Perspective Oklahoma Farm Bureau
www.okfarmbureau.org
May 15, 2015
Right to Farm headed to 2016 ballot as SQ 777 By John Collison OKFB Vice President of Public Policy and Media Relations
A
s the announcers are fond of saying in horse racing, “Down the back stretch they come!” As we are now in the waning days of the 2015 legislative session, it is time to look back and reflect upon what this session has meant for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. As we recall this session, we will see that this year will go down in the history books as one that saw the historic passage of the Right to Farm amendment that will give you the chance to protect agriculture many years into the future. A few years ago we began a conversation about how we should protect our industry and our way of life for years to come. You came up with the idea that we should, as a state, go to the voters and ask them to make a constitutional amendment that would give
us a level of protection into the future to grow food and animals in ways that have been proven by science to be sound. You then came to the public policy discussions and asked the state board to make this issue a high priority and get it passed at the capitol. Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that with your help we have been successful at the capitol, and Right to Farm will be going to a vote of the people in November of 2016 as SQ 777. In biblical terms, 777 is the complete and perfect number, and in gambling it is a jackpot, so I feel pretty good from the start. With all the good feelings out of the way, this will be our mission and goal for the next year and a half: to make this state question a reality. All the outside animalrights extremists have already gone nuts and have vowed to double down on this — Norman Borlaug question. You, the members of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, asked for this bill to pass and send this to a
Man’s survival, from the time of Adam and Eve until the invention of agriculture, must have been precarious because of his inability to ensure his food supply.
vote of the people. We will be coming to you in the next year and a half, asking you to help protect your interest in Oklahoma. This campaign will be long and expensive, and we need each and every one of you to be a part of keeping agriculture out of the hands of the animal-rights activists. The part I always find humorous is they want all of you to believe that the science of climate change is absolutely rock solid, yet they are the first to deny the science that we live by and work with each and every day in production agriculture. The truth is on our side, but know they are not shy when it comes to half-truths and outright lies. The other side will raise millions of dollars from around the country to try and defeat this question. We only have ourselves, but while we are one state we are mighty and have the numbers on our side. This is a fight not only for tomorrow, but also for our kids and grandkids. You have asked for this bill and now it is upon us to tell the world that Oklahoma farmers and ranchers will stand up to bullies and half-truths and we will fight and win. I look forward to seeing each one of you as we take SQ 777 to a victory in November of 2016.
Celebrating the passage of Right to Farm After the passage of HJR 1012, the Right to Farm resolution, Speaker of the House Jeff Hickman of Fairview, center, held a signing ceremony with the resolution’s co-authors. Others pictured include, left to right: Rep. John Pfeiffer, Mulhall; Rep. Josh Cockroft, McLoud; Rep. Scott Biggs, Chickasha; Rep. Lee Denney, Cushing; Rep. Mike Sanders, Kingfisher; Rep. Charles McCall, Atoka; and Rep. Jon Echols, Oklahoma City. Oklahoma Farm Bureau thanks the resolution’s authors and coauthors, along with the legislators who voted for HJR 1012.