Oklahoma's Latest Farm
And Ranch News

Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
Monday, June 7, 2021
Pandemic Doesn’t Slow Down Ag Entrepreneurs
Now in its eighth year, the Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge is a national business competition that showcases U.S. startups developing innovative solutions to challenges facing America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities.

In this article, FBNews catches up with previous Challenge participants to find out where they are now, how they were affected by the pandemic and how participating in the Challenge continues to benefit them. The entrepreneurs profiled here participated in the 2020 Challenge, which culminated at the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention in Austin, Texas, in January 2020.

AgButler

Kevin and Jamie Johansen

Missouri

Missouri farmers Kevin and Jamie Johansen’s AgButler app is a tool that connects individuals seeking work with farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses needing temporary labor. Officially launched for iOS and Android in the second half of 2020, the app has nearly 900 users and gaining – the number of profiles on the app jumped 65% in the past month alone.

The app debuted as a demo at the Challenge and the Johansens did a soft launch at the end of August 2020 – three months ahead of schedule. The pandemic pushed some of the app developers’ work back, so their engineers had more time to spend on AgButler. The pandemic also gave AgButler a chance at a dry-run. Not long after colleges and universities across the country went virtual, the Johansens partnered with Missouri Farm Bureau on a pilot program to help connect agriculture students looking for work with farmers in need of labor.

We invite you to listen to us on great radio stations across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network weekdays-

if you missed this morning's Farm News - or you are in an area where you can't hear it- click below for this morning's Farm news from Ron Hays and KC Sheperd on RON.
Sponsor Spotlight


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At Oklahoma Ag Mediation, we have been helping people in agriculture resolve conflicts since 1987. We know firsthand about working together to resolve conflicts, so you don’t have to go through the court systems. Let our professional mediators help you. Mediation is allowed for lease issues, farmer/neighbor disputes, family farm transitions, and more. These services are available at no cost for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers in all 77 counties. For more information, you can go to ok.gov/mediation, or give us a call at 800 248 5465.
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Rural Oklahoma is full of some of the greatest success stories throughout the entire state and is the main reason Oklahoma is on track to become a top 10 state. 

The Road to Rural Prosperity will dive into these stories each week, bringing you insight into the great things happening in and to rural Oklahoma. We will bring you stories covering rural life, agriculture, energy, healthcare, tourism, and politics affecting rural America. 

The Road to Rural Prosperity is here to tell stories about rural America, for rural America.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau Senior Director for Public Policy Steve Thompson talked with Ron Hays about 2021 Oklahoma Legislative Session in the latest Road to Rural Prosperity. Steve believes "this may have been the best legislative year that I've been a part of- and I've been working on these things in a variety of ways for twenty plus years." He says that the agricultural interests at the Capitol played both offense and defense during the four months that the lawmakers were in session- and cites significant wins in the Ag Sales Tax Exemption and property tax areas that highlighted the 2021 portion of the 57th Legislature.

To find out more about our full series of Podcasts on The Road to Rural Prosperity- click or tap here. 


To hear this podcast, you can click here or tap below:

For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites out and let these folks know you appreciate the support of this daily email, as their sponsorship helps us keep this arriving in your inbox on a regular basis- at NO Charge!


We also appreciate our Market Links Sponsor - OKC West Livestock! 


We invite you to check out our website at the link below too that includes an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.
God Bless!
Reach Out To Us:
Tim West
President/General Manager
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network

2401 Exchange Avenue,
Suite F
Oklahoma City, OK 73108

405.317.6361
Ron Hays
Director of Farm Programming
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network

405.473.6144