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 […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is teaming up with the Oklahoma State Chamber Research Foundation to host an informal luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 22 to dissect the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s proposed rule on temperature regulations for outdoor and indoor occupations. OSHA’s Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings seeks to establish heat-specific workplace standards for all industries, including agricultural occupations. Farm Bureau members are encouraged to attend the Aug. 22 “Legal Lunchbox” featuring employment attorney Courtney Warmington to learn more about the ruling and how it would impact agriculture. The luncheon is set for noon on […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau members are invited to attend the Oklahoma Water Resources Board’s upcoming stakeholder input meetings this month. 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. Two virtual meetings will be offered on Aug. 18 and Aug. 31 for participants who are unable to attend an in-person meeting. More details will be shared on these virtual meetings soon. For […]

The first regular session of the 59th Oklahoma legislature adjourned sine die on Friday, May 26, and the halls of the state Capitol have once again grown quiet. Throughout the nearly four-month legislative session, Oklahoma Farm Bureau members and staff worked hard to make the voice of rural Oklahoma heard at 23rd and Lincoln. In a session overtaken largely by education funding discussions, OKFB members still saw success in several key agricultural areas. Landowner Advocacy OKFB was pleased to see the passage of HB 1962 by Rep. Carl Newton and Sen. Darcy Jech. This bill allows persons between the ages […]

The first week of May did not see many bills making progress at the state Capitol due to the continuing logjam over education funding. The House and Senate spent more time behind closed doors in caucus meetings than on their respective chamber floors. The key sticking point centers around rural public schools and whether they should receive more of the proposed additional per pupil funding than their urban counterparts. Gov. Kevin Stitt and House Republicans have held firm that rural public schools should be a priority consideration of the spending packages due to the vast majority of the proposed private […]

The last legislative deadline week ahead of sine die was met with gridlock at 23rd and Lincoln. The major issue affecting nonrelated legislation is the difference of opinion over an education package and tax cuts. The House and the governor have spent most of the session in nearly lockstep on both of those issues while the Senate has had a considerably different opinion. This week the governor began vetoing nearly all Senate bills on his desk, issuing a message that he would continue doing so until the Senate threw their support behind his education and tax cut plans. The Senate […]