Blayne Arthur Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture
In 2019, Blayne Arthur was sworn in by Governor Kevin Stitt as the Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture—the state’s first female to hold the position. She acts as Governor Stitt’s chief advisor on policy development and implementation related to agriculture, food and forestry, and holds the titles of Oklahoma Commissioner of Agriculture and the President of the Oklahoma State Board of Agriculture. Secretary Arthur grew up in Chickasha, Oklahoma, where her family raised horses, cattle, wheat, alfalfa and soybeans. Upon graduating from Oklahoma State University in 2004, with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics, Sec. Arthur took a role in small-business financing for Rural Enterprises, Inc and traveled throughout Oklahoma. Secretary Arthur began her tenure at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry in 2009 working for Secretary Terry Peach and later as the Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture for Secretary Jim Reese where she stayed from 2011 to 2016. In 2016, she served as the Executive Director for the Oklahoma 4- H Foundation until her appointment by Governor Stitt. Jerry Reynolds President, Oklahoma National Stockyards Jerry Reynolds grew up in Midland and comes from a long line of farmers and ranchers that date back to the late 1800’s in South Central Texas. He graduated with a degree in Agricultural Engineering & Systems Management with a minor in Agricultural Business from Texas A&M University. He worked for the Texas Cotton Ginners Association for three years as a field engineer covering all of Texas and New Mexico cotton gins. Jerry has spent the last 27 years serving as the General Manager/CEO of four different cotton gins from South Texas to Southwest Kansas as well as a bakery waste feed mill in the Dallas area. All these experiences lead to his current role as President of the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City. Jerry has served as the President a little over a year now and has hit the ground running trying to help this 114-year-old facility transition into the new and everchanging world of agribusiness. Jerry has spent over thirty years serving the agribusiness sector thru work as well as multiple committee and board of director positions where he has worked diligently to help educate people where their food and fiber comes from. Its important for people from the cities to be educated about agriculture to help them understand the vital role it serves in preserving our communities. People need safe and reliable food sources and the agricultural producers of this country are proud to work hard to provide for those needs. We all need each other to make this work.
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