Agricultural News
American Farmers & Ranchers Annual Meeting Set for February 12-13 in Oklahoma City
Mon, 01 Feb 2010 9:19:32 CSTThe 2010 American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Co. annual policyholder meeting and the Oklahoma Farmers Union State Convention is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12th & 13th, at the Biltmore Hotel, 401 S Meridian Ave, Oklahoma City, OK.
Three Officer positions and two Executive Board of Director's seats will be decided during this 105th Convention. The Officer and Board of Directors' seats up for election are: President, Vice President, Secretary, State Director District III, and State Director At-Large.
At the close of the filing period, there are 10 candidates running; one position was unopposed. They are: Terry Detrick, Ames, for President; with Keith Miller, Wynnewood as an opponent. Royce Meek, Broken Bow and John Porter, Stillwater both running for the Vice President seat; Bobby Green, Okemah for Secretary/Treasurer (unopposed). State Director Northeast District III, Bob Nick, Okmulgee and opponent Scott Blubaugh, Tonkawa; and State Director At-Large candidates are Neil Bolenbaugh, Enid; Melody Cummings, Elk City and Dean Schaffer, Thackerville.
Saturday at the Convention, there will be an impressive lineup of speakers to address a wide range of issues.
Moderated by Tommy Thomas, AFR lobbyist with Oklahoma Legislative Consulting Group, top state lawmakers in the insurance and agriculture issue areas will bring the latest from the state capitol. How will lawmakers manage budget shortfalls? What can we expect from pertinent legislation filed relative to insurance and agriculture? A panel of Representative Daniel Sullivan, Chairman of the Economic Development and Financial Services Committee; Senator Ron Justice, Chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee; and Representative Dale DeWitt, Chairman of the Natural Resources and Regulatory Services Committee give a glimpse of what to expect in 2010.
Forecasting the weather can be difficult in Oklahoma but providing an economic forecast for the beef and wheat industries has its' own challenges. This "headline news" version of what to expect for these commodities will be a not miss session. Kim Anderson, Professor in Agribusiness in the Agricultural Economics Department, Oklahoma State University, is always entertaining as well as knowledgeable of his subject.
Derrell Peel, also with Oklahoma State University serves as the Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist and will take on the other major agriculture commodity in our state - beef and what we can expect to put in our pockets. Both will examine supply and demand issues, trade agreements and weather impacts on their commodities. Be sure to take notes as you go back home to make your own marketing decisions.
The "Food Under Attack" session will be moderated by long-time state farm broadcaster Ron Hays with the Radio Oklahoma Network. It's not enough that a farmer or rancher is dealing with natural occurring weather changes or predator issues, but now media, legislative, regulatory, legal and international agreements challenges are the latest that a producer must find defense and protection against.
Find out from Oklahoma's own Third District Congressman Frank Lucas about current attacks such as proposed climate change and clean water legislation and how it impacts your bottomline as an agriculture producer and yes - as a consumer. Lucas, the Ranking Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, will provide the latest update on what to expect in the next year of this Congress.
AFR General Counsel Anita Poole will update the status of current litigation relative to poultry nutrients in northeast Oklahoma and proposed total maximum daily load thresholds (TMDL's) proposed on state waters and how it is impacting agriculture.
To read more about the Convention and to see the full program for the 2010 meeting, click here for the January-February issue of News and Views from the AFR.
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