Okfbsu04 1thru10

SUMMER 2004

THE MAGAZINE OF THE OKLAHOMA FARM BUREAU

INSIDE:

The Canine Cowboy Cherished Memories Farm Bureau’s Marathon Woman Traveling The Globe

Oklahoma Country

Contents

Features 8 – The Canine Cowboy

8

Al dances around and wags his entire body in eager anticipation of tomorrow’s chores on Walter and Verna Bell Parker’s Highland Ranch in Rogers County.

BY MIKE NICHOLS

14 – Cherished Memories Many of the tangible mementos from her service as an Army nurse in World War II are gone, but time hasn’t eroded her most precious keepsake.

14

18

BY MIKE NICHOLS

18 – Farm Bureau’s ‘Marathon Woman’ Woodward District Claims adjuster Tracy Evans outran and outlasted all the women runners to capture the gold in the grueling 26-mile Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon

20

BY MIKE NICHOLS

20 – Traveling the Globe Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Steve Kouplen has been traveling the globe in hopes of improving international trade.

BY SAM KNIPP Cover Image

Columns

Departments

2 – Presidentially Speaking 4 – Insurance Matters 6 – Country Gardening

22 – All Around Oklahoma 33 – Country Classifieds 36 – Country Kitchen

Find Your Hidden Number!

ne member family’s Oklahoma Farm O Bureau membership number is hidden somewhere in this issue of OKLAHOMA COUNTRY, and could earn that member family $200 since the number in the last four issues was not found.

To claim the cash prize, the member

Al is a working cowboy on Walter Parker’s ranch, but he’s also a loyal companion.

family must find its hidden membership number and contact Mike Nichols before the last day of the month Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 405-523-2300.

The OFB membership number is hidden somewhere in OKLAHOMA COUNTRY. It must match the number on

the face of your OFB membership card for you to claim the cash prize.

The membership number that appears on your magazine’s mailing label is not the hidden number, but must match the hidden number for you to claim the cash prize.

Oklahoma Country • Summer 2004 • 1

Presidentially

Speaking

BY STEVE KOUPLEN President, Oklahoma Farm Bureau

S

ummer officially has arrived bringing along energy prices, hot, dry weather and political funny season. One thing is for certain, there won’t be a dull moment!

Even though much could be discussed about these subjects I will instead tell you why we are blessed to be living in a country where all of these issues will be dealt with by us.

As a member of American Farm Bureau’s board of directors, I was fortunate to have been appointed to the AFBF Trade Advisory Committee. Even though the issue of trade is somewhat complex, basically the committee works to create a better understanding of the issues to improve opportunities for trade of our agricultural products. This year I’ve had the opportunity to travel to four different countries – China, Japan, Cuba and Mexico.

Let me begin with China. It is a communist nation of nearly 1.4 billion people that is at the center of the world economy today. Much of the increases we have seen in the price of energy, steel, lumber and agriculture products is due to the red-hot economy there – an economy that is basically cashing in on a vast, cheap labor force.

China has a real concern about its self-sufficiency of food and with the incomes of its people improving, a higher quality of food, such as more meat in their diets, is creating more demand. In Shanghai we saw first hand thousands of construction cranes creating hundreds of new buildings where the low-cost labor force is primed to produce more products to further widen our trade deficit with them – a deficit that would be much worse if not for the strong demand for our agriculture products.

In contrast, Japan is a country that acknowledges the fact it is able to produce only about 40 percent of the food it needs. Given that fact, you would think production of agricultural products and protection of agricultural land would be the main concern. Not so! Food safety and information about how the product is produced and by whom is a major concern of consumers. Japan continues to cover hundreds of acres of prime cropland with structures of all kinds and still maintains a number of tariff barriers for many imported agricultural commodities. Much work remains before Japanese markets are open to our products.

Cuba and Mexico are countries with completely different circumstances. They are our neighbors, but one is a communist country while the other is an open, developing nation.

