Running Head- PROTECTING OKLAHOMAS HERITAGE

Protecting Oklahomas Heritage

Research Paper
Kylie Sellers
AGCM 3203
Avery Culbertson/ Hanna Holsapple
November 9, 2015

Protecting Oklahomas Heritage

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Agriculture is an important part of our everyday lives. Agriculture is involved in the food
a person consumes everyday, the roof that covers our heads, and the clothes that we wear on our
back. Agriculture has become so advanced over the past generations. Examples of
advancements. With all of these advancements in technology come with a price, unfortunately.
There are many organizations such as Humane Societies of the United States (HSUS), or People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), are constantly attacking farmers and ranchers for
different practices that they partake in. The general public, especially in more populated areas,
are generally not properly informed of the practices farmers and ranchers use to produce the
different products we as consumers use in our day to day lives.
State question 777, also known as the farm bill in Oklahoma, is the piece of legislation
that many believe will help protect Oklahoma farmers and ranchers to be able to continue
producing these products for our cities, state, and nation without outside compelling forces
getting in the way and revoking farmers and ranchers their right to continue to advance
agricultural technology. Throughout this semester, I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to
educate myself, and my fellow peers on the basic understanding of what this bill has to offer. I
have been able to learn what exactly this bill is, who it affects, and why it is important. I have
also been able to communicate with my fellow peers why it is important to vote for this bill,
some different documents that give us these rights, why it is important to vote, in general, and
why it is important to be an informed voter. Throughout the semester, I hope that I was able to
use my best speaking abilities to communicate to my fellow peers how important all of these
different aspects are, and I hope I was able to leave my fellow peers with the knowledge and
comfort they need to be able to vote in favor of this bill in the upcoming elections in November
of 2016.

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What is state question 777?

So first of all, what is state question 777? This legislation summary entails that this is a
Farming and ranching piece of legislation- Guaranteeing the the right to engage in certain
farming and ranching practices. ((n.D.)2, 2015) Several bills have been passed like this in
different states, and many have been discussed, but not passed into law. States that have passed
bills similar to this include North Dakota and Missouri. (Oklahoma, 2015)
This bill has been in the making, and been readjusted several times. Representative Scott
Biggs, and Senator Jason Smalley are the two masterminds behind this bill. This was the first
piece of legislation that Scott Biggs passed, soon after taking office. (Oklahoma, 2015) After
several attempts, they were able to put their heads together and create a solid piece of legislation
that would look both appealing to the House and the Senate. This took several attempts because
the House and the Senate could not agree on certain aspects that the bill contained. The
Oklahoma House of Representatives recently approved the Senate amendments by a vote of 85
to 7. The Senate amended and passed the resolution on April 21st with a vote of 39 to 6.
(Oklahoma, 2015)
This is a bill that, if passed into law, will allow farmers and ranchers to safely keep
farming and ranching, and allowing them to invest more time and money into making
technological advances in agriculture so that we will be able to work towards feeding a growing
population that is expected to grow to a total of nine billion people nation wide. "The pure intent
of this bill is to protect farming and ranching in Oklahoma for our future generations," Biggs
said. "You know this is about, in November 2016 - a chance for Oklahomans to help
Oklahomans ensure we have an adequate supply of safe and affordable food in Oklahoma."
(Oklahoma, 2015)

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Throughout my time as an FFA member in high school, Scott Biggs was an avid
supporter of my FFA chapter. He was at every event we held, no matter how big, or how small.
His focus is on the future of our nation, and the future of our state. It is easy to see his passion for
making sure that the upcoming generations of agriculturalists. This piece of legislation just puts
his passion for helping upcoming generations in black and white.
Who does this bill affect?
Who does this bill affect? How might this bill impact me? These are all important
questions to consider when considering whether a person would want to vote in favor of the bill
or not. So, restating the first question: who does this bill affect?
Anyone that has access to agriculture is affected by this bill. The cereal we ate this
morning, the outfit we chose to wear to school or work, and the electricity and running water we
had access to to help us to get ready to tackle our daily tasks. These things, as little and
unimportant as they may seem, are all a part of agriculture. The paper we use in class, the pencils
we use to jot down every last note our professors tell us could be on an upcoming exam, these
are all things that influence our day to day lives, and most importantly, are a part of agriculture.
Of course, we can see easily how these are related to agriculture, but how are they related to each
and every one of us? Without certain farming and ranching practices, and the farmers and
ranchers themselves, we would not have access to many of the luxuries we take for granted in
our everyday life.
Not only should we be concerned about just farming in general, we should be concerned
about these farmers and ranchers having the abilities to advance technologically within their
field, and the agriculture industry as a whole. Without a constitutional backbone, farmers and
ranchers might be scared to put more time and money into technological advances with the fear

