January 14, 2011

PERSPECTIVE OKLAHOMA FARM BUREAU

OFB leaders to serve on advisory committees The AFBF Board of Directors has approved members to serve on AFBF’s Commodity Advisory Committee for 2011.

OFB leaders serving on committees in 2011 are: Peanut Committee: Richard Wild, Love Co. Soybean Committee: Greg Leonard, Ottawa Co. Wheat Committee: Keith Kisling, Alfalfa Co. Beef Committee: Joe Mayer, Texas Co. Equine Committee: Wayne Halverson, Logan Co. Hay & Forage Committee: Tim Taylor, Payne Co. Sheep & Goat Committee: Bart Cardwell, Kay Co. Swine Committee: Karen Brewer, Okfuskee Co.

The committees will meet in Washington, D.C. Feb. 20-26.

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January 14, 2011

Farm Bureau calls for strong farm safety net, EPA oversight Delegates at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 92nd Annual Meeting voted to maintain a strong farm income safety net, address dairy price volatility and urge greater oversight of regulatory actions by the Environmental Protection Agency.

As Congress prepares to draft a new farm bill later this year and in 2012, the delegates reiterated their support for extending the concepts of the 2008 farm bill.

AFBF “The 2008 farm bill has worked as farmers and ranchers have President weathered market ups and Bob Stallman downs over the last four speaks to the press. years,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. “It’s important to maintain a program that protects our nation’s food, fiber and fuel supply and the consumers who rely on agriculture’s productivity.”

Farm program baseline funds should not be diverted outside OFB delegates participated in the AFBF the farm bill, the delegates Annual Meeting business session. From left are said. The new farm bill should Bill Gibson, Adam Martens, Hope Pjesky, Desdive maintain a strong “safety net” Milacek, Dale Schauer, Phyllis Holcomb, Jimmy that consists of direct payments, Wayne Kinder, Tom Buchanan and Mike Spradling.

(See AFBF, page 3)

OFB planning 2011 Congressional Action Tour

February 21-22, 2011

OFB is planning leadership conference Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s 2011 Leadership Conference will be held Feb. 2122 from at the Marriott Hotel at 3233 Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City.

Room reservations can be made by calling 405-842-6633. The deadline for reservation is February 7. The room rate is $109, plus taxes.

The two-day leadership conference will include a variety of speakers and sessions, a legislative reception, legislative awards and a banquet.

Watch for a leadership conference agenda in the next issue of Perspective.

Leadership Conference

2011

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is planning its annual Congressional Action Tour, which will be held March 27-31 in Washington, D.C. This year’s trip is all inclusive with flights, four nights lodging at the Holiday Inn Capitol and a group breakfast included.

The cost is $1,520 for single occupancy and $2,070 for double occupancy.

Each additional person is $600, with a limit of four per room. *Airline tickets are non-refundable.

Those interested in attending the five(See Congressional Action, page 2)

Member Benefits • Langstons - Offers Farm Bureau members a 10 percent discount on all regularly-priced items. www.langstons.com

• Dodge Rebate – Dodge offers a $500 rebate to OFB members on many of its vehicles. You must be an OFB member for 30 days to be eligible.

OFB will highlight a few benefits in each issue of Perspective as a reminder of the savings available to OFB members.

Find a complete list of savings online at www.okfarmbureau.org.

OFB Calendar National Leadership/YF&R Conference February 3-8 • Orlando, FL Contact: Chris Kidd, 580-228-4001 State Legislature Convenes February 7 • State Capitol Contact: Tyler Norvell, 405-523-2402 Food Check-Out Week February 20-26 • Nationwide Contact: Marcia Irvin, 405-523-2405

YF&R RECRUITMENT – In an effort to generate interest, Garvin County Farm Bureau recently met with agricultural education instructors in the county to promote YF&R and offer help in recruiting new members. From left, are Scott Stevens and Robert Jones, Lindsay FFA; Dale Schauer, county president; and Chris Kidd, OFB Field Representative and YF&R Coordinator.

Congressional Action Tour... (continued from page 1) day trip can download the registration form online at www.okfarmbureau.org and send it in to the Oklahoma Farm Bureau office. Registration forms are also available in each county office. The deadline for registration is February 25.

