Agricultural News
The Time to Build Positive Momentum for State Question 777 Right to Farm is Now- Glenn Coffee
Mon, 03 Aug 2015 20:26:17 CDT
The coalition that will ask Oklahoma voters to say yes to State Question 777 next November continues to get organized. Helping the farm organizations that are at the heart of this movement is one of the most savvy political operatives in the state of Oklahoma- former State Senate President Glenn Coffee. Senator Coffee talked with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays about the effort to get the "Right to Farm" placed into the Oklahoma State Constitution- and the plans that are taking shape to organize an army of volunteers, raise a mountain of money and get ready to answer those who will oppose the State Question between now and next November.
Click on the LISTEN BAR at the bottom of the story to hear the audio version of the conversation that Senator Coffee had with Hays- and click play in the video box in this story to see the TV version of their conversation that was seen on KWTV, News9 this past Saturday morning.
Senator Coffee says that State Question 777 is a forward looking amendment that, if adopted by a vote of the people in 2016, will protect the right that farmers and ranchers have to utilize mainstream production practices that are widely used across the United States. Senator Coffee says that this is all about a increasingly more urban Legislature being pressured by activists at some point in the future to decide for farmers how to farm or ranch on their operation. "Things change- today we still have a lot of people that are close to the farm- close to agriculture in the State Legislative process- but if that were to change, it's still such a critical part of our economy- it needs to have those protections and deserves it."
According to the Oklahoma Right to Farm website, State Question 777 is a "state constitutional amendment to protect Oklahoma's family farmers and ranchers from unreasonable government interference and attacks by out-of-state special interests."
Hays and Coffee talked about the lessons learned from similar ballot battles in other states- including North Dakota and especially Missouri. Coffee says the battle in Missouri was very useful to planners of the State Question 777 campaign- as they saw opponents of the proposal in Missouri come in at the last moment and make false allegations about the measure and came close, based on a strong vote in urban areas, to defeating similar language in that state just over a year ago.
Senator Coffee says it is not too early to be aggressively working to get volunteers on board in every county in the state- and to raise every dollar possible to get as much of a head start on the expected anti 777 efforts that are almost sure to come. At the Panel Discussion held at the Oklahoma Cattlemen Association's annual convention, Coffee indicated that we could easily need three to four million dollars to get the Vote Yes on 777 story across to the state wide audience that will be looking at the measure on the state ballot in November 2016. Click here for our earlier story on that panel discussion and for a chance to hear the hour long event.
He points to the website that has gone live in the just the last few weeks for the Vote Yes for 777 efforts- click here for the www.OklahomaRightToFarm.Com
Senator Coffeee says that is place to go to volunteer, get signed up for email alerts and to give donations.
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