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that these practices could be taken away from them any minute. So when you really think about
this, farmers and ranchers are a key part of making sure we are continuing to advance and work
on supplying the essentials of life to a rapidly growing population with things such as food,
water, and shelter.
Why is this bill so important?
The agricultural industry is a multi million dollar industry in the state of Oklahoma alone.
The agriculture industry is a multi billion dollar industry in the United States of America as a
whole. With so much economic standing on an industry this diverse, destroying some different
components of this industry could be detrimental to not only our food supply, but also our
economic standing. With such a heavy emphasis on that phrase alone, think about it. Does it
really make sense to try and destroy a significant part of this multi million dollar industry by
listening to one false accusation that is thrown at a certain agricultural field or organization by a
particular individual or organization that just simply has the lack of knowledge as to what we are
really doing and what we stand for as agriculturalists?
As discussed earlier, we know that this bill took several attempts to make it a solid and
reliable document that was favored by both the House and the Senate. So what makes this one
the best offered out of all of those attempts? Similar "Right to Farm" bills have been passed in
North Dakota and Missouri. Biggs said the proposed constitutional amendment for Oklahoma
offer two aspects that the other two bills do not have. He said it has a safeguard so if a law needs
to be passed and if there is a compelling state interest, lawmakers have that option. Secondly, the
bill grand fathered a lot of existing statutes from December 31, 2014 and prior. Biggs said the
grandfathering clause puts all those in place, so we can begin to move forward in protecting
agriculture. (Oklahoma, 2015)

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Why is this so important that it must become a part of our states constitution? This gives
us the constitutional backbone to allow us to keep participating in our farming and ranching
practices without any negative influence from outside sources, and saves us from compelling
outside forces.
Documents that Give Us These Rights
This country was founded on religious freedom. This country was built so that it no
longer had to take ruling from Great Britain, and so they were allowed to become their own
independent nation. Some documents that allow us to have these freedoms are documents like
the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. The Declaration of
Independence was a signed document that declared of freedom from Great Britain and allowed
us to become the free world we are today. The United States Constitution was a document that
has set up the basic governmental backbone for running our country for centuries. In this
Constitution is a Bill of Rights, also known as the first Ten Amendments, and several
amendments that follow that. Stated in this Constitution is a general idea of the basic rights we
have as citizens of the United States. The fifteenth amendment gave every man the right to vote,
no matter what race, color or degree of servitude. the nineteenth amendment then gave women
the right to vote. It states that a person can not be denied the right to vote because of their gender.
So because of these rights that were granted to us, and the people that fought hard to give us the
freedoms that we do today, why would we not take full advantage of our rights as citizens?
The Right to Vote
As American citizens, we are given the right to partake in each election that will have an
impact on our lives, whether that be on a local, state, or national level. Different things that we
might vote on in each general elections could be electing new government officials to represent

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us on a local, state, or national level, or we might even vote on different pieces of legislation that
could be passed and that allow us to voice our opinions in what the government is trying to push
into law for our protection, or for our benefit This being said, it is so important that we vote in
each election we can, because it is our rights as american citizens. It also gives us the freedom of
speech and allows us to be comfortable with who we voted and have that be entailed in our first
amendment along with the right to assemble.
Being an Informed Voter
SO just because we turn eighteen and can vote, should we? Just because we vote on a
piece of legislation, or a government official, does our vote really count if we were not properly
informed, or did not properly educate ourselves on the candidates, or issues, at hand? It is so
important that we are informed voters when it comes time to cast our vote. IT is our duty as
American citizens to voice our opinion on different happenings in our local, state, and national
governments, but we also need to make the best decision for us. There are many resources you
can use to gain the proper knowledge you need prior to the next upcoming election.
Www.ok.gov/elections is a great plave to find upcomign elections near each and every person in
the state of Oklahoma, You can also enter your information and it will hive you your voting
registration status, your voiting place, and different elections that you have participated in. This
site is a great resource to find out about upcoming candidates running for each particular office
that will be determined in upcoming elections. This is also a great site to read up on different
local issues, state questions, and national pieces of legislation that are looking to be voted into
law. You can read up on these prior to voting so you have a better understanding of what you are
voting for come time to vote in these upcoming elections.

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It is so important to become an informed voter, because you are partaking in a nationwide

poll to change a particular way our government is run, so why would you not want to have an
educated say when it comes to making that incredibly difficult decision? We are granted these
rights so we should take full advantage of them while we have the opportunity.
Some different excuses I know many people have for voting might be lack of time, or the
fact that they do not currently live near there registered voting site. Absentee ballots help to
resolve these issues, and are worth looking into. Absentee ballots are basically a take home ballot
that you can fill out in the comfort of your own home. Of course, with this convenience comes a
few guidelines.