The much-anticipated Oklahoma Farm Bureau Convention is planned for November 8-10, 2024, at the Omni Hotel and Convention Center in Oklahoma City. At the convention, Farm Bureau members will share their positive outlook by celebrating a year of grassroots achievement and programs as they look to create a brighter future for agriculture and rural Oklahoma. Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Dustin Mielke, OKFB Vice President of Communications & Public Relations, to get the scoop on the convention.
“This is our largest annual gathering of Farm Bureau members throughout the year,” Mielke said. “Our members come together to hear from speakers, and we will have some breakout sessions as well. Of course, we’ll conduct our official Farm Bureau business where we’ll set our policy for the year, elect some new leaders for the organization, and hopefully, just get together and have a good time.”
Governor Kevin Stitt will speak during the Friday opening session, as will U.S. Representative Kevin Hern, who represents the Tulsa area in Oklahoma. U.S. Representative Frank Lucas will speak at the Saturday dinner and award ceremony, and will also be celebrating his American Farm Bureau Distinguished Service Award which he accepted in January. U.S. Senator James Lankford will lead the Sunday worship service. Fellow Oklahoman and Texas A&M Agricultural and Food Policy Center research associate Bart Fischer will be featured at the Saturday evening dinner and awards banquet.
For the breakout sessions, AFBF staff member Jessica Cabrera will lead a mental health discussion at the Friday Cultivating Healthy Minds Luncheon. There will be others on wind energy and renewable energy contracts, Rural Economic Development Initiatives, and more. In the business meetings, grassroots members can make their voices heard and have a say in the creation of new policies for the Farm Bureau.
“We will have our Discussion Meet for our young farmers and ranchers,” Mielke said. “Those are people involved in production agriculture, ages 18-35. We will also have a Collegiate Discussion Meet. We will present awards for those two events, as well as awards for the Achievement Award winner, which is a young agriculturist who wins the majority of their income from production agriculture. We will also present the Excellence in Ag Award, which hits the sweet spot for a lot of people in agriculture who might work a day job, but also love ag or run cattle or a farm.”
Many Professors bring their students to the event because it is a great opportunity for them to see all aspects of the Farm Bureau. Mielke said, “We have lots of stuff going on all around the state and in many program areas, so the convention is a great way to go to one place and see not just everything that we do, but also how it interacts. Most importantly, they can just experience being around Farm Bureau members. That’s what I love about my job and Farm Bureau. All of this provides a great opportunity for Collegiate members up to seasoned member veterans who have been around for a long time.”
Registering for the event begins at a local county Farm Bureau office which can provide details on how to get registered and what the process looks like. More information about the AFB Convention including a schedule of events can be found on the website at okfarmbureau.org.
