Jail birds?
All-Around Service
®
All Around Oklahoma
journal Oklahoma Farm Bureau
Volume 54 No. 6
(ISSN 1091-921X)
October 2002
State Question 687 does much more than ban cockfighting in Oklahoma.
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•••••••••••••••••••• Quota buyout The signup period for USDA’s peanut quota buyout runs through Nov. 22.
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Bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs will entertain at convention While Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s 61st annual convention will focus on taking care of business for the state’s largest farm organization, delegates and others attending will be entertained by one of the nation’s foremost bluegrass performers at the Nov. 9 banquet. Ricky Skaggs, winner of eight awards from the Country Music Association and four Grammies, will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. following the evening’s dinner in the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the evening’s dinner and entertainment will be available at the registration area of the convention. Cost is $25 each. With exposure spanning from Grand Ole Opry appearances to broadcasting on the Internet, Skaggs is one of bluegrass’ most personable and effective ambassadors. He has had 24 singles on Billboard’s Top 20, including 12 number ones. Skaggs began playing the mandolin at age 5, and soon developed into a young prodigy, learning guitar and fiddle as well. In 1970, he joined Ralph Stanley’s legendary bluegrass band, the Clinch Mountain Boys, and later moved on to Country Gentlemen, a progressive bluegrass band. After leaving that band in the ’70s, he had three critically acclaimed albums and the first of his many chart singles. The 1980s belonged to Skaggs. He joined the Grand Ole Opry, and then began racking up his chart-topping music and
began to bring country music back to its roots. He helped pull country music out the its pop sound by blending bluegrass, gospel, honky tonk and western swing with contemporary songs and state-of-the-art production techniques. Now, Skaggs continues to pay his respects to country’s rich history while nurturing it in the 21st century. “I always want to try to promote the old music as well as trying to grow and be a pioneer, too,” he said. Today, Skaggs and his band, Kentucky Thunder, have a string of successful album releases. The latest, “History of the Future,” has one foot planted on the bedrock of traditional bluegrass and one kicking open the door to new sounds and rhythms. While Skaggs will provide entertainment, delegates attending the Nov. 9-11 meeting will set policy for 2003, elect three state directors and delegates for the American Farm Bureau annual meeting, and hear from a variety of speakers. Top state awards to counties and individual members will be presented during the annual meeting. Competitions, such as the annual Discussion Meet, also will be featured during the convention. The list of speakers invited to the annual meeting includes U.S. Reps. J.C. Watts and Wes Watkins, Flashpoint’s Mike Turpin and Burns Hargis, AFBF Women’s Chairman Terry Gilbert, USDA’s Dale Moore, Bob Funk and the new governorelect of Oklahoma.
She loves them, and makes money By Mike Nichols The PBS show that aired about 10 years ago didn’t win an Emmy, but nonetheless proved to be a lifechanging telecast for accidental viewer Karon Storm. “I saw a show on PBS about 10 years ago and I was thunderstruck,” she remembers. “I thought I have to have one!” The telecast featured alpacas, domestic animals dating back to the ancient Inca civilization in the Peruvian Andes where only royalty was allowed to wear the fine cashmere-like clothing made from their fleece. It took her nearly two years to find an alpaca to purchase. “At that time, there were only two breeders in Oklahoma. I found one in Gore. I quit a very stressful job, took money from my 401K and bought my first female. “You can love and enjoy them and still make money with them. They’re a livestock I can handle. I enjoy raising them, and I enjoy my herd.” Karon and her husband, George, who works for the City of Oklahoma City, own Storm Haven Alpacas, one of only 10 alpaca operations in the entire state.
The operation actually is Karon’s, but she says “like anything else, it’s all ours. It was all my idea, but he likes them.” Storm Haven Alpacas is secluded on a sandy-topped hill along Peebly Road in eastern Oklahoma County. Countless passersby zip past daily, unaware of the unique livestock operation hidden from view atop the hill where the Storm’s home sits. The virtual backyard operation covers about an acre or so, where the peaceful alpacas spend their days shaded by trees that hide a maze of misters and box fans used when Oklahoma’s summer temperatures swelter. Tall fences corral the alpacas, protecting the animals against harm from dogs and other predators. A part Great Pyrenees dog also makes its home with the alpacas, guarding them from unwelcome intruders. “They are defenseless,” says Karon. “All they can do is spit, so you have to worry about predators. I worry about dogs.” There is cause for concern, because the pint-sized, llama-looking critters are the “platinum” members of the (Alpaca, Page 3)