Latest news with #OklahomaDepartmentofAgriculture
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fire in Sequoyah County burns more than 1,000 acres, less that half contained
SEQUOYAH COUNTY, Okla. (KNWA/KFTA) — More than 1,000 acres of land have burned in eastern Oklahoma due to fires, according to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry. The department said in a report on Wednesday that 1,151 acres in Sequoyah County have burned from the Salt Creek Fire. Officials say the fire is just 40% contained as of Wednesday morning. Burn bans have been issued for counties surrounding Sequoyah County, including Delaware, Cherokee, Adair and Haskell. However, Sequoyah County is not under a burn ban. Fires have also been reported in Pushmataha, Haskell, Latimer and McCurtain counties. An interactive map from the Fire Information for Resource Management System showed fires on Tuesday afternoon north of Belfonte in northeast Sequoyah County. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Influential factory farm industry presents a massive challenge to safety of Oklahomans, animals
Chickens are pictured at an industrial farm. (Photo via Getty Images) Our food system is increasingly dominated by intensive animal agriculture known as factory farms, which are designed to produce as much meat as possible, cheaply and quickly. Nearly all animals farmed in the United States — as many as 99 percent by some estimates — are raised on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, known as CAFOs or factory farms. Each of these farms may hold tens or even hundreds of thousands of animals crammed into wire cages, metal crates, or other extremely restrictive enclosures inside windowless sheds The existence of animal factories presents a significant threat to public health. Animals' feed has traditionally relied on antibiotics, arsenic, hormones and additives. Animals are given vaccines to accelerate animal growth rates and prevent them from getting sick while housed by the thousands in cramped conditions ripe for disease. The overuse of these pharmaceuticals greatly compromises community health. Over 80% of antibiotics used in the U.S. are purchased by the agricultural industry, and their consistent use in livestock selects for antibiotic-resistant superbugs that are infecting humans at an alarming rate. The corporatized approach to our food system has resulted in its domination of all aspects of production and sales, yet operators are often granted protections to escape responsibility for the damages they cause. Despite a heavy environmental impact, industrial animal agriculture is largely exempted from federal and state air and water pollution regulations that apply to other major industries. Last year, the Oklahoma Legislature created a new law, Senate Bill 1424, that forbids property owners in the Illinois River Watershed whose lands and surface waterways have been polluted by runoff from poultry litter from pursuing legal action against contracted poultry growers unless an enforcement action has been taken by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry. The law also provides legal immunity to poultry corporations. This calls to mind Oklahoma's Right-to-Farm law, first passed in 1980, that centers on protecting certain agricultural activities on farmland and ranchland from nuisance suits when they impact neighboring property, for example through noise or pollution. Defendants recover costs and fees when nuisance suits are deemed frivolous. This and similar language may have a chilling effect on the filing of nuisance suits in favor of industrial operators. Factory farms carry strict regulations for setbacks from homes and bodies of water, along with a requirement to notify neighbors before construction. But Oklahoma has allowed numerous large poultry farms to avoid registration as CAFOs. As long as the farm doesn't store its litter on site, it can register as a poultry feeding operation. In 2013, the EPA granted Oklahoma authority over factory farm permitting. One year after taking over that registration process, the state reported a 91% decline in the number of factory farms. Perhaps not surprisingly over the past decade, most poultry farms have been registered under the less restrictive poultry feeding operation, while the number of birds licensed to be raised in Oklahoma at any given time doubled. Matthew Alison with the Indian Environmental Law Group represented a group of landowners along one of the state's last 'pristine' category Ozark streams. He sued the state Department of Agriculture after it allowed several 'mega-farms' to be built within the watershed starting in 2018. In July 2024, a Delaware County District Court judge ruled against the state Department of Agriculture and noted that the state's classification of the large poultry houses was in error. In addition, the rearing of farmed animals today, in order to maximize production and minimize costs, inevitably leads to inhumane practices. Oklahoma's animal cruelty statutes do not apply to farm animals as evidenced by two routine factory farming methods — housing creatures in too small enclosures and animal management practices that can include mutilation without pain relief. To date, Oklahoma has not outlawed the use of gestation crates, a 7-foot-by-2-foot cage that is used to house female pigs during pregnancy. It is so restrictive that pigs can't lie down without their limbs intruding into another's cage. If legislators need an example of how to promote more humane farming practices, they could look to California's Proposition 12, which bans the sale of products from farms that inhumanely confine animals. Under Proposition 12, all farm animals must live in areas that allow them to lie down, fully extend their limbs, stand up, and turn around. The United States Supreme Court has taken the side of animals and California's voters and upheld Proposition 12. As lawmakers ponder more industry-friendly policies, let's hope that they remember that human health is tied directly to our food sources. Our food chain starts with how we treat the animals we eat. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nominations sought for Agriculture Award, says Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Forestry
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry is taking nominations for Governor Stitt's Outstanding Achievement in Agriculture Award. The award is considered the highest award given by the Governor to honor distinguished Oklahoma agriculture contributors. The Agriculture award highlights leaders in the agriculture industry who have showcased personal values, performance and achievement. The winner selected can expect to be inducted into the Oklahoma Agriculture Hall of Fame and be placed among other prestigious distinguished Oklahoma agriculture producers, saysDepartment of Agriculture officials. City of Ada reports damage after severe storms DETAILS: Nominations accepted until Saturday, March 8 The inductee will be honored with a recognition ceremony during Oklahoma Ag Day at the State Capitol on April 22, 2025. Click the nomination application here. Last year inductee, Terry Stuart Forst, a fifth-generation Oklahoman operates the state's oldest ranch became the 27th inductee additionally becoming the first female to earn the state's most prestigious agricultural honor, says Dept. of Agriculture officials. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spay and Neuter Grant Program bill moves forward at Capitol
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KFOR) – Oklahoma Representative Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, had his first pet protection bill narrowly move forward in a House committee Tuesday. Lawmakers voted to push through the Oklahoma Spay and Neuter Grant Program by a vote of 6-4. It would help animal shelters and pet rescues cover the cost to spay and neuter the overwhelming pet population in the state. 'We would award competitive grants to municipalities and nonprofit organizations to help those in most need out in rural Oklahoma, those with in low-income areas,' said Dollens. 'We would help make that spay and neutering process more affordable.' The bill states that it would start as a pilot program and it would be administered by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture. Dollens said the initial projected cost would be around $250,000, pulled from the 25-26 budget expenditures.'Every dollar that we invest in spend neutering, we're going to save 3 to $5 on the back end,' said Dollens. The bill did receive some pushback from lawmakers in committee. 'If this does in fact save so much money, it's such a good bang for the buck, why aren't the municipalities and the counties already doing this?' said Rep. Rob Hall, R-Tulsa. Dollens responded by saying there were investments at the municipal level, but it simply was 'not enough funding to address the overpopulation problem that exists' in the state. On top of the pet population crisis, the bill would aim to reduce euthanasia and improve public safety. 'You have animal welfare organizations and small town pet welfare programs that help save these animals. But they are bootstrapped with their budgets,' said Dollens. The average cost to spay a dog or cat is between $250 to $500.'I don't think people realize it just takes two cats to make 100 cats in six months,' said Dalynda Evans, owner of Lupa Legacy Animal Rescue in Noble. KFOR asked Evans how much of her own money she has used to cover spay and neuter costs for animals within her organization.'I'm not going to answer that question because my parents would kill me,' said Evans. She said the euthanasia rate in Oklahoma was staggering and if the bill became law it would 'drastically impact' those numbers. The measure will now move forward to the full House for consideration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
