Agricultural News
Numerous Issues Challenge Oklahoma Farmers and Ranchers, AFR President Says
Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:00:33 CST
With negotiations concerning a solution to the so-called "fiscal cliff" seeming at an impasse, Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays spent some time speaking with Terry Detrick, president American Farmers and Ranchers Insurance Company about how a number of issues are playing out for his membership as 2012 draws to a close.
Detrick says he sees some opportunity to get a farm bill passed and to President Obama's desk before the end of the year, but he said that window is slowly closing.
"We've already missed what we felt was the best opportunity and that was to get a five-year comprehensive farm bill done before it expired September 30th. That did not work. Frank Lucas, chair of the House ag committee, he did his job. So did the ranking member Peterson. They worked well together, got an unprecedented 35 to 11 bipartisan vote. And bipartisanship in Washington, D.C., right now is hard to find, so I hand it to them. But that bill that came out of committee is still there.
"There was some thinking that maybe we'd get it done during this lame duck period between the time of the election and when the elected officials take office. It appears that is getting more and more doubtful every day. But a little glimmer of hope may be since they did such a good job, we feel like as best they could under the circumstances-getting that committee bill out, it has savings built in it. There appears to be a possibility that Congress may utilize that opportunity to help them as they satisfy the deficit with their fiscal cliff discussions. So, out of that, we may get a farm bill after all."
Detrick says that his organization is paying a lot of attention to state issues at this time. Annual policy resolutions are making their way in from county level organizations. These resolutions will form the basis of AFR's work with the legislature when its new session opens in 2013.
Detrick says there are a number of perennial issues that come up year after year like eminent domain and water issues. He said there is an unusual resolution that, so far, has caught his attention as something new.
"One of the interesting resolutions that I saw came in thinking there should be a requirement if a school superintendent is required to have an administrator's certificate to administer a school, then the state superintendent should have an administrator's certificate to be able to hold that job or be qualified run for that job."
He says ideas like that that percolate up from members out in the rural area point out the necessity of utilizing the resolution process that they do.
"It's a good opportunity for the grassroots to speak up and say what's on their minds. And it's our obligation to take care of it. We're a member-services organization."
Detrick says that, year after year, he's proud that his organization has maintained its commitment to the youth of Oklahoma. Though AFR has made budget cuts in its operation, it has never cut its youth services budget. Two programs in particular get the spotlight this time of year as the annual speech competition holds its finals and the livestock handling competition championship gets underway at the Tulsa Farm Show.
Detrick says the speech contest is the culmination of years of work for the students involved and it produces young men and women who are able to express themselves clearly in any venue in which they find themselves.
With more and more focus being brought to bear by animal rights activists on how farmers and ranchers care for their livestock, Detrick says the animal handling competition is an excellent tool for forming students and informing the public on sound animal care practices.
"This is an opportunity to begin to teach our young people number one: how to work cattle and be safe. That's an easy place to get hurt. Of course, as an insurance company, that's very beneficial for us to invest in that. Also, it's very important how these young people handle the cattle. We are animal welfare people. We take care of our animals. You don't starve profit into an animal. You don't abuse an animal and make a profit. We know how to handle our animals and our young people get to show us just how good they are at that." (For more information on this year's competition, please click here.)
With the 2013 legislative session right around the corner, Detrick said divisions between Democrats and Republicans is not as big of a concern on the state level as it is on the national level.
"I don't believe, on the state level, that that is as big of a concern as urban versus rural. We're getting a vast majority of legislators that are urban. And they're good people. There's not a thing in the world wrong with them. The thing that we have to do is educate them. Some people who have never been out in rural communities don't realize that our young people may ride a bus for an hour and a half across bridges that may be questionable as to their safety. Just a whole lot of things that they don't understand because they haven't been there. So, it's our job, and I take that very seriously, to educate them, and inform them, and work with them, and bring them along."
Detrick says one issue that impacts everyone is that the drought is hammering Oklahoma producers statewide even though some areas may have a little more moisture than others.
"Oklahoma is very, very dependent upon wheat pasture in the wintertime for our livestock industry. Our ranches in eastern Oklahoma, the ponds are dried up. They didn't raise hay. They're just in terrible straits. And in western Oklahoma, we don't have anything for them to eat, either. And, usually, we would bring calves from eastern Oklahoma and put them on wheat pasture in western Oklahoma and take them on to the feedlots out in the Panhandle later on next fall. But it's just not working very well that way. And our heart bleeds for those producers out in the field. And then to think that all our disaster programs expired on a federal level- it's going to be devastating to the livestock industry and to grain farmers as well."
You can listen to Ron Hays's full interview with Terry Detrick by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below. Detrick will also appear with Hays on this weekend's "In the Field" segment on News 9 about 6:40 a.m. Saturday.
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