"I have always cared a lot more about the well-being of our home Eighth District in Southern Missouri than I have about the nuances of foreign policy. There is one instance in which international relations and Missouri agriculture go hand-in-hand, however: our agriculture markets.

The Southern Missouri rice market is important because it connects Cuba to America. Along this channel of trade is a dialog in political thought and a discourse in free markets. This conversation will be very important – very soon.

While the future of democracy in America is stable and secure, the future of communism in Cuba is not. Sometime in the future, after Fidel Castro, Cuba will enter a transitional period in which reforms will not only be possible, but also necessary. To lay the groundwork, the Cuban government has been building bridges with South American, European and Asian countries. Just as friendly and unfriendly nations are competing for a foothold 90 miles off the coast of the U.S., we must be competing to keep our backyard region safe and stable.

Both England and Iran have ambassadors in Cuba today. The United States has only an interest section.

One example of how this contest can raise international concerns is the possibility that Cuba will begin prospecting for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, using Chinese engineers. Another took place when the U.S. Treasury redefined payment rules for U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba, forcing the Cubans to go to Vietnam and other countries for rice they would have otherwise bought here from Missouri. Despite the fact that U.S. sales have declined by 22 percent since we instituted stricter policies for Cuban payment of cash for American agriculture, U.S. producers continue to press for a dialog on trade. Protecting this market means also protecting the United States from would-be interlopers who would be glad to service Cuba’s billion-dollar market for food.

At the very least, America must preserve a working, one-way trade relationship with Cuba to ensure that our message of democracy and liberty is heard in that country. Isolating Cuba has only consolidated the regime of Fidel Castro, and federal policies to push our two nations apart for political reasons ignore the value of a top-30 market for U.S. agriculture exports. At home, cash contracts with Cuba for rice are ensuring a healthy, robust crop in our farmers’ fields each year.

Rice is also creeping northward. For some time, the Eighth District has been the northernmost rice-growing district in the country, but this may not be true much longer. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, which has an important presence in Rolla, the Bootheel region of Missouri has 656,000 acres suitable for rice production. This year, Missouri will plant 200,000 acres of rice – and some of those acres are in test plots near the Iowa border. In fact, interest in cultivating rice extends as far north as South Dakota.

As interest in rice-growing increases in the U.S., so must our efforts to find and secure trading partners for the world’s most-consumed food product. It makes no sense to ignore Cuba, 90 miles away, in this strategy, or in other strategies for beef, dairy and many other commodities that are sold to Cuba by American producers. These other foods are just as important as rice, to prove the point that free markets support a vast portfolio of production.

However, one of the greatest things about rice is that it is consumed by people of all faiths and ethnicities on every continent of the globe. It is a universal food, prepared in a myriad of ways, and rice is one of our chief weapons in the war against hunger around the world. All of that can start on a farm right here in Missouri. It is a vocation our rice producers and all of our farmers and ranchers take very seriously. They do a great job: working long hours under all kinds of adverse conditions, from harsh weather to high costs for inputs like energy.

So when you pass by a rice field this summer, remember we are growing more than a supply of safe, affordable food – we are also growing diplomatic relations. In a matter of time, we will be happy we have agriculture as a U.S. ambassador to Cuba, and to the world."