For more information on the Congressional Action Tour, contact OFB’s Marcia Irvin at 405523-2405 or Daniel Brown at 405-530-2681.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau Online Monitor the latest Farm Bureau and agricultural news and information online at www.okfarmbureau.org.

Currently online: • Congressional Action Tour – Download a registration form for this year’s Congressional Action Tour, which will be held March 27-31. Members attending the trip will lobby Oklahoma’s congressional delegation in our nation’s capital.

• Oklahoma Youth – Learn about OFB’s involvement with state youth through speech contests, scholarship programs, livestock judging contests, stock shows and premium sales, and more on OFB’s website under “Programs.”

www.okfarmbureau.org 2

Assistance available for losses suffered Oklahoma farmers and ranchers who were adversely affected by natural disasters in 2009 can apply for the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE) starting Monday, January 10, 2011. Eligible producers should apply at their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to receive financial relief, according to Francie Tolle, State Executive Director.

“SURE is one of five disaster related programs in the FSA portfolio,” Tolle said. “This program provides a tremendous amount of assistance to producers who have suffered from natural disasters, and is part of the 'safety net' designed to assist farmers and ranchers who feed America and the world.”

The SURE program provides benefits for farm losses accrued in 2008 through 2011 due to natural disasters.

A producer is eligible for the program when a secretarial disaster designation has been made for their county and they have production losses of at least 10 percent, or when actual production is less than half of the normal established production. Producers are eligible for payment when they have crop insurance or a Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) policy.

“NAP or crop insurance serves as a prerequisite to receiving SURE payments, so we urge producers to factor that into their risk management planning,” Tolle said. “The SURE (See Assistance, page 4)

AFBF calls for strong farm safety net... (continued from page 1) a simplified Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program and the countercyclical, marketing loan and crop insurance programs.

Overall, however, they adopted policy that provides flexibility to move forward with farm policy within the budget framework that will become clearer later this year.

A new direction in dairy policy is needed, according to the delegates, to reduce milk price volatility. Recent years have seen both historical but short-term highs and devastating longerterm lows in milk prices. A resolution approved by the delegates says, in essence, that the dairy price support and Milk Income Loss Contract programs have not performed adequately.

“We’ve seen extreme fluctuations in dairy prices, and in the last two years the dairy sector has had a tougher time than other sectors,” Stallman explained. “We can’t continue to do the same things and expect a different outcome.

We need a change in our nation’s dairy policy.”

The delegates adopted new policy in support of a dairy risk management program that offers protection based on gross margins after subtracting feed costs. The delegates supported creating such a program in a fiscally responsible way by backing the use of all funding previously allocated to dairy price support and Milk Income Loss Contract programs to a new risk management program.

The new dairy policy allows for the consideration of a temporary supply management system, but it maintains AFBF’s opposition to a mandatory milk production quota system. The policy enables Farm Bureau to work with the dairy industry to develop solutions for excessive price fluctuations.

The delegates approved a resolution calling for more congressional oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory actions. They asked Congress to assess the impact that EPA regulations would have on Keynote speaker and television agriculture and to consider legislation to stop host Mike Rowe with OFB President EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases.

Mike Spradling and his wife, Lotsee.

“EPA’s regulatory reach continues to metastasize at the expense of our ability to produce food, fiber and fuel, and EPA often does not recognize the contributions that farmers and ranchers have made to reduce soil loss and produce more with less land, water, nutrients and other From right, Norita Morgan, inputs,” said Stallman. “We need Beverly Delmedico, Roberta Hughes more common sense and less and Sue Jarvis visited the Georgia (See AFBF, page 4) Farm Bureau booth during the trade show.

Hughes County Farm Bureau leader Jack Sherry checked out a McCormick tractor at the trade show during the 92nd AFBF Annual Meeting in Atlanta Jan. 11.

ENID AGRIFEST – Several northwest Oklahoma county Farm Bureaus participated in the recent 15th annual KNID AgriFest. The farm show was held January 7-8 at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center in Enid.

Taking their turns manning the Farm Bureau booth January 7 were Richard Alig (left), Kingfisher County president; Gary Johnson (center), Garfield County president; and Dean Hedges, Garfield County vice president.

The booth, which included numerous prizes to be raffled, was sponsored by nine county Farm Bureaus, including Alfalfa, Blaine, Garfield, Grant, Kay, Kingfisher, Major, Noble and Woods.

The counties received excellent exposure as thousands of visitors attended the two-day conference.

