backup plan and a strategy to move forward?"

“School vouchers put Oklahoma’s public schools directly in the bull’s eye,” said American Farmers & Ranchers (AFR) Cooperative President Scott Blubaugh. “This bill encourages families to remove their students-and state funding-from public schools and instead deliver those dollars to a private entity that is not held to transparency or state education standards.”

Senate Bill 1647 has passed the Senate Education Committee and Senate Appropriations and is now slated for the Oklahoma State Senate floor. If the bill passes in the Senate, According to AFR, Speaker of the House Charles McCall, R-Atoka, does not plan to hear the bill in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

OKC West is our Market Links Sponsor- they sell cattle three days a week- Cows on Mondays, Stockers on Tuesday and Feeders on Wednesday- Call 405-262-8800 to learn more.

Ron on RON Markets as heard on K101  

Wholesale Boxed Beef Prices were higher- Choice Beef was up 77 cents and Select Beef was up $174 on Friday 03/11/2022.

Click on the Button below for the latest report from USDA Market News

Oklahoma National Stockyards had 6,700 head on Sunday evening at the yards- according to the President of the ONSY, Kelli Payne. She tells us that they are expecting around 7,300 head this morning when they start the sale with a final count of 7,800 head by the end of the sale day. The auction for this March 14th will start at 6:30 AM.

This past Monday, March 7th- Compared to the last sale on February 28th: Feeder steers 4.00 - 6.00 lower. Feeder Heifers 5.00 - 8.00 lower. Steer calves 4.00 - 6.00 lower. Heifer calves 6.00 - 9.00 lower. Cattle futures sold off sharply last week as grain futures(wheat leading the way) made big gains. With sharply rising fuel prices, cattle delivery cost are on the rise further contributing to the lower market trend. Quality has been plain thru attractive. 

Click below for the complete closing report.

Each afternoon we are posting a recap of that day's markets as analyzed by Justin Lewis of KIS futures - click below for the latest update on the Livestock and Grain Futures Trade..

Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture- The report available after the close of the Futures Trade for that day.

Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network - analyzing the Futures Markets for that trading day- as reported by KC Sheperd.

The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by the USDA Market News

Finally, here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.

Ron Hays, Senior Farm/Ranch Broadcaster and Editor

KC Sheperd, Farm Director and Editor

Dave Lanning, Markets and Production

Pam Arterburn, Calendar and Template Manager