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OKLAHOMA FARM BUREAU

October 21, 2011

OKLAHOMA FARM BUREAU

October 21, 2011PPPERSPECTIVEERSPECTIVEERSPECTIVE

Three weeks and counting until OFB Annual MeetingOklahoma Farm Bureau will celebrate its 70th birthday at the

upcoming annual meeting, Nov. 11-13, in downtown Oklahoma City. ! e convention provides an opportunity for members to vote on OFB policies and recognize the achievements of those who have made a di" erence in the organization over the past year.

! e OFB Trade Show will once again be held on the # rst $ oor of the Cox Convention Center. Organizers report a record number of vendors are committed for the event, and hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Booth space is still available and can be reserved by calling Kelli Beall at (405) 523-2470.

! e # rst three rounds of OFB’s discussion meet will kick o" at 9 a.m. Friday with # nals scheduled from noon to 1:15 p.m. Featured speakers on this year’s schedule include Channel 9 meteorologist Gary England for Friday’s opening session at 1:30 p.m. County awards, announcement of the discussion meet winner and a presen-tation of the Farm Family of the Year # nalists also are scheduled for Friday’s opening business session.

On Saturday, voting delegates for the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting will be selected during the 9:30 a.m.

general session while the 2:15 afternoon session will feature OFB’s presidential address and presidential election. Country music star Joe Di% e will headline Saturday night’s awards banquet, sched-uled for 7:45 p.m., where winners of the Farm Family of the Year, Excellence in Ag, YF&R Achieve-ment and YF&R Lifetime Legacy Awards also will be announced. To purchase banquet tickets, see Amy Wilson in the trade show area.

A vespers and memorial session will round out the weekend’s events Sunday morning, with music provided. A detailed conven-tion schedule will be included in the Nov. 4, issue of Perspective. events Sunday morning, with music provided. A detailed conven-

Meteorologist Gary England (left) will speak during Friday’s 1:30 p.m. opening session. Country music VLQJHU�-RH�'LIÀ�H��ULJKW��ZLOO�SHUIRUP�DW�6DWXUGD\�QLJKW·V�EDQTXHW�

Meteorologist Gary England (left)

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Fall colors coming soon

A grove of trees near Stillwater is slowly beginning to show its autumn colors as the seasons change. The recent 5-inch rain parts of Oklahoma received has turned the landscape a brighter shade of green, just before orange and red shades take over. Oklahoma is still in a drought, but with fall now here, farmers and ranchers are hoping more moisture is just around the corner.

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Oklahoma Farm Bureau OnlineMonitor the latest Farm Bureau

and agricultural news and information online at okfarmbureau.org.

Currently online:Agriculture Headlines – Looking

for the latest state agriculture news? OFB’s homepage is updated daily with news and links on stories from the state capitol, the AFBF and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.

AFBF Annual Meeting – Hawaii in January! Visit the OFB website for details on this year’s AFBF Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, and # nd contact information for how to register.

www.okfarmbureau.org

OFB Annual Meeting

Contact: Monica Wilke, (405) 523-2303

FBW Rally

Contact: Marcia Irvin, (405) 523-2405

YF&R State Committee Meeting

Contact: Chris Kidd, (405) 228-4001

OFB C!"#$%!&

High-speed internet available by satellite. New customers can call 1-866-556-9661 with their OFB membership ID and save an instant 10 percent.

For farm, home and auto. In-store specials for OFB members only. Visit atwoods.com for a list of Oklahoma locations.

M#'(#& B#$#)*+,

OFB highlights a few bene# ts in each issue of Perspective as a reminder of the savings available to OFB members. Find a complete list of savings online at okfarmbureau.org.

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For more on the bridge improvement plan, visit www.ok.gov/governor

Oklahoma Country magazine on its way

Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Oklahoma Country publication is scheduled for deliv-ery next week.

A free magazine for all OFB members, the upcoming fall issue features a mother/daughter team working to promote authen-tic “Made in Oklahoma” products. Also, check out the story on cattle broker Eastern Livestock Company and how their bank-rupty a" ected cattlemen here in Oklahoma. ! is issue of Oklahoma Country also includes an annual meet-ing preview, a YF&R pro# le, the latest state Farm Bureau news, classi-# eds and tasty fall-$ avored recipes!

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OFB sponsoring Tulsa cattle sale

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is slated to sponsor the Tulsa Farm Show’s annual Herd Builder Private Treaty Cattle Sale, Dec. 8-10. Hosted by Midwest Shows, Inc., the event will be held at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds.

! e private treaty sale is open to all breeds and includes heifers, bred heifers and cow-calf pairs. Also, health certi# cation by a licensed veterinarian must be provided for all animals, and owners are required to be present during the sale. ! ey also will be responsible for feeding and watering the animals along with stall upkeep. For more details about the Herd Builder Private Treaty Sale at the Tulsa Farm Show, call OFB Vice President of Field Services ! ad Doye at (405) 523-2307.

Register now for AFBF Convention! e 93rd American Farm Bureau Federation annual

meeting is Jan. 8-11, in Honolulu, Hawaii. To register, FB members should call their State Farm Bureau o% ce. Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s AFBF annual meeting contact is Melisa Neal. Call her at (405) 523-2475 for event details and travel arrangements.

