It is not every day that you see a third-grade class making legislative changes to highlight the agriculture industry. But that is exactly what happened when the Frederick Elementary’s third grade students started reading up on cotton. As a result, the Oklahoma Senate and House approved a resolution recognizing one of Oklahoma’s top crops, cotton, and the dedicated Oklahoma producers who help provide it to the world market.
According to the Oklahoma Farm Report, “The students and their teachers wrote letters to their legislators to make this happen after reading Ag In The Classroom’s Red Dirt Symbols and realizing the beautiful cotton growing all around them was not an official state symbol.”
The students were able to learn about governmental process, visit cotton fields and gins, and finally see the result of their hard work.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 7, by Republican Sen. Chris Kidd and Republican Rep. Trey Caldwell, designated cotton as the official fiber of Oklahoma and made it an official state symbol.
“Cotton is an integral agricultural commodity to the Sooner State, creating billions of dollars in revenue through exports, industry and jobs,” Kidd said. “I’m so proud of Frederick Elementary’s 3rd grade class who requested this resolution and designation as they recognized cotton’s importance to our agriculture community, and I want to thank them for their work to get this before the Legislature. We also want to thank our state’s producers for their hard work to provide Oklahomans and the world with the highest quality cotton.”
Cotton is grown in more than 37 Oklahoma counties, accounting for more than 600,000 acres. Oklahoma cotton provides feed for livestock, fiber for clothing, cotton seed oil for cooking, cellulose for plastics, and high-quality paper for currencies.
“Oklahoma has a rich history of diverse agriculture production, of which cotton has played a vital role,” Caldwell said. “We’re grateful to these young Oklahomans for bringing it to the attention of the Legislature and ensuring that all Oklahomans know our state’s tremendous impact on providing the world with this important fiber and crop.”
