OKAgPolicy Today is a morning email containing the day’s top agriculture and policy headlines. The inclusion of a particular story does not equal an endorsement. Subscribe to the email here.
TOP HEADLINES
‘Right to farm’ supporters push question:
Buchanan, speaking for the coalition, said it’s an unusual situation with so many agricultural groups agreeing to “push the wagon the same way.” The protections that would be a part of the Oklahoma Constitution if the initiative passes, he said, would help ensure that Oklahoma family farmers can continue to use technological advances to keep producing their products economically to meet the needs of a growing population. Consumers, he said, will be the ultimate winners [Lawton Constitution].
OKC Council considers position on SQ 777:
Council members stopped short of taking a formal position against State Question 777 Tuesday on advice from the city attorney that it could be misconstrued as campaigning [Journal Record].
STATE
Educate Oklahoma: School consolidations:
Right now, there are more than 500 school districts in the state and many Oklahomans think that number is too high. In a recent News 9 poll, 68 percent of likely voters supported the idea of consolidating the administrations of school districts, so long as public schools do not close [News9].
Sometimes, Oklahoma schools’ problems can be self-inflicted:
This may be an extreme example, and many school districts in the state are hurting. But questionable financial management is not unique. No amount of increased state funding can overcome bad management [The Oklahoman].
Report: Oklahoma school districts would share $370M for teacher salaries through penny tax:
In all, school districts would share about $427 million, with about $369 million going to salaries and $54 million going to student achievement initiatives such as grade-level reading, college-career readiness or improving high school graduation rates [NewsOK].
Oklahoma AG is intentionally stalling marijuana petition, proponents say:
State leaders don’t want the possibility of medical marijuana on the ballot and are intentionally stalling the process, proponents of the measure claim [Fox 25].
FEDERAL
Let Pinellas use GMO mosquito to fight Zika (editorial):
Let them fly. A bipartisan group of influential elected officials in Pinellas County is asking the Obama administration to allow the use of genetically modified mosquitoes in the county to fight the Zika virus. There is no reason to wait, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should authorize their use as another means of curbing the spread of the virus while Congress fiddles [Tampa Bay Times].
CoBank: Steepest drop in farm income since Great Depression:
Brace yourself. According to a new study from CoBank, the drop in farm income over the past three farming seasons has been the biggest plunge since the Great Depression [AgWeb].
