Farm policy, property taxes, water rights and rural priorities were all front and center as Oklahoma Farm Report Farm Director KC Sheperd visited with Scott Blubaugh, president of AFR, during AFR Day at the Capitol.
Blubaugh said the annual event is one of the organization’s most important opportunities to connect grassroots members directly with lawmakers. “This is our legislative day that we do each year, where we bring our grassroots members in from all over the state, all 77 counties, to come here and advocate on behalf of our 60,000 members statewide,” Blubaugh said. “This is an exciting day, and we’ve got great attendance here today.”
He added that AFR members were eager to discuss the issues that matter most to farm and ranch families. “I’m excited to be able to talk about the issues that are most important to our grassroots members,” he said.
Key Lawmakers and Guests Join the Event
Blubaugh said several notable guests were scheduled to speak during the day’s activities, including legislative leaders and a congressional candidate. “We have the agriculture chairman, Senator Murdock, coming in,” he said. “We also have Senator Green, who is the chairman of the Energy Committee.”
He also highlighted Mark Tedford, a Tulsa-area state representative seeking Oklahoma’s open congressional seat. “Mark Tedford, who is actually running for Congress, will also be here,” Blubaugh said. “We work with Mark Tedford a lot on our insurance issues, and he’s always a great champion for insurance in Oklahoma.”
AFR’s Priority Issues at the Capitol
When asked what members would be discussing with lawmakers, Blubaugh outlined a broad list of concerns. “We’ve got quite a few items on the agenda,” he said. “The ban on fake meat, lab grown meat, that would be one. The right to repair your own farm equipment would be one.”
He added that AFR members were also focused on taxes, insurance and water policy. “We also have property tax issues that we’re very concerned about,” Blubaugh said. “We have two bills that we’re very concerned about in insurance that we’ll work on, and a water metering bill.”
That water measure, he explained, deals with irrigation meters. “There is a bill proposed out that’s running on water metering, irrigation water meter, and so those are going to be kind of our main issues that we’re going to talk about out at the Capitol.”
Grassroots Voices Matter
Blubaugh said direct conversations between constituents and legislators can carry more weight than traditional lobbying efforts. “There’s nothing better than grassroots politics, and there’s nothing more powerful than grassroots politics,” he said. “When the people from all over the state come out and talk, it makes a difference up here.”
He said lawmakers often hear from professional advocates daily, but hometown voices stand out. “These legislators are used to talking to lobbyists all day long,” Blubaugh said, “but it’s a lot different when folks from back home come up and talk to them. It means a lot more to them.”
Property Tax Relief Requires Balance
On the issue of property taxes, Blubaugh said lawmakers must balance relief for landowners with the need to fund local services. “The thing we have to be careful about is we still have to fund our public schools,” he said. “We still have to fund our county government.”
He acknowledged frustration over rising taxes but said reforms must be measured. “While nobody likes to pay property taxes, we do have those responsibilities,” Blubaugh said. “We have to be very careful.”
He predicted some movement this session, including higher exemptions and caps on valuation increases. “I think there’ll probably be a raise in the exemptions on homestead exemption this year,” he said. “I think there’ll be some caps put on agriculture increases that maybe only 1% per year could go up.”
Blubaugh said steep increases in recent years have created real hardship. “In some of these counties, we’ve just seen tremendous increases over the last few years,” he said, “making it really putting people in a bind, making it unaffordable to own their home.”
Data Centers and Water Use Draw Concern
Another growing concern is the rapid expansion of AI-related data centers and their potential impact on water and electric systems. “The data centers are a big, big issue all over the country,” Blubaugh said. “They seem to be everywhere. I think it’s a little bit like the Wild West right now.”
He said AFR supports slowing the process until the state better understands the long-term effects. “There is a bill up we will be advocating for today that puts a moratorium on data centers for five years,” Blubaugh said, “so we can have a study.”
That review, he said, should focus on infrastructure demands. “The state can do a study on just what impact it will actually have on our electric grids here, and our water usage,” he said. “Because I understand these things use a lot of water.”
Blubaugh noted Oklahoma’s water resources vary by region. “In Oklahoma, we have plenty of water at east, but not so much in the west,” he said. “So it’d be a big deal.”
