Protecting and Promoting Missouri’s #1 Industry

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to visit our beautiful Capitol in Jefferson City, you probably noticed a statue adorning the very top of the dome. The bronze statue is that of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture and vegetation — a very fitting choice since agriculture has long been, and remains to this day, Missouri’s number one industry.

As such, it should come as no surprise that reviewing and implementing the policies affecting the health and well being of our agriculture industry is consistently among the Legislature’s top priorities, especially for those of us representing more rural districts. This session, Missouri lawmakers passed Senate Bill 12, an omnibus agriculture measure that will go a long way toward protecting and promoting the hard-working Missouri farmers who not only feed and fuel our nation, but those in the global community as well.

Signed into law back in April, SB 12 changes the definition of “processing Urban Agricultural Zones” to include produce; adds livestock to the current milk exemption for weight limitations on highways and allows weight limitations on shipping grains and co-grains to be exceeded by as much as 10 percent during harvest; and keeps the state from turning a profit on the backs of farmers by prohibiting the Department of Agriculture from charging more in license fees than the cost of inspection, among several other provisions.    

Here in northwest Missouri, farming is still the foundation of our local communities and our way of life. Passing SB 12 was a necessary step toward ensuring the continued stability and success of the estimated 100,000 Missouri farms in operation and the quarter million residents employed by the agriculture industry.

As always, please feel free to call, email, or write with your ideas or concerns. My Capitol office number is (573) 751-1415, my email is dan.hegeman@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 332, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.

 

Trending Video

My Cameron News

BB Highway
P.O. Box 498
Cameron, MO 64429
PHONE: (816) 632-6543
FAX: (816) 632-4508
Email: editor@mycameronnews.com

Privacy Policy
 

Sign Up For Breaking News

Stay informed on our latest news!

Manage my subscriptions

Subscribe to Breaking News feed