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Assistance available for losses suffered... (continued from page 2) payment is a bonus payment as insurance and NAP coverage doesn’t usually cover all losses.”

Several groups of producers: socially disadvantaged, beginning farmers or ranchers, and limited resource producers may be eligible without crop insurance or NAP. Oklahoma FSA paid out more than $20 million in SURE assistance for the 2008 crop year. This is part of the more than $2 billion paid out nation-wide for 2008. The program is new under the 2008 Farm Bill.

The signup period for the 2009 benefits is scheduled to close on July 29, 2011 and producers are encouraged to call their local offices to schedule an appointment. Farm Service Agency has offices throughout Oklahoma; local offices are listed in the United States Government section of the phone book or can be found by visiting www.fsa.usda.gov/ok.

For more information on SURE and other FSA programs, visit your local County FSA office or visit online at www. fsa.usda.gov/ok.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE – Garrett King (left), a member of Congressman Frank Lucas’ staff, spoke to OFB’s Farm Bill Committee during its first meeting at the home office Jan. 6. During the meeting, the five-member committee discussed proposed farm policy recommendations that were to be voted on at the AFBF Annual Meeting in Atlanta. The committee members also worked to outline a plan of work and goals of the committee for the year. From left, are King, Keith Kisling, Matt Muller, Greg Leonard, Tom Buchanan, Jimmy Wayne Kinder, Mike Spradling and Scott Neufeld.

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AFBF calls for strong farm safety net... (continued from page 3) negativity toward production agriculture in the enforcement of the nation’s existing environmental statutes.”

AFBF announced on Jan. 10, during the annual meeting, that it was filing a federal lawsuit to halt the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay pollution regulatory plan.

AFBF said that the agency overreached by setting up a plan for the entire 64,000 square-mile Chesapeake watershed, usurped state control, relied on faulty data and failed to account for agriculture’s contributions to improving water quality, and provided insufficient information and time for the public to check EPA’s actions.

The delegates also reaffirmed support for establishing a guest worker program that meets agriculture’s need for farm labor, fair and open world trade and continued inclusion of the word “navigable” in the Clean Water Act’s definition of the water bodies that are subject to federal regulatory jurisdiction.

The American Farm Bureau Federation is the nation’s largest general farm organization. At its 92nd Annual Meeting, 370 voting delegates representing every state and agricultural commodity deliberated on policies affecting farmers’ and ranchers’ productivity and profitability.

The approved policies will guide the organization’s work throughout 2011.

In other convention news, OFB President Mike Spradling was reelected to the AFBF Board of Directors.

More convention coverage can be found on AFBF’s website at www.fb.org.

A special insert for young producers and ag professionals, age 18 to 35.

YF&R to host FFA ‘meet and greet’ OFB’s Young Farmers & Ranchers will host FFA Day at Oklahoma Farm Bureau to coincide with FFA Day at the State Capitol on February 21.

The state YF&R Committee will invite several FFA chapters to the home office in Oklahoma City for an informal “meet and greet” with YF&R and OFB leaders.

“We want to tell them about the YF&R Program and help them make that connection,” said Chris Kidd, OFB field representative and YF&R coordinator.

“We want to start name recognition and let them know there will be a place for them in our grassroots agricultural organization.”

The event will take place prior to the beginning of OFB’s Leadership Conference.

State YF&R Discussion Meet winner Marty Williams competed in the national competition.

Jeff and Sarah Weeks represented Oklahoma as the state YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award winners.

YF&R kick off recruitment campaign with new theme, logo There’s a lot of energy and excitement in Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Program right now, and the group is looking to build upon that momentum by targeting the next generation of YF&R leaders.

“Our Young Farmers & Ranchers have to realize they are the future of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau organization and will be leading the state’s agriculture industry in the very near future,” said Chris Kidd, OFB field representative and YF&R coordinator. “Now is the time to develop those young ag leaders, and that is why we’ve developed a campaign targeting young agricultural producers and young ag professionals across the state to become part of the YF&R Program.”

The YF&R’s theme for the future is “You’re Next...Ready?”

“These young people in agriculture we are targeting will be the next generation of ag leaders,” Kidd said, “They will be the ones

to build upon the momentum of the program and raise us to a new level of success and leadership, both in the organization and the industry.”

