PERSPECTIVE OKLAHOMA FARM BUREAU
®
November 29, 2013
Buchanan elected new Oklahoma Farm Bureau president
OKFB President Tom Buchanan
District 2 Director Monte Tucker
District 6 Director James Fuser
Voting delegates at the 72nd Oklahoma Farm Bureau Annual Meeting elected Jackson County Farm Bureau member Tom Buchanan to serve as president of the organization, Nov. 16, in Norman. Buchanan has represented District 2 on the OKFB Board of Directors for six years. “Oklahoma Farm Bureau is the voice for rural Oklahoma and agriculture, and that’s my passion,”Buchanan said. “Through my service at the county level and then as a state director, I feel I have a background with the federation and with the insurance company, and I’m looking forward to serving our members.” Buchanan raises a commercial beef herd and winter wheat on his farm near Altus.
He also grows irrigated cotton, when water is available. Buchanan is the manager of the Lugert-Altus Irrigation District, and he serves as vice chairman of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. In addition, two new board members were elected and three were re-elected to serve three-year terms. Roger Mills County FB member Monte Tucker, of Sweetwater, will represent District 2, and Ottawa County FB member James Fuser, of Afton, will represent District 6. Rodd Moesel, of Oklahoma City, was re-elected to represent District 3, Roland Pederson, of Burlington, was re-elected to serve District 7 and Phyllis Holcomb, of Kellyville, was re-elected to represent District 9. The OKFB Young Farmers and Ranchers selected Marty and Crystal Williams, of Red Rock, to lead the state YF&R Committee in 2014, and three OKFB Leadership Team members were re-elected to serve. Sharlene Lambring, of Oklahoma (See Convention, page 3)
Stroms named OKFB Farm Family of the Year John and Macy Strom, of Copan, were named OKFB Farm Family of the Year at Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s 72nd Annual Convention, Nov. 15, in Norman. The Stroms were one of six OKFB district farm family finalists, chosen for their ability to best represent farming and ranching and the spirit of Oklahoma agriculture. As state winners, the family received the use of a General Motors pickup for one year, a trip to the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting next January in San Antonio and other prizes. The Stroms operate VV Ranch in Osage County. They raise a commercial cattle herd on the tall grass prairie of northern Oklahoma. They use Hereford bulls on black cows to produce a two-way cross. The cows are then bred to exotic bulls for terminal three-way crossbred calves with high weaning weights. The couple also runs
stocker cattle on winter pastures. In addition to the cattle operation, the Stroms have a custom hay business producing 4,000 large round bales annually. The Stroms are lifelong members of Oklahoma Farm Bureau. In addition to several state committees, Macy has served on the Washington County Farm Bureau board since 1993 and has been president for the past seven years. She and John are members of the Osage County CattleJohn and Macy Strom pose by the GMC men’s and Cattlewomen’s Sierra pickup they receive a year’s use of as the Associations, and John Oklahoma Farm Bureau Farm Family of the Year. helped establish the Hulah Volunteer Fire Department.
Member Benefits • KJD Enterprises offers OKFB members a $150 dollar cash rebate upon the purchase of a new K/D front end loader. Call 1-888-641-0420 toll free for instructions and a rebate voucher. OKFB highlights a benefit in each issue of Perspective as a reminder of the savings available to OKFB members. Find a complete list of savings online at www.okfarmbureau.org/benefits.
OKFB Calendar OKFB Leadership Team Winter Rally Dec. 6-7 • Duncan Contact: Marcia Irvin, (405) 523-2405 AFBF Convention Registration Deadline Dec. 6 • Oklahoma City Contact: Melisa Neal, (405) 523-2475 95th AFBF Annual Convention Jan. 12-15, 2014 • San Antonio Contact: Melisa Neal, (405) 523-2475
Gearing up for the legislative session By John Collison, OKFB Vice President of Public Policy and Media Relations As we leave our 72nd convention in Norman and return to the home office, it is time to think about and look forward to our 2014 legislative session. With the addition of two new board members and the election of a new president, we will begin to shape up and work out your legislative priorities. You spoke at the convention and let it be said that you want landowner protection when dealing with surface rights and oil companies. You also talked about rural education and the study of our most precious resource – water. You talked about the right to farm and ranch, and we will look at making that a Constitutional issue. We won’t know for a few weeks what bills have been filed by members and what issues will lead the discussion, but rest assured your OKFB public policy team stands ready to make sure our members’ voices are heard.
