SEDALIA, Mo.- Missouri’s Secretary of State is praising the State Fair in Sedalia, noting that Missouri farmers feed the world.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (right) speaks to Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth at the State Fair in Sedalia on August 16, 2018 (photo courtesy of the Secretary of State’s Twitter page)

Jay Ashcroft (R) spoke to Missourinet at the Governor’s ham breakfast on Thursday. He says coming to the fair is fun.

“Meeting the people of Missouri, talking to them and getting their ideas, this is Missouri, this is what makes our country great at the Missouri State Fair,” Ashcroft says.

Ashcroft says farmers he’s spoken to at the State Fair are optimistic about the future of Missouri and the nation.

He notes agriculture is Missouri’s number one industry.

“It’s vitally important not only to Missouri but to the rest of the world,” says Ashcroft. “We feed the world, the United States does, and Missouri is right in the center of the best farmland in the country.”

The Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) released a 2017 report, which says agriculture is an $88 billion industry in Missouri.

The Show-Me State has about 100,000 farms, 90 percent of which are family-owned.

Saturday is “youth in agriculture” day at the State Fair.

There will also be a fireworks display Saturday night, sponsored by Sedalia-based Bryant Motors.

The 2018 Missouri State Fair’s theme is “Come home.”

The fair ends Sunday.

 

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, which was recorded on August 16, 2018 at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia:

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