We are almost ready to close the book on another successful Oklahoma Youth Expo (OYE), but as the show wrapped up last weekend we want to share a few more ways the Oklahoma Pork Council celebrated young swine enthusiasts.
OYE's Grand Drive is famous for its over-the-top celebration of young people who won their breed divisions throughout Market Week of the show. Envision fireworks, a fog machine, and around 40 grinning students emerging from a limousine in the middle of a livestock arena. If you haven't experienced the rock-concert-energy of the OYE Grand Drive for yourself, consider adding it to your bucket list. This year's Grand Drive excitement was not only special as the last one held in the historic Jim Norick Arena, but also because it marked a new milestone for Oklahoma's pork industry.
For the first time in history, Oklahoma's commercial pork industry and our state's show pig community perfectly embodied our "One Pork" collaboration through a simple act. Joe Locke, president of the Oklahoma Pork Council, presented Kaleb Dorr of the Wagoner FFA Chapter with the Grand Champion Market Hog trophy. In a heartfelt moment as the arena erupted in cheers for Kaleb and his Hampshire barrow, Joe got to represent all producers cheering for a pig-loving student to achieve his dream. Seeing both special segments of Oklahoma's dynamic pork industry together will be a moment we will long remember. Thank you to Joe for leading out front and actively supporting the 4-H and FFA students who will one day run the pork industry.
In addition to the Grand Drive fun, each year the Oklahoma Pork Council sponsors academic scholarships for graduating livestock exhibitors who will pursue higher education. The two recipients of our 2025 $1,000 Oklahoma Pork Council OYE scholarships were Dade DeLozier from Adair and Macyn Olson from Owasso. Additionally, all top five participants in the Oklahoma Pork Partners Derby received scholarships and recognition from the Oklahoma Pork Council.
To close out the show, the Oklahoma Pork Council proudly donated more than $15,000 in support during the OYE Sale of Champions. We helped purchase multiple barrows, including several in partnership with our friends at Oklahoma Farm Bureau and Blue & Gold Sausage Co. We also use the auction as an opportunity to reward swine exhibitors who have completed PQA+ or YQCA certifications by "adding on" supplemental funds to their winning bids. Time, support, and financial investments in so many pork-loving students made OYE 2025 a huge success. Want to get all the OYE "feels" in 60-seconds? Click here to watch Oklahoma Pork's quick-fire highlight video made by the talented Shay Stegmann.