WASHINGTON   –  U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today announced her schedule for her annual Farm Tour, which will run from Wednesday, August 5th to Monday, August 10th.  Emerson conducts her visits to Southern Missouri producers and value-added businesses each year in order to address the concerns of constituents over federal agriculture policy and program funding.

“Even in the most normal times, it’s never an easy year to run a farm, ranch or dairy.  Our agriculture operations and all of the local businesses connected to them rely on good policy, and I work very hard in Congress to make sure all of our concerns are heard at the federal level,” Emerson said.  “This is an important conversation about keeping Missouri agriculture competitive with the rest of the world and the rest of the country, as well as preserving our edge on technology and infrastructure.”

Emerson’s 2009 Farm Tour features stops at a sod farm, a buffalo ranch, a winery and a miniature horse ranch.

“We feature a great diversity of agricultural operations and expertise in Southern Missouri, and I am very proud of the fact that our district is a literal ‘horn of plenty’ for the nation.  That also means that virtually every change in federal agriculture policy affects us in some way,” Emerson said.

The Eighth District representative cites Cap-and-Trade and USDA modernization as two key issues for Southern Missouri producers on which she has been exceptionally active.  Emerson expects she will hear a great deal about those two subjects at the farms and ranches she visits in August.

“A new tax on energy would affect every single home and business in Southern Missouri, but a 75 percent increase in the price of electricity and fuel would hit our producers especially hard.  They use a lot of energy to produce our safe, stable and affordable supply of food – from the gas in farm trucks to the electricity that runs the irrigation system at a farm or the barn at a diary.  Any price shock on energy not severe enough to put them out of business will still be big enough that everyone who goes to a grocery store in America will feel the pinch,” Emerson warned.

“Another key issue for Missouri producers is keeping the local USDA or Farm Service Administration office open to serve the producers close to their dairies, ranches and farms.  Federal agriculture programs are complicated and they change often, so we need to preserve the expert career staff for the times we need to help our farmers and ranchers understand the changes, comply with the rules, respond to disasters, and use the safety provided by the federal farm programs when they need it.”

In the U.S. House of Representatives, Emerson serves on the Agriculture Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, where funding and oversight for USDA programs is an annual priority.  She fights an annual campaign to keep USDA offices in Missouri counties open and staffed.

Emerson’s entire Farm Tour schedule is listed below, all times are CDT.  Please contact Emerson’s Cape Girardeau office at (573) 335-0101 for specific directions to any Farm Tour stop.  All events are open to the media.

Wednesday August 5th

Pemiscot County
10:00-11:00                Strothers Sod Farm
                                    1052 County Hwy. 285
                                    Bragg City, MO 63827

Dunklin County                                                                                                         
12:00-1:30                   Lunch at Strawberry’s with Ag. Commodity Groups
                                     107 Main Street
                                     Holcomb, MO 63852

Stoddard County
2:00-3:00                     Cotton Meeting at Bradley Minton’s Farm
                                     Bradley Minton Agco
                                     8019 Hwy. ZZ
                                     Dexter, MO 63841

Reynolds County                                           
4:30-5:30                     Timber Meeting at Hall’s Restaurant
                                     Hwy. 106
                                     Ellington, MO 63638


Thursday, August 6th

Phelps County
8:00-9:00                     MFA Agri. Services
                                    209 E. 8th Street
                                    Rolla, MO 65401

Texas County
10:00-11:00                 Carr Ranch (Cow/Calf Operation)
                                    Three miles south of Summersville on Hwy. 17
                                    Left on Hwy. WW, first gravel road to the      left.                      
Oregon County
1:30-2:30                     Erickson Buffalo Ranch
                                    Route 1, Box 53
                                    Peace Valley, MO 65788

Howell County
3:30-4:30                     Hedrick Minature Horse Farm
                                    6500 C.R. 1640
                                    Pomona, MO 65653

Friday August 7th

Taney County
9:00-10:00                   Gift of Hope My Neighbor’s Food Pantry                            
                                     10275 E. Hwy. 76
                                     Forsyth, MO 65653
                       
Ozark County
11:00-12:00                 Golden Fuels Systems
                                    H.C. 73, Box 157D
                                    Drury, MO 65638
           
Douglas County
2:00-3:00                     Meeting with Fox Trotters Association
                                    P.O. Box 1027
                                    Hwy. 5 South
                                    Ava, MO 65608
                                   
Wright County
3:30-4:30                     Meeting with Dairy Producers
                                    Little House Buffet
                                    874 W. Commercial St.
                                    Mansfield, MO 65704


Monday August 10th

Scott County
8:30-9:30                     Edward Dement Farm (Soybeans, Corn, Cotton)
                                    1930 C.R. 461
                                    Sikeston, MO 63801

Cape Girardeau County
10:30-11:30                 Jones Heritage Farms (Organic)
                                    5739 State Hwy. W
                                    Jackson, MO 63755

Bollinger County
12:30-2:00                   Patton Junction Livestock Barn
                                    Rt. 1, Box 86-A
                                    Sedgewickville, MO 63781