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The 2014 Oklahoma Youth Expo had a successful grand finale on Friday afternoon as the Sale of Champions saw at least a couple of records fall.  One of the records was the sell of animal number one in the sale- the Grand Champion Market Steer.  Madison Hudgins won with her Crossbred Steer named "KD" and she paraded him around the ring as auctioneer Eddie Sims came up with a final price of $73,000 for this FFA member from Mannford. That beat the previous record by $11,000 which was seen last year at the 2013 sale.  

The other record on Friday was the overall sale total- over $950,000 in total receipts for the 214 animals that were sold in this year's Sale of Champions. That was about $80,000 better than in 2013.   

We have details for each of the species to be found on our website-  

Click here for more on the top steers sold on Friday.

Click here for more on the top barrows sold on Friday

Click here for more on the top market lambs sold on Friday and

Click here for more on the top market goats sold on Friday.

Our reports during the entire OYE have been powered by Devon Energy and by the title sponsor of the OYE, McDonald's 

AND- you can check out our entire collection of photos from getting State Fair Park ready for the show to the Sale of Champions- click here for our FLICKR set of pics from the 2014 OYE.

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Roy Lee Lindsey: OYE, Livestock Show Program Have Long-Lasting Results 

Thousands of students and thousands of head of livestock move through the show rings during the ten days of the Oklahoma Youth Expo each year at State Fair Park. And this year was no different said Roy Lee Lindsey, executive director of the Oklahoma Pork Council. 

"It's tremendous, the number of kids that come through this show ring. And every judge we've ever had here for as long as I've been doing it-and I think this is my 16th Junior Livestock Show/Oklahoma Youth Expo since I've been back at the Pork Council-and every judge we've had in the time I've been here just raves about what good kids we've got, how respectful they are of the judges and how well they handle their hogs. And I think we should take a lot of pride in our teachers and our extension agents and our parents for teaching our kids those things."

Lindsey has been a part of OYE for 16 years and said he is still amazed that the number of hogs shown keeps growing each year, despite rising costs.

I caught up with Roy Lee at OYE.  Click here to listen to our conversation or to read more of this story.  

In the latest USDA Cattle on Feed report, the number of cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.8 million head on March 1, 2014. The inventory was 1 percent below March 1, 2013.

Placements in feedlots during February totaled 1.65 million, 15 percent above 2013. Net placements were 1.58 million head. During February, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 390,000, 600-699 pounds were 330,000, 700-799 pounds were 415,000, and 800 pounds and greater were 515,000.

Marketings of fed cattle during February totaled 1.55 million, 3 percent below 2013. Marketings for February are the lowest for the month since the data series began in 1996.

Other disappearance totaled 71,000 during February, 18 percent above 2013.

Click here for an analysis of this report with Tom Leffler of Leffler commodities.  

Borlaug Summit to Introduce New Wheat Yield Initiative

With a goal to raise the genetic potential of wheat yields 50 percent by 2035, a consortium of public organizations will launch the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP) next week during the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security at CIMMYT.

The new initiative will evolve from the Wheat Yield Consortium established by CIMMYT in 2009. CIMMYT will act as host for IWYP but the program will operate as a separate entity with its own governance. Donors include CIMMYT, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development, Australia's Grains Research & Development Corporation and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, with additional support from other international organizations.

CIMMYT says IWYP's donors will work together with the private sector to form a strong, global public-private partnership focused on stimulating progress in wheat research and moving scientific discoveries into market-ready products for developing and developed nations.

You can read the rest of this story and find a link for even more information by clicking here. 

USDA Encourages Early Registration for FSA Programs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan M. Garcia on Friday recommended that farmers and ranchers who plan to participate in FSA programs register in advance. Producers are encouraged to report farm records and business structure changes to a local FSA Service Centerbefore April 15, 2014.

Enrollment for the disaster programs authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, including the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) will begin by April 15, 2014.

"We expect significant interest in these programs," said Garcia. "Early registration should help improve the sign-up process and allow us to expedite implementation of the programs. I strongly encourage producers to complete their paperwork ahead of time."

Click here to read the rest of this story.

Voluntary Conservation Effort Promotes Improved Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat

Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie on Friday announced a renewed and expanded partnership to provide expert habitat advice to farmers and ranchers managing land within lesser prairie-chicken range.

"Our goal is to deliver a win-win for agricultural producers and wildlife," said Bonnie. "We want to help farmers and ranchers succeed for the long term while also protecting and improving habitat for the lesser prairie-chicken. Often, what is good for prairie-chickens is good for ranching."

As part of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative (LPCI), the agency is partnering with Pheasants Forever, a national wildlife conservation organization, to jointly invest $5 million over three years to support technical assistance, including hiring non-federal field conservationists to help farmers and ranchers voluntarily maintain and improve lesser prairie chicken habitat in the Southern Great Plains.

You'll find the rest of this story on our webpage.  Please click here to go there. 

This N That- This Week at the Capitol, Curt Pate Cattle Handling on Friday and Still Need a Horse or Two!

Today is Conservation Day at the State Capitol, as