Attorney General Warns Oklahomans of Misleading Solicitations by National Animal Welfare Groups 

Attorney General Scott Pruitt on Wednesday issued a warning to Oklahomans regarding solicitations and advertisements by national animal welfare organizations. Attorney General Pruitt is concerned such groups are giving Oklahomans the impression their donations are assisting Oklahoma animal shelters, when in fact the donations of Oklahomans may go toward unrelated efforts like lobbying in other states or at the federal level.

Pruitt said he is looking into concerns over fundraising advertisements in the wake of the May 2013 tornadoes. Those advertisements gave Oklahomans the impression their donations would go to help animals displaced by the storm as well as support local shelters impacted by the storm. The concern is the donations of Oklahomans made to national animal welfare organizations in the wake of the tornadoes may have gone instead to lobbying activities. The attorney general's office has consulted with central Oklahoma animal shelters most impacted by the 2013 tornadoes who indicated their organizations have not received assistance from the national groups.

"Oklahomans are caring people and gave generously to assist our friends and neighbors devastated by the deadly May 2013 tornadoes," Pruitt said. "In the wake of the storm, there are concerns some national animal welfare organizations may have misled Oklahomans by giving the impression their donations would help displaced animals and animal shelters in Oklahoma. Our review has found the Oklahoma shelters have not received assistance from national groups. Our concern is that Oklahomans' donations may instead have gone toward lobbying activities in other states or at the national level. We all want the best for displaced animals and appreciate the work animal welfare organizations do to provide care for dogs, cats and other animals. But it's important to ensure Oklahomans are not being deceived, and that the donations they made to help Oklahoma-based animal shelters are doing just that." 

I spoke with the attorney general about this issue and you can listen to our conversation or read more of this story by clicking here.

Center for Consumer Freedom Applauds Oklahoma AG's Investigation of HSUS Fundraising 

Will Coggin, senior research analyst at the Center for Consumer Freedom, issued the following statement today about Attorney General Scott Pruitt's consumer alert regarding national animal welfare organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) fundraising in Oklahoma:

"Attorney General Pruitt should be commended for taking a vital step to protect Oklahoma's animal lovers. The Humane Society of the United States deceives donors with tear-jerking and manipulative images of dogs and cats, and then funnels the money to push a radical animal liberation agenda aimed at attacking farmers. According to its tax return, HSUS, which isn't affiliated with local pet shelters, made only one grant to support pet sheltering in Oklahoma in 2012. HSUS should produce a full accounting for the money it raised following the Oklahoma tornadoes and Hurricane Sandy, and it should be held accountable for its deceptive general fundraising."

Coggin's group also launched an ad campaign urging donors who believe their were deceived by the HSUS ads to contact Pruitt's office.  You can read more of this story and watch the ad video by clicking here.  

Making the Most of the New Farm Law Tops OACD's 2014 Agenda, Clay Pope Says

The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts finished its annual meeting recently and the group's executive director, Clay Pope, says they have a full plate for the next 12 months and beyond.

He spoke with me about some of those issues and says they will spend a lot of their energy helping farmers and ranchers take advantage of the state and federal conservation programs that are out there to address soil erosion, water conservation, water quality and wildlife habitat. Many of those programs are changing due to the passage of the 2014 farm bill.

"We need to make sure our delivery system is as solid as it can be, help producers to understand what the changes in the law at the federal level are and them make sure we have the resources to make sure those dollars are getting on the ground and that we have the state dollars to match on the federal side."

Click here to listen to my interview with Clay Pope or to read the rest of this story.

 

USDA Announces Support for Smarter Lunchrooms

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced $5.5 million in new grants to support schools as they continue to provide school lunches and breakfasts that give children the nutrition they need to learn and grow. Over 90 percent of schools are successfully meeting new meal nutrition standards, serving meals with more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and low-fat dairy, and less sodium and fat. These new grants provide support to schools to help them achieve or continue to meet those standards. The grants focus on implementation of Smarter Lunchrooms strategies, a broad toolkit of easy-to-implement, evidence-based practices designed to increase consumption of healthier foods and decrease plate waste.

"Schools have worked hard to serve more fruits, vegetables, lean protein, low-fat dairy and whole grains at mealtime. Strategies like Smarter Lunchrooms give schools simple, actionable, low-cost steps that help make sure that the healthy food on kids' plates ends up in their stomachs," said Vilsack. "These grants are part of USDA's ongoing commitment to give states and schools the additional resources and flexibility they need as they help make the healthy choice, the easy choice for America's young people."

Click here for more.

Young Farmers Remain Concerned About Land Availability

Securing adequate land to grow crops and raise livestock was the top challenge identified again this year in the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual outlook survey of participants in the Young Farmers & Ranchers program. That challenge was identified by 22 percent of respondents, followed by economic challenges, particularly profitability, which was identified by 15 percent of the respondents.

"For young people today, securing adequate land to begin farming or expand an established farm or ranch is a major challenge," said Jake Carter, AFBF's national YF&R Committee chair and a farmer from Georgia. "Another major challenge is figuring out how to excel-not just survive-in today's economy," he said.

Other issues ranked as top concerns by young farmers and ranchers included burdensome government regulations and red tape, 12 percent; availability of farm labor and related regulations, 9 percent; water availability and urbanization of farm land, 7 percent each; and health care availability and cost, 6 percent.

You'll find the rest of this story on our website by clicking here.

Gilts and Heifers Help Kick Off 2014 Oklahoma Youth Expo 

Yesterday was the first day that the gates were open for animals to start arriving for the breeding classes that begin showing on Friday at the 2014 Oklahoma Youth Expo.

We are proud to announce that our coverage of the 2014 Oklahoma Youth Expo is powered by Devon Energy, where commitment runs deep, as well as the Title Sponsor of the 2014 OYE, McDonald's.   

We were by State Fair Park early Wednesday afternoon- and just a few animals had already shown up, with OYE Executive Director Tyler Norvell expecting the pace to really pick up late afternoon and evening.  Gilts for the 2014 Breeding Gilt show- purebred and commercial- must be in place by this afternoon by 4 PM.  The show itself kicks off Friday morning at 8 AM.

Heifers begin arriving on Friday morning, with the beef breeding classes to begin on Sunday at noon.

As for our coverage- we will be setting up our FLICKR photo page later today as we plan to post pictures all the way to the Sale of Champions set for Friday, March 21st.

Start checking our Blue Green Gazette section of our website for updates as we post them the next nine days or so. And watch for our updates on Twitter, Facebook and in our radio reports on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network. 

Week Two of Surviving the Elements Set for Friday at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum hosts the second of four symposium sessions focusing on rural issues to be held in March. The program titled Surviving the Elements: Land & Water Issues of the West aims to increase awareness of drought and rural issues in the American West, by focusing on stewardship and conservation of land and water. 

Week two will begin at 9:00 AM Friday with historical Climatologist Evelyn Browning-Garriss.  Also appearing on Friday will be Dr. Ray Perryman who will be offering an Economist's view at the Economics of Drought-Challenges for the Agriculture Industry and Affected Communities- and Drought and Rangeland Stewardship by Patrick E. Reece, Ph.D. Range Scientist, Prairie & Montane Enterprises

Registration fee is $10 and includes lunch. Reservations are required and can be by calling 405-478-2250, Ext. 280. Click here for the Symposium website where you can also register online.