7 5
Purpose
y e a r s
A start with a
o f
O k l a h o m a
F a r m
B u r e a u
Oklahoma Farm Bureau is celebrating 75 years of serving our members and our state. In this first installment in a series looking back through OKFB history, we examine the earliest years of our organization.
O
klahoma Farm Bureau celebrated our storied organization at our 2016 convention with the statement, “Bold Innovators with the Wisdom to See Beyond Tomorrow.� This statement could never be more fitting than this year as we commemorate 75 years as Oklahoma Farm Bureau. The dream of a grassroots-led organization serving farmers and ranchers can actually trace its roots back as early as 1919 when two Oklahomans came together to form the Oklahoma State Farm Council, which actually served as a catalyst and foundation for the early formation of the American Farm Bureau. A little over two decades later, the dream became reality when seven men
were elected to serve on the first Oklahoma Farm Bureau Board of Directors. A formidable task for seven individuals to represent our entire state, these men tirelessly traveled to farms across the state to gain members for the fledgling organization. Now 75 years later, our organization boast a membership of more than 95,000 Oklahomans of which 26,000 family farmers and ranchers are represented. The dream of serving an organization that educates and protects agriculture is never more vital than it is today. In our next three issues of Oklahoma Country, we will continue to celebrate and share stories of our humble beginnings which drive us today to carry the banner for farmers and ranchers across the state.
1938 | Unofficial trip to AFBF Clarence Roberts leads a delegation of observers to the American Farm Bureau convention with hopes of planting the seeds of inspiration to create an Oklahoma Farm Bureau.
1938
1939
1940 | One Farmer Feeds About 19 People
1940
1941
1941 | First offices for organization Sept. 1, 1939 | Start of World War II
An organizing committee rents their first office in the Oklahoma City Livestock Exchange Building, later to become the first Oklahoma Farm Bureau office. Rent was $25 per month.