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The Oklahoma Youth Expo is right around the corner with its 99th edition at the State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City beginning March 12. The show's executive director, Tyler Norvell, tells me  interest is at an all-time high. 

"I can't believe it, but we broke our entry record again-14,125 animals entered, 7,000 kids, once again at least one student from every Oklahoma county coming to participate. Some counties have several hundred kids coming to participate."

Some adjustments have been made to this year's schedule due to construction and renovation in the livestock barns at the fairgrounds, but Norvell says he hopes to keep the schedule for the foreseeable future.

Norvell says that interest and focus on the kids is reflected in the sponsorship dollars that underwrite OYE and in the scholarships awarded to the students.

"Over the last 12 years we've handed out over $2 million in scholarships. And what's great about our scholarship program is that money can only be used at Oklahoma universities and colleges so those kids that use that money are going to school here and, more than likely, will stay in this state and be an investment for this state in the future."

This year, Norvell says, they hope to hand out over $1.5 million during the show's ten-day run.

As far as the future is concerned, Norvell says the show will continue to grow if it simply continues to do what it does best and that is to showcase the students who make the commitment and work so hard to get there.

Click here to read more or to listen to my interview with Tyler Norvell.  He will also join me on this week's "In the Field" segment on News 9 Saturday morning about 6:40. 

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt Joins Other States in Egg Lawsuit Against California

Attorneys general for five states have joined the state of Missouri in its lawsuit challenging egg production standards in California. The original suit was filed Feb. 3 in U.S. District Court in Fresno, Calif. The states of Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska and Oklahoma joined the suit seeking to bar implementation of new regulations regarding cage sizes for egg-laying hens.

The six states combined produce more than 20 billion eggs per year and sell about ten percent of their production in California.

Oklahoma AG Scott Pruitt says Oklahoma joining in on this lawsuit is the right thing to do. "With this law, California is telling farmers in our state they must operate their Oklahoma farms according to California's egg-producing regulations. That places an undue burden on Oklahoma farmers and violates the spirit of the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution which prohibits states from regulating business and industry outside their own borders," General Pruitt said. "This lawsuit is about protecting the ability of Oklahoma farmers to sell their products in all 50 states without fear of other states imposing burdensome new requirements or limits." 

The regulations on cage size are the result of a 2008 ballot initiative called Proposition 2 that was heavily promoted by the Humane Society of the United States. Some agricultural groups say the initiative was an attempt by HSUS to harm animal agriculture producers. 

The amended lawsuit says the intent of the law was not to protect the public health of California consumers, but to force out-of-state egg producers to incur the same costs imposed on California farmers by Proposition 2.

Click here to read more of this story.   

Proposed Budget May Be DOA, but Priorities Reflected Raise Some Concerns, NCGA Says

Tuesday, the White House released a proposed budget which has been deemed "dead upon arrival," as budgets of this nature have been for many years now. Primarily important in its symbolism, the budget released by the Administration reflects current values but is highly unlikely to impact policy in the near future.

Notably, the budget proposed by the Administration is not likely to move forward for many reasons. Senate Democrats expressed they do not find a reason to pass a budget at this time as the agreement which Congress came to in December on the matter will be in place for two years. Additionally, the proposed budget does not contain traditional enticements to encourage bipartisan discussion.

The National Corn Growers Association does see cause for concern in the proposed cuts which would negatively impact American agriculture outlined in the budget released by President Obama. Proposing cuts to crop insurance and to food inspection budgets, the budget outlined by the Administration would lead to greater risk for farmers and higher prices for consumers.

Please click here to read the rest of this story.
 

Despite PEDV and Other Challenges, Pig Farmers Upbeat on Future of Industry

U.S. pig farmers find optimism even though concerns over hog health and disease rank as a top concern, according to the results of a survey released this week at the National Pork Industry Forum in Kansas City, Mo. The survey, fielded late in 2013, found 30 percent of producers said hog health and disease was the single biggest challenge they faced. This result is not surprising given Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) continues to impact farms across the country.

"In a year that brought significant herd losses due to PEDV, the survey underscores that the issue is still top of mind for many producers," said Karen Richter, National Pork Board president and a producer from Montgomery, Minn. "But with this concern comes opportunity for the Pork Checkoff, with 27 percent of producers also saying that the Checkoff was best positioned to fund additional research into PEDV."

At 27 percent, providing PEDV research ranked first from a defined list of choices when asked "How can the Checkoff help you in 2014?" However, that direction changes slightly when those surveyed were asked to fill-in their own blank.

