Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays is talking with Oklahoma Farm Bureau Vice President of Public Policy Steve Thompson about the latest from the 2024 state legislative session.
“It was a very busy week at the State Capitol for Farm Bureau and really all of the ag groups,” Thompson said.
Thompson underscored the significance of House Bill 4118 for OKFB, which aims to establish liability protections and introduce practical amendments to the law for poultry growers.
“We have seen a number of egregious lawsuits against growers and companies that were doing what the Department of Ag asked them to do but still got drug into court and had a lot of trouble,” Thompson said. “We saw some questionable things happen from a judicial standpoint, so we are seeking to establish a principle that should have been common sense in the way the law was applied all along.”
Thompson said Poultry growers who are following nutrient management plans and are in compliance with the Department of Agriculture, and inspections should not be sued for anything that happens outside of their control.
“That has been a major issue for us this session, and we feel like on behalf of all agriculture in Oklahoma, particularly livestock agriculture, this principle is critically important because we know that there are sorts of folks who do not like that we raise livestock for food consumption and they do not understand how it works,” Thompson said. “We are going to have to defend ourselves more and more in the future.”
After many attacks from anti-agriculture groups in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Thompson said he is proud that the Senate Ag Committee passed House Bill 4118 by an eight-to-one vote. Next, Thompson said the bill must make it through the full Senate in the next week to ten days.
“I encourage everybody to reach out and visit with their Senators about the importance of agriculture in Oklahoma,” Thompson said.
Thompson also discussed a few other bills that are important to the agriculture industry in Oklahoma, including funding for the removal of eastern red cedars.
“There are still a lot of budget things to work out,” Thompson said. “The House and Senate are still fairly early even though we are more than halfway through the session. Their dance back and forth to build a budget is still in the early stages.”
Turning the page, Thompson talked about the 50 Oklahoma Farm Bureau leaders and staff who will be visiting Washington, D.C., for five days to meet with representatives from the American Farm Bureau Federations, The House and Senate committee staff, and other industry organizations.
“We are very excited to bring a little bit of Oklahoma to Washington, D.C. next week,” Thompson said.
