On Thursday, April 11, Ohio Women Lead Right, in conjunction with the Versailles FFA, hosted an Agriculture Policy Roundtable with State Representative Angie King, State Representative Susan Manchester, Versailles FFA Director Dena Wuebker, and OWLR President Jane Timken.
The focus of the roundtable was to discuss trending issues and legislation involving the agricultural industry. One piece of such legislation named a top priority in the Ohio House of Representatives includes Rep King’s House Bill 4, a bill that deals with how public pension systems, universities and other industries might discriminate against certain companies or customers based on certain factors. “This legislation will provide consumer protection, ensures the rate of returns on investments or access to capital isn’t sacrificed for the sole purpose of influencing environmental, social, or governance standards,” Rep. Angie King stated. “We must also stand firm against China and foreign adversaries who are purchasing our most valuable commodity–our land.”
Rep Manchester, who will soon represent Darke County again in the state senate (she is running unopposed in November), spoke about her earlier legislation that gave beginner farmers a tax credit. “It has been rewarding to see this work come to light and to meet those that have been able to use the program as we envisioned. Ensuring that we have strong ag leaders for generations to come is so critical for our region and state, and I am happy to be a small part of that.”Mrs. Dena Wuebker spoke about her perspective as an ag and vocational director for 30 years. She pointed to several students in the audience as a testament to why she does what she does, and highlighted how broad the ag industry really is today. “Technology, biogenetics, animal science–the future of ag is much more than production and traditional farming. It is exciting to see what direction my students take in the field.”
Ohio Women Lead Right (OWLR) is a political action committee founded by Mrs. Jane Timken, Darke County Chairman Katie DeLand, and Cuyahoga County Chairman Lisa Stickan to encourage and promote Republican women to take on leadership positions in politics, business, and ag.