Cuba, a country where time has stood still, has a communist government that has created a situation where our nation has chosen to embargo travel and the sale of all products except for medical and agricultural.

However, Cuba has purchased hundreds of millions of dollars worth of agricultural products from the U.S. and has been working with our state on a Memorandum of Understanding to purchase up to $10 million worth of Oklahoma agricultural commodities, mainly wheat and soybeans.

Mexico has become a strong trading partner and appears to be positioned to continue to expand. The North American Free Trade Agreement has been praised by some and condemned by others, but has created an opportunity for expanded trade with reduced barriers. Mexico’s cheap labor, much like China’s, has placed pressure on public perceptions for the need for this agreement but the vast majority of economic information concludes it has been beneficial to all participants.

For more details on my work in these countries see the story on page 20 in this issue.

Bottom line, it has been a wonderful opportunity for me to see firsthand these four countries and how we are dependent on each other for the success and growth of our individual economies and peoples. But I can tell you one thing for certain, each and every one of us should drop to our knees each night and thank God that we were born in this country! I know I do!

Have a wonderful summer and remember with all the challenges our country has, whether perceived or real, when we work together there is nothing we can’t accomplish!

“…with all the challenges our country has, whether perceived or real, when we work together there is nothing we can’t accomplish!”

2 • Oklahoma Country • Summer 2004

Summer 2004 Volume 56 No. 3 Oklahoma Country (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, Telephone 405-523-2300.

Periodicals postage paid at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Additional Mailing Offices.

Postmaster: Send address corrections to: OKLAHOMA COUNTRY, P.O.B. 53332, Oklahoma City, OK 73152-3332.

EDITORIAL TEAM Sam Knipp Director of Corporate Communications/ Public Relations Mike Nichols OKLAHOMA COUNTRY Editor and Senior Writer Traci Morgan PERSPECTIVE and Online News Editor Nicola Freeman Coordinator of Media Relations DIRECT YOUR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES TO OKLAHOMA COUNTRY Attn: Mike Nichols 2501 N. Stiles Oklahoma City, OK 73105 405-523-2300, Ext. 2345 ADVERTISING POLICY All advertising is subject to publisher’s approval.

Advertisers assume all liability for content of their advertising. Publisher maintains right to cancel advertising. Publisher does not guarantee advertiser service or products, and assumes no liability for products or services advertised in OKLAHOMA COUNTRY. TO SUBSCRIBE OKLAHOMA COUNTRY subscription rate is $1 per year for members as part of the dues, $15 for non-members.

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Insurance

Matters

BY DAVE PERKINS Vice President of Actuarial & Product Development, Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company

T

he use of credit information is a fact of life. Landlords, employers and mortgage companies all look at a person’s credit record before making decisions.

Industry use of credit score A casualty insurance company looks at many different factors in the underwriting and ratemaking process. One of these factors is a person’s insurance score. The score is comprised of various elements of a person’s credit history. Insurance scores have become a valuable and accurate predictor of loss.

These scores do not include information on ethnic group, income, religion or nationality.

The company does not collect this type of data, therefore it is not possible to match premium paid by an insured to any social or income level group.

The development of insurance scores has provided insurance companies with an objective and consistent tool – when used along with other information such as motor vehicle records and prior claims data – to make underwriting and rating decisions. For example, numerous studies have shown that people with low insurance scores tend to file more claims. Conversely, those same studies have shown that people with above average to high insurance scores tend to file fewer claims. In short, how a person manages his or her financial affairs, which is what an insurance score indicates, is a good predictor of insurance claims.

All insurance companies have to evaluate a risk when they decide who to insure and how much to charge. Both the insurance company and the policyholder benefit when the premium charged matches the likelihood of potential loss. Most people benefit from insurance scoring because most manage their debt well and have good credit. Nationwide, two-thirds of policyholders have a lower premium because of good credit.

