The population of Missouri — and the world — is increasing every day, but the number of new farmers joining the industry is diminishing. The interest in agriculture remains, but many people who want to start an operation feel like they don’t have the means or the opportunities in Missouri and have resorted to looking elsewhere or taking up other ventures. I believe Senate Bill 177 will help address this issue and keep these valuable farmers in Missouri. The bill outlines tax credit programs that would offer incentives to landowners who choose to work with beginning farmers and also establish a Beginning Farmers Center that would offer assistance and education to new and retiring farmers all across the state.

I was a beginning farmer myself back in the 1980s, so I am very familiar with how difficult it can be to get into this business. I spent a few years doing custom farming for other landowners, and returned to the family farm after graduating from the University of Missouri. I continued in custom farming and rented some other land as well in order to save the money necessary to purchase the family farm. But, even then, it was a difficult and lengthy process to move into full ownership of the farm, and Missourians today face the same obstacles — but at an even higher cost.

Nationally, only about 4 percent of all grains and meat and 3 percent of all dairy products consumed in the U.S. are imported annually, according to the USDA. Having such a large percentage of our food supply produced right here keeps prices at an affordable level.

Over the past few years, agriculture production costs have been on the rise. In just five years, between the 2007 and 2012 USDA census reports, production costs for Missouri farms rose 36 percent. With land prices also on the rise, this means starting a farming operation in Missouri has become a more capital-intensive challenge. To combat this issue, Iowa has instated similar benefit programs to keep farmers out in fields. The Iowa Division of Agriculture has multiple tax credit programs for agriculture assets transfers and others, and the University of Iowa currently has a fully-functioning Beginning Farmer Center with seminars available such as “Returning to the Farm,” which offers advice for setting up succession plans for retiring farmers. This legislation would establish similar programs right here at home and encourage new farmers to choose Missouri for their operations.

We need to work together to ensure our young people have all the tools they need to continue to feed Missourians and the nation. The landscape of Missouri agriculture has changed, and we need to change with it. These tax credits, coupled with available education and assistance from the center, will ensure that new farmers have all the resources they need to continue the tradition of agriculture in Missouri.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about this legislation or others, please contact my office. Thank you.