Road to Rural Prosperity

Congress has passed a 5,393 page Relief/Spending Omnibus Package- and Host Ron Hays Talks with Ethan Lane, Vice President for Government Affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association about Pandemic Relief- more money in CFAP, Grants for RAMP UP, establishment of the SALE Act and more. Lane also talks about the announcement by USDA to start the process of moving Gene Editing for animals away from FDA over to USDA, a look at the Climate Team for President Elect Biden, a return to USDA by Tom Vilsack and a look into 2021 from a DC Perspective. Today's Podcast is powered by Banc First, Loyal to Oklahoma and Loyal to You.

Host Ron Hays travels the Road to Rural Prosperity with mixed feelings as he talks with Roy Lee Lindsey of OkPork- who has just announced his resignation as Executive Director as the head of the group representing hog farmers in Oklahoma- as he prepares to take a similar position with the North Carolina Pork Council- North Carolina the second largest pork state in the US.

Today's Road to Rural Prosperity is being sponsored in part by the Oklahoma Rural Water Association.

For this special edition of the Road to Rural Prosperity, KC Sheperd zoomed with Country Music singer songwriter Jamey Johnson to talk about his growing up on a family farm in Montgomery Alabama. From an early age he was influenced by country acts such as Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, and Alabama. Johnson has always had strong ties to agriculture as he grew up watching his dad try to make a living on the family farm. His family eventually lost that farm, so Johnson has always understood the struggles facing American farmers.

Today's Podcast is powered by the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center.

From Big Sky Country to Oklahoma- Dr. Derrell Peel has watched the cattle and beef markets for decades- and Host Ron Hays talks with him on this Road to Rural Prosperity about the changes he was seen in the beef cattle marketplace since he first arrived in Stillwater. Holder of the Charles A. Breedlove Endowed Professorship in Agribusiness, Peel joined the OSU faculty in 1989 as OSU Cooperative Extension livestock marketing specialist, a position he still fills today and for which he has received significant renown from both industry and academia.

Today's Road to Rural Prosperity is powered by the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma- the voice of Oklahoma oil and natural gas.

For the first time ever- Oklahoma FFA had three National Finalists in the National FFA American Stars Competition- and at the 2020 National FFA Convention- two of them- again for the first time ever- were called out as the winner in their category. Host Ron Hays talked after the Stars announcement with Will Shelby of Madill FFA, the American Star in Ag Placement and Nicole Stevens of Yukon FFA, the American Star in Agriscience. Today's Podcast is powered by BancFirst.

Host Ron Hays Caught up with Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and got his take on where things stand with McGirt Vs Oklahoma on the day after his Commission on Cooperative Sovereignty reported back to him on how the State of Oklahoma and the Indian Tribes in eastern Oklahoma need to solve the fallout from the Supreme Court ruling against the state. They also discuss the two State Questions on the November ballot- the Governor is voting yes on one and no on the other one- and Ron got a Top Ten Update from the Governor as well.

Today's Road to Rural Prosperity is being powered by the Public Service Company of Oklahoma.

Steve Thompson, Senior Director for Public Policy at the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, sat down with Host Ron Hays to discuss the decision by the general farm organization to oppose State Question 805 in the upcoming November General Election. They also talked about the decision by the group to not hold a face to face in person Convention in Norman this year- and how that impacts their policy making process in 2020 and into 2021.

Today's conversation is powered by OPSRC, the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center.

Today's Road to Rural Prosperity trek brings us to the State Chamber of Oklahoma- and a chance to talk with their President and CEO, Chad Warmington. Chad is not a native Okie- but has been "all in" on Oklahoma since he took a job on the staff of then US Senator Don Nickles. He married a Guthrie girl and rejoined the State Chamber of Oklahoma in February 2020- just ahead of the Pandemic that has changed everything. He cares deeply about Oklahoma- and is committed to improving the business climate of all of the state- including Rural Oklahoma. Our conversation with Chad is being powered today by the Oklahoma Rural Water Association.

It's been quite a journey for Dr. Brett Carver- as his early days were spent in the southeastern part of the US with no thought of being involved in the wheat industry- let alone being a world class wheat breeder. Host Ron Hays talks with Brett about his journey from Georgia and North Carolina to Oklahoma and how he has learned the science of wheat breeding- and has provided Oklahoma wheat farmers with wheat varieties designed to help them grow more bushels of high quality wheat that will please consumers. Today's Podcast is powered by the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma.

Ron Hays travels on the Road to Rural Prosperity to showcase the efforts by farmers and ranchers to fight to Ditch the WOTUS Rule developed by the Obama Administration back in 2014 and work to see it replaced with a new, improved rule by the Trump Administration. Hays features interviews he conducted over the past seven years with the late Richard Gebhart, Senator Jim Inhofe, Congressman Frank Lucas, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Michael Kelsey, Colin Woodall, Ashley McDonald and Scott Yager as he tells the WOTUS story. This trip down Memory Lane is powered by Banc First, Loyal to Oklahoma and Loyal to You. (Pic courtesy of The Farm Paparazzi)