Phil Campbell: Conservation Leader

Phil Campbell, U.S. Air Force veteran and farmer in Luther, Oklahoma. Prior to retiring from his 30-year military career, Phil purchased 40 acres of land in 2014 and became a full-time farmer in 2016. Starting with just cattle, he has grown the operation over the years to add poultry, fruit trees, and a garden.

In the coming months, the Oklahoma Conservation Historical Society, in collaboration with Oklahoma State University, will release fourteen new oral history interviews with Oklahoma conservation leaders.

Among these oral histories is an interview with Phil Campbell. Phil operates forty acres near Luther, Oklahoma where he runs cattle, raises poultry, grows fruits trees, and cultivates a vegetable garden. He also serves as vice-chairman of the Oklahoma County Conservation District Board and serves on the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. He credits USDA conservation programs with helping him to improve his land and develop his farming operation.

“The conversations with [NRCS technician Josh McNeff], and him coming out to the farm, was beyond anything that could have been funded [through EQIP],” Phil said. “The technical assistance Josh provided to me is the reason I am here talking today about conservation.” 

Recently the USDA blog published a feature on Phil and his farming operation. Check it out here.

OCHS is proud of our oral history initiative. To date, we have published, in collaboration with OSU, thirty six oral history interviews. View the OCHS oral history collection on Youtube. With the release of the additional fourteen interviews in the coming year, we will have completed fifty interviews with individuals whose histories help us tell the story of conservation in Oklahoma.