This bill comes as a response to an unintended consequence of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which has made it more difficult for cooperatives to meet the tax-exempt test. Click here to read Duvall's complete statement for more details on this issue.

A new and emerging segment is gaining prominence in the beef industry. Much like stocker or backgrounding operations, the evolving segment Rabo AgriFinance's Don Close has dubber, "grow yards," is on the rise.

The difference between grow yards and stocker operations, according to Close, is that grow yards are concentrating more on the 600-700 wt. cattle, whereas stockers typically prefer 400-500 wts. Close says that this new segment has the potential to disrupt the marketplace, especially for stockers who will start to see increased competition for available livestock. However, this could mean new marketing opportunities for producers on the cow/calf level.

In addition, as more cattle are diverted off the farm and out of the feedlot via grow yards, Close says this also creates more room for herd expansion as well. It also gives the high labor, low cost operators an opportunity to break into the business. And, given that operators in this segment generally do more regional business, Close contends that growth in this sector may also help advance the beef industry's traceability agenda, too.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 392 on Friday- setting the stage for Oklahoma to have very specific rules on what cell based meat products can be called at retail in Oklahoma once they reach the market place sometime in the future. The bill patterns a law that was put into place a year ago in Missouri. At that time, MCA Executive Vice President Mike Deering predicted more states will follow the lead of Missouri.

"This isn't a Missouri issue. This is about protecting the integrity of the products that farm and ranch families throughout the country work hard to raise each and every day," Deering says. "I never imagined we would be fighting over what is and isn't meat. It seems silly. However, this is very real and I cannot stress enough the importance of this issue. We are beyond pleased to see this priority legislation cross the finish-line."

Executive Vice President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, Michael Kelsey, feels the same as Deering does about the Oklahoma version about the measure- we alked with him over the weekend and got his take on why cattle producers in the state are pleased to have this proactive measure in place.

We wrapped up our coverage of the 2019 Oklahoma FFA Star Award Finalists this past Friday with Rio Bonham of the Madill FFA Chapter, your Southeast Area Star in Ag Production. Rio runs a small cow/calf operation with red angus cattle from his family's ranch in Wyoming and integrated a black angus bull to increase marketability in this area. Bonham says his ranching operation has taught him many valuable lessons that have become the foundation of his management strategy. Rio's herd is up to nine head these days, having started originally with just three.

He also loves participating in public speaking contests, FFA's environmental science career development events and tries to take as many other opportunities to get involved as he can. Serving as Madill FFA Chapter president, he says he like to encourage younger members.

This fall Rio will go to OSU and major in Agricultural Engineering with the Environmental Life Science focus, hoping to eventually improve his local water shed to help both neighboring producers and the environment.

The final deadline to enter cattle The National Junior Shorthorn Show & Youth Conference is coming up May 15th. The show and conference will be held June 17-21, 2019 in Lebanon, Tennessee. NJSS participants must be members of the American Junior Shorthorn Association.

In addition to the livestock show, participants can also sign up as to compete as individuals or on a team in a variety of contests including arts & crafts, cattleman's written test, graphic design, livestock judging, photography, poster, showmanship, speech, extemporaneous speech, beef cook-off, herdsman quiz bowl, team fitting and team salesmanship.

The show schedule begins Friday, June 21, with a Purebred Bred & Owned Show, ShorthornPlus Bred & Owned Show, Purebred Bred & Owned Bull Show, ShorthornPlus Owned Female Show, ShorthornPlus Steer Show and Purebred Steer Show. On Saturday, June 22, the Purebred Owned Show will take place.

The theme for this year's event is "Strumming a Shorthorn Tune." As part of this year's musical motif, AJSA will welcome the popular country band Confederate Railroad to perform a live concert for exhibitors in attendance. For more information about this event and how to submit your own entry, click here.