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OKLAHOMA FARM BUREAU

July 27, 2012PERSPECTIVE

• Board tours conservation area• August area meeting schedule• White receives award• Women’s Summer Conference• Noble County Ice Cream Social• Big 3 Field Days

In This IssueOFB Board Gets Firsthand Look at Conservation Efforts

Canadian County Farm Bureau member Jeff Brower (left) explains his family’s participation in the Oklahoma Conservation Commission’s 319 Project. The program aims to improve water quality in the North Canadian River Watershed through best management practices like the no-till farming method Brower initiated in the fields he and his father-in-law farm in western Canadian County. In addition to the positive environmental effects, Brower said he has seen higher yields and lower expenses over the past five years.

Greg Scott, state soil scientist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, (left) uses a rain simulator and several different soil samples to demonstrate the effects plant cover and soil structure can have on runoff, erosion and water filtration.

District 1 – Thursday, Aug. 2 12 p.m. – Beaver Co. office

District 2 – Monday, Aug. 1311:30 a.m. – Kiowa Co. office

District 3 – Tuesday, Aug. 146 p.m. – Canadian Co. office

District 4 – Thursday, Aug. 2311:30 a.m. – Marshall Co. office6 p.m. – Stephens Co. office

District 5 – Tuesday, Aug. 146 p.m. – Pittsburgh Co. office

District 6 – Thursday, Aug. 210 a.m. – Mayes Co. office6 p.m. – Muskogee Co. office

District 7 – Thursday, Aug. 27 p.m. – Garfield County Fairgrounds (east side of the Hoover Building)

District 8 – Tuesday, Aug. 1411:30 a.m. – Seminole Co. office

District 9 – Thursday, Aug. 166 p.m. – Tulsa Co. office

August Area Meetings Scheduled

Farm Bureau’s August Area Meetings give members the opportunity to help set OFB public policy for the next year through a grassroots process.

Farm Bureau state board members trav-eled to western Canadian County July 18 to learn more about voluntary conservation efforts from producer and Farm Bureau member Jeff Brower, who converted his cropland from clean-till to no-till as part of the North Canadian River Watershed 319 Implementation Project. NCRW 319 is a partnership between local landowners, con-servation districts in the project area, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It was initiated to address water quality issues present in the watershed, which is comprised of 760 square miles stretching from Canton Lake in Blaine and Dewey Counties down to Lake Overholser on the west side of Oklahoma City.

Brower has been using a no-till ap-proach for the past five years, and although there was a learning curve involved in the transition, he said he has found success us-ing no-till techniques.

OFB District 4 Director Jimmy Wayne Kinder also practices the no-tillage farming method on his farm in southwest Okla-homa and said it was interesting to see how producers in other areas of the state are taking advantage of the win-win situation no-till creates.

“The no-till method provides a superior economic return for the producer, as well as improves environmental issues,” Kinder said. “Normally when a producer talks about conservation efforts, he usually has some out-of-pocket expense, but in no-till, there’s actually an increase in income.”

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Oklahoma Farm Bureau OnlineMonitor the latest Farm Bureau

and agricultural news and information online at okfarmbureau.org.

Currently online:• OFB Award App Deadlines – The

application deadlines for OFB awards are just days away. See the Women’s Committee and YF& R pages under the Programs button to download applications such as the Farm Family of the Year award.

• Harvest Watch – OFB’s four farming families are reviewing harvest and planning for other summer activities on the OFB Harvest Watch blog. See our OFB homepage to click on the logo.

www.okfarmbureau.org

Farm Family Application DeadlineAug 1 • Oklahoma City

Contact: Marcia Irvin, (405) 523-2405

August Area MeetingsAug. 2 - Aug. 23

Contact: Thad Doye, (405) 523-2307

AITC ConferenceAug 3 • Norman

Contact: Marcia Irvin, (405) 523-2405

OFB Calendar

• Sears Commercial offers Oklahoma Farm Bureau members special discount pricing on everyday products for the home. Call Sherry Wells at (918) 289-1614 for more information.• Beltone Hearing Aid Centers offer members a free, no obligation hearing evaluation, plus a 15% discount on hearing aid purchases at all eight Oklahoma locations.

