Voting delegates at the 72nd Oklahoma Farm Bureau Annual Meeting elected Jackson County Farm Bureau member Tom Buchanan to serve as president of the organization, Nov. 16, in Norman. Buchanan has represented District 2 on the OKFB Board of Directors for six years.
“Oklahoma Farm Bureau is the voice for rural Oklahoma and agriculture, and that’s my passion,” Buchanan said. “Through my service at the county level and then as a state director, I feel I have a background with the federation and with the insurance company, and I’m looking forward to serving our members.”
Buchanan raises a commercial beef herd and winter wheat on his farm near Altus. He also grows irrigated cotton, when water is available. Buchanan is the manager of the Lugert-Altus Irrigation District, and he serves as vice chairman of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
In addition, two new board members were elected and three were re-elected to serve three-year terms. Roger Mills County FB member Monte Tucker, of Sweetwater, will represent District 2, and Ottawa County FB member James Fuser, of Afton, will represent District 6. Rodd Moesel, of Oklahoma City, was re-elected to represent District 3, Roland Pederson, of Burlington, was re-elected to serve District 7 and Phyllis Holcomb, of Kellyville, was re-elected to represent District 9.
The OKFB Young Farmers and Ranchers selected Marty and Crystal Williams, of Red Rock, to lead the state YF&R Committee in 2014, and three OKFB Leadership Team members were re-elected to serve. Sharlene Lambring, of Oklahoma City, will represent District 3; Beverly Delmedico, of Muskogee, will serve District 6 and Lena Henson, of Beggs, will represent District 9.
In other delegate action, resolutions were passed to support more research on effectively using the state’s water supply and to examine the state’s current landowner’s bill of rights.
“We’re not sure whether moving water is a possibility, but it makes sense for areas of both excess water and water deficiency to examine the feasibility and to know what the options are,” said Jimmy Wayne Kinder, District 4 director and OKFB Resolutions Committee chairman.
“We’re blessed to have a thriving oil and gas industry in Oklahoma but we also farm on top of that land, so we think it is important to make sure our surface owners are protected whenever an energy company comes in to drill a well.”
Several awards were presented during the annual meeting, as OKFB recognized its top farming and ranching families. John and Macy Strom, of Copan, were named OKFB’s Farm Family of the Year; retiring OKFB Director Charles Sloan was honored with the Distinguished Service to OKFB Award; Adam and Rachel Bohl, of Chattanooga, were selected as the YF&R Achievement Award winners; Raymond and Mary Temple, of Elmore City, received the Lifetime Legacy Award; Brent and Jenny Haken, of Glencoe, were named winners of the YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award; and Travis Schnaithman, of Garber, won the YF&R Discussion Meet.
