OKFB members braved the cold and gathered in Oklahoma City for the organization’s 2025 Leadership Conference held Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the downtown Embassy Suites.
The annual event brings Farm Bureau members together for a day of learning and fellowship with a variety of speakers and guests throughout the conference.
The event kicked off with Iowa Farm Bureau Vice President Brian Feldpaush who gave an update on the impacts California’s Proposition 12, which specified space requirements for hog farm,s has had on pork producers across the nation.
Feldpaush discussed how pork distribution has been affected by the Prop. 12 restrictions limiting how pork can be sold in California. He shared that certain stores across the country that only want Prop. 12 certified pork.
He also gave an update on how Farm Bureaus across the nation have been working together to prevent legislation like California’s Prop. 12 to be in the next Farm Bill.
Farm Bureau members also heard from Johnna Miller, senior director of media and advocacy training for American Farm Bureau, who provided a training on how to effectively share the agriculture story.
Miller advised that active listening is the key to gaining trust with someone to share the agriculture story while also being open minded in order to listen to others that may not know anything about agriculture.
The main session speaker lineup concluded with Donelle Harder, senior vice president of Pinkston, who provided OKFB members with a primer on social media. She walked attendees through what social media is, an overview of each platform including Instagram and Facebook, and shared the key demographic groups who use each platform.
Harder said that 70% of the population is on social media of some form and 54% of the population uses social media as a place to receive news and do their fact-checking.
She gave an example of a TikTok post from Oklahoma farmer and rancher Gatlin Didier that went viral as he gave a tutorial in a humorous way of how to break ice in a water tank.
The afternoon began with two different breakout session opportunities for members to attend.
Miller hosted a breakout session on media training and Harder taught members how to build their brand on social media.
Miller’s session focused on advising members how to prepare themselves to speak to the media when asked about their farming operation or their agricultural practices.
Harder’s session focused on teaching members how to build their brand on social media and how to work with the algorithms to be seen more across platforms.
The evening concluded with an awards banquet to honor the recipients of the 2024 OKFB Champion award, which is given to state lawmakers who serve as exemplary advocates for Oklahoma agriculture, going above and beyond for the state’s farmers and ranchers during the 2024 legislative session.
Following the awards, longtime friend of Farm Bureau Congressman Tom Cole shared with members an update on the action taking place on Capitol Hill since the 2025 election.
Cole also shared how the state of Oklahoma has federal entities, military bases and how important agriculture is to the entire state.
The evening wrapped up with Speaker of the House Kyle Hilbert and Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton sharing legislative updates and policy priorities through the first three weeks of the 2025 Oklahoma legislative session.
