Thu, 01 Sep 2022 09:01:05 CDT
At the 2022 Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association annual meeting in Stillwater, Okla., Farm Director, KC Sheperd, had the chance to visit with the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association Executive Director and General Council, Lori Peterson, giving a legislative update.
“We had a good session in Oklahoma as an ag-producing state and certainly as an oil and gas state,” Peterson said. “We are proud of our representation, proud of our membership, and have some good accomplishments that we have been a big part of during this last legislative session.”
This legislative session, Peterson said the medical marijuana issue for rural property owners in rural communities was negatively impacting OWGA members.
“So, we were able to support the medical marijuana authority being a stand-alone state agency, giving them more authority to regulate the medical marijuana industry,” Peterson said. “That includes a posting requirement, that includes having to register where those sensitive crops are for our neighboring land owners, and also is going to increase these incrementally so that those agencies are able to regulate such a growing industry in Oklahoma.”
Peterson wants to ensure that OWGA members can continue to do the jobs they do on a daily basis and are able to move forward and not feel strain and stress on their communities and their resources.
Peterson also talked about priorities as legislation is set to open back up soon.
“Our producers are really independent businessmen and women, so they don’t often go to the legislature asking for anything, but they do want to be considered as we are looking at new regulations, perhaps new taxes, and even the way that we currently tax the agricultural industry with property taxes, for instance, and how that process is put into place,” Peterson said. “We were able to make some improvements and some changes to the use of the third-party assessor and also if someone needs to challenge that assessment of their property to improve those for the landowner.”
Peterson said OWGA will continue to watch private property rights issues, tax issues and the things that keep people in the agriculture industry doing what they are best at.
Drought is also a big concern right now, Peterson said, as it is not going to be a quick fix.
“Our producers are acutely aware of those concerns and obviously we are going to pray for rain, but we want to do anything that we can to keep those producers in business as long as they can be and get us turned around and going in the right direction,” Peterson said.
Click the LISTEN BAR below to hear more from KC Sheperd and Lori Peterson as she gives a legislative update.
