{"id":27375,"date":"2016-09-22T12:29:33","date_gmt":"2016-09-22T17:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=27375"},"modified":"2016-09-22T12:35:48","modified_gmt":"2016-09-22T17:35:48","slug":"heavy-fundraising-on-state-question-777-suggests-right-to-farm-is-high-stakes-political-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2016\/09\/22\/heavy-fundraising-on-state-question-777-suggests-right-to-farm-is-high-stakes-political-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"Heavy Fundraising on State Question 777 Suggests Right-to-Farm is High-Stakes Political Issue"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_27378\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27378\" alt=\"Farmers Wayne and Fred Schmedt watch a combine harvest wheat on their fields near Altus, Okla.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160606-wheat-harvest063_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160606-wheat-harvest063_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160606-wheat-harvest063_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160606-wheat-harvest063_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160606-wheat-harvest063_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmers Wayne and Fred Schmedt watch a combine harvest wheat on their fields near Altus, Okla.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Oklahoma voters will decide in November whether to change the state constitution with new language protecting the agriculture industry.<\/p><p>Informally <a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2016\/09\/01\/right-to-farm-or-right-to-harm-oklahoma-voters-get-final-say-with-sq-777\/\">known as the right-to-farm amendment<\/a>, State Question 777 raises a lot of legal, environmental and economic questions. A StateImpact analysis of state campaign finance data shows the issue has attracted more direct donations than any other ballot question, suggesting right-to-farm is high-stakes Oklahoma politics.<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/284146860&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=false\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p><p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>Cash crop<\/h3><p>Individuals, businesses and organizations are spending big money to influence how Oklahomans vote on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.ok.gov\/gov\/proposed_questions.aspx#sq777\">SQ 777<\/a>. The ballot question would change the state constitution, adding language blocking new laws restricting agricultural technology, livestock production and ranching practices unless there\u2019s a \u201ccompelling state interest\u201d to do so.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_27380\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27380\" alt=\"Dennis Von Tungeln and his daughter, Amanda Rosholt, at a family home near Calumet, Okla. Von Tungeln wrote a $500 check to a political committee backing a 'yes' vote on State Question 777.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160831-dennis-von-tungeln011_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160831-dennis-von-tungeln011_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160831-dennis-von-tungeln011_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160831-dennis-von-tungeln011_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160831-dennis-von-tungeln011_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dennis Von Tungeln and his daughter, Amanda Rosholt, at a family home near Calumet, Okla. Von Tungeln wrote a $500 check to a political committee backing a &#39;yes&#39; vote on State Question 777.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>David Von Tungeln is a farmer, rancher and veterinarian who lives near the town of Calumet. He echoes a sentiment common among SQ 777 supporters: The ballot question isn\u2019t about farmers, it concerns food for everyone.<\/p><p>\u201cThere\u2019s a bumper sticker you see sometimes, \u2018Don\u2019t cuss the farmer with your mouth full,\u2019\u201d Von Tungeln says.<\/p><p>Von Tungeln has talked to a lot of his fellow farmers about the state question. He says owners of larger operations were the first to support SQ 777, but he says the state question would benefit small-scale farmers, too.<\/p><p>\u201cSomeone that\u2019s growing for the farmers market on Saturday morning, well new regulations might just put them out of business,\u201d he says.<\/p><p>Von Tungeln wrote a $500 check to Oklahoma Farmers Care, a political committee formed to urge Oklahomans to vote \u2018yes\u2019 on SQ 777. The check Von Tungeln wrote is one drop in a very full bucket. Farmers from all four corners of the state are making donations to push for a \u2018yes\u2019 vote on SQ 777.<\/p><p>Those smaller donations have been amplified by large sums given by agriculture businesses and farm organizations. Scores of county-based Farm Bureaus across the state are writing $5,000 and $10,000-dollar checks. The state Farm Bureau has given about $71,412, state campaign finance data show.<\/p><p>The Oklahoma Pork Council \u2014 which in full disclosure, has financially supported StateImpact \u2014 tops the list with $192,363 in donations supporting a \u2018yes\u2019 vote.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_27379\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 619px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27379\" alt=\"Former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson is leading one political committee urging a 'no' vote on State Question 777.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160826-provision-kitchen-pics035_WEB.jpg\" width=\"619\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160826-provision-kitchen-pics035_WEB.jpg 619w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160826-provision-kitchen-pics035_WEB-500x334.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160826-provision-kitchen-pics035_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/09\/20160826-provision-kitchen-pics035_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 619px) 100vw, 619px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson is leading one political committee urging a &#39;no&#39; vote on State Question 777.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Food, Farm and Fundraising<\/h3><p>Former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson is leading one political committee pushing Oklahomans to vote \u2018no\u2019 on SQ 777.<\/p><p>\u201cWe don\u2019t need this,\u201d he says. &#8221; The biggest threat to the family farm today is those huge operations. They\u2019re going to put the family farmer out of business.\u201d<\/p><p>The \u2018no\u2019 coalition has received $176,030 from social welfare group Oklahoma Rising and $40,568 from the Humane Society of the United States. But state campaign finance data show that Edmondson\u2019s Stewardship Council and another committee, Oklahoma Food Farm and Family, have, so far, been out-fundraised \u2014 handily.<\/p><p>The \u2018yes\u2019 team has raised $816,542 in donations, three times as much as \u2018no\u2019 groups\u2019 collective $268,179. Edmondson says he\u2019s not surprised, nor discouraged.<\/p><p>\u201cI expect the \u2018yes\u2019 side will spend more than the \u2018no\u2019 side, but we have a lot of organizational support I hope will offset that,\u201d he says.<\/p><p>Edmondson makes an important point: State campaign finance records show spending on political committees organized to campaign for specific issues, but they don\u2019t reveal how much money individual organizations or businesses are spending on their own to tell Oklahomans how to vote on SQ 777.<\/p><p>The data currently available only show fundraising through June 30, 2016. Mid-summer fundraising and campaign spending totals aren\u2019t released until just before the November election. Financial details on the final push before Election Day \u2014 when a lot of campaigns raise and spend big bucks \u2014 won\u2019t be available until after the election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oklahoma voters will decide in November whether to change the state constitution with new language protecting the agriculture industry.Informally known as the right-to-farm amendment, State Question 777 raises a lot of legal, environmental and economic questions. A StateImpact analysis of state campaign finance data shows the issue has attracted more direct donations than any other [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":27378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[491],"tags":[313,678,637,677],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27375"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27375"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27387,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27375\/revisions\/27387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}