Farmers are the foundation of America, and that is especially true in the rural areas of Oklahoma. It is no coincidence that Tonkawa’s catchphrase is “The Wheatheart of Oklahoma,” and even making an appearance in our state’s song with the lyric, “the wavin’ wheat can sure smell sweet...” It is clear that farming is what our country and this community was built on.According to agriculture statistics, there is a total of around 35 million acres of farmland in Oklahoma. While we can see the different crops that surround the area, Winter Wheat, hay, sorghum, corn, soybeans, peanuts, and cotton are the top crops that are farmed in Oklahoma. In this area, wheat takes the cake for being the most produced. According to Matt Tipton with Tonkawa’s Co-op, during this past harvest, they finished up with around 375,000 bushels of wheat just at the Tonkawa location. In 2019, Oklahoma as a whole harvested over 70 million bushels of winter wheat.Oklahoma has agricultural roots that predate the statehood and it is farmers in communities like ours that keep this tradition alive. Farmers have the job of quite literarily feeding and clothing, not just their state, but their nation. According to a study of agriculture’s contribution from the OSU Department of Agriculture Economics and Dr. Dave Shideler, the agriculture industry contributes over 188,000 jobs to the state.“You couldn’t understate the importance of farming. So much time and hard work goes into it,” says Matt Tipton. When asked what farming brings to the community, Matt followed it up by saying that on top of the obvious revenue and food, farming also brings a sense of togetherness to the community. Everyone sees the work put into these crops and they know the people who are doing it. They can look at their neighbors and know that it is because of them and farmers like them that so much good has come to the community. “People do take a lot of pride, especially us here, in what we do and we understand how much it really impacts everything.”The only other thing that Mr. Tipton had to say was that he wished he could see more people fall into the life of farming. “I wish younger people would start getting involved. It seems like when I was a kid, farming was a big deal, and now it seems to be sloping off. It’s good hard labor and ...
