WASHINGTON  -  So what are you having for dinner tonight?  Perhaps it is hamburgers with a slice of tomato, lettuce, pickles on a whole grain bun. Corn on the cob, potato chips, and a tall, cold glass of milk.  That constitutes a pretty good meal – and  everything on your plate is most likely grown, bred, and packaged in the Eighth
Congressional District.

What’s in that pie that’s for dessert?  Peaches or pecans or blackberries or  strawberries and rhubarb? Chances are, you’re serving up a slice of Missouri.

Did you drive to the store or the farmer’s produce stand to get the ingredients for your
dinner?  The ethanol that got you there was grown right in our backyards.

Even the clothes you wore for your shopping trip contained cotton – which we also
produce here at home.  When you came back home, the lumber in your house also almost certainly grew right here in Missouri.

Our region of Missouri is one of the most agriculturally diverse in the world.  We are the
northernmost cotton and rice-growing district in the U.S.  We have everything from row crops to forestry products to fruit.  And the variety of the agricultural goods we produce is only surpassed by their quality.

Since this is the time of year when our farmers are between their planters and their
combines – and Congress is out of session for a few weeks – I’m set to embark on the 23rd Annual Emerson Farm Tour.  The purpose of the tour, which will make 16 stops in 10 counties, is to hold a series of discussions, tours, and meetings about agriculture.  I meet with every group from the Future Farmers of America to the producers themselves.  I will learn about the agricultural operations taking place in our district, and I will have the opportunity to communicate many of the things Congress is doing to help producers, literally, grow our economy!

As a state, Missouri accounts for five percent of the nation’s farms – second most in the
nation.  We also rank second among states in many ranching categories, including beef cows, calf crop, and number of cattle operations.  Our ability to utilize every acre of arable land is primarily responsible for our success in these and many other 

agricultural areas. 

It takes a significant commitment for rural communities to sustain their growth and remain competitive in the global market for many of the crops we produce.  In Southern Missouri, we possess a fair amount of know-how and ingenuity as well. 

This year’s Farm Tour demonstrates how advanced we are in this regard.  On the tour, many of the stops are at family farms, but in the past several years, an equal amount are at universities and research facilities.  Every year there is something new to visit, a new advancement to celebrate. 

On this year’s tour, the University of Missouri-Rolla is far and away the winner for
ingenuity.  In fact, the first stop on the Farm Tour is to see the Soybean Bridge.  As funny as is sounds, the Soybean Bridge is exactly what it sounds like – a bridge built from the resin of soybeans. 

Just because, as you drive by on the highway, you see the same crops in the fields –
our researchers, scientists, and students are finding new uses for agricultural commodities.  Many of those same innovators are also the men and women in the field – planting, growing, and harvesting.  Our farmers do much more than farm.

As a direct result, we are growing much more than feed and food in Southern Missouri.
We are growing fuels for our vehicles and construction materials for our homes.  Someday, the infrastructure that you travel on the way to work may come from the very same fields.

It is a lot to take in, but consider the possibilities the next time you sit down to a
Missouri-grown dinner.