4 • Oklahoma Country • Summer 2004

A large number of companies use insurance scores along with other rating factors to place insureds in rating tiers or levels. These levels have a discount percentage associated with them which is applied to a policyholder’s premium.

OFB and the Premier Auto Policy We have begun writing a new personal auto policy called the Premier Auto Policy. This new policy allows you to write all your vehicles on one policy, whereas under the old auto system an insured was required to have a separate policy for each vehicle. The new policy utilizes the tier rating concept that assigns a rating level to a policy based on several factors, including the insured’s insurance rating score. The insurance rating score is a credit-based score that is for you and your family.

OFBMIC does not collect or have the data to generate these scores, so we rely on Choicepoint, a risk management information provider to provide us the necessary score information.

Before we began the Premier Auto program, we contracted with Choicepoint to perform a confidential study that would take our existing business and determine if those that had high losses truly had low insurance rating scores. The results were astounding.

Policyholders with low insurance rating scores had the greatest number of losses, and those that had the higher rating scores had the least number of losses.

Most Oklahoma companies already have some type of auto rating plan that involves the use of insurance rating scores. Most companies, including OFBMIC, blend the score with a number of other rating factors to arrive at a rating tier to assign to the policy.

Keep in mind that any data that pertains to your personal information used to generate an insurance score is kept strictly confidential.

OFBMIC complies with all aspects of the Fair

Credit Reporting Act as it pertains to your credit information.

We have converted many older policies to the Premier Auto Policy. Many insureds have enjoyed some premium reduction by moving to this new policy. As an OFB member, you need to contact your agent to see if a move to this new policy would be good for you.

What if I think my credit has improved?

Oklahoma statutes govern the use of credit and insurance scores within an insurance company. OFBMIC complies with these requirements. Once every 12 months, you may request that we check your insurance score for improvement. If there is improvement, we’ll reflect it in your insurance rates.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires credit bureaus to establish reasonable procedures that assure access to up-to-date, comprehensive information. For this reason credit bureaus work to ensure they compile and deliver the most accurate data possible.

Any consumer who thinks his credit information isn’t correct has the right to contact Choicepoint or the credit bureaus supplying information to Choicepoint.

Things you need to know None of the scoring models we use through Choicepoint include any information about income, address, occupation, race, religion, national origin, sex, marital status or age.

None of these factors can be used to calculate a score.

You can improve your score by paying bills on time, maintaining low balances on credit cards and applying for and opening new credit accounts only when needed. A single missed payment usually won’t affect your score since scores are based on overall credit patterns.

Assigning points to such things as payment history, debt ratio, types of credit used, recent account openings, late payments and collections calculate your score. These point values are totaled to arrive at a score.

Our goal and commitment to you At OFBMIC, our goal is to provide you with a quality insurance product that meets your changing needs. It’s important for our service to be good so you can rely on us. We also want our insurance products to be the lowest price possible.

Our new Premier Auto Policy is one of the programs we’ve put in place to accomplish this. We will continue to design and implement new programs that take advantage of industry and computer system advancements that set us apart as your company, fulfilling your insurance needs.

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Oklahoma Country • Summer 2004 • 5

Country

Gardening

BY PAUL JOHNSON Garden Consultant

GARDENING WITH THE PLANT DETECTIVE

Fall gardens start in the summer

D

id you get your veggie garden planted this spring? Have you kept up with the watering, weeding, and bug patrol?

It’s so easy to get excited in the spring.

We look through garden catalogs all winter and visit the local garden center as soon as spring approaches. Our buying frenzy gives us tons of tomato plants and pockets full of seed packets.

We spread the compost, fire up the tiller,

6 • Oklahoma Country • Summer 2004

and prepare our garden plot. We plant knowing that every week it is going to get hotter and drier. But it is worth it for that first bite of a home-grown tomato.

