As we enter the final few weeks of the legislative session, it will soon be time to start reflecting on what this session has brought us. Before we do that, I would like to take a larger view to look at what term limits have brought us. With term limits now in full effect, the paradigm shift that has taken place at the Capitol is in full view. Where legislators used to be older men, now we see a mix of members who are 20- and 30-somethings. Where members used to stay and serve 20, 30 and even 50 years, […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau thanks the Oklahoma Senate for passing HJR 1006, known as the right to farm resolution, with a vote of 44-3. The resolution would allow Oklahoma voters in November to vote on a constitutional amendment protecting the rights of the state’s farmers and ranchers to produce food, fuel and fiber. The resolution will next go to conference committee. “We appreciate the work of Sen. Eddie Fields and his fellow senators for passing right to farm in the senate,” said Tom Buchanan, OKFB president. “We urge the conference committee to pass the bill and allow Oklahoma voters the opportunity […]

The following article is an opinion piece written by OKFB President Tom Buchanan that was used in The Journal Record regarding the listing of the lesser prairie chicken.  Oklahoma Farm Bureau members are disappointed with a March 27 announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species. This was done under a sue-and-settle-induced deadline involving the Endangered Species Act. The premature and indefensible decision unduly harms landowners and business interests in Oklahoma and circumvents ESA procedures that are required by statute. For the past several years, the farm bureau has been […]

What is all the fuss over this water issue about? Is it the haves verses the have nots? Is it Oklahoma verses Texas? Maybe it’s the water consumers verses the water viewers? Is it east verses west? As I talk to each of you around the state, I hear many different stories about what we should do with our water. That’s right, I said it. The surface water in the state belongs to all the people of Oklahoma. The reason it belongs to you and me, and not just a handful of people, is because we have each paid for […]

As you return from your spring break, know that things are going well at the Oklahoma Capitol. We passed our Right to Farm amendment, authored by Rep. Scott Biggs, out of the house on March 11. This bill passed 84 to 6, and we want to thanks Rep. Biggs for all the work he did to get that bill though the house.  It is now onto the senate, where we hope to have the bill passed quickly and onto the vote of the people in November. If you have been listening to our Attorney General Scott Pruitt lately, then you […]

We recently gathered at the Skirvin Hotel for our annual OKFB Leadership Conference. If you were able to attend, then you already know what a great line up of speakers and guests we had join us. We were also able to see many friends and familiar faces whom we had not seen since we gathered in Norman last November. I want to thank each and every one of you who took time to travel and participate in our meeting. That includes our elected officials who took time out of their hectic schedules to visit with us about the federal and […]

The OKFB Congressional Action Tour is scheduled for April 6-10, 2014, in Washington, D.C. This tour gives members an opportunity to visit with legislators about issues of importance to rural Oklahoma.  On this trip, members will hear from American Farm Bureau on issues of importance to agriculture along with visiting Congressional Representatives and Senators.  The trip also features a President’s Welcome Reception and a Legislative Reception at the House Agriculture Committee.  Participants are responsible for making their own travel arrangements. The deadline for the Congressional Action Tour is March 3. For more information, contact Sara Drozdowski at 405-530-2681 or at […]

I can’t remember in recent history when a session has started slower or when we have changed out a speaker midway through the first few days. In a vote of the Republican caucus members, Rep. Jeff Hickman, of Fairview, was elected to the new role of Speaker of the House. Most members have at least a year to prepare for this role and the duties that come with it. Speaker Hickman had about 10 minutes of grace time before the realities of the job set in. This is a monumental task that he faces, but knowing the new Speaker, he […]