Nearly 40 Oklahoma Farm Bureau members gathered in Oklahoma City for the OKFB state resolutions committee meeting Oct. 24-25. Members spent two days reviewing, discussing and voting on county-submitted policy resolutions that will ultimately guide OKFB’s advocacy efforts in the coming years. More than 300 resolutions were sent in for consideration and covered a wide swath of topics, including improvements in the Commissioners of the Land Office management, ad valorem taxes and farm bill programs. The committee also considered resolutions on supporting agriculture education and CareerTech programs, EMS funding strategies and electric car tax incentives. The 75 policy proposals that […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau members are invited to submit their concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed herbicide strategy before the Oct. 22 comment period deadline. EPA released the Draft Herbicide Strategy Framework in July in response to extensive litigation from environmental groups about EPA’s noncompliance with the Endangered Species Act. The proposed framework is EPA’s attempt to protect some 900 endangered species and their habitats through significant use restrictions and mitigations on most agricultural herbicide uses. Growers located in pesticide use limitation areas – or PULAs – which include many parts of Oklahoma, could be subject to even greater restrictions. […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau Treasurer and District 9 Director Jim Meek was recently elected to serve as chair of the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board at the group’s regular meeting Tuesday, Oct. 10. The Okmulgee County rancher was elected by unanimous vote after having served as vice chair since the governing board’s inception in 2022, when he was appointed to the board by Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall. Meek and newly elected vice chair Amanda Mullins will lead the charge in the effort to expand access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet service in the state of Oklahoma. “The future of rural Oklahoma […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau members are invited to attend the Oklahoma Water Resources Board’s second round of stakeholder input meetings in December. As the largest user of water in Oklahoma, it is crucial for agriculture to have a voice in these meetings. The stakeholder meetings will center on the impending updates to Oklahoma’s Comprehensive Water Plan with discussions on water policy, future water supply and demand, water challenges and more. For more information on the stakeholder input meetings and OCWP changes, visit the OWRB website. OCWP Public Survey on Water The OWRB is also asking the public to submit comments about […]

The Oklahoma Broadband Office is ready to hit the road once again for another round of listening stops around the state of Oklahoma. Coming on the heels of OBO’s Let’s Get Digital tour earlier this year, the Oklahoma’s Digital Promise tour will visit 10 Oklahoma towns in October and November to gather more information and collect public input as they continue their work to expand high-speed broadband internet access to Oklahomans in every corner of the state. Oklahoma Farm Bureau members are encouraged to attend a meeting to amplify the voice of rural Oklahoma and the need for rural broadband […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau members gathered for a series of 11 August Area Meetings to discuss issues, challenges and opportunities facing agriculture and rural Oklahoma in preparation for the organization’s grassroots policy development process. More than 400 Farm Bureau members and guests attended the meetings where top issues surfaced by OKFB members included the upcoming farm bill, water rights and water infrastructure, the state’s marijuana industry, electric vehicle incentives and taxation, foreign ownership of land, EPA pesticide rules, native American tribal jurisdiction and more. OKFB members also heard organizational updates and reports from district Young Farmers & Ranchers representatives, Women’s Leadership […]

Farm Bureau members from Oklahoma’s Fifth Congressional District had the opportunity to hear a congressional update from Rep. Stephanie Bice on Tuesday, Aug. 29 at the Oklahoma Farm Bureau home office in Oklahoma City. Bice shared with members the latest activity in Washington, D.C. and discussed several of her priority focus areas, including the 2023 farm bill, budget appropriations and the FAA reauthorization. She also visited with Farm Bureau members about the crisis at the southern border, including the prevalence of drug abuse and human trafficking. Bice explained the challenges in finding border agents and noted that several states, including […]