Governor Matt Blunt (R-MO) takes advantage of a visit to the State Fair in Sedalia to take the keys to an E85 vehicle and to talk up a couple of proposals designed to benefit agriculture. 

Blunt has added a new Ford E85 Escape Hybrid, one of only 20 combination hybrid and renewable fuel vehicles in the nation, to the state’s fleet of vehicles. The Governor says this vehicle saves fuel and is less harmful to the environment because it runs on blends of gasoline using as much as 85 percent ethanol. He adds the Ford Escape Hybrid, made at the company’s Claycomo plant, near Kansas City, will send a message that Missouri is committed to the use of ethanol – which is a boost to Missouri’s corn growers.

“I think it makes a lot of sense,” Blunt told an audience looking on at the State Fair, “To get our fuel from Missouri farmers and farmers in the Heartland of America, rather than tyrants that hate the United States and hate Americans and everything we stand for.”

The Governor has also announced an expansion of the Adult Agricultural Education Program, which provides state-funded support for family farmers to learn how to better manage their farms. And, he’s pledging full funding for the newly enacted Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program to ensure that family farmers in underserved areas of the state have access to large animal veterinary care.

Download/Listen: Governor Matt Blunt (2:00 MP3)