Coleta Bratten, Chair, High Plains Resource Conservation & Development Council (HPRCD) has announced that HPRCD, Dewey County Conservation District, the Bank of Western Oklahoma, USDA-NRCS, and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission will host a Ranch Conversation in Taloga, Oklahoma on March 20, 2025. Bratten said “we are honored that our Congressman Frank Lucas will take time to visit the Ranch Conversation. He will speak at 10:00 am.” Bratten added, “The major changes occurring rapidly and sometimes overnight that are affecting agriculture will be a major focus of the Conversation”.
Dr. Amy Hagerman, OSU Extension Service will update participants on where we are in the farm Bill development process, current ad hoc programs, and the implications of rapid changes in USDA funding changes/freezes/employee separations/effects of tariffs. Dr. Hagerman’s Extension program at OSU focuses on improving the public’s understanding of federal and state policies and assisting in farm and ranch risk management and resilience to adverse events. She is nationally recognized for her expertise in these areas.
The Ranch Conversation will be held at the Dewey County Fairgrounds, 111 Sexton Street in Taloga. It will begin at 9:30am and finish by 3:30 pm, with registration starting at 9:00 am. She said that “HPRCD is well known for using Ranch Conversations as a way to bring agricultural producers, rural people, and agencies that deliver programs together to provide information, answer questions, and exchange ideas.” HPRCD first created and used Ranch Conversations in the early 2000s to bring stakeholders with different interests together to seek solutions to avoid listing the Lesser Prairie Chicken and other at-risk species in the region as endangered. Bratten said, “The Council was opposed to any unnecessary regulations that might be forced upon landowners by a government action. The process was successful in delaying the listing for over 20 years.” Bratten said, as it was in the first Ranch Conversation in 1999, this information to be provided on March 20 is critical to producers as they try to make decisions regarding their operations and better understand the government’s intentions for the future of agriculture.” This event will be even more special as Jimmy Emmons, Oklahoma’s “Mr. Soil Health” will speak as will Trey Lam, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.
This meeting features a special presentation from Dr. Karen Hickman, OSU Extension Professor of Natural Resource Ecology and Director of the Governmental Sciences Program. She serves as President of the Society for Range Management. Dr. Hickman will speak on JuJube: Where it is and what to do about it. JuJube is the fastest spreading invasive species in Dewey and surrounding counties. Other speakers at the Dewey County Ranch Conversation will provide information to producers and community leaders about state and federal programs and possible funding opportunities and other assistance that might be available to them. “Bratten said that the pandemic has altered the way we were accustomed to doing business. HPRCD believes that there has been a lack of and now a need for outreach meetings where agency leaders can meet face-to-face with farmers, ranchers, and community leaders and provide firsthand information about current programs.” There is no charge to attend the Conversation and lunch will be provided.
The Ranch Conversation will feature speakers from USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA-Farm Service Agency, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, USDA-Risk Management Agency, Oklahoma Conservation Commission, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Department. USDA-Rural Development will present information about programs that are available to help communities grow and improve their local community. Tom Lucas, coordinator for the meeting said “This is a rare opportunity to meet leaders from all agencies who provide services and programs to rural Oklahoma. This Conversation is packed with information. The update on current events makes this a meeting producers shouldn’t miss.”
High Plains RC&D is a non-profit corporation that serves a federally authorized Resource Conservation & Development region that includes Beaver, Cimarron, Dewey, Ellis, Harper, Texas, Woods, and Woodward Counties. The RC&D, based in Buffalo, has served this region for 32years and has been responsible for creating many new jobs and businesses utilizing natural resources, and adding over $2 billion in economic impact. The RC&D has been recognized regionally and nationally for its work in creating businesses using Eastern Red Cedar, and for its support of wildlife programs. High Plains RC&D was a partner in the Prairie States Coalition, which was a five-state initiative that was named one of the national models for rural economic recovery by the US Economic Development Administration. Ranch conversations will be held throughout the High Plains region in the coming months.
Agricultural producers and community leaders from neighboring states are encouraged to attend. For those planning to attend the lunch, please RSVP by phone to: (580) 328-5366 or e-mail to tom.lucas717@gmail.com by 5:00 pm on March 18, 2025.
