February 11, 2012

Drought Assistance Available for Some Missouri Farmers

Livestock producers in 30 counties can receive assistance to offset the loss of pasture and hay due to drought. State Agriculture officials have received $2.7 million in assistance to be distributed to livestock producers, a first for the state says Agriculture Department spokeswoman Misti Preston. Preston says federal drought assistance usually flows from the United States Department of Agriculture to the Farm Service Agency offices. This time, the state has been given the money to distribute directly to farmers. The assistance comes in the form of grants, rather than the low-interest loans that usually is given as agriculture assistance.Farmers in 30 counties are eligible, counties mainly in central and southern Missouri which have been extremely dry. Preston acknowledges that a bit under $3 million isn’t all that much money, but should help ease the financial cost of the drought. The money isn’t just for cattle producers. Included are those who have dairy cattle, goats, sheep, horses, even elk and bison. The deadline to apply is November 17th. Applications should be made to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri Farm Service Agency offices, and University of Missouri Extension offices.

Related web sites:
Dept of Agriculture, Drought Assistance

Senate Candidates Hit the Road as Final Week of Campaigning Begins

The main candidates in Missouri’s U.S. Senate race are criss-crossing the state as the final week of the campaign gets underway. Incumbent Republican Senator Jim Talent and Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill are putting on the miles as they visit just about every region of the state in a bid to shore up the decided voters and to attract voters who are still on the fence. Senator Talent is traveling the state, talking to supporters and trying to convince fence sitters to come over to his side. He’s stressing what he calls his conservative values and the differences between the two candidates on issues such as the gay marriage amendment and support for conservative judges. For her part, McCaskill is talking about some of the main voter concerns, asking them if they are happy with the way things are in Washington and throughout the country. She says she’s hearing from many Missourians who say they are concerned about the war in Iraq and about domestic issues such as access to health care. McCaskill says anyone who believes it’s time for a change should support her, and is reminding people throughout the state of the importance of showing up to vote next Tuesday.

Related web sites:
Talent for Senate
McCaskill for Missouri

Veterans Seek Permanent Tax Break With Ballot Issue

Veterans organizations want official “non-profit” status… and they have a chance to get it with Amendment 6 on the November ballot. Lobbyist Ernie Lee, with the Missouri Association for Veterans organizations, says the amendment would ensure an important tax break from real and personal property taxes. These taxes became an issue when Jackson County and St. Charles County began demanding those taxes from some veterans organizations. The counties concluded certain veterans organizations that generated more money from social events than they donated to charities didn’t qualify for the tax break.

Those Irritating Recorded Calls? Sorry, They’re Legal

Phone rings…..You put aside whatever you’re doing….or you wake up from a nap….and get to the phone before the answering machine kicks in…. and it’s a recorded message, perhaps from a politician whose name you recognize, urging you to vote for someone or something—or against someone or some thing…. Even if you’re on the state’s no-call list, you might be getting annoying calls from people you wish would go away. But there’s almost nothing you can do about it because some of the people you’ve elected HAVEN’T done anything about it. Attorney General Jay Nixon says his office that handles no-call complaints is getting almost 70 complaints every day about these calls. The state no-call law does not list these recorded messages among the things that are banned. He says it’s the legislature’s fault. He says lawmakers have failed to add automated recorded messages, cell phone calls, and faxes to the no-call law. Nixon says the high number of complaints about the automated calls during this election season could carry weight with lawmakers in the 2007 session. He says some of these automated calls do not release a phone line until the recording has run out—-which poses a danger for the person who has to make an emergency call out before the message is finished. Nixon says people can continue calling his consumer complaint hotline about these calls if they want to. But he suggests it might be a better idea to call the state representatives and senators who have failed to expand the no-call law to include these automated messages.

Rams Drop Second Straight

The Rams played even with the Chargers for three quarters, but sometimes a slow start can finish a game before it starts. San Diego led 14-0 after the first 12 minutes and St. Louis never got over the hump in a 38-24 loss Sunday.

St. Louis also found out what every team in the NFL already knows.

LaDainian Tomlinson is arguably the best running back in the NFL.

Tomlinson ran through and around the Rams defense for 183 yards and three touchdowns. The All-Pro became the second-fastest to score 90 touchdowns tied with Emmitt Smith who did it in 86 games. Jim Brown reached 90 the fastest of any back, scoring in only 81 games.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers completed 15-of-23 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown.

His counterpart Marc Bulger, when not being harassed by Shawne Merriman, managed to complete 27-of-40 passes for 327 yards and two scores. Five of those completions went to Isaac Bruce for 105 yards.

St. Louis lost two games in the row for the first time this season. They play host to Kansas City Sunday.