Recently, several of my colleagues and I took a trip to St. Louis for an agriculture briefing. The two-day event provided a great opportunity for officials to discuss the future of our state’s top industry. Members of the Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee and some House members were brought together to learn more about the role St. Louis plays in Missouri agriculture.

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) processes and transports crops all over the world and employs 800 people in the St. Louis area. Part of our first day’s activities included visiting an ADM facility and taking a boat ride upriver to learn more about barge transportation on the Mississippi River. There, we learned that Missouri’s waterways remain the best way to transport agricultural commodities. This alleviates traffic on our roads, because 60 barges can carry up to as much as 1,800 tractor trailers, depending on the depth of the river.

The second day focused on economics and we met with the St. Louis AgriBusiness Club. High-rise buildings are probably the last thing you think of when talking about farming, but big cities are typically the agricultural hubs of the Midwest. We heard about agriculture’s impact on the regional economy. According to a 2007 U.S. Department of Agriculture census, the St. Louis region — which is made up of 15 Missouri and Illinois counties that contain three million acres of farm land — produces $1.1 billion in yearly sales of agricultural products. Twenty percent of all jobs in St. Louis are related to agriculture in some way.

In our communities, I think we have a pretty good idea of how agriculture affects our local economies. It was interesting to learn how it works in urban areas and how the two depend on each other. I appreciated the opportunity for lawmakers to learn more about the economics and logistics behind the industry.

Now that we have returned from this event, the next step is preparing for the Legislature’s annual veto session, which is scheduled for Sept. 11 in Jefferson City. The governor vetoed 29 bills this year. While I doubt we try to override all of those, I am sure we will consider at least two of these measures: House Bills 253 and 436. House Bill 253 would cut income taxes for Missourians, and House Bill 436 would reaffirm our right to bear firearms, as stated in the Second Amendment. I have been hearing from a lot of people about these vetoes, and there is still a way to go before anything would be decided by the Missouri General Assembly. As these are both House bills, I will only have the opportunity to vote on them if the House approves a veto override by the required two-thirds majority vote. I want to thank those who have taken the time to call and write to me about these important issues.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office. Thank you.