The President of the American Farmers and Ranchers, Terry Detrick, calls 2014 a mixed bag for their members across the state of Oklahoma. A poor wheat crop and falling grain prices during the year were offset by excellent production of spring planted crops and high cattle prices. Detrick says that 2014 reminds us that mother nature is very much in control of the well being of those who are farmers and ranchers- and those in agribusiness that they do business with.
Farm Director Ron Hays talked with Detrick about how 2014 treated AFR members- and what he was looking for as 2015 arrives
Detrick told Hays that he was grateful that Congress in their Fiscal Year 2015 Appropriations bill instructed USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to back off his proposed second, separate beef checkoff concept. Detrick says that AFR opposed the Vilsack plan to add a generic Beef Checkoff- saying the current Beef Checkoff structure works well and has returned $11.20 for every dollar invested by cattle producers. Detrick adds that, at the state level, AFR is supportive of putting a State Beef Checkoff in place that would run parallel with the current national checkoff effort- as long as that state checkoff included a refund provision.
Nationally, Detrick and AFR continue to worry about WOTUS. He is hopeful that Congress will be able to slow down the EPA's intent of putting this proposal into a final rule and releasing it.
In Oklahoma, Terry Detrick says that water issues will remain a point of discussion when the state legislature convenes in February of the new year. He is encouraged by how a variety of players are working hard to implement water conservation ideas that he believes will work. For example, he tells Hays that the City of Enid is working with Koch Industries to reduce their fresh water needs dramatically as Koch expands their fertilizer plant in Garfield County.
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