Governor Mary Fallin Signals Likely Support for HB1999- Horse Slaughter Measure Set for Senate Action Tuesday  

In and around the chanting voice of Eddie Sims at the 2013 Oklahoma Youth Expo Sale of Champions, Governor Mary Fallin affirmed her strong support for the Oklahoma Youth Expo and the young people who participate- and at the same time she signaled likely support for the horse processing bill authored by Skye McNeil in the House and Senator Eddie Fields in the Senate.

We talked with the Governor about where she stood on House Bill 1999, the so called Horse Slaughter bill. HB1999 has passed the House, as well as the Senate Ag Committee and will likely be considered on the floor of the Oklahoma Senate on Tuesday of this week. Speaking about the measure, Governor Fallin told us " I know it's very important to the people in the agricultural sector and one that's had a lot of debate." Governor Fallin added that "It is important that we have a humane way to take care of abandoned horses and those that are getting older." As a result, the Governor indicated her support for HB1999- "I'm glad to see some legislation going through that will address this issue." We asked if that means she is supportive of HB1999 and she replied, "Yes, it is a bill I think I can support."  

In talking with lawmakers at the OYE Sale of Champions after our visit with the Governor- they welcomed her support and thought it could help what is already likely to be a relatively easy vote in favor this week on the Senate floor. There have been three amendments filed on the bill- but it's more likely the bill will be accepted as passed in the House- and could be on its way to the Governor's desk before the week is out.

Click here for our complete story on the OYE honoring the Governor- and her comments on HB1999- you can listen to our conversation with her when you jump over to our story.

Grand Steer Sets Sale Price Record- Overall Sale Total Does Too at Oklahoma Youth Expo  

The Sale of Champions helped conclude the market animal phase of the 2013 Oklahoma Youth Expo- and for Mylah Testerman of the Hollis FFA, it turned out to be a great payday- and a record breaking sale of the Grand Champion Steer at the OYE.


The Hollis High School Freshman led Radar around the ring while the bidding started at $20,000 and quickly reached $60,000- and a couple of bids later- had climaxed at $62,000- the highest price ever at the OYE for the Grand Champion Steer. It eclipsed the $60,000 paid to Logan Davis of Newcastle FFA just a year ago. The winning bidder consortium includes Express Ranches; Bank of Western Oklahoma; McAfee & Taft, Hartzog, Conger, Cason, Neville; Tener's Western Outfitters; Chain Ranches; P&K Equipment; Robyn Promotions and Lopez Foods. Click here for more on the Market Steer portion of the Sale of Champions and the final list of breed champions for 2013.

The Grand Champion Barrow was shown by Kate Jackson of Mountain View-Gotebo 4-H and she saw her barrow named "KD" bring a total of $17,500 here in 2013- same money as the market hog brought in 2012. The buyers of the 2013 OYE Grand Champion Barrow included Touchstone Energy, Oklahoma Farm Bureau and Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma. Click here for more of the Market Hog portion of the sale and the breed champions for the 2013 event.

We have a combined story on the Market Lambs and the Wether Goats for 2013- that's because of Destinee Johnson of Tipton FFA, who made history by showing and then on Friday- selling the Grand Champion Market Lamb and Grand Champion Market Goat. Johnson saw the Lamb bring $15,000- bought by Central States Trailers.  The top Market Goat in the 2013 show was sold on Friday for $10,000- purchased by McDonalds and Farm Credit Associations of Oklahoma.  Click here for our story on the full lineup for the Lambs and the Goats from the sale and the show.

One final note from the Sale of Champions- an important one.  They are still doing some final tabulating- but OYE Executive Director Tyler Norvell tells us that the total dollar amount for the 2013 sale is something close to $850,000- and that will end up being the most money ever generated in the sale of the top animals of this statewide event.

TSCRA Special Rangers Recover Over Four Million Dollars of Livestock and Property in 2012

Stolen livestock and ranch equipment worth more than $4.4 million were recovered or accounted for in 2012 by the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) Special Rangers.


The Fort Worth-based producer group was founded 136 years ago to fight cattle theft in Texas, a problem that still plagues ranchers today.


