Dr. Bob Evans, a Tecumseh veterinarian, was honored as the 2008 Agri-Business Person of the Year Thursday at the annual Farmer and Rancher Appreciation Dinner.
The dinner is sponsored by the Greater Shawnee Area Chamber of Commerce, and is held each year in conjunction with the Pottawatomie County Free Fair at Shawnee’s Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center. The Shawnee Conservation District of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) presents awards at the dinner, including the Outstanding Volunteer Award, the Outstanding Educator Award and the Outstanding Cooperator Award.
The awards were presented by Lucas Cannon, executive director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.
“This is a time for us to come together and recognize the importance of agriculture in Pottawatomie County,” said Shawn Fleming, NRCS district conservationist for Pottawatomie County.
The recipient of the 2008 Outstanding Volunteer Award was Chris Rooker, and the recipient of the 2008 Outstanding Cooperator Award was Dale area farmer Pete Rooker. Colby Cagle, agriculture education teacher at Bethel Public Schools, was the recipient of the 2008 Outstanding Educator Award.
Fleming said the Agri-Business Person of the Year Award is presented based on the impact the individual has had on agriculture in Pottawatomie County.
“I’d like to thank this county,” Evans said in accepting his award. “This is an honor.”
Dr. Robert Witson, vice president and dean and director of agricultural sciences and natural resources at Oklahoma State University, served as guest speaker at the dinner. Witson spoke of the overall importance of agriculture to Oklahoma’s economy.
“Agriculture is big business in Oklahoma,” Witson said. The industry is second only to the oil and gas industry in the state, he said, and it generates $5 billion to $6 billion each year. Seventeen percent of the state’s workforce is involved in agriculture “in one form or another.”
“Livestock production is big,” Witson said. “Livestock is important to this part of the state.”
The production of livestock accounts for 60 to 70 percent of agricultural sales for Oklahoma each year, Witson said, and the biggest portion of that comes from cow/calf operations.
Witson said the rising costs of all ag-related materials, called input costs, are “going to challenge our producers.” It will force many to spend more time in their operations.
“It will separate the top producers from those not keeping up,” he said.
Globalization of the agriculture industry is another impact that will force producers to step up and meet new challenges, he said. Producers must be willing to take advantage of new opportunities.
“There’s really a lot of uncertainty,” Witson said. “We have to be knowledgeable about what’s going on in the world to take advantage of them.”
Witson urged all producers present to “be more involved in the shaping of public opinion.”
In closing, Witson offered a list of strategies for continued survival and prosperity in the agriculture industry. These include staying on the cutting edge, developing a range of strategies, selecting the best strategy and evaluating a making adjustments.
“There is no No. 1 strategy. You have to be the selector,” he said.
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Jason Smith may be reached at 214-3932.
