At the American Simmental Association STYLE (SimGenetics Training for Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs) Conference, Farm Director KC Sheperd talked with Ag Secretary Blayne Arthur about the recent legislative session and promoting agriculture in the state of Oklahoma.
“I think something that, from the ag world, that we get pretty comfortable with is talking to each other and not having those conversations with our consumers or just the rest of the population about why we do what we do, especially on the animal protein side of things,” Arthur said. “We are so excited that they are having this event and really growing some additional leaders in their association. We are looking forward to good things to come from them.”
Regarding the ranching conditions for producers in Oklahoma, Arthur said many producers are grateful for recent moisture, but pond levels are still lower than many would prefer.
“We are just in June, so we need that moisture to hopefully keep coming,” Arthur said. “It gets hot here in the summers.”
There is no question, Arthur said, that because of the severity of the drought, it will take a significant amount of rainfall for conditions to return to normal.
As the recent Oklahoma legislative session has now been wrapped-up, Arthur said there were plenty of positive discussions involving agriculture in the state.
“Certainly, had some really good things in our perspective in regard to the medical marijuana industry, and making hopefully some better strides there,” Arthur said. “I think there is some good work being done and still lots of things that I think need to be addressed.”
Another big highlight of the legislative session, Arthur said, was the discussion of less regulation on ag producers.
“We want to pull back regulation on producers,” Arthur said. “We want to let producers do business the way they need to do them. Very appreciative of the legislature.”
The legislature directed some additional dollars to the Emergency Drought Commission, Arthur said, and expanded the commission for more representation across the state.
“Legislature was very good to agriculture this year, and we certainly always appreciate Governor Stitt’s support,” Arthur said.
Arthur also talked about progress involving the need for more large animal veterinarians.
“President Shrum at Oklahoma State University has really engaged on some of the challenges that we have with large animal practitioners,” Arthur said. “The legislature was very generous and setting up that new entity and directing some significant dollars to help us really strengthen the College of Veterinary Medicine there at OSU, and my ultimate goal is to get as many large animal practitioners out those doors as we possibly can.”
As Arthur is also the Vice President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), she talked about her latest work on that front. Arthur said she will have the ability to serve as President of NASDA in September.
“Later in the year, we will have a big trip to Indonesia with USDA, and really, our goal and focus behind that is taking our ag products to the world,” Arthur said. “We do live in this global market and want to make sure we are having good conversations with folks.”
In Arthur’s travels internationally and within the U.S., she said she has found that people love agricultural products that are produced in the state of Oklahoma.
“We want to find those markets for them and do all we can,” Arthur said. “At the end of the day, we want producers to be profitable, and that is a big part of the discussion.”
Arthur also talked about agritourism opportunities in the state of Oklahoma. To check those out, visit https://www.oklahomaagritourism.com/.