OWRB stands by maximum annual yield determination By LeeAnna Covington, OKFB Director of National Affairs The Oklahoma Water Resources Board recently voted 4-1 to stand by its maximum annual yield determination with two
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 agriculture-related story every day on its site. Read about both AFBF and state Farm Bureau news by visiting the homepage.
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We have learned in previous legislative sessions that we have a governor who will stand with us in agriculture, and we saw again at the annual meeting Gov. Fallin stand up and tell us how important we are to the economy and the state of Oklahoma. I want to take this time to thank her again for all she has done for Oklahoma Farm Bureau and for rural Oklahoma. We look forward to working with her and her staff again pushing forward the agenda you have laid out. The freshman class legislators now have a session under their belt, and for a number of House and Senate members, this will be their last go-round at the legislative process. We look forward to working with each and every member to move the issues of rural Oklahoma and the farming and ranching industries in a positive direction.
• OKFB Harvest Watch Blog – The second annual OKFB Harvest Watch blog season is underway. Visit www.okfarmbureau.org and click on the OKFB Harvest Watch link to follow the six farm families.
members abstaining and two members absent. Many landowners who own property overlying the Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer are concerned about the order because it affects one of the most precious resources in Oklahoma – water. The order reduces the amount of water landowners can use from two acre feet to 0.2 acre feet of water per year. The OWRB heard comments on an Application for Reconsideration submitted by John and Carolyn Sparks, of Sulphur, at a meeting held Nov. 19. The Sparks requested the OWRB reconsider its decision of limiting the available water supply over the Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer. The Sparks are concerned about how the water usage limitation will affect irrigation practices for pecan trees. This limitation not only impacts the Sparks’ operation, but other landowners who own property overlying the aquifer. If you have questions surrounding the maximum annual yield determination, please contact the LeeAnna Covington at leeanna.covington@okfb.org.
LEFT – Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin discusses the importance of Oklahoma agriculture and commends OKFB members for their hard work during the opening session of the OKFB 72nd Annual Meeting, Nov. 15, in Norman. RIGHT – Jackson County Farm Bureau member Brent Howard (right) visits with Thad Reimer from the Oklahoma Soybean Board during the annual meeting trade show. More than 40 exhibitors participated in the trade show. LEFT – Adam and Rachel Bohl (center) receive recognition for winning the OKFB YF&R Achievement Award from OKFB District 7 Director Roland Pederson (left), Mason Bolay, 2013 OKFB YF&R chairman, and Jason Pitts (right) from P&K Equipment.
(Convention, from page 1) City, will represent District 3; Beverly Delmedico, of Muskogee, will serve District 6 and Lena Henson, of Beggs, will represent District 9. In other delegate action, resolutions were passed to support more research on effectively using the state’s water supply and to examine the state’s current landowner’s bill of rights. “We’re not sure whether moving water is a possibility, but it makes sense for areas of both excess water and water deficiency to examine the feasibility and to know what the options are,”said Jimmy Wayne Kinder, District 4 director and OKFB Resolutions Committee chairman. “We’re blessed to have a thriving oil and gas industry in Oklahoma but we also farm on top of that land, so we think it is important to make sure our surface owners are protected whenever an energy company comes in to drill a well.” Several awards were presented during the annual meeting, as OKFB recognized its top farming and ranching families. John and Macy Strom, of Copan, were named OKFB’s Farm Family of the Year; retiring OKFB Director Charles Sloan was honored with the Distinguished Service to OKFB Award; Adam and Rachel Bohl, of Chattanooga, were selected as the YF&R Achievement Award winners; Raymond and Mary Temple, of Elmore City, received the Lifetime Legacy Award; Brent and Jenny Haken, of Glencoe, were named winners of the YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award; and Travis Schnaithman, of Garber, won the YF&R Discussion Meet. Find more photos from the annual meeting at flickr.com/okfarmbureau. Videos are available on the OKFB YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/okfarmbureau.
