Agricultural News
AFR/OFU President Scott Blubaugh on the Possibility of a Change in Administration and Their Upcoming Beef Industry Consolidation Forum
Thu, 05 Nov 2020 11:49:40 CST
Oklahomans are still waiting to find out who the next Leader of the Country will be, along with several essential senate seats that are still undecided. Associate Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with AFR/OFU President Scott Blubaugh to get his thoughts on the election, and Blubaugh said he was sad to see that Collin Peterson will not be returning as the Agriculture Committee Chairman, "That was a big loss to agriculture with all his knowledge." Congressman Collin Peterson was defeated in the District 7 Congressional race by Republican Michelle Fischbach.
With the presidential race still up in the air, Blubaugh said it is starting to look like we may have a change in the administration and that always comes with a few hurdles, "You'll have a new secretary of Agriculture, all the way down to new positions in Oklahoma with a change in administration. So that is the biggest thing; new people will fill those slots with different ideas so that it will change around a little bit." Even if we see a new Administration, Blubaugh said he is confident they will find a way to work together, 'We always work with both sides. We are very bipartisan here at AFR/OFU and work with both sides every day. So it won't be that big of a lift for our organization."
Blubaugh said the number one issue his members are concerned with is the beef consolidation, "The lack of markets, for the beef industry, the constitution of the packers, and the dysfunctional market place in the cattle world. It's been a big issue for about 18 months now." He says with all the disruptions in the marketplace, you've really seen a lot of national attention on this issue as well, and he thinks it will continue until some resolution is found to address the problems. Blubaugh said he hopes that some good ideas will come up at their beef industry consolidation forum that is coming up November 10, from 5-8 pm at Redlands Community College in El Reno.
Blubaugh said there would be several national speakers at the forum talking about where we are nationally from the producer point of view, and the consumer point of view as well, along with ideas for changes to get our markets functioning again, "Its both a consumer issue, as you are well aware, and a rancher farmer issue as well. So we are going to be talking about lots of issues and points of view, but trying to look for solutions and make folks aware of what is going on, and see if we can come up with ideas to remedy the problem out there."
Blubaugh believes with this particular issue, the consumers are on our side, and he thinks with their influence, that is how we will see change. The in-person event will be limited to the first 40 people who RSVP'd. Still, the live stream can be accessed through the Oklahoma Rural Small Town Table of Common Interest YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/channel/UCHsBXmtjL10iAAXgXLAAUpA. The meeting will also be recorded and made available for future viewing. To read more about the Event, click here:
To hear KC's complete conversation with Scott Blubaugh, click or tap below.
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