23-04-2025
Some Oklahoma farmers rely on wind power to survive. A new bill could stop that.
The year is 1974. John Denver is 'taking you home' from the dealership after purchasing your brand-new Gleaner Combine for just over $20,000. The wheat is golden, ready to be cut, and priced at a lucrative $4.83 per bushel.
Fast forward to 2025. Your son has taken over the operations, and your grandkids are running a grain cart next to the combine. Yet, a new combine today costs anywhere from $400,000 to over $1 million.
The land you purchased in the 1970s for less than $500/acre is now well above $3,000/acre, with interest at 8%.
What hasn't changed? Your wheat still sells an agonizing $4.83 per bushel, close to what it did over 50 years ago.
Family farms have long been at the heart of Oklahoma's culture and economy. Sadly, the USDA's Census of Agriculture reports an alarming decline in farms across the country, with 141,733 fewer farms reported in 2022 than just five years earlier. Today, farmers make up less than 1% of the U.S. population. Unpredictable weather, low commodity prices, rising costs, and the dominance of large farm corporations are forcing more family operations out of business. This steady loss raises serious questions about food security, rural identity, and the long-term sustainability of our agricultural communities.
In a desperate attempt to uphold the family tradition, many farmers and ranchers look to a 9-to-5 job or pursue alternative means of production, with energy topping the list.
Oklahoma's rich oil and gas history is largely credited with supplementing the family farm. Now, with the rise of renewable energy, many farmers and ranchers have found new ways to utilize their land and cultivate supplemental 'crops.'
Renewable energy production has emerged as a lifeline for family farms facing economic pressures. It enables them to diversify their income sources and decrease dependence on conventional crop and livestock sales.
Many Oklahomans recognize these benefits and willingly participate in renewable energy projects, driving Oklahoma to become the third-leading wind-producing state in the nation.
Opinion: At first, I questioned the value of wind energy, but now I see its value
Yet now, Oklahoma lawmakers are proposing punitive regulations that threaten to make development nearly impossible.
HB2751 and SB2 are pathways to end wind development in our state by stripping landowners of their fundamental property rights. In both bills, adjacent property owners have the ability to restrict their neighbors from utilizing their land for wind development if they oppose such projects. These regulations would set the legal precedent to further infringe on private property rights, dictating what, where, when, and how landowners use their land. What farming practices will be on the chopping block next?
Regardless of an individual's desire for wind development, private property rights begin and end at the fence line. These rights are fundamental to civil society and play a vital role in maintaining peace, order, and mutual respect among neighbors while giving landowners the freedom to support their families, traditions, and livelihoods.
A vote in favor of either of these bills is a vote against the prosperity and future of rural Oklahoma families.
Destinee and Brady Weeks live in northwest Oklahoma, where her family has farmed for over a century.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OK farmers would lose rights if anti-wind power bills pass | Opinion
