Farm Bureau members gather for commodity conference and legislative briefing

Area farmers and ranchers gathered in Jefferson City Feb. 23-24 for Missouri Farm Bureau’s annual Commodity Conference and Legislative Briefing. Under a new format, this year’s conference combined legislative and commodity issues.

Notable legislators speaking included Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives Ron Richard, and Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields. Attorney General Chris Koster also spoke, telling the group the need for consistent regulations for livestock producers in the state is greater than ever. As a senator, Koster sponsored legislation in 2007 supported by Farm Bureau to limit a patchwork of inconsistent county regulations restricting animal agriculture. The final bill did not come to a vote.

Lori Wilcox and Peter Zimmel of FAPRI (Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute) at the University of Missouri discussed the complexities of the Farm Bill and its new ACRE support program. The long-range weather forecast was given by Drew Lerner of World Weather, while the regulatory scenario from greenhouse gas emissions and efforts to limit them in the agricultural sector, was presented by Paul Sherman of the North Carolina Farm Bureau.

Other topics, from legal challenges facing livestock producers to a panel discussion on biofuels and Farm Bureau’s Producer Ag Challenge initiative connecting farm operations with the general public, added to the strong program.

During the conference, updates were given by Missouri Farm Bureau staff who also gave advice during district FARM-PAC meetings and commodity committee meetings.

One highlight of the conference is the legislative banquet where state legislators had a chance to visit with their Farm Bureau constituents. Conference attendees had another chance to meet legislators during visits to the State Capitol.