By State Rep. Lundy Kiger
I totally agree that personal property rights in Oklahoma are the most important rights of all for landowners in our state. But when it comes to someone causing problems across the fence from you and affecting your land, it’s likely you will complain and they will become offended. As landowners we each think we have the right to do whatever we want to do on our own land, no matter what!
I think each of us would agree that we can do just about whatever we want on our own property. But if what we do causes a problem with our neighbor or neighbors and affects their home, family or quality of life, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if there isn’t some pushback to follow.
Pushback is what we’re seeing in Cameron, and it’s totally unnecessary that these people are having to fight this fight when with a little cooperation from adjacent landowners and their integrator, just about all of this could be avoided.
In Oklahoma, most of us are very strong supporters of all agriculture, and agriculture people are so important to so many families and jobs in SE Oklahoma. Like many Oklahomans, growing up I spent time on the farm at my great grandparents’ place near Spiro feeding the calves and chickens, gathering eggs, plowing, picking green beans and squash, brush hogging and picking up tote sacks at nearby stores that we repaired and sold back to the larger growers to reuse for potatoes and other farm products.
In LeFlore County, we live, work, play and worship with many families who are small family poultry farmers. Most of those who we know grow chickens for OK Foods, and many have done so in raising their families for decades. But today, we’re seeing a different poultry farmer with little to no experience, millions of dollars in cash, and we’re seeing changes in the integrator that’s giving many of us concerns and fears of affecting adjoining properties and the lives of many non-farm families in our county. These non-farm families have rights too!
I have stated it publicly, and most would agree that news of a new poultry farm locating in our county is great news that creates new jobs, revenues and helps to keep those in related businesses working. We love it!
But over the past year or more we’re starting to see changes being mandated to our current and longtime growers that will affect these small family farm businesses and will likely put many of them out of business or into bankruptcy. This by itself is terrible and I make no apologies for fighting for each of these families to survive.
As an integrator the company has every right to mandate new changes to improve the product in meeting new standards or federal mandates. But new retrofit requirements on a longtime grower who is looking to retire in the next five years just can’t make this large investment and survive.
For those farmers close to retirement but needing more time after the retrofit date arrives, you would think a company would take this into consideration and try to work with those farmers who have worked hard for the integrator for so many years.
The old OK Foods and their founder would have done just that because he understood the importance of the farmer to the company’s bottom line! Today, it seems like the dollar is king and the small family farmer is now getting in the way of the future.
The other problem to make the situation even worse is the new larger poultry barns that are being developed and striking fear into many of our current growers. Most of our current farmers when you talk to them thinks these new farms will likely push many of our small family farmers out the door and out of business.
OK Foods makes a good argument against this not being the case. But if you talk privately to farmers they will tell you that company field officials have said this out loud and this is quickly becoming the reality for many.
There are over 114 of the newer larger industrial-sized poultry barns being developed in the LeFlore County area. We want every one of them to be in our area operational and helping to create new jobs and revenues. This alone will help to make OK Foods a stronger company financially and keep over 700 people working at the processing and affiliated plants creating over $20M annually in wages.
But a fight is coming soon not just from the people of Cameron, but from others who have their own concerns and struggles financially with the company.
To the company, I want to say that most of this can all be avoided. I’m asking OK Foods to reconsider some of their recent location and farm size decisions in the Cameron area and begin working with us.
Ok Foods, we want you here. You were once a greater company because you knew and valued the importance of the small family farmer. You made social responsibility and being the best corporate neighbor possible the foundation of your company’s structure.
As a county, we want to work with you and support you however we can in helping you to become one of the most profitable companies in the region. We want you to be better than OK, we want you to be the best of the best in your industry. But before it’s too late, let’s find common ground with the hundreds of people who work and produce product for you and the neighbors who live close to you, and let’s avoid these unnecessary fights and find ways of working together for the good of everyone!
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