The 2015 Woman of the Year in Oklahoma Agriculture was caught by surprise when she was called to the stage Saturday night at the Diamond Hats Gala in Norman. Skye Varner McNiel was prepared to give a speech Saturday night- as she was apparently told by members of the group that they would like for her to accept this award on behalf of someone who could not be there.

Instead, Diamond Hat President Amy Lynn called McNiel to the stage and presented her with the award as the ninth Woman of the Year in Oklahoma Agriculture. McNiel says you don't often catch her speechless- but that was her reaction to what she us "was perhaps one of the greatest honors that I have ever had because there are so many women that I respect in that room- and to be honored by them is really huge- and I don't take that lightly."

The award to the former state lawmaker was part of a night of celebration by the Diamond Hats- and of raising money to spend this coming March as they support young 4-H and FFA members who take part in the Oklahoma Youth Expo. The night ended with $127,000 being raised from the silent and live auctions held by these determined ladies.

We talked with Skye after her recognition- and you can hear our visit with her by clicking here for our Top Ag Story for this Monday morning. In our story- we also have a full list of all of the women who have been honored in previous years by the Diamond Hats.

Here's Tyler Norvell with OYE, Skye and Amy Lynn of the Diamond Hats on stage as the award was given:

The U.S. pork industry has made great strides in recovering from the devastating Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) of 2014. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported record hog and pig inventory in the U.S. with 68.4 million head as of September first. That was up four percent from September 1, 2014, and up two percent from June 1, 2015. This is the highest inventory of all hogs and pigs since quarterly United States estimates began in 1988.

Oklahoma hog farms were a part of that expansion in the aftermath of PEDv.  The sow herd in Oklahoma rose 40,000 head over the last year- and at 470,000 head, is the fifth largest sow herd on a statewide basis.  The 40,000 increase was second only to Iowa, the largest hog producing state in the country- they added 70,000 sows in the last year.   Oklahoma is the fifth largest sow state in the US- and ninth largest in overall hog numbers.

Oklahoma has tuned into a significant piglet producing state- birthing baby pigs and shipping them to the Midwest- as the industry has decided that it is more efficient to ship the baby pigs to the corn than to ship corn to the baby pigs.

 Nationally, Professor of Agricultural Economics Dr. Chris Hurt called this growth "disciplined expansion". Because of the PEDv virus, hog prices surged to record levels, but he felt the industry was disciplined in its expansion.


"I think it goes back to fact that industry participants knew it was kind of an outlier last year, that profitability, and they just were not willing to expand too much," Hurt said. "So, what I think I see as we go forward, is an industry that has expanded about as much as it can without getting into losses."


The U.S. breeding hog inventory totaled 5.99 million head, was up one percent from last year, and up one percent from the previous quarter.


The market hog inventory came in at 62.4 million head. That was up four percent from last year, and up two percent from last quarter. This is the highest market hog inventory since quarterly United States estimates began in 1988. The U.S. continues to show productivity gains, click or tap here to read more about this hog and pig report or to listen to Dr. Chris Hurt.

Over six million Americans in rural areas live in poverty, including about 1.5 million children. And in many of these communities, high rates of poverty have persisted for generations: over 300 rural counties have had poverty rates of over 20 percent in every Census since 1980. As President Obama has stated, "A child's course in life should be determined not by the ZIP code she's born in, but by the strength of her work ethic and the scope of her dreams." In many rural places, that ZIP code equates to decreased access to critical services, fewer educational opportunities, and limited job choices.


President Obama has supported programs and strategies that respond to these challenges and work to better serve rural kids and families. As a result of historic investments in telehealth, for example, a rural family can access a world-class specialist from their small-town clinic; and with evidence-based home visiting, a young mother without reliable transportation can benefit from the advice and support of a nurse without even leaving home. Further, through efforts like the Promise Zones Initiative, the Administration has engaged in place-based efforts that support community-driven approaches to improve quality of life and upward mobility.


