News Stories

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 […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau honored two leaders during its 66th annual meeting in Oklahoma City with Distinguished Service Awards. The pair of awards is designed to honor those who have made outstanding contributions to agriculture and to Oklahoma Farm Bureau, according to Matt Wilson, executive director. Texas County’s Joe Mayer and Noble County’s Scott Dvorak were honored Nov. 9 during a special evening award’s program in the Cox Convention Center. Mayer was presented with the Distinguished Service to Oklahoma Agriculture Award while Dvorak received the Distinguished Service to Oklahoma Farm Bureau Award. Mayer, 58, of Guymon, has served agriculture for more […]

Sequoyah County’s Jody and Paula Sloan were named Oklahoma Farm Bureau Farm Family of the Year Nov. 9 at the 66th annual state convention in Oklahoma City. A panel of judges selected the Vian family from 12 entries in the annual contest, which honors the farm family who best represents farming and ranching and the spirit of Oklahoma agriculture. The Sloans received use of a new Dodge pickup for a year, an expense-paid trip to the American Farm Bureau Federation meeting in New Orleans, La., and other gifts in recognition of their accomplishments. The couple has three children, Seth, 19, […]

Ryan Luter, Morrison, won the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet contest held during the OFB annual convention Nov. 9 in Oklahoma City. Luter and his wife, Marcy, operate a beef cattle herd in Noble County. Luter works off the farm as Assistant Vice President for BancFirst in Stillwater. Marcy is employed by Oklahoma State University. The Discussion Meet contest is designed to simulate a committee meeting where discussion and active participation are expected from each participant. This competition is evaluated on an exchange of ideas and information on a specific topic related to agriculture. For winning […]

Payne County’s Tim and Sheila Taylor were named Oklahoma Farm Bureau YF&R Achievement Award winner Nov. 9 at the 66th annual convention in Oklahoma City. The YF&R Achievement Award honors the state’s top young farmer or farm family for their achievements in the farming business and their leadership in the agricultural community. A panel of judges selected the Stillwater couple for the award. They received an expense-paid trip to the 2008 American Farm Bureau convention in New Orleans, La., to represent Oklahoma in the national contest where they will compete for Dodge pickups and Arctic Cat four-wheelers. As the Oklahoma […]

Sequoyah County farmer Charles Sloan was re-elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of Oklahoma Farm Bureau Nov. 10, 2007. Sloan won re-election to the state director’s position in a caucus held during the 66th annual Oklahoma Farm Bureau meeting at Oklahoma City’s Cox Convention Center. Delegates from a 12-county area in northeast Oklahoma picked Sloan. He will represent Farm Bureau members from Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Delaware, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Ottawa, Rogers, Sequoyah and Wagoner counties as the district six state director. Sloan, 72, lives in Vian and farms corn and soybeans along with some vegetable […]

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 […]

Donna VonTungeln of Calumet was re-elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of Oklahoma Farm Bureau Nov. 10, 2007. VonTungeln won re-election to the state director’s position in a caucus held during the 66th annual Oklahoma Farm Bureau meeting at Oklahoma City’s Cox Convention Center. Delegates from a seven-county area picked VonTungeln. She will represent Farm Bureau members from Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Grady, Kingfisher, Logan and Oklahoma counties as the district three state director. VonTungeln, 75, runs a 1,000-acre farm with her children. Wheat, cattle, alfalfa and soybeans are the primary enterprises on the operation. The family […]