The Missouri Department of Agriculture and University of Missouri Extension will offer a series of listening sessions in July that will address current challenges in the farm economy. Sessions will take place in seven locations across the state.
“Life as a farmer is never boring, that we know for certain,” Director of Agriculture Richard Fordyce said. “Although I continue to believe that the future of agriculture is incredibly bright, we face challenges of different types and different magnitudes each year and 2016 is no exception. Lower commodity prices combined with input costs that haven’t reacted to the market yet have the potential to put some Missouri producers in a tough position.”
Dr. Scott Brown, MU Assistant Extension Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics, will provide an overview of current and projected financial issues facing Missouri agriculture at each session. Attendees will then be afforded the chance to share any issues they see facing the agricultural sector, such as thoughts about credit, profitability, commodity prices and equity loss.
Similar sessions are being hosted by departments of agriculture in Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. After feedback is gathered, representatives from the four states will gather together to share findings and identify available resources and farm programs. These needs will also be communicated to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack.
Registration is free and recommended. For more information, please call the contact listed below.
Mexico
July 7, 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Audrain County 4-H Center, 21509 Hwy D, Mexico
Mary Sobba (573) 581–3231, Karisha Devlin (660) 397–2179
Rock Port
July 7, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
MU Extension Center in Atchison County, 201 Hwy 136 East, Rock Port
Randa Doty (660) 582–8101
Excelsior Springs
July 8, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Flander Hall-107 W Broadway, Excelsior Springs
Nate Cahill (660) 747–3193
Springfield
July 11, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Springfield Livestock Marketing Center, 6821 W Independence Dr, Springfield Wesley Tucker (417) 326–4916
Miner
July 12, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Miner Convention Center, 2610 E. Malone Ave., Miner
David Reinbott (573) 545–3516
St. Peters
July 13, 6:30pm – 9:00pm
MU Extension Center in St. Charles County, 260 Brown Rd., St. Peters
Ken Bolte (636) 583–5141, Rachael Hopkins (573) 438–2671
Kirksville
July 14, 9:30am – 12:00pm