But wait, be honest, for a couple of weeks you got busy and the weeds took over, or you didn’t water while on vacation, or even worse, the bugs got into the patch and you didn’t realize it until it was too late.

It isn’t too late to try again. This is the right time to start a fall garden.

There are several advantages to the fall garden. You get another round of harvest, you miss some of the common pests (squash bugs are rare in fall squash), and the weather just tends to get cooler and wetter.

One of the challenges is getting started. Transplants are the easiest way to start, but you have to find someone who grows transplants for fall gardening. We are lucky in OKC because several of the vendors at the OSU-Oklahoma City Farmers’ Market grow the right plants at the right time.

I recommend that you check your local garden center and farmers’ market because you probably won’t find

transplants in the box stores. It doesn’t hurt to ask though.

For many of you seeds will be the most accessible option. Many plants, such as corn, cucumbers, and beans, you can direct seed into the garden. You should start peppers, tomatoes, and broccoli inside and transplant into the garden.

I like to grow my own plants and you can visit www.plantdetective.com to learn more about growing transplants.

Make sure you condition your new plants to the rigors of the summer garden. Move them out to the garden a few hours a day for a week or so increasing the amount of time each day.

The main trick of the fall garden is keeping the newly seeded gardens cool and moist. I recommend that you get a timer for your irrigation system. I picked one up at a home improvement store for about $25. This battery powered timer can be set to water anywhere from once a week to three times a day. A soaker hose and a timer will keep the newly seeded rows nice and wet.

Keeping it wet will help keep the soil cooler, but shade is more effective. Exposed soil can reach temperatures of over 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay a board over the seeded area to both shade and mulch the area. Check under the board each morning to see if the seeds have started to germinate and remove the board once you see a couple of new plants.

Shade cloth is another way to shade the garden. Drive a post at either end of the row and run a wire between them. Lay the shade cloth over the wire like a tent and stake the edges to the ground. Your local wind conditions will determine how securely you need to attach the cloth. Shade cloth is available at many garden centers and home improvement stores. A little shade can easily cool soil temperatures by 30-40 degrees.

TENDER VEGETABLES (harvest before frost*) Many varieties will do well – select varieties that are early maturing and disease resistant.

Kind

Time to plant

Method of Planting

Between Rows (inches)

In the Row (inches)

Depth to Cover Seed (inches)

Days from Planting to Harvest

Beans, Bush

Aug. 10-20

Seed

18-24

3-6

1

50-60

Beans, Cowpea

July 15 - Aug 1

Seed

18-48

6-12

1.5

75

Beans, Pole

July 15-30

Seed

24-36

12-18

1

Beans, Lima

Aug 10-20

Seed

Cilantro

July 15 - Aug 1

Seed

18-24 4-8 Ok Farm Bureau 9 4

Corn, Sweet3

July 15

Seed

36

12-18

1

80-100

Cucumber

Aug 10-20

Seed or Plants2

36-32

12-30

.5 to .75

60-70

Eggplant

July 15

Plants

36

18

—

80-90

Pepper

July 15

Plants

36

24

—

90-110

Pumpkin

July 15-30

Seed or Plants2

36-60

30-48

1

100-120

Summer Squash

July 15 - Sept 1

Seed or Plants2

36

24-36

1

40-50

Winter Squash

July 15-30

Seed or Plants2

36-48

30-48

1

100-120

Tomatillo

July 15

Plants

48

24-36

—

90-100

Tomato

July 1-15

Plants

48

24-36

—

70-90

1 7/7/04 .5

60-70 70-80 12:02 PM Page 1 When plant is 4-6 in. tall

SEMI-HARDY VEGETABLES (may continue to grow and be harvested after several frosts) Many varieties will do well – select varieties that are early maturing and disease resistant.

