PERSPECTIVE August 21, 2026
OKFB Ag Fund committee awards Quinn endorsement, confirms candidates ahead of Aug. 25 primary runoff election he Oklahoma Farm Bureau Ag Fund political action committee board met Thursday, Aug. 6, to award a new candidate endorsement to Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner candidate Marty Quinn and confirm endorsements of 10 other candidates who will appear in the Aug. 25 primary runoff election. OKFB Ag Fund-endorsed candidates appearing on the Aug. 25 ballot include: Statewide Office • John Pfeiffer – Labor Comm. • Marty Quinn – Insurance Comm. Oklahoma Senate • Justin Freeland-Wood – SD 21 • Jessica Winegeart – SD 26 • Jean Hausheer – SD 32
Sen. Lankford visits OKFB home office nited States Sen. James Lankford stopped by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau home office on Tuesday, Aug. 11, to visit with a group of Farm Bureau leaders and share updates on issues important to Oklahoma family farmers and ranchers. The group had the opportunity to openly discuss the policies that they felt would make the biggest impact on agriculture and rural communities. The topics of discussion ranged from the current situation of the farm bill to U.S. foreign policy and from the country’s energy policies to the rapid increase in artificial intelligence adoption and data
center construction. The group of Farm Bureau members also thanked Lankford for his attention to rural issues and for the opportunity to share agricultural policy priorities with the senator. Congress is currently in its August recess period to allow members to return to their states and districts to meet with constituents. The Senate is currently scheduled to reconvene on Monday, Sept. 14, to take up business. Federal issues that American Farm Bureau will take up in the final months of session include a push for a new farm bill and work on labor policy.
Oklahoma House of Representatives • George Phipps – HD 1 • Crystal Campbell – HD 9 • David Smith – HD 18 • Michael Brittingham – HD 19 • Madison Bolay – HD 38 • Teresa Sterling – HD 91 The OKFB Ag Fund board will meet after the Aug. 25 runoff primary to discuss additional candidate support before the Nov. 3 general election. To view a full list of endorsed and supported candidates and state questions, visit OKFB’s 2026 online voter guide, which will be updated throughout the 2026 election cycle at: okfb.news/vote26.
Canadian County Farm Bureau member in top 10 for AFBF Ag Innovation Challenge anadian County Farm Bureau member and agricultural technology startup founder Bryce Everett qualified to compete in American Farm Bureau’s Ag Innovation Challenge with URMRKT, an online agricultural marketplace. URMRKT is one of 10 national Ag Innovation Challenge finalists, which is hosted by AFBF as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to showcase their solutions to the dynamic challenges facing American agriculture. Everett and his team of partners and developers created URMRKT, an online marketplace to connect buyers and sellers of agricultural products and inputs through an innovative digital platform that integrates buying, selling and delivery. Everett and the URMRKT team will make their virtual pitch in September for a chance to be one of four Ag Innovation Challenge competitors that will advance to the final round of pitch competition at the 2027 AFBF Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, in January. The top four teams that advance from the virtual round will each receive $10,000. The final pitch competition will be held on Sunday, Jan. 10 in front of a live audience of Farm Bureau members and industry representatives. The winning team will walk away with a
Bryce Everett
Canadian County Farm Bureau Member URMRKT CEO
$90,000 prize (total of $100,000), and runner-up will receive a prize of $15,000 (total of $25,000). Everett is a past participant in OKFB’s Oklahoma Grassroots Rural & Ag Business Accelerators program, which connects rural Oklahoma innovators with a wide array of Oklahoma-based business resources, tools and programs. URMRKT is also an OKFB member benefits partner. OKFB members can sign up to be among the first to learn about URMRKT updates, including the final launch date and member discounts at urmrkt.com/okfb/.
AFBF Ag Innovation Challenge semi-finalists Animal Deterrent Solutions • Texas Clean Label Solution • New York Clear Grain Co. • Kentucky Gilly • California Good Agriculture • Georgia Nave Analytics • Nebraska Rootline Robotics • New York Seismi • Nebraska Swinergy • Minnesota URMRKT • Oklahoma
August area meetings continue on in districts 4, 6 and 7
District 4 • Ardmore
District 7 • Enid
District 6 • Pryor
District 4 • Lawton
District 7 • Enid
District 6 • Pryor
See the list of our remaining August Area Meetings on our website at okfb.news/aam26 Woodward August Area ! Meeting location change
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the District 1 August Area Meeting in Woodward on Aug. 31 will now be held at the Woodward Convention Center at 3401 Centennial Lane.