Recognizing that every child, no matter where she is born, should have an opportunity to succeed, in April the White House Rural Council launched "Rural Impact," a cross-agency effort to combat poverty and improve upward mobility in rural and tribal places. And in August, HHS announced a new demonstration project, Rural Integration Models for Parents and Children to Thrive (IMPACT), to help communities adopt a two-generation approach to addressing the needs of both vulnerable children and their parents, with the goal of increasing parents' employment and education and improving the health and well-being of their children and families. Often, programs are structured to serve either adults or children, rather than focusing on the entire family to improve outcomes. The Rural IMPACT Demonstration will help communities adopt a comprehensive, whole-family framework for addressing child poverty, such as through facilitating physical colocation of services, universal "no wrong door" intake, referral networks, shared measurement systems, and use of technology to deliver services.


 The Administration is announcing 10 rural and tribal communities from across the country that will participate in the Rural IMPACT Demonstration.  This includes Hugo (OK), Little Dixie Community Action Agency, Inc. (Serving Choctaw, McCurtain and Pushmataha Counties).  Click or tap here to read more about what it means to be a demonstration community.

It's important to remember that the US Speaker of the House is third in line to succeed to the Presidency- so with the abrupt announcement last Friday by John Boehner that he will resign as speaker and even leave Congress itself by the end of October was MAJOR news. Boehner has served in Congress, representing western Ohio, since 1991.

Boehner has said over the weekend that he hopes to resolve several issues between now and when he leaves- but members that had been pushing for his ouster will no doubt try to block any deals they feel are a "sell out."

For agriculture- the worry is that Boehner stepping down may well mean it will be even harder to get anything done in a town that has had trouble accomplishing much.  Spending deals and the Highway Reform Package are two areas that have been cited as areas of concern with the Boehner announcement.

Boehner served as a member of the House Ag Committee for years- and weighed in significantly in the 2014 farm bill negotiations.  Phillip Brasher with Agri-Pulse recalls "Boehner is a former member of the House Agriculture Committee and his resignation from Congress will be something of a loss for milk processors. He took their side against the National Milk Producers Federation and ensured that the new Margin Protection Program for dairy farms created by the 2014 farm bill didn't include a supply management program." The Boehner demands were a major hurdle that Lucas had to navigate as he worked with the Speaker and His Ranking Member, Colin Peterson, to resolve the Dairy impasse.


Of the major farm groups- only the National Corn Growers Association released a statement regarding the announcement from Speaker Boehner.  President Chip Bowling issued the following statement:


"We are grateful for Speaker Boehner's leadership in so many areas, including service on the House Agriculture Committee, and his work for a more transparent and productive Congress. We note this announcement comes the day after Pope Francis addressed a Joint Session of Congress, at the speaker's invitation, calling politics 'an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life.' Speaker Boehner has always striven to live up to these words, and we hope Congress will also take this message to heart. We ask Congress to set aside partisan interests and work together to solve important issues such as the federal budget, tax reform, and investing in our roads and bridges. Let's come to the table with constructive solutions to move our country forward."

The former Chairman of the House Ag Committee- who served in that role during the development of the 2014 Farm Law with the blessing of Boehner- Congressman Frank Lucas-  also released a statement of support of Speaker Boehner.

Karen Overman from Ponca City, Ok in Kay County, placed first in the Sweet Breads Category of the Senior Division at the State "Best of Wheat" Bread Baking contest held on September 27 at the Oklahoma State Fair in Oklahoma City. Her entry of Cinnamon Rolls topped the class also winning her the title of Grand Champion for the Senior Division with her entry.

Meanwhile, Ariana Bumgardner from Boley in Okfuskee County placed first in the Sweet Breads Category of the Junior Division at the State "Best of Wheat" Bread Baking contest. Her entry of Ariana's Cinnamon Swirl Bread topped the class also winning her the title of Grand Champion for the Junior Division with her entry.

The Oklahoma Wheat Commission sponsors the annual contest. "We had 136 entries from 41 counties this year, all champion or reserve champion winners in the county contests," said Kenneth Failes, Chairman of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. "We had great attendance and always enjoy the opportunity to award the top bread bakers in the state."

Click here to read more about the 2015 winners from both the Senior and Junior divisions of the statewide contest.