Member Benefits

OFB highlights a few benefits in each issue of Perspective as a reminder of the savings available to OFB members. Find a complete list of savings online at okfarmbureau.org.

Panach joins communications team

White Honored for Peanut Production

2012 OFB Safety Seminar participants

Tillman County Farm Bureau member Joe D. White has been named the Farm Press Peanut Profitability Award winner for the Southwest Region (New Mexico, Oklahoma & Texas). White, of Frederick, is the first Oklahoman to be selected for the award.

“The Peanut Profitability Award isn’t simply a ‘top yield’ prize,” said Greg Frey, publisher of Farm Press Publications, which founded the award. “The distinction of being named a Peanut Profitability winner is reserved only for those producers who balance production costs with excellent yields and quality, across their entire peanut production system.” “Our Southwest winner does an excel-lent job of managing fixed costs, which is an important component of the award criteria,” said Marshall Lamb, research director for the National Peanut Research Lab in Dawson, Ga., and advisor for the Farm Press Peanut Profitability Awards.

The awards, according to Lamb, are based solely on production efficiency, hon-oring those growers who produce the high-est yields at the lowest cost per acre over the entire farm, and not just on individual farms or small plots. White, along with his wife Gayle have been growing peanuts since 1987. They diversify with cotton and grain, but “our

Macey Panach is the new Publications and Online News Coordinator in the Corporate Com-munications/Public Relations division at Oklahoma Farm Bureau.

After working as an intern for the department in 2004, Panach graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communi-cations and earned a master’s degree in the same area from the University of Arkansas in 2007.

Panach is originally from Burden, Kan., where her family operates a commercial cattle operation.

peanuts always take precedence” said Gayle. Joe D. is quick to point out, “I love growing peanuts for our consumers.”

The Whites favor growing Jupiter, a variety of “ball-park” peanut developed at Oklahoma State University, with research support from the Oklahoma Peanut Commission. According to Joe D., farming is all about timing, especially for peanuts.

“We have to plant them at the right time, we need rain or irrigation at just the right time. Missing a critical disease treat-ment by just a few days can be devastating. Then we have to dig and combine at the right time to avoid production losses as well,” White said. Southwest Farm Press editor, Ron Smith acknowledged, “Their attention to detail, even through one of the worst production years they’ve ever faced, earned White this year’s Peanut Profitability Award for the Southwest Region.” In addition to Oklahoma Farm Bureau, the Whites are active in numerous other farm organizations. Joe D. is chairman of the Oklahoma Peanut Commission, serves on the Oklahoma Pesticide Advisory Board and is a delegate to the National Cotton Council. Gayle serves as Oklahoma’s del-egate to the National Peanut Board.

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BELOW – Roland Pederson, OFB District 7 Director (left) visits with Noble County Farm Bureau board member Bill Hafner (center) and Noble County Farm Bureau President Steve Kienholz during the annual Noble County Farm Bureau Ice Cream Social.

ABOVE – Noble County Farm Bureau board member Jim Kukuk dishes out a “bowl of vanilla joy” during the annual Noble County Farm Bureau Ice Cream Social July 9 in Perry. Approximately 50 people participated in the event highlighted by campaign speeches from local political candidates.

“This is a perfect example of democracy in action,” said Steve Kienholz. “We hold this annual event to allow people in the community to learn more about the candidates while enjoying ice cream and homemade cake.”

Noble County Ice Cream Social

Kody Leonard (left) is the recipient of the 2012 Ottawa County Farm Bureau Bert Vanatta Memorial Outstanding Ag Senior Scholarship.

Presenting Leonard with a plaque is Ottawa County Farm Bureau President James Fuser.

Leonard is the son of Greg and Mary Leonard and is a 2012 graduate of Afton High School.