The state YF&R Committee urges county Farm Bureaus to take an active role in surfacing potential YF&R members. The YF&R Program is for young producers and ag professionals, age 18 to 35, who have a vested interest in agriculture and desire to be a part of a group engaged in leadership training, networking and promoting their industry.

For more information contact Kidd at 580-228-4001 or Chris.Kidd@okfb.org.

National YF&R contests YF&R award winners represented Oklahoma in national competitions during the AFBF Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

Former AFBF YF&R Chair Will Gilmer presents state YF&R Achievement Award winner LaSheil Knowles with a plaque.

YF&R to hold single conference This year, the state YF&R Committee will be combining its two conferences, normally held in the winter and the summer, into one big conference.

This year’s YF&R Conference will be held March 31 to April 3 at the Quartz Mountain State Resort and Lodge in southwest Oklahoma.

“We decided to combine the two conferences to make a more impressive conference packed with first-rate agricultural tours, speakers and leadership training,” said Chris Kidd, OFB field representative and YF&R Coordinator.

Mark your calendars now! The deadline for reservations is March 15.

Contact the lodge at 580-563-2424 or www.quartzmountainresort.com. The room rate is $93. Watch for an agenda in Perspective closer to the conference date.

A special insert for young producers and ag professionals, age 18 to 35.

State YF&R Committee Brian Knowles

Tim Taylor

Brent Straub

Chuckie Hurt

Mason Bolay

Amber Fuhrmann

LaSheil Knowles

Adam Martens

Joshua Miller

2011 Directory Tyler Mayer

Vice Chairman Brian & LaSheil Knowles, Dist. 5 918-966-3799

Letisha Miller

Nicole Sarah Jeff Martens Weeks Weeks

Chairman Adam & Nicole Martens, Dist. 7 580-227-2726

Secretary Amber Fuhrmann, District 4 580-353-4028

Naomi Mayer

YF&R Calendar of Events FEBRUARY • National Leadership Conference • February 5-7 • Orlando, FL • FFA Day at Oklahoma Farm Bureau • February 21 • OFB Leadership Conference • February 21-22, Oklahoma City • Farm Bureau Week • February 21-25 MARCH • Speech Contest • March 14 • OSU-OKC • YF&R District Scholarship Deadline • March 15 • Congressional Action Tour • March 27-31 • Washington, D.C. • State YF&R Conference • March 31 - April 3 • Quartz Mountain APRIL • YF&R Legislative Day • April 12 • Oklahoma City MAY • State FFA Convention • May 3-4 • Oklahoma City • YF&R Golf Classic • May 6 • Location TBA JULY • OSU Big Three Field Days • July 19-21 • Stillwater AUGUST • Contest Deadline (Achievement/Excellence in Ag) • August 15 SEPTEMBER • Livestock Judging Contest • September 16 • Oklahoma City OCTOBER • YF&R Contest Deadlines • October 15 • OSU International Tour • October 7 • Location TBA • State Resolutions Mtg. • October 18-19 • Oklahoma City NOVEMBER • State Convention • November 11-13 • Oklahoma City

Jeff & Sarah Weeks, District 3 (At Large) 405-878-8767 Mason Bolay, District 6 918-456-1924 Joshua & Letisha Miller, District 8 405-756-6316 Tim & Sheila Taylor, District 9 405-372-0830

Tyler & Naomi Mayer, District 1 580-461-0292

Chuckie Hurt, At Large 580-886-5280

Brent & Amie Straub, District 2 580-726-2512

Chris Kidd, YF&R Coordinator 580-228-4001, Chris.Kidd@okfb.org

State YF&R to attend National Leadership Conference This year’s National YF&R Leadership Conference will be held in conjunction with the AFBF Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida. The joint event will be held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort February 3-7, with the YF&R portion of the conference beginning February 5.

The YF&R Leadership Conference is an annual event that brings together more than 700 young farmers and ranchers from over 45 states. The Conference is focused on cutting-edge opportunities in leadership development, personal growth, legislative and agricultural awareness, and networking as well as numerous entertainment and fellowship opportunities.

This year’s theme is “Engage.Act.Win.” AFBF has designed an outstanding program to provide the tools for engagement that will kick-off Farm Bureau’s legislative efforts for the 112th Congress. Highlights include keynote speakers, tours of Florida agricultural enterprises, the Collegiate Discussion Meet and interactive breakout sessions.