Agriculture Archives - Missourinet

Beef plant that opened in March in western Missouri now has 175 employees

July 6, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A veteran Missouri lawmaker who serves on the House Agriculture Policy Committee says the newest modern beef processing plant built in the United States now has about 175 employees in western Missouri’s Lone Jack.

The Republic Foods beef facility is located in far western Missouri’s Lone Jack, a town of about 1,000 residents (June 2020 photo courtesy of Rep. Warren Love)

Lone Jack is a small town of about 1,000, and is southeast of Lee’s Summit. It’s located in Jackson County.

State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, tells Missourinet that Republic Foods started operating the plant in March. He says it is processing about 250 head of beef cows per day. Missourinet contacted the company, which confirms the numbers provided by Love.

“These are what you call hamburger cows,” Love says. “They come in, they’re completely deboned, the meat is, then it’s processed into hamburger. They call it lean-trim.”

Love says about 75 percent of the cows are purchased in Missouri.

Love and other state lawmakers toured the plant in June, and were joined by representatives of the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA). Love says the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and Missouri Farm Bureau also participated in the tour.

“I think there were eight legislators, seven of them from the House, all serve on the Ag (House Agriculture Policy) Committee,” says Love. “And then we had one senator, Senator Justin Brown from Rolla.”

Senator Brown co-chairs the Joint Committee on Agriculture.

Love, who’s finishing his eighth and final year in the House because of term limits, is a member of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association. He says it’s possible that the Lone Jack plant could receive some of the $20 million in assistance appropriated by the Legislature this year for meat processors dealing with COVID-19.

The $20 million is for plants with less than 200 employees. It’s designed for support, workforce assistance, equipment and capital improvements.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, which was recorded in June 2020:

Missouri announces $50 million program for broadband expansion, including telehealth

July 2, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor announced a $50 million dollar project to expand broadband across the state, during a Thursday media briefing at the Statehouse in Jefferson City.

Missouri Department of Economic Development Director Rob Dixon (left) and state broadband development office director Tim Arbeiter brief Capitol reporters on July 2, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The expansion will include support for telehealth and libraries. Governor Mike Parson says the money will come from federal CARES Act funding. He says broadband is critical for Missourians.

“The digital divide in rural Missouri limits growth in many sectors of our economy, including education, workforce development, health care, business retention and attractions, just to name a few,” Parson says.

Parson says the project earmarks $20 million to establish a reimbursement program for broadband providers, to assist them with construction costs for new broadband expansion to households with students or vulnerable populations.

The governor was joined at the briefing by state Department of Economic Development (DED) Director Rob Dixon and state broadband development office director Tim Arbeiter. Arbeiter’s office is within DED.

Director Dixon says the project to expand broadband will help thousands of Missourians go to school, work and to the doctor. He tells Capitol reporters that today, “broadband internet is the backbone of a resilient economy.”

“Some 300,000 households, 195,000 k-12 students and 54,000 businesses and farms lack high-speed internet access,” says Dixon.

Under the project, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) will provide $10 million to local education agencies, to seek reimbursement for eligible costs to increase student connectivity.

Arbeiter says the project will also provide $5.25 million for telehealth.

“It was estimated just over 90,000 Missouri citizens could not access medical care during this time. It’s a continued issue that, again as we faced with the pandemic, facilities closed down,” Arbeiter says.

The $5.25