PERSPECTIVE OKLAHOMA FARM BUREAU
Governor signs five Farm Bureau bills into law By Kinsey Money, OFB Director of Research & Policy Development Governor Mary Fallin recently signed three Oklahoma Farm Bureau priority bills into law along with two other OFB-supported bills that aid in protecting the rights of landowners and those involved in agriculture. HB 1310 contains the comprise language between OFB and the veterinary community, and it protects animal husbandry practices by establishing a certification process for those performing “for hire” reproductive services in ruminant animals. Additionally, the bill creates an Animal Technology Advisory Committee. Composed of individuals from both the veterinarian and livestock community, the committee is charged with classifying new technology as animal husbandry or veterinary medicine. HB 1310 was authored by Rep. Phil Richardson and Sen. Eddie Fields, and it was signed by Governor Fallin on April 20. Current law requires the words “NOT FOR HIRE” to (see Farm Bureau bills, page 3)
May 6, 2011
®
Communications division welcomes new employee Gail Banzet of Stillwater is the new Publications and Online News Coordinator in the Corporate Communications/Public Relations division at Oklahoma Farm Bureau. Banzet is a 2005 OFB corporate communications intern and a 2006 graduate of Oklahoma State University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Communications. For the past four years, she has worked as a news reporter/morning host for KOSU radio in Stillwater broadcasting news and weather updates as well as producing audio features on the great people, places and events of Oklahoma. While working as a reporter, Banzet’s interest in agriculture played a role in her feature reporting, and now she’s looking forward to promoting the grass-roots message of OFB. “I’m excited to return to my agricultural roots and work for such a well-respected organization,” Banzet said. “I can’t wait to meet the members and help tell the story of Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s farm families.” Banzet’s hometown is Edna, Kan., where her family raises commercial Angus cattle.
Oklahoma Farm Bureau hosts African interns Oklahoma Farm Bureau has been privileged to host two African interns over the past couple of weeks. Ugandan radio broadcaster Samuel Kazibwe interned in the corporate communications division and wrote about his experience ...
It was a bright, windy afternoon on April 3, 2011, when I first set foot on the United States soil. I was part of a team of 12 people from Kenya and Uganda who were to participate in a five-week U.S. State Department Professional Exchange Program. The program was made possible by a grant project titled “Improving Food Security by Catalyzing Communication Networks between Key stakeholders: Linking Media, Policies, and Communities in Kenya and Uganda.” The journey from Uganda to Oklahoma State University where I was to stay for 4 weeks elicited a mixture of exhaustion and fascination. It took us over 30 hours; moving through four airports and flying on four planes! I later discovered my internship at Oklahoma Farm Bureau turned out to be the most exciting part of my professional exchange program. In my country of Uganda, we rarely focus on agriculture (see African interns, page 4)
Oklahoma Farm Bureau Interns Samuel Kazibwe (left) and Beatrice Namaloba (right) visited Oklahoma on a food securities grant made possible through African stakeholders and Oklahoma State University.