Kind

Time to plant

Method of Planting

Beet

Aug 1-15

Seed

Broccoli

July 15 - Aug 15

Brussel Sprouts

July 15 - Aug 15 Plants

Cabbage

Aug 1-25

Plants Seed or Plants1

Chinese Cabbage Aug 1-25

Between Rows (inches)

In the Row (inches)

Depth to Cover Seed (inches)

Days from Planting to Harvest

12-18

3-4

.5-.75

60-70

Plants

18-30

16-20

70-80

18-30

16-20

—

90-100

18-24

16-20

—

75-90

12-16

10-18

.5

75-90

Carrots

July 15 - Aug 15 Seed

12-18

1-2

.25

70-80

Cauliflower

Aug 1-25

Plants

18-24

16-20

—

70-80

Collards

Aug 1 - Sept 1

Seed or Plants1

30-36

18-24

.5

75-85

Garlic

Sept 1 - Oct. 15

Bulbs (cloves)

12

4

2

Early June the following year

Irish Potato

Aug 1-15

Seed potatoes

30-42

10-16

2

90-110

Kale

Sept. 1

Plants

24-36

18

—

50-65

Kohlrabi

Sept. 1

Plants

18-24

4-6

—

50-70

Leaf Lettuce

Aug 1-15

Seed or Plants1

12-18

2-3

.25

60-70

Leek

Sept. 1

Seed or Plants1

12-24

2-4

.5

Late spring the following year

Mustard Onions

Sept 10 - Oct 10 Seed Sept 1 Seed, Sets, or Plants1

12-18 12-18

2-3 4

.5 .25

40-50 Late spring the following year

Parsnip

July 15 - Aug 15 Seed or Plants1

12-18

4-6

.25

120

Peas, green

Aug 15 - Sept 1

Seed

36

2

2

60-90

Radish

Aug 15 - Oct 10

Seed

8-12

.75-1

.5

20-40

Rutabaga

Aug 15 - Sept 15 Seed

24-36

3-4

.5

80-90

Spinach

Sept 5-25

Seed

8-12

1-2

.5

50-60

Swiss Chard

Aug 1 - Sept 15

Seed

24-30

2-3

.5

50-60

Turnip

Aug 1 - Sept 15

Seed

12-24

2-3

.5

50-60

1 = There may be advantages to planting earlier if soil moisture and climatic conditions are favorable 2 = Set plants into the garden 1 to 1-1/2 months after planting the seed.

3 = Be vigilant about scouting for fall armyworms in whorl of seedlings and young plants. * Unless using a cold frame or row covers to extend the season.

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Oklahoma Country • Summer 2004 • 7

the

Canine Cowboy

BY MIKE NICHOLS

Al dances around and wags his entire body in eager anticipation of tomorrow’s chores on Walter and Verna Bell Parker’s Highland Ranch in Rogers County.

O

klahoma’s favorite son Will Rogers once said: “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”

That sentiment has found a home on Walter and Verna Bell Parker’s Highland Ranch northwest of Talala and it answers to the name of Albert.

Albert – Al for short – is a Border Collie who shares the workload on the 2,000-plus acre ranch as well as the affection of the Parker family.

“He’s not only a cattle dog, he’s a good companion,” says Walter as he swings in the lawn glider that sits in the foreground of the rolling hills of his Rogers County ranch – just up U.S. 169 a few miles from Will Rogers’ birthplace.

“My kids gave him to me for Christmas. They asked what I wanted.

They got me a dog and that was a good present. He howls at me every

8 • Oklahoma Country • Summer 2004

Marguerite Cole, right, and Verna Bell Parker watch and listen as their husbands talk about stock dogs.

000114271 Rick Cole, left, and Walter Parker are all smiles as they swap stories about stock dogs. Walter, longtime Rogers County Farm Bureau president and an OFB state director from 1969 to 1974, uses a Cole-bredand-trained Border Collie on his 2,000-acre plus ranch near Talala. Rick, a Nowata County Farm Bureau member who breeds and trains stock dogs, drops by frequently to visit Walter and his dog Al.