When asked the open-ended question of "What is the single most important thing the Pork Checkoff can do to help your operation be more successful?, six of 12 answers related to marketing pork. Advertising and promoting pork ranked No. 1 at 23 percent, followed by educating consumers about the safety of pork at 12 percent. Additional marketing-related concerns included improving export and international trade potential, increasing demand, opening more markets to pork and improving the sale price of hogs.

You can read the rest of this story by clicking here. 

Strong Year-end U.S. Pork Exports offer a "Bright Outlook" for 2014 Demand

U.S. pork exports remained strong last year, exceeding $6 billion for the third consecutive year, although down from the record level set in 2012. As 2013 drew to a close, 4.73 billion pounds of pork and pork variety meats valued at $6.05 billion dollars had been exported, down 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively, from 2012.

"Checkoff investments in helping tear down trade barriers and promote U.S. pork with international consumers are crucial to growing the revenue we enjoy from exports," said Brian Zimmerman, chair of the Pork Checkoff's Trade Committee and a Beatrice, Neb., producer. "In 2013, 26 percent of U.S. pork and pork variety meat was exported, which added nearly $54 per hog marketed."

U.S. pork exports ended 2013 on a positive note with strong exports in December, demonstrating upward momentum going into 2014. Mexico, Central and South America and the ASEAN region posted particularly strong results to bring the month's totals up slightly from levels of a year ago. In addition, through December total exports to South Korea, Australia and New Zealand were the highest of the year.

You can read more of this article by clicking here.  

Farm Bureau Kicks Off 'Our Food Link' Program

Farmer and rancher members of Farm Bureau from around the country officially kicked off the organization's new "Our Food Link" program in conjunction with a conference for state leaders of Women's Leadership and Promotion & Education programs.

"Our Food Link is a year-round program that county and state Farm Bureaus use to provide consumers of all ages and backgrounds with information about today's agriculture," explained Terry Gilbert, a Kentucky farmer and chair of the American Farm Bureau Women's Leadership Committee. The AFBWLC spearheads the program with participation open to all Farm Bureau members.

"People want to know where their food comes from and who is growing or raising it," Gilbert said. "Helping people connect with sources of clothing, food, shelter and energy in their communities is the foundation of this multi-faced new program," she said.

Click here for more. 

This N That- Hall- Coyote Hills Sale on Saturday, Santa Fe Here We Come and Your Invite to Keeping Calves Healthy

The Hall- Coyote Hills Ranch All Black All Polled Bull Sale is set for tomorrow- Saturday, March 8, 2014 with the sale to start at 1:00 PM at the Ranch, Chattanooga, Oklahoma

The 2014 sale will feature 86Black, Polled Limousin and Lim-Flex Bulls including:

59 Fall Yearlings- 5 Purebred and 54 Lim Flex

27 Spring Yearlings- All Lim-Flex 

Click here for more details and a link to download the complete catalog- or you can call Ken Holloway at 580-597-2419 for additional information. 

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We will be heading for Santa Fe over the weekend as we follow several members of the American Farmers & Ranchers/Oklahoma Farmers Union out to the 112th annual  meeting of the National Farmers Union.  

It looks like they will have some excellent speakers- this will be our first opportunity in several years to get to a NFU convention- and we'll have reports on Monday morning here on our email as well as on the website and on our radio reports heard on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network. Click here for more details about the 2014 event. 

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We wanted to pass along a special invite from the Boehringer Ingelehim Vetmedica folks- especially their Rep in our area, Kara Jet.  Kara dropped us an email yesterday afternoon and wrote "Keep Calves Healthy", is a meeting designed for Oklahoma cattle producers- it will be held on Tuesday,  March 11 at 1:00 PM in the  Conoco Phillips Center on the campus of OSU in Stillwater.   

"Please join us as, Shawn Walter,   Dr. Doug Ensley and Dr. David Pugh share the latest in keeping calves healthy and improving herd management. In addition, Boehringer Ingelheim will provide tickets to the  Oklahoma State University baseball game vs. Wichita State University and producers will receive a complimentary BIVI product, with a retail value of more than $100. For more information or to RSVP call Kara Jett (918) 230-5573."

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One other sale that we wanted to briefly mention to you is the Blackjack 2014 Bull Sale- also coming up on Saturday- with the first animal to sell at 12 noon.  The sale being held at the ranch, Seminole, Oklahoma.  A total of 67 Angus & SimAngus Bulls will sell.

You can click here for the National Cattle website and learn more details.