Agricultural News
AFR Uses Farm Show as Platform to Bridge the Gap Between State's Rural and Urban Communities
Mon, 11 Dec 2017 12:42:04 CST
American Farmers & Ranchers hosted its second annual Rural to Urban Outreach Reception this past weekend, during the 2017 Tulsa Farm Show to bridge the gap and foster cooperation between our state's ag industry and its urban citizens. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Associate Farm Director Carson Horn had the chance to speak with AFR President Terry Detrick about the success of the event and the important purpose behind the idea. Listen to their complete conversation by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of the page.
"Last year, our staff talked about what we could do to communicate better with consumers and educate them about agriculture - because we've been lax in doing that for so long," Detrick recounted about the genesis of the event. "So, we decided to have a little reception here."
Last year, the inaugural reception was graced by Tulsa's brand new mayor at the time, G.T. Bynum. Detrick says that was a great treat to have the mayor there to help showcase the importance of agriculture to the Tulsa community, which most consider to be predominantly urban.
"People don't think of Tulsa as being agricultural," Detrick said. "But after doing some research, I found that in 2015, there was more agricultural income and input in Tulsa County, than in Oklahoma County. After last year's success, we just decided to keep doing this. We've broadened our invite list to get more of our agriculture people across the state to come. Hopefully we'll continue making headway with this a little at a time."
This year's reception was just as successful, with legislators, government officials, representatives of other ag organizations and even some gubernatorial candidates in attendance. Detrick says this plainly shows the support our state's ag industry has behind it.
"I'm very pleased with the turnout this year," he said. "We all have the same issues - we support the same people. From the field to the fork, we're all involved in agriculture, though some folks may just not realize how. It's important for us to get everyone involved and work together to make things better. Hopefully, this will help to alleviate that divide."
Click or tap the LISTEN BAR below to hear Detrick and Horn talk more about some of the current issues facing our rural communities and what AFR and its counterparts are doing to improve farmers' way of life.
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