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Agricultural News


Water, Runaway EPA Two Big Issues on OFB's Priority List, John Collison Says

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:09:09 CST

Water, Runaway EPA Two Big Issues on OFB's Priority List, John Collison Says
Several issues of paramount importance to Oklahoma farmers and ranchers were discussed at the recent Oklahoma Farm Bureau Leadership Conference. Those discussions were the culmination of earlier meetings of OFB members all across the state to determine policy initiatives and priorities for the coming year.


John Collison, vice president of public policy and media affairs with Oklahoma Farm Bureau spoke with Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays about the top issues OFB will be tackling and the state and national levels. You can listen to their conversation by clicking on the LISTEN BAR at the bottom of this story.


"One of our biggest issues coming out of 2013 is a farm bill," Collison said. "We're on our third try of trying to pass a farm bill in Washington, D.C., and our influence keeps getting less and less up there. We need to make sure our voice is heard in Washington, D.C.


"We saw last week in the Senate a clear shot across the bow that if we're going to balance the budget in America, it's going to be balanced on the back of the military and farmers in this country. And that's not acceptable. We're not opposed to getting the budget back in shape. As a matter of fact, we demand that this budget get back in shape, but you have to have equal, across-the-board cuts. You can't just balance it on the backs of the commodity title or the military."


Another issue they're very concerned with, Collison said, is the EPA.


"EPA can hurt us or help us. They usually hurt us more than the agriculture bills can sometimes- We need to make sure that we get an EPA administrator in there that understands rural Oklahoma, that understands farm dust, that understands how we work and how we live because a lot of these regulations that come out of Washington, D.C., don't seem to always take our farmers in to play. "


Looking at state issues, Collison said, there are a number of issues on the horizon, but none so important as water. The state now has a comprehensive water plan in place, but implementing it is a long-term project.


Collison said he's worried that water issues can be very divisive on all levels, including the local level.


"You saw the drawdown of Canton Lake by Oklahoma City and that's fine. They own the water. It was their water to do it. But you saw that it almost became a rural-versus-urban issue. In the Daily Oklahoman, in the newspapers and the stories that were written out there, it became a rural-versus-urban issue. We have to focus on that fight sometimes. Not only do we have to focus on the fights from the municipalities in Oklahoma or other entities, but we've got Texas taking us to the Supreme Court to fight for our water rights. It's Texas versus Oklahoma. This is the issue that will take us into the future."


He said another controversial issue for farmers and producers is to be able to farm and ranch without having to worry about interference from well-meaning, but misguided environmentatlists


"We've got a bill coming up here later on this year called the Freedom to Farm bill. It goes after issues like this. Thanks to Representative McNiel and to Senator Allen this week who brought up the horse slaughter bill- We have a problem in rural Oklahoma. When President Obama two years ago lifted the ban on horse slaughter the state of Oklahoma hasn't lifted theirs yet. We need to do that immediately. The bills passed overwhelmingly out of the House and Senate this week. That doesn't mean they're done; they still have to flip flop and go back and forth to each other and then on to the governor.


"When a horse reaches its useful end, we have to find a humane way to deal with them. And horse harvesting is. There are no plans for a plant to come here yet. We're just merely trying to open the law back up that if somebody wants to come to Oklahoma and take care of a massive problem that we're having out in the country, then they can.


He said outside environmental groups are making that process difficult, without having much impact.


"The HSUS has hired some guns out at the capitol to come and fight on their behalf. It's not California, this is Oklahoma. We have honest people who understand the problem and see it for what it is. And we're thankful to our legislators who passed that bill this week out of the House and Senate for common sense."


He said the Freedom to Farm bill will address this by amending the state constitution to acknowledge that Oklahomans have a right to farm and ranch as they see fit.


   
   

Ron Hays talks with John Collison about OFB's legislative priorities.
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