Ottawa Co. Teen Receives County Farm Bureau Scholarship

FB Women Meet for Annual Summer ConferenceFarm Bureau Women gathered in

Ada July 13-14 for the group’s summer conference. Event highlights included a water update from OFB Vice President Tom Buchanan, a discussion about Made in Oklahoma products with Julie Fitzgerald from the Oklahoma Depart-ment of Agriculture and a lesson from OSU Extension Educator Ginny Mc-Carthick on incorporating cheese and other dairy products into a healthy diet.

Several counties entered the

FBW members listen as David Turner (left) of the OFB Safety Division explains the items needed for a vehicle safety kit. The workshop also included lessons on defensive driving and avoiding distractions on the road.

FBW District 8 Director Roberta Hughes (left) works with her fellow Seminole County FBW members Iris Fisher (center) and Tonya Porter to set up their tablescape highlighting the poultry production in their area of the state. Seminole and Kingfisher Counties tied for first place honors, and both commodity tablescapes will be featured at the state convention in November.

“tablescape contest,” where place settings and table centerpieces featured commodities produced in their areas. The conference was topped off with tours of the historic Pontotoc County Courthouse and the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center on the campus of East Cen-tral University.

A photo gallery from the event is available on the OFB website at okfarmbureau.org

Oklahoma Farm Bureau2501 N. StilesOklahoma City, OK 73105-3126

Non-ProfitU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 131Okla. City, OK.

Traci Morgan, 523-2346 Perspective/Online News Editor

Sam Knipp, 523-2347 Vice President of Communications/PR

Tyler Norvell, 523-2402 Vice President of Public Policy

Marla Peek, 523-2437 Director of Regulatory Affairs

Staff Directory

Published by Oklahoma Farm BureauPostmaster: Send address corrections to:

Perspective, P.O. B. 53332, OKC, OK 73152-3332

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Macey Panach, 523-2346 Perspective/Online News Editor

Monica Wilke, 523-2303 Executive Director

Sam Knipp, 523-2347 Vice President of Communications/PR

Marla Peek, 523-2437 Director of Regulatory Affairs

Chris Kidd, 523-2539 Director of State and National Affairs

Staff Directory

Published by Oklahoma Farm BureauPostmaster: Send address corrections to:

Perspective, P.O. B. 53332, OKC, OK 73152-3332

YF&R Sponsors Big 3 Field Days in StillwaterThe Oklahoma Farm Bureau YF&R

Committee is an annual sponsor of Okla-homa State University’s Big 3 Field Days, which was held in Stillwater July 17-19 at the Animal Science Arena. More than 1,350 4-H and FFA members from across the country attended the three-day judging competition and spent time exploring the OSU campus and research facilities.

YF&R Vice Chairman Tim Taylor pre-sented plaques to the winners of the sheep and beef competitions and said OFB’s involvement in the event ensures students

are aware of Farm Bureau’s presence in Oklahoma agriculture.

“It’s important that we support these youth so that we have future leaders coming up into the Farm Bureau organization,” Taylor said.

OSU Extension Youth Livestock Spe-cialist Rusty Gosz, who plays a key role in organizing the event, said the competition gives students the opportunity to improve their livestock judging ability and sharpen their life skills.

“Within livestock judging, obviously

there are the educational aspects of learning how to evaluate livestock based on industry trends and criteria,” Gosz said. “Aside from that, there are the life skills that we really value in youth livestock judging events like decision making skills, critical thinking skills and the teamwork aspect. These are all things we want to impart to our kids as they go on to make themselves valuable citizens, employees and producers.”

For competition results, visit judgingcard.com and look for the OSU Big 3 Field Days link.

4-H and FFA members evaluate a class of market steers during the 2012 Big 3 Field Days at the OSU Animal Science Arena. Students spent three days on OSU’s campus judging sheep, cattle and hogs, while also learning about the university’s agricultural research efforts and taking in the sites around Stillwater.

YF&R Vice Chairman Tim Taylor (right) presents plaques to the winners of the OSU Big 3 Field Days Senior 4-H sheep judging competition: (from left) Jaci Burgin, first; Laurie Fitch, second; Rhianne Taylor, third; Garrett Goodwin, fourth; and Ethan Gingrich, fifth.YF&R is a proud sponsor of the annual event, which is the largest livestock judging contest in the state.