OKLAHOMA CITY – Four county Farm Bureaus in southwest Oklahoma were singled out recently for their efforts to promote agriculture and rural Oklahoma.
• Comanche County’s Farm Bureau received the Six-Star Presidential Award for excelling in six program areas: local affairs, membership, public policy, service to members, Women’s Leadership Committee and Young Farmers and Ranchers.
In the Young Farmers and Ranchers category, Comanche County hosted a farmhand Olympics at the county fair in which 164 area students competed, said Hannah Davis, Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s director of media relations.
In the public policy category, Ms. Davis said, Comanche County hosted a legislative dinner for members to meet and visit with state lawmakers and traveled to the state Capitol to share important agricultural and rural issues with legislators.
• Among those receiving the Five-Star Presidential Award were the Kiowa County and Caddo County Farm Bureaus.
Kiowa County received the Five-Star Presidential Award for excelling in local affairs, membership, public policy, service to members and Women’s Leadership Committee, Ms. Davis said.
In the category of public policy, Kiowa County Farm Bureau invited county commissioners, all Farm Bureau members and local law enforcement to its annual resolutions meeting to help share ideas and concerns as members drafted policy. In the area of local affairs, Kiowa County Farm Bureau this year helped promote the organization by hosting an essay contest for local students, presenting a “Teacher of the Year” award for each school district in the county, donating to FFA chapters throughout the county, and presenting a “Farm Woman of the Year” award at its annual meeting.
Caddo County received the Five-Star Presidential Award for excelling in local affairs, membership, public policy, Women’s Leadership Committee and Young Farmers and Ranchers, Ms. Davis said. In the area of public policy, Caddo County invited legislators and other elected officials to join their annual meeting to visit with members and guests. In the category of Women’s Leadership Committee, Caddo County members assisted with a “Farm to You” program at Anadarko elementary schools to help teach students about their food and how it is produced.
• The OKFB also recognized Farm Bureaus in Cotton and Kiowa counties for reaching membership quotas. Cotton County Farm Bureau exceeded its membership quota of 743 members, and Kiowa County Farm Bureau exceeded its membership quota of 1,315 members, Ms. Davis reported.
All of the honorees were recognized during the annual meeting of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau on Nov. 9 in Oklahoma City.