Comanche County couple wins YF&R Achievement Award Adam and Rachel Bohl of Comanche County are the 2013 recipients of Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award. They were recognized as OKFB’s top YF&R farming and ranching couple at the annual convention, Nov. 15, in Norman. As Achievement Award winners, the Bohl family received 80 tractor hours on a John Deere 5055D tractor donated by P&K Equipment, a chainsaw donated by Smith Farm and Garden in Tulsa, a $250
gift card and an expense paid trip to San Antonio for the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, where they will compete on the national level. Adam and Rachel grow wheat and cotton on their farm near Chattanooga. When water and forage conditions are favorable, they have a cow-calf operation and run stocker cattle. The Bohls run a custom cotton harvesting business, baling 500-1,000 bales of cotton each year. The Bohl couple has been involved in
Farm Bureau for 16 years and have been active with the county YF&R committee. Adam is a member of the Chattanooga Volunteer Fire Department, and Rachel serves as a Cloverbuds leader and is active in P.E.O. They have a 14-month-old daughter, Lauren. OKFB’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Program is open to both men and women, ages 18 to 35, who hold a membership in his or her county Farm Bureau.
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Traci Morgan, 523-2346 John Collison, 523-2539 Perspective/Online News Editor
VP of Public Policy and Media Relations
Macey Hedges, 523-2346 Sam Knipp, 523-2347 Communications Director of Corporate Vice President of Communications/PR Sam Knipp, 523-2347 Director of Corporate Communications
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Director of Corporate Communications
Karolyn Bolay, 523-2320 Marla Peek, 523-2437 Communications SpecialistAffairs Director of Regulatory
Temples receive YF&R Lifetime Legacy Award Raymond and Mary Temple are the recipients of Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Lifetime Legacy Award. The announcement was made Nov. 15, at OKFB’s 72nd Annual Convention in Norman. The YF&R Lifetime Legacy Award serves as a living memorial for members by recognizing their life achievements. It is intended to honor an individual or a couple who have spent their lives enriching and inspiring rural Oklahomans’ quality of life. Raymond grew up on a farm in Colorado, and Mary was raised on a cotton farm in Washita County. Together they have built a cow-calf herd and raise stocker cattle and replacement heifers on their farm near Elmore City. The couple also produces hay and grows wheat for grazing their cattle. The Temples have planted turnips in their wheat fields for years and annually invite their neighbors and surrounding towns to pick as many as they want each fall. Their love for
agriculture has influenced many, and the couple enjoys helping others succeed in the industry. The couple has also been involved in their community. Raymond helped develop a rural water district for area neighbors, and he served as president of the Elmore City Board of Education. In fact, he casted the deciding vote Raymond and Mary Temple (third and fourth in the decision to allow from left), pictured with their family, are recognized the high school to begin as the 2013 Oklahoma Farm Bureau Young Farmers having a prom – the town’s & Ranchers Lifetime Legacy Award winners by story was the premise for the OKFB District 7 Director Roland Pederson and 2013 movie Footloose. OKFB YF&R Chairman Mason Bolay. The Temples are lifelong Farm Bureau members. Raymond has served She has been active in it for 16 years, servon the Garvin County FB Board of Direcing as chairman for 10 years. The two have tors for 16 years. Mary helped re-establish served on the state resolutions committee the Garvin County FB Women’s Committee. and as delegates to the state convention.
Sloan honored with OKFB Distinguished Service Award Charles Sloan, of Vian, was recognized as the Distinguished Service to Oklahoma Farm Bureau Award winner at the OKFB 72nd Annual Meeting, Nov. 15, in Norman. The Distinguished Service Award honors OKFB members who have made outstanding contributions to agriculture and the Farm Bureau organization. Sloan has been serving agriculture for nearly four decades and recently retired as the OKFB state director from District 6, a position he held for 16 years. Sloan has also served as president of
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Sequoyah County Farm Bureau for 25 years. Sloan and his wife Mary are contract farmers in the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, where they raise corn, soybeans, wheat and Japanese millet. He was a charter member of the Oklahoma Soybean Association and later served as a national director on the American Soybean Board. OKFB District 7 Director Roland Pederson (left) presents Charles Sloan with the Distinguished Service to Oklahoma Farm Bureau Award.