WASHINGTON  -  U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) will welcome Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee Rep. Bob Goodlatte to Missouri on Friday.  Emerson and Chairman Goodlatte will tour the Delta Center in Portageville and meet with members of the Missouri Farm Bureau, the American Soybean Association, the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, U.S. Rice Producers, the USA Rice Federation, the Missouri Corn Growers Association, Missouri Cotton Council, Missouri Rice Council and the Delta Center Advisory Board during a 90-minute roundtable.

 

“Many pressing issues face Missouri producers right now.  We are dealing with drought conditions, thinking about how federal regulations on Country-of-Origin-Labeling might affect producers, and looking ahead to reauthorization of the Farm Bill in 2007.  There is a lot to talk about, and I am grateful to the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee for coming to Missouri for a frank discussion with our farmers and ranchers,” Emerson said.

 

“Representative Emerson and I both represent agriculturally diverse districts and appreciate the significant role our producers play in our local and global communities.  I look forward to meeting with producers in Missouri’s Eighth District and hearing firsthand how the farm programs created by Congress impact the producers in the Congresswoman’s district,” Chairman Goodlatte said.

 

Chairman Goodlatte, who represents the Sixth Congressional District of Southwest Virginia, has served as Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee since 2003.  He is serving his seventh term in Congress.

 

“Chairman Goodlatte and I enjoy a very positive working relationship.  I admire the fact that he takes his committee seriously and meets with ag producers across the country.  We have a pretty unique agricultural profile in the Eighth District, where we grow everything but sugar and citrus.  I am looking forward to a productive discussion on Friday,” Emerson said.