Oklahoma Secretary Of Agriculture Discusses 2023 Farm Bill

Members of Governor Kevin Stitt’s Cabinet continue to make regular visits to the nation’s capital, at the governor's urging, to meet with their federal counterparts and do their best to take advantage of available federal resources. Oklahoma's Secretary of Agriculture, Blayne Arthur, is the latest to spend a few days in Washington.

It was a busy couple of days for Secretary Arthur at the end of last week: she was tapped by USDA to be a presenter at its 99th annual Agricultural Outlook Forum and, as will be the case with any visit to D.C. this year, there was discussion of the 2023 Farm Bill.

"It is a Farm Bill year," Arthur said in an interview Friday, "and folks on the Hill are telling us that they’re going to get it done this year...we’ll see."

Secretary Arthur said the process will be challenging and Oklahoma farmers and ranchers are fortunate to have their own Frank Lucas back on the House Agriculture Committee.

"He is well respected, I think, by anyone that you will talk to," said Secretary Arthur, "especially when you talk about ag issues, he’s very knowledgeable, very steady, very level."

Strengthening the safety net through improved crop insurance is a high priority for this once-every-five-year piece of legislation, but the soaring price of eggs due to Avian Flu, Arthur said, points to another priority -- the need for more large animal veterinarians.

"And we need the resources to make that happen because it has taken up a lot of time and energy, sometimes, from other programs as we’ve responded to the animal health challenges," Arthur explained.

The 2023 Farm Bill could also expand support for independent meat processors, a subject Arthur knows something about and addressed at the USDA forum on Friday.

"We certainly think that was a success in 2020," she acknowledged. "We utilized CARES [Act] dollars to expand Oklahoma's small and medium-sized meat processors."

Arthur said it was also critical that the Legislature then provided additional funding to increase the number of state meat inspectors.

"We have so many great stories of someone saying now, 'I buy my beef directly from, you know, this beef producer, and that’s what I want, and I like the product' and they’ve developed a relationship," Arthur said, "and that’s good for everyone on both sides of it."

Bolstering independent meat processors nationally is not only a goal of agriculture leaders like Secretary Arthur, but of the Biden administration, as well, as that would, in theory, help stabilize and even reduce meat prices.