Road to Rural Prosperity

It's fall and there is no better time than right now to check out the many venues in Oklahoma that offer great Agritourism adventures. KC Sheperd talks with Micaela Danker- who coordinates the AgriTourism efforts of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture- and they discuss the chances to enjoy Pumpkin Patches and Corn Mazes and more across Oklahoma in the fall season of 2020.

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

With just over a month to go- Host Ron Hays talks with Brent Kisling one more time as he provides an update on the effort to put at least 4 million Oklahomans on record in the 2020 US Census. Kisling urges anyone not yet registered to do so before September 30th to be counted. Kisling, the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of Census, is coordinating the state's effort to increase the percentage of those who register here in 2020.

Today's Road to Rural Prosperity Podcast is being powered by OPSRC- the Oklahoma Pubic School Resource Center.

Ridge Hughbanks of Alva was the 23rd National FFA Officer from Oklahoma- and Ridge talks with Host Ron Hays about growing up in northwest Oklahoma on a diversified farm operation- getting involved in FFA and how his life has been changed in so many ways. Take a listen to Ridge's inspiring story of his time in the FFA and beyond. Today's Road to Rural Prosperity is brought to you in part by the Oklahoma Rural Water Association.

As the 2020-21 School Year begins- over 200 Oklahoma School Districts rely on the resources they can access from the Oklahoma Public Schools Resource Center. Host Ron Hays talks with their Executive Director Brent Bushey about how the world of education was turned upside down in March of this year when COVID-19 kept student from returning to the Classroom after Spring Break. Brent talks about how schools worked to adapt this past spring and how that brings us to the fall semester- Brent says his group helps with Professional Development with teachers and other key staff- and has helped in the move into technological solutions to make education work in a COVID world. Today's Podcast is powered by the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma.

In our latest Road to Rural Prosperity- Host Ron Hays is joined on the phone from Washington with Oklahoma's Senior Member of our Congressional Delegation- Senator Jim Inhofe. They begin the conversation talking about the Supreme Court Case that will likely need that delegation to develop a legislative fix that allows tribal sovereignty to mesh with the power of the state- they also talk about Senator Inhofe's work on several bills aimed at helping Oklahoma Agriculture deal with the Pandemic- the Senator offers an update on the HEALs act negotiations and offers his reasons for wanting to be elected for another six years. Today's Road Podcast is powered by BancFirst, Loyal to Oklahoma and to You.

Dr. Barry Pollard has been selected as the winner of the 2020 Governor's Outstanding Achievement Award in Agriculture, making him the 23rd individual to be inducted into the Oklahoma Ag Hall of Fame. Host Ron Hays talked with Dr. Pollard after he had received the award at the 2020 Oklahoma Cattlemen's Convention in Tulsa on July 24th- and they talked about his service to Oklahoma Agriculture and Rural Oklahoma- as a Surgeon based in Enid, as an Agri-businessman operating a multi state John Deere Dealership and as a nationally known Angus Breeder.

Today's Podcast is sponsored in part by OPSRC, the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center.

KC Sheperd goes on ZOOM to talk with three Oklahoma Elementary Educators about their experiences with the Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom Program- Johnnie Keel, Lori Newmark and Jocelyn Puckett were three of the teachers that were presenters at the 2020 Summer Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom Conference that was held virtually. Today's Road to Rural Prosperity Podcast is powered by the Public Service Company of Oklahoma.

Host Ron Hays covers a lot of ground with the President of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Rodd Moesel, in this Episode of the Road to Rural Prosperity. Rodd talks about the challenges of COVID in the operation of the general farm organization, the nervousness created by the Supreme Court Decision against Oklahoma and the potential implications of the court’s ruling on landowners throughout eastern Oklahoma, his reasons for wanting to become President of Farm Bureau and his thoughts on the absolute necessity of high speed broadband across every part of Oklahoma. Today's Podcast is powered by the Oklahoma Rural Water Association.

Today's Episode features a conversation hosted by KC Sheperd with the 2020 Oklahoma FFA Star Farmer Reagan Klassen of the Hydro-Eakly FFA Chapter- and then Ron Hays describes the Agribusiness that propelled Kale Miller of Stroud FFA to Stardom as the 2020 Oklahoma FFA Star in Agribusiness.

This Road to Rural Prosperity is powered by the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma.

A Special Edition of the Road to Rural Prosperity features a June 26th conversation with Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt- Host Ron Hays talks with the Governor about the status of Oklahoma's reopening in response to Covid 19, his opposition to State Question 802, his ideas on helping the Oil and Gas Industry and Agricuture Recover and his Top Ten Report Card that he is developing.

Today's Podcast is powered by BancFirst, Loyal to Oklahoma- and to you.