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 didn’t pass voters’ smell test:
The vote highlights long-standing rifts between Oklahoma’s urban and rural voters, and between east and west. Tulsa County voted 72 percent against SQ 777; Oklahoma and Cleveland counties were right behind. Western Oklahoma, where drinking water comes mostly from wells drilled deep into aquifers, voted for it. Eastern Oklahoma, where water comes mostly from rivers and reservoirs and much of the economy relies on fishing and boating, was opposed [Tulsa World].
State Question 777 divided state along geographic lines:
County-by-county results show the measure had strong support in western Oklahoma, a stronghold for cattle ranching and pork production. However, large portions of eastern Oklahoma and urban areas voted State Question 777 down [The Oklahoman].
Massachusetts voters say no to tight quarters for hens, pigs and calves:
A ballot measure approved overwhelmingly by Massachusetts voters Tuesday will lead to more spacious cages for a few thousand hens in the state. But it could have far-reaching effects on farms and the living quarters of chickens, pigs and calves across the nation [Washington Post].
FEDERAL
Oklahoma lawmakers expect Obamacare repeal, military build-up, conservative Supreme Court justice:
Oklahoma lawmakers said Wednesday that Republican control of the White House and Congress next year should mean the repeal of Obamacare, a new conservative on the Supreme Court and more money for the military [The Oklahoman].
Republicans in Congress plan swift action on agenda with Donald Trump:
Congressional Republicans, stunned by their own good, if complicated, fortune, said on Wednesday that they would move quickly next year on an agenda that merges with President-elect Donald J. Trump’s, repealing the Affordable Care Act, cutting taxes, confirming conservative judges, shrinking government programs and rolling back regulations [New York Times].
Donald Trump win raises farm belt trade questions:
But the election of Mr. Trump, whose campaign was rooted in populism and blistering critiques of U.S. trade deals, injects new uncertainty into agricultural trade that underpins much of the domestic farm sector [Wall Street Journal].
Trump bodes well for farms and coal mines; trade deals in peril:
Donald Trump has promised to reverse Obama administration clean air and water initiatives that coal miners and farmers criticize as job-destroyers. Trump also plans to kill the controversial Pacific trade pact and pursue a pugilistic trade relationship with China [Chicago Tribune].
STATE
Three OKFB candidates elected to State Senate:
Roland Pederson, longtime OKFB member and former state board member, Lonnie Paxton, Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company agent, and Chris Kidd, OKFB vice president of membership and organization, each overwhelmingly won their respective races [Oklahoma Farm Bureau].
Backers of failed education tax vow to press on at Capitol:
With the defeat of State Question 779, which proposed to raise the state sales tax by one cent for education, some supporters say their voices will be even louder at the Capitol next year [Oklahoma Watch].
A redder, and greener, legislature faces steep challenges:
The 56th Legislature will convene next year with lawmakers facing similar problems they grappled with in the previous session [Oklahoma Watch].
Oklahoma voter turnout surpasses 2012:
A total of 1,451,056 Oklahomans voted for president Tuesday, which represented about 67.3 percent of the state’s 2,157,450 registered voters [NewsOK].
