Following the 2023 Oklahoma Farm Bureau Annual meeting, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, caught up with OKFB Vice President of Public Policy, Steve Thompson to talk about highlights from the meeting- specifically focused on policy development.
Overall, Thompson said the tone was positive regarding the policy adopted, although there were a few lengthy debates and some opposition on a few topics.
“I visited with a handful of folks that came out on the short end of those debates, and they were all in really good spirits,” Thompson said. “We are all able to stay a tight-knit Oklahoma Farm Bureau family.”
One highlight of the resolution session, Thompson said, involved members’ opposition to a particular state question initiative petition that would increase the Oklahoma minimum wage requirements over the course of the next few years up to 15 dollars per hour.
“The thing that I think caught our attention and the members talked about the most both on the side and during the meeting had to do with the proposal that included removing the exemptions for agriculture and farm workers, it included removing the exemption for temporary part-time workers, as well as an exemption for underage workers,” Thompson said. “As everybody knows, in agriculture, we have all types of workers, all types of skill levels, and the types of jobs they do are a lot different than other businesses. Those have been in there for a reason, for a long time, and we are concerned that the proponents to this sure seem to be coming from the coastal areas in the country, a long way from Oklahoma.”
The next steps, Thompson said, will include discussing a campaign opposing the removal of these exemptions, as he said he feels many other ag groups will also be in opposition.
Another topic covered, Thomspon said, involved conversations in the state capitol about the reduction of income taxes in Oklahoma.
While OKFB members are very fiscally conservative and would look for tax relief in some areas, Thompson said there is a lot of concern that it would end up costing more for landowners.
At the meeting, there was also talk of incentives to encourage large animal veterinarians to practice in rural Oklahoma.
“I know that has evolved probably as much, if not more, than any of the resolutions that came in from a county, went through our state committee process, and then through the full delegate body, and now the board is tasked with trying to figure out how to implement that,” Thompson said.
While a scholarship program could help build incentives for these large animal vets, Thomspon said this does not ensure that the student will choose to practice in rural Oklahoma after graduation. Many vet students come out with a pretty heavy debt load, Thompson said, so one option discussed was to implement a Farm Bureau grant to help those students pay that debt if they chose to practice large animal in a rural Oklahoma community.
Hays and Thompson talked about more topics discussed at the annual meeting- Click the listen bar above the story to hear the full conversation!
