House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin, joined with Rep. Steve Hobbs, R-Mexico, this week to announce the formation of an agriculture task force charged with finding legislative solutions that will prevent future incidents of grain fraud similar to one that occurred in central Missouri.
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Speaker Richard and Rep. Hobbs were joined by Reps. Brian Munzlinger and Casey Guernsey for the announcement.
"I asked Speaker Richard to form this task force to take a look at the issues that have been brought to our attention as we have seen the stories of potential fraud unfold with the grain brokerage firm operated by T.J. Gieseker Farms and Trucking as well as the grain elevator in Gallatin. I appreciate the Speaker acting quickly to address this issue and I look forward to the task force finding legislative solutions that will prevent similar incidents from happening in the future," said Rep. Hobbs.
Membership in the task force will be formalized in the coming weeks and Speaker Richard expects those selected to focus on a few key issues with the goal of protecting Missouri farmers from being defrauded out of millions of dollars. Possible topics include creating an indemnity fund to help cover losses when grain elevators fold; enacting additional criminal penalties to
discourage unscrupulous behavior by grain elevator owners; and increasing bonding requirements for grain elevators. Rep. Hobbs has already filed legislation (HB 915) this session that will increase the bonding requirements.
"What we’ve seen in Martinsburg and in Gallatin raises some serious questions about the strength of the laws we currently have in place. For the sake of Missouri farmers who are doing their best to weather the tough economic times, we have to make certain they aren’t also in danger of being
the victims of fraud and negligence," said Speaker Richard. He added, "Fraud on this level is devastating not only for the farmers involved but for entire communities as well. I want the members of the task force to thoroughly review all aspects of this issue and provide a legislative plan that will ensure similar incidents do not occur in the future."