February 22, 2013

PERSPECTIVE OKLAHOMA FARM BUREAU

®

February 22, 2013

OFB honors five legislators for supporting agriculture

Sen. Anthony Sykes

Rep. Lisa Billy

Five state legislators received Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Meritorious Service Award Feb. 18, during the farm organization’s annual leadership conference at the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City.

The Meritorious Service award is presented to legislators who have a strong voting record for Farm Bureau issues and show support for rural and agricultural issues. The awards are based on a county Farm Bureau’s nomination and evaluation of the lawmaker’s adherence to the values and issues important to rural Oklahoma.

Receiving the award were Sen. Anthony Sykes, Moore, and Representatives Lisa Billy, Purcell; Tom Newell, Seminole; Mike Jackson, Enid; and Joe Dorman, Rush Springs.

Rep. Tom Newell

Rep. Mike Jackson

Sykes is chairman of the Judiciary committee and vice chairman of the committee on Business and Commerce. He also serves on the committees for Agriculture and Rural Development; and Appropriations, as well as the Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation.

He represents Senate District 24 in south central Oklahoma.

Billy currently is Assistant Majority Whip and is chairman of the A & B Committee for Higher Education. She also serves on the committees for A & B Public Safety; Energy and Aerospace; and Appropriations and Budget. She represents House District 42 in south central Oklahoma.

Rep. Joe Dorman

Newell is vice chairman of the Appropriations and Budget Committee. He also serves on the committees for Agriculture and Wildlife; Judiciary; and Long-Term Care and Senior Services. He represents House District 28 in east central Oklahoma.

As Speaker Pro Tempore, Jackson plays a major leadership role as he is an ex officio voting member on all House Committees.

Jackson represents House District 40 in north central Oklahoma.

Dorman, representing House District 65 in southern Oklahoma, is vice chairman of the minority caucus and serves on the committees for Appropriations and Budget; A & B Public Safety; Government Modernization; and Rules.

Gov. Mary Fallin presents the 2013 Farm Bureau Week proclamation to OFB President Mike Spradling. Gov. Fallin helped officially kick off Farm Bureau Week Feb. 18, during the OFB Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City.

In her remarks, she commended members for their dedication to protecting and advancing Oklahoma agriculture and thanked them for their hard work in producing food, fiber and fuel.

More photos from the OFB Leadership Conference will appear in the next issue of Perspective.

Member Benefits • ScriptSave – Offers members and their families access to discounts on brand name and generic prescriptions. Call 800-700-3957. Use the group number 189A. OFB highlights a benefit in each issue of Perspective as a reminder of the savings available to OFB members. Find a complete list of savings online at okfarmbureau.org.

OFB Calendar Congressional Action Tour Deadline March 11 Contact: Sara Drozdowski, (405) 530-2681 Oklahoma Youth Expo March 16-26 • OKC Contact: Chris Kidd, (405) 523-2402 YF&R Legislative Day March 19 • OKC Contact: Holly Carroll, (405) 301-6610

By John Collison OFB Vice President of Public Policy and Media Relations We are now well under way at 23rd and Lincoln. We have already seen a range of bills, including one giving teachers who are CLEET certified the ability to carry guns in the classroom, bills that deal with horses when they reach their useful end and bills aimed at drought relief. We have also seen some work on tackling the feral hog issue and the need to control workers’ compensation.

Rep. Mark McCullough introduced HB 1062. This bill allows teachers or administrators who have undergone reserve police deputy training to carry a loaded handgun in public elementary and secondary schools.

This bill has passed out of committee and will be headed to the House floor for debate. Rep. McCullough is looking for a way to keep teachers from being helpless when someone decides schools are the place

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

Currently online: • Agricultural News – Oklahoma Farm Bureau features a new agriculturerelated story every day on its site. Read about both AFBF and state Farm Bureau news by visiting the homepage.

• OFB 2013 Calendar – Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s staff is gearing up for a busy schedule in 2013. From the upcoming legislative session to summer conferences, see our lineup of events!

www.okfarmbureau.org 2

to create chaos and violence. While this bill will be hotly debated, it is an unfortunate discussion the entire country is having.

Two of the more visible bills coming out of the House and Senate deal with horse slaughter and the sale of horse meat. These two bills have been offered by Sen. Mark Allen and Rep. Skye McNiel. While there are a lot of rumors around the Capitol about the bills and their taboos, there has been relatively little fuss. There was a handful (three) of anti-horse-killing people at both the House and Senate hearings, but they didn’t really have a lot to say. Both of these bills made it out of their respective committees in a matter of minutes and will go to both the House and Senate floor for debate. I encourage you to call your legislators and remind them there is a useful end for horses when they have served their purpose here on Earth. OFB is a supporter of Rep. McNiel and Sen. Allen’s position.

Rep. Don Armes and Rep. Dale DeWitt have authored bills discussing drought relief and funding for this great need we are facing. This will be the issue that defines who we are as an organization in the years to come. We see that this is not a Democrat verses Republican issue at the Capitol, but rather it is a rural verses urban issue.

This truly will become a fight between the haves and the have-nots unless something is done. If that were not enough, the courts have decided to let Dallas join in and really mix it up. Now the battle turns to Oklahoma verses Texas. As water is one of the most precious resources we have in our state, we at OFB are geared up and ready to fight for our members’ needs. This fight will not be won or lost in one session. It is a battle that will take place in meeting rooms, legislative halls, court rooms and in the public forum. Please understand that your OFB stands ready.

