OKFB members discuss MAHA, legislative outlook at annual leadership conference

Oklahoma Farm Bureau members made the trek to Oklahoma City for the organization's annual leadership conference on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

More than 150 members had the opportunity to learn from industry leaders and fellowship with other Farm Bureau members and state legislators during the one-day event as they honed their leadership skills and received updates on several top issues facing agriculture.

The conference kicked off with an update on the Make America Healthy Again initiative with Corteva's Warren Mayberry and John Campbell of the Southern Crop Production Association. Mayberry and Campbell explained the details of the 2025 MAHA report and the implications of the agricultural pesticides, including glyphosate, under attack by the movement.

Johnna Miller from the American Farm Bureau Federation continued the MAHA discussion with simple, practical tools that farmers and ranchers can use to come alongside the MAHA initiative and tell the agriculture story through social media and more. Miller emphasized the importance of building trust in farmers as individuals and neighbors.

During lunch, Sen. Casey Murdock and Rep. Kenton Patzkowsky gave a legislative update, and Rep. David Hardin gave members a briefing on the ongoing poultry lawsuit in eastern Oklahoma.

Megan Langley, a poultry producer and Adair County Farm Bureau member, also shared her story amidst the legal challenges against Oklahoma's poultry industry. Langley grows for Simmons Foods, a named defendant in the decades-old State of Oklahoma v. Tyson Foods, Inc., et al., lawsuit, and stands to lose her contract with the poultry integrator in May if the issue is not resolved.

Kylee Deniz of the Oklahoma Pork Council presented on a new coalition to provide accurate agriculture information to consumers, and OKFB's Dustin Mielke conducted a communications training on how to effectively share the agriculture story and how to handle calls from the news media.

OKFB members also had the chance to hear from a panel of Oklahoma's legislative leaders, including Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, Senate democratic leader Julia Kirt, and House minority leader Cyndi Munson.

Members rounded out an action-packed day with a legislative reception to visit with state lawmakers and thank them for their work at the state Capitol to support agriculture and rural Oklahoma.