In 2012, more than 10,400 head of cattle and horses were reported missing or stolen to TSCRA, a large jump from 2011 when the number reached 7,600.


"Livestock and ranch equipment theft is a big problem in Texas and Oklahoma," said Larry Gray, the association's executive director of law enforcement. "The good news is that a lot of these thieves get caught because of the hard work and dedication of the special rangers." We talked with Gray at the 2013 annual meeting of the TSCRA on Saturday- and you can click here to read more about what the Special Rangers got done in dealing with cattle theft in 2012 and listen to our visit with Larry Gray as well.

Record Year for Meat and Poultry Exports Bolsters Demand for U.S. Soy

These little piggies went to market - international markets, that is, and in record numbers. Despite challenging issues, such as the struggling global economy and trade barriers, U.S. poultry and livestock farmers enjoyed a record year for meat exports, which helps keep domestic demand for U.S. soy strong.

U.S. poultry, egg and pork shipments exceeded previous highs for value and volume set in 2011. International beef sales dipped slightly in volume but broke the previous value record.

Growing U.S. meat and poultry exports reinforce demand for U.S. soy since soy meal constitutes a significant portion of animal feeds. Domestic animal agriculture uses about 98 percent of the domestic supply of U.S. soy meal, making it the U.S. soy industry's No. 1 customer.

"Exporting meat and poultry is a big issue for U.S. soybean farmers," says John Butler, a farmer-leader from Dyersburg, Tenn. "If we can feed animals soybeans here and sell them abroad, we're creating a value-added product. Adding that value here has a tremendous positive impact on not only the U.S. soy industry but the national economy as well."

You can read more by clicking here.  

Research Shows Benefits of Administering Vitamin E to Spring-Born Calves

Calves born during winter and early spring, especially after lengthy droughts, are more likely to be vitamin deficient says Dr. Rob Stuart. Stuart is a nutritionist who has worked extensively with universities to understand the role vitamins play in keeping cattle healthy and performing at peak efficiency.

With the drought entering its third year across major portions of the Southern Plains, Dr. Stuart said it is important for ranchers to watch their newborn calves for signs of weak-calf syndrome. 

"Several years ago I saw there was a tremendous deficiency in vitamin E and vitamin A status in spring-born calves and I started looking at the aspect of 'Well, what would happen if these calves are born deficient in these critical vitamins?' And weak-calf syndrome came up. What weak-calf syndrome is, a calf is born, they are weak, they are hardly able to get up. Their muscle function is very poor. And some of them are called 'dumb' calves; they just don't know how to nurse and within a few days those critters are dead.

"And so that's one of the things we've been really been looking at-how we can prevent this malady. And it primarily occurs in spring-born calves-calves that are born to cows that have been fed roughages such as stalklage, poor quality hay or even silage. So, spring-born calves are the ones that are more disposed to weak calf syndrome."

You can read more or listen to the audio version of this story by clicking here. 

Mighty Cold in Southwest Oklahoma on This Monday Morning

We have been watching the Mesonet and Twitter last night and early this morning as temperatures in Oklahoma are at their coldest in the Panhandle and in southwest Oklahoma. No real damage is all that likely in the Panhandle- but southwest Oklahoma may more worrisome. We have been below 25 degrees most of the night at two or three of the Mesonet stations in the southwest- such as Altus and Tipton- and both of those got as low as twenty degrees. For wheat that was grazed- it's less likely to be hurt- but for wheat that has started to joint- these temperatures could cause injury.

Wheat producer Jimmy Kinder in the Walters area has expressed his concern on Twitter- he posted a graphic last night that shows why he has some worries- click here to see that graphic that shows when wheat that is jointing will start to face freeze damage- and the temps overnight have been right there.

OSU State Wheat Specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards also tweets that if there are fields of concern caught in these low temps and are far enough advanced to be vulnerable- it will still take about a week to ten days for damage to be visible.

Click here for a graphic from the Mesonet that shows that lows for the day thus far- and it shows that those Mesonet stations along the Red River have been coldest from Burneyville over to Hollis.