Make plans to read OKFB WLC to host fall regional an accurate ag women’s day events across the state book Sept. 8-11 klahoma Farm Bureau’s Women’s klahoma Farm Bureau’s Women’s Leadership Committee is encouraging county Farm Bureau WLC members and Oklahoma agriculturalists from across the state to get out into their communities and read an accurate agriculture book Sept. 8-11 during Read an Accurate Ag Book Week. The event is an opportunity for Oklahoma agriculture leaders to reach out to their local schools or community groups to share the true agriculture story by reading an accurate agriculture book and sharing their farming, ranching or agricultural experience. If you are not quite sure what book to read, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has assembled a list of books that have been reviewed and found to meet standards for sharing the real agriculture story. The list can be found on the AFBF Foundation for Agriculture’s website at okfb.news/agbooks. The OKFB WLC has also placed accurate agriculture books in county Farm Bureau offices for use during the week and beyond. Oklahoma Agriculture in the Classroom is tracking Oklahomans who participate in Read an Accurate Ag Books Week, and you can share your support by completing their online form, which can be found on the state AITC website at oklahoma.agclassroom.org, before participating in the event.
Leadership Committee will host a series of five regional women’s day events across the state to develop Farm Bureau leaders and county WLC groups. The series of meetings will be held from August through October based on Farm Bureau district. The full meeting list is included to the right. County Farm Bureau women can attend whichever meeting is most convenient for them. Each meeting will feature a roundtable discussion for area WLC women to share their activities and ideas to help promote agriculture, promote Farm Bureau and engage their local agricultural communities. Each meeting will also feature additional discussion topics, guest speakers and sessions that will be unique to that individual gathering. County Farm Bureau women are encouraged to attend the meeting for their local district to learn more about WLC programming and opportunities to be engaged with OKFB. OKFB districts six and nine previously met in Spring 2026, so there is no fall meeting for those districts. There is no cost to attend, and many meetings include a meal or snack. Attendees are asked to RSVP using the online form at okfb.news/rwd2026rsvp. For questions about the regional women’s day meetings or about the OKFB WLC program, contact Megan Knight at (405) 523-2300.
Districts 1 & 2 • Woodward Saturday, August 29 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. Northwest Electric RSVP by August 24
District 7 • Perry Thursday, September 10 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. First Bank & Trust RSVP by September 7
District 5 • Spiro Saturday, September 19 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. MackMazing Acres RSVP by September 7
District 3 • El Reno Friday, September 25 1 - 3:30 p.m. Canadian Valley Tech Center RSVP by September 21
Districts 2,4 & 8 • Duncan Friday, October 16 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Simmons Center Wild Horse Suite RSVP by October 2
Register online at
okfb.news/rwd2026rsvp
OKFB Water Working Group holds roundtable discussion klahoma Farm Bureau’s water working group sat down with dozens of stakeholders from around the state of Oklahoma on Wednesday, Aug. 12, to discuss water usage, metering and more as they work to craft policy to
ensure all sectors of our state’s water users are represented and held to the same standards of judicious use of one of Oklahoma’s most important natural resources. The water working group, a group
of Farm Bureau members representing all nine OKFB districts, was created by the OKFB Board of Directors and aids in providing input to the board regarding water rights issues in the areas of regulation and policy.
PUBLISHED BY OKLAHOMA FARM BUREAU
Oklahoma Farm Bureau 2501 N. Stiles Oklahoma City, OK 73105-3126
Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 131 Okla. City, OK.
Postmaster: Send address corrections to: Perspective P.O. Box 53332, Oklahoma City, OK 73152-3332
STAFF DIRECTORY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Thad Doye
(405) 523-2438 VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
Dustin Mielke
(405) 530-2640 ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS AND ADVOCACY COMMUNICATIONS
Rachel Havens
(405) 523-2346
OKFB WLC awards five nurse’s training scholarships he Oklahoma Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee has awarded five $1,000 scholarships to students from Farm Bureau member families who are pursuing a career in nursing. The scholarships were awarded to Kiera Turner of Boise City, Makenna Dupree of Elk City, Amanda Woods of Wilburton, Macy McCrary of Tahlequah, and Delaney Haley of Chandler. “As rural Oklahomans, we know firsthand the importance of quality healthcare in our rural communities,” said Mignon Bolay, OKFB WLC chair. “The Women’s Leadership Committee is proud to support these outstanding students on their path to serve the people in their communities through high-quality nursing care.” Turner, a Cimarron County Farm Bureau member, is studying at Amarillo College to become a registered nurse. Dupree is a Beckham County Farm Bureau member enrolled in her fourth year at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where she is studying to become a registered nurse.
Woods, a Latimer County Farm Bureau member, attends Eastern Oklahoma State College with the goal of becoming a registered nurse. McCrary is a Cherokee County Farm Bureau member who is studying to become a registered nurse at Connors State College. Haley, a Lincoln County Farm Bureau member, is pursuing a nursing degree at the University of Central Oklahoma. The OKFB WLC provides their annual nurse’s training scholarships to help Farm Bureau members complete their education in nursing so they can provide much-needed healthcare services to fellow Oklahomans. Applicants must be enrolled half-time or more in a nurse’s training program at an accredited college, university, technical school or trade school.
2026 Nurse’s Training Scholarship recipients Kiera Turner Boise City Amarillo College
Makenna Dupree Elk City Southwestern Oklahoma State
Amanda Woods Wilburton Eastern Oklahoma State College
Macy McCrary Tahlequah Connors State College
Delaney Haley Chandler University of Central Oklahoma