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Questions answered on Oklahoma’s business activity tax

Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Young Farm-ers and Ranchers organization will recog-nize the winner of a new award at this year’s annual meeting, Nov. 11-13, in Oklahoma City.

! e OFB YF&R Lifetime Legacy Award will serve as a living memorial for any FB member and also recognize their life achievements. YF&R coordinator Chris Kidd said award winners will be judged on all life accomplishments and their life’s story – not just OFB success.

“Simply put, the Legacy Award is designed to recognize an individual who has spent their life enriching, inspiring, and elevating the quality of life of Oklaho-mans and rural Oklahomans alike,” he said. “! ere’s a quote from JFK that sums it up, ‘I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we too, will be remembered not for the victories or defeats in battle, or in politics, but for our contribu-tion to the human spirit.’”

! e # rst recipient of the YF&R Lifetime Legacy Award will be announced during the OFB Annual Meeting’s evening awards banquet Saturday, Nov. 12.

YF&R establishes new award

you’re nextr eady?

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Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s public policy division has recently received several calls regarding the state’s business activity tax and what it means for farmers and ranchers. To answer any questions OFB members might have, the public policy division o" ers the following information.

Before 1969, Oklahoma collected taxes on intangible personal property. Intangible personal property includes items such as trademarks, patents, royalties, copyrights, cus-tomer lists and goodwill.

Oklahoma stopped collecting taxes on intangible personal property tax when State Question 460 was adopted in 1968. State Question 460 amended the Oklahoma Con-stitution by adding Article 10, Section 6A, which provided a list of intangible personal property exempt from ad valorem or other tax. After this amendment was added to the Oklahoma Constitution, taxes were no longer collected on intangible personal property.

! en, the Oklahoma State Board of Equalization assessed taxes against intangible personal property owned by the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company for the tax years 2005, 2006 and 2007. Southwestern Bell claimed all of its intangible property was exempt from ad valorem taxation. Southwestern Bell challenged the assessment in court, and the case made it to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In 2009, the court found the ex-emption of taxes on intangible personal property only applied to those items speci# cally set forth in Article 10, Section 6A of the Oklahoma Constitution.

! e ruling in the Southwestern Bell case raised concern throughout the Oklahoma business community. ! e case opened up the opportunity to once again assess tax on intangible personal property.

To address this issue, the legislature passed SJR 61 in 2010, which temporarily es-tablished the business activity tax (BAT). ! e BAT was created to act in lieu of all state

(See Business Activity Tax, page 4)

Oklahoma Farm Bureau2501 N. StilesOklahoma City, OK 73105-3126

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STAFF DIRECTORY

Published by Oklahoma Farm BureauPostmaster: Send address corrections to:

Perspective, P.O. B. 53332, OKC, OK 73152-3332

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Published by Oklahoma Farm BureauPostmaster: Send address corrections to:

Perspective, P.O. B. 53332, OKC, OK 73152-3332

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DOL wants changes to youth labor rule

OFB remembers Taylor family sonsAfter recently remembering James C.

“Jim” Taylor, Oklahoma Farm Bureau also send its condolences to the family of J. Joseph “Joe” Taylor. Both are sons of OFB’s # rst president, John I. Taylor.

Joe Taylor of Elk City passed away April 15. He was 83.

Taylor worked as a rancher in the Saddle Mountain area until his retirement in 1994. Both he and his brother, Jim, carried on the family tradition of supporting Okla-homa Farm Bureau and serving as lifetime members.

Taylor was a 1951 graduate of Okla-

homa A&M (Oklahoma State University) and, throughout his life, also was a member of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and the Saddle Mountain Round Up Club, which originated on his ranch.

He is survived by his wife, Margaret, and their four children along with many grand-children. ! e family requests memorial contributions be made to Oklahoma State University at 201 Conoco Phillips Alumni Center, c/o Oklahoma State University Foundation, P.O. Box 1749, Stillwater, OK 74074.

(Business Activity Tax, from page 3)

and local ad valorem taxes on intangible personal property. Simply put, the BAT established a $25 annual $ at tax on persons doing business in Oklahoma, so the BAT is paid instead of assessing taxes on intangible personal property. ! ere are other provi-sions of the BAT, including provisions deal-ing with tax credits and franchise taxes that should be discussed with a tax professional. ! e BAT will expire on Dec. 31, 2012.

When SJR 61was enacted, it established a task force to analyze the BAT. ! e task force will report their recommendations to the legislature in January 2012. At that time, the legislature will determine whether to permanently adopt the BAT or amend the Oklahoma Constitution to exclude all intangible personal property tax.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is working closely with other groups to explore the possibility of a constitutional amendment.

For more information on SJR 61, contact the OFB Public Policy Division at (405) 530-2681.

! e Department of Labor is proposing requirements for farm and ranch employers that would place restrictions on youth labor.

Farm Bureau is concerned that the proposed rule would increase legal liabilities to farm families and force them to change the way they plant, harvest, handle livestock and work on the farm every day. Contact OFB Public Policy for information on submitting comments to the DOL. ! e comment submission deadline is Nov. 1.