Loos shares ag advocacy message with OFB members Trent Loos, Nebraska rancher, broadcaster and outspoken advocate for animal agriculture, addressed a group of Farm Bureau leaders and the general public Feb. 14, at the Noble County Fairgrounds in Perry. The meeting was sponsored by the Noble County Farm Bureau.

“We have to stand up for agriculture and tell our story about animal agriculture,” Loos told the group.

Loos, founder of Faces of Agriculture, a nonprofit organization putting the human element back into the production of food, offered his definition for today’s farmer and rancher.

“I define a farmer and rancher as someone tending to the land and converting God’s gifts into consumable products,” Loos said.

Loos stars in OFB’s “Pig to Plate” DVD sponsored by the OFB Womens Committee. District 7 committee member Desdive Milacek, Enid, told the Perry gathering the committee is giving a copy of the DVD to every school district in Oklahoma. The Agricultural advocate Trent Loos speaks to Noble County Farm DVD is a series of nine separate segments aimed at Bureau members and guests during a recent trip to Oklahoma. explaining pork production to young school children.

Earlier in the day Loos traveled to Pawnee and visited with rancher Gerald Turner, OFB’s Legacy Award winner.

“It was wonderful to meet Trent and tell him a little bit about the history of this area,” Turner said.

The 88-year-old Turner enthralled Loos with stories about growing up on the Oklahoma prairie and spending time with Pawnee Bill and Mexican Joe. “I knew both of them growing up, and in fact, Mexican Joe taught me how to rope,” Turner said.

OFB hosts legislative reception RIGHT – OFB Director Jimmy Wayne Kinder (right) welcomes Sen. Larry Boggs and Rep. Kay Floyd to the OFB legislative reception Feb. 5, at the OFB State Office.

LEFT – OFB Director Rodd Moesel (left) visits with Rep. Gus Blackwell (right) and OFB Director Tom Buchanan during the OFB legislative reception.

Farm Bureau remembers past board member The Oklahoma Farm Bureau family is mourning the passing of former state board member Merle Atkins, who died Jan. 15, 2013, at his home near Davidson.

Atkins farmed and ranched in the Tillman Merle Atkins County area his entire life. He was a Tillman County Farm Bureau board member for several years and served on the OFB Board of Directors from 1997 to 2006.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Davidson First Baptist Church or the Tillman County Historical Society in memory of Merle Ray Atkins.

3

Published by Oklahoma Farm Bureau Postmaster: address corrections to: Published bySend Oklahoma Farm Bureau

Perspective, P.O. B. 53332, OKC, OK 73152-3332 Postmaster: Send address corrections to: Perspective, P.O. B. 53332, OKC, OK 73152-3332

Staff Directory SPanach, taff D irectory Macey 523-2346

Oklahoma Farm Bureau 2501 N. Stiles Oklahoma City, OK 73105-3126

Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 131 Okla. City, OK.

Perspective/Online News Editor

Traci Morgan, Monica Wilke, 523-2346 523-2303 Perspective/Online News Editor Executive Director John Collison, 523-2539 Sam 523-2347 VP of Knipp, Public Policy and Media Relations Vice President of Communications/PR Chris Kidd, 523-2402 VP of Organization and Membership

Tyler Knipp, Norvell, 523-2402 Sam 523-2347 Vice President of Public Policy Senior Dir. of Corporate Communications Marla Peek, 523-2437 Marla Peek, 523-2437Affairs Director of Regulatory Director of Regulatory Affairs

OFB kicks off 2013 growing season blog The second annual Oklahoma Farm Bureau Harvest Watch blog season is under way. It will feature regular updates from six farm families as they experience the everyday joys and disappointments of planting and harvesting a crop and feeding and caring for livestock. Updates will continue through the fall and conclude with harvest.

The six farm families, each represent a different region of Oklahoma, include Zac and Amy Harris, Hobart; Brandon and Cari Webb, Canton; Matt and Lisa Graves, Gate; Kenneth and Debby Fisher, Bristow; Brent and Myndi Bolen, Idabel; and Greg and Mary Leonard, Afton.

“We encourage teachers and their students to follow the regular updates on the website as a way to learn more about our modern agriculture production,” said Mike Spradling, Oklahoma Farm Bureau president.

The Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom program is once again helping promote the blog.

“When students can make a connection from what is going on in the classroom to what is going on outside the classroom, learning takes place,” said Dana Bessinger, coordinator of teacher training for the Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom program.

Oklahoma Soybean Expo

OFB field rep Robin Landrum (left) shows members Robert Ross and Bob Ross, Webbers Falls, and Paul Freundt, Guthrie, OFB’s Facebook page on his iPad at the OFB booth during the Oklahoma Soybean Expo, Feb. 13, in Stillwater.

4

“What is more relevant to children than their food, clothing, and shelter? All provided by Oklahoma farmers and ranchers. The blog provided that connection first hand!”

In addition to school children, the news media and general public also are invited to join the farm families on their journey through the 2013 growing season. To read the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Harvest Watch blog, please go to www.okfarmbureau.org.

OFB sets dates for “Big Ag, Little Dixie” 2013 commodity tour OFB members will have the opportunity to explore the history, culture and agricultural industry of “Little Dixie” during the 2013 OFB Commodity Tour, March 25-27, in southeast Oklahoma. The three-day tour will begin in McAlester and continue on to Sardis Lake, Idabel and Poteau.

Limited space is available, so reserve your spot as soon as possible by contacting Kelli Beall at (405) 523-2470 or kelli.beall@okfb.org. A more complete agenda for the tour will appear in the next issue of Perspective.