The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture will soon be able to give more aid to the residents of Oklahoma with the purchase of some new equipment.
The Oklahoma Board of Agriculture recognized the purchase of firefighting equipment at Tuesday’s monthly meeting. Director of Forestry Services John Burwell said 21 fire departments have received property (equipment, etc.) with a cost estimate of $1 million through the Firefighter Property Program.
According to the October 2007 board report for Forestry Services, the Firefighter Property Program allows the title of the property to be passed to that fire department. That is, if the fire department meets all of the “vehicle specification for operability” requirements. This way, the equipment does not have to be returned nor disposed of.
The board also decided to purchase a large forklift from Federal Surplus Property using federal money. Also, three slip-on pump units for fire trucks will be purchased.
In other business, the board decided to contract with Oklahoma State University for the purchase of radio frequency identification tags, which are electronic devices that can be applied to a person, product or animal.
It uses radio waves for the purpose of identification. More RFID tags — not associated with OSU — will be purchased to be used in a disease surveillance program.
During the meeting, each agency reported its activities since the previous meeting. Some of the agencies are administrative, laboratory, wildlife, forestry and food safety services.
David Leavitt, administrative services director, summarized the activities in areas of finance, human resources, fleet management, data processing and agriculture law enforcement investigators.
Kevin Grant, state director of wildlife services, said wildlife services specialists conduct operational control programs for many of the complaints they receive to resolve wildlife damage problems. During September, wildlife services verified wildlife damage of more than $500,000.
The board agreed on what to do about current legal cases involving violations of agricultural law.
Janet Stewart, Office of General Counsel director, listed current prosecutions due to violations of agricultural law. She also listed some of the names of businesses the board, district court, federal court or a combination of judicial bodies have fined. One of these businesses is Apache Farmers Co-op, in Apache, and another is Pocola Farm and Home Center in Pocola.
The October 2007 board report on Food Safety Services, lists the inspection of meat, poultry and egg, organic and dairy products. Food Safety sanitation inspections were conducted at 142 egg packers, dealers and retailers.
The Oklahoma Board of Agriculture meets monthly to review the month’s activities and to determine what each agency will do until the next meeting.
The next meeting of the Oklahoma Board of Agriculture is scheduled for Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be in the board room of the agriculture building, 2800 N. Lincoln Blvd., in Oklahoma City.
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