More Than You Think Oklahoma Farm Bureau Journal 7.375"X9.75" Life Insurance More IRAs Annuities than Mutual Funds you College Funding Retirement Funding SM think. Business Succession Estate Preservation Insurance Review Financial Needs Analysis Mutual funds are subject to market risk and possible loss of principal. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest or pay money. Securities & services offered through EquiTrust Marketing Services, LLC*+ 5400 University Ave. West Des Moines, IA 50266, 877/860-2904 Life insurance and annuity products offered through Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company,* West Des Moines, IA • Property-casualty products offered through Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company,+ Oklahoma City, OK *Affiliated +Not affiliated © FBL 2003 013 Oklahoma Country Contents Features 6 6 – Spiro to Seattle It’s about 2,000 miles from the southeastern Oklahoma town of Spiro to the Pacific Northwest hub of Seattle, Washington. But Ryan Franklin’s journey from his LeFlore County home in the quiet community of 2,300 to the rainy northwest’s largest city of more than 560,000 took about nine years and thousands upon thousands of miles. BY MIKE NICHOLS 12 12 – The Power of Wind Greg Adams has been interested in wind energy potential since he was a little boy hanging on to a barbed wire fence to keep the wind from sweeping him off a hill in northwest Oklahoma. He’s now looking at wind differently as new opportunities emerge to harvest one of the state’s biggest resources. BY TRACI MORGAN Cover Image Columns Departments Oklahoma Farm Bureau member 2 – Presidentially Speaking 5 – Country Kitchen Ryan Franklin is on 4 – Country Gardening 18 – All Around Oklahoma the mound for the 17 – Insurance Matters 24 – Convention Roundup Seattle Mariners. 34 – Country Classifieds Photo courtesy of Ben VanHouten of the Seattle Mariners. nee meembbeerr ffaamiillyy’’ss Okkllaahoomaa Faarrm ffaamiillyy musstt ffiindd iittss hiiddddeen meembbeerrsshiipp yyoourr OFB meembbeerrsshiipp ccaarrdd ffoorr yyoou ttoo OBurreeaau meembbeerrsshiipp numbbeerr iiss hiiddddeen numbbeerr aandd ccoonttaacctt Miikkee Niicchoollss bbeeffoorree ccllaaiim tthee ccaassh pprriizzee.. 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Oklahoma Country • Winter 2004 • 1 PresidentiallySpeaking Winter 2004 Y TEVE OUPLEN B S K Volume 56 No. 1 President, Oklahoma Country Oklahoma Farm Bureau (ISSN 1544-6476) Published four times per year in April, July, October and January by Oklahoma Farm Bureau, 2501 N. Stiles, Oklahoma City, OK 73105-3126, inter has been another challenge; holidays and New Years Telephone 405-523-2300. Periodicals postage paid at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, are a recent memory; and if you’re like me you’ve already and Additional Mailing Offices. W broken all your resolutions for the New Year. So, we’re off Postmaster: Send address corrections to: to the beginning of 2004 with basically the normal OKLAHOMA COUNTRY, P.O.B. 53332, Oklahoma City, OK opportunities and challenges that face us every New Year. 73152-3332. Oklahoma Farm Bureau, being the largest organization in Oklahoma with more than 156,000 members, begins each year with EDITORIAL TEAM Sam Knipp priority issues that are voted on and approved by delegates at our Director of Corporate Communications/ annual meeting every November. These issues are ones that either Public Relations have been directed to be priority issues, or have been chosen by the Mike Nichols state board of directors from resolutions passed at our convention. OKLAHOMA COUNTRY Editor and Senior Writer Traci Morgan Unlike the resolutions I made on New Year’s Day, Farm Bureau PERSPECTIVE and Online News Editor doesn’t break its resolutions. We work to ensure our policy book is our road map which we follow until our members change our destination. DIRECT YOUR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES TO This distinction is one we are extremely proud of because it OKLAHOMA COUNTRY guarantees our policy comes from our grassroots members in every Attn: Mike Nichols 2501 N. Stiles county in our state. Oklahoma City, OK 73105 Because our state – like every other state in the union – is facing 405-523-2300, Ext. 2345 very tight budget issues, we know that we must be ever diligent in working with our elected officials to find solutions without enacting ADVERTISING POLICY additional burdensome taxes or fees on our members and citizens of All advertising is subject to publisher’s approval. our state. Recent data does show that our economy is showing signs of Advertisers assume all liability for content of their advertising. Publisher maintains right to rebounding and hopefully those trends will continue to improve and cancel advertising. Publisher does not guarantee strengthen into our new year. advertiser service or products, and assumes no Our agricultural economy, too, has shown steady improvement in liability for products or services advertised in some areas, but as usual, our producers face issues of weather, input OKLAHOMA COUNTRY. costs, and uncertain trade concerns with our biggest importers. As a state that exports as much as two-thirds of the commodities we TO SUBSCRIBE produce, we must continue to work to add value to those products in OKLAHOMA COUNTRY subscription rate is $1 per year for members as part of the dues, our state and export them as higher valued items. This will not only $15 for non-members. help our state, but will help to add jobs in rural Oklahoma where we are seeing a slow, but steady, exodus to the urban areas of our state. WEB SITE Nationally we must work in D.C. to achieve the passage of an www.okfarmbureau.org energy bill that will include a renewable energy component. Renewables such as ethanol, bio-fuels, wind generation of electricity, OKLAHOMA FARM BUREAU DIRECTORS and soy-diesel cannot only reduce our dependence on foreign sources Steve Kouplen, President Ervin Mitchell, District 1 of energy, but also can help improve and strengthen our rural Merle Atkins, District 2 agricultural economy. Henry Jo VonTungeln, District 3 As you can see some things never change even if it is a new year. Bob Drake, District 4 There is no shortage of challenges or issues of concern, but as usual Larry Boggs, District 5 your staff and board will work to ensure that our policies are worked Wade Rousselot, District 6 on until they are achieved. Scott Dvorak, District 7 Billy Gibson, District 8 Have a wonderful new year and if your staff or I can be of any Mike Spradling, District 9 assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us. Matt Wilson, Executive Director 2 • Oklahoma Country • Winter 2004 Weight Loss Solutions… Cut Through the Confusion and Find What’s Right for You! 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