News Stories

Beggs rancher Steve Kouplen was honored earlier this year by the American Farm Bureau Federation for his eight years of service on that organization’s Board of Directors. The award was presented during AFBF’s annual convention in New Orleans, LA. Kouplen was elected president of Oklahoma Farm Bureau in 1999 and stepped down last November after serving the maximum allowed time by the OFB bylaws. During that period he served also on the board of directors for Farm Bureau Life, FBL and Farm Bureau Bank. Oklahoma Farm Bureau prospered under Kouplen’s leadership, adding more than 40,000 members. The Okmulgee County rancher […]

State Senator Ron Justice and Representative Gus Blackwell received Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Meritorious Service Award Feb. 19. The state’s largest farm organization bestowed the award based on a lawmaker’s consistent support for rural issues. “These guys have a passion for helping rural Oklahoma,” said Mike Spradling, OFB president. Legislation (SB709) authored by Sen. Justice defining animal manure as non-hazardous received the national Distinguished Award for Legislation of the year from the Agricultural and Rural Development Summit participants in January. The bill was passed and signed by the governor last year. Sen. Justice’s district includes parts of Canadian, Caddo, Blaine and […]

The average cost of food in America remains affordable overall. According to the most recent information from the Agriculture Department’s (USDA’s) Economic Research Service, American families and individuals spend, on average, less than 10 percent of their disposable personal income for food. Applying that statistic to the calendar year means the average household will have earned enough disposable income — that portion of income available for spending or saving — to pay for its annual food supply in about 37 days or five weeks, according to the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. In recognition of this, Oklahoma Farm Bureau is celebrating Feb. […]

Young farmers and ranchers from across the state will gather in Tulsa January 25-27 for the 2008 Oklahoma Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Winter Conference. OFB’s YF&R Committee welcomes young producers, ages 18 to 35, and their families to attend the three-day conference, which will take place at the Southern Hills Marriott, 1902 East 71st, Tulsa, OK 74136. For reservations, call 918-493-7000. The weekend’s activities include informative sessions, insightful speakers and agricultural tours, including a visit to the Flying G Ranch and the Port of Catoosa. Registration begins at 3 p.m. at Tulsa Southern Hills Marriott. Childcare will be […]

A proposal for more federal uniform truck weight regulations initiated by Oklahoma Farm Bureau leaders received a hearty endorsement from voting delegates at the American Farm Bureau convention Jan. 15 in New Orleans. AFBF leaders made it a “priority issue,” putting it at the top of the lobbying list for the national organization. No other resolutions passed during the convention received the priority label. “This is true grass roots policy development as this issue first surfaced in Oklahoma farm country,” said Mike Spradling, president of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. For more than a year Oklahoma farm leaders have been working […]

2007 was a good year for property owners working with the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation. Three separate cases highlighted the foundation’s ability to protect private property rights. The City of Durant was forced by Farm Bureau to reverse annexation of land that isolated property owners without providing services. Durant “strip annexed” which meant they annexed narrow strips 20 feet wide and several miles long, creating a boundary and preventing a nearby town from expanding toward Durant. The foundation brought to light the impact a proposed landfill in Kay County would have on property owners. Landowners working with the Kay […]

Two of Farm Bureau’s young producers have been appointed to serve on USDA’s Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers. Beaver County’s Travis Jett and Noble County’s Ryan Luter will join the 20-member committee, which identifies ways to increase participation between federal and state programs to provide joint financing for beginning producers. Committee members also suggest agricultural opportunities that will help beginning farmers and ranchers. "I was pleased to meet with committee members in July, and I appreciate their work to strengthen support of beginning farmers and ranchers," said Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner. "As the Administration’s proposals for the […]

A motion asking permission from the federal court in the Northern District of Oklahoma to submit a brief on the State of Oklahoma’s legal bid to halt use of poultry litter in the Illinois River watershed was filed Dec. 6 by Oklahoma Farm Bureau. “We believe livestock producers are abiding by state laws, which have more extensive environmental regulations than required by federal law,” Mike Spradling, OFB President said. While not part of the lawsuit, Farm Bureau represents thousands of Oklahoma livestock producers and other farmers who would be harmed by the legal action. In a motion filed for a […]

Tulsa County farmer-rancher Mike Spradling was elected as the eighth president of Oklahoma Farm Bureau Nov. 10, 2007, at the organization’s 66th annual meeting in Oklahoma City. Spradling won a two-year term as the president of the state’s largest general farm organization. He succeeds Steve Kouplen of Beggs, who had served four consecutive two-year terms as president and was prohibited from seeking another by term limits. The 58-year-old farmer-rancher along with his wife, Lotsee, own and operate the Flying G Ranch near Sand Springs. Cattle and pecans are the primary agricultural enterprises. They also have a retail pecan operation and […]