Washington DC -  In one section we have melons and cantaloupes, in another, fresh fish.  Over here are corn and soybeans, here milk and butter, and in yet another location, wine.  I’m not describing our local grocery stores – this is an agricultural description of Missouri’s 8th Congressional District.

 

This week marks the beginning of the 22nd Annual Emerson Farm Tour.  Producers of these goods and others are included among the stops I will be making as I travel through the southern part of our state. 

 

Farmers in Southern Missouri are known for being able to grow pretty much any agricultural product.  And for good reason – our work ethic is unparalleled and the fertility of our land is unsurpassed.

 

I will be meeting with the Farm Bureau, 4-H students and Future Farmers of America, cattle producers, and agriculture producers throughout Southern Missouri on the Farm Tour.  We will have a Rice Roundtable, and I will visit a goat ranch.  At the end of the week, the Farm Tour will wrap up with a legislative open house in Van Buren.  Later in August, I will dedicate a day to touring forest areas and businesses with the Missouri Forest Products Association.  In early September, I will take part in the Delta Center Field Day in Portageville.

 

Every year I visit a similar range of farms in August.  And, though I generally don’t stop at the same places, folks often ask why I make the Farm Tour a major event year after year.

 

With such a broad range of agricultural products in my district – there is no more important economic activity in the 8th District than agribusiness.  Our banks, our car dealerships, our retail stores, even our Internet service providers, have grown up around our farm economy.  In a drought year, we all feel the stress of uncertainty and the pinch in our pocketbooks.  When the harvest is good, likewise, we all celebrate the bounty of a job well done by our farmers.

 

Today, Missouri agriculture spans the seasons.  Ongoing research at our universities and winter crops keep our farmers busy all year round.  Research and new products means Missouri farmers must be as familiar with the latest technologies as industry experts.  Being a farmer in Missouri is a year-round job, from sunup to sundown each day.

 

The issues that are important to producers in Missouri mean real money to families across America.  On issues from drought relief to country of origin labeling, the opinions of farmers carry tremendous weight in Washington.  The chief purpose of the Farm Tour is to gather as much input on the issues important to farmers as possible. 

 

When the men and women charged with the job of feeding America have the tools they need to do their work, then they can feed the world.  And there are literally billions of people starving around the globe.  They don’t have the benefit of the well-stocked grocery stores in every Missouri town.  But someday, if we in Congress and Missourians in the fields, streams, forests, and laboratories keep doing our jobs, they will.

 

So the next time you visit the local grocery – take a moment to reflect on how much of the food you see is grown at home in Southern Missouri.  It is a point of pride for me and for all of us.

 

And take time to thank our farmers.  They are the most productive in the world.  One farmer produces enough food for 136 people, and that is why America boasts the best, safest, and most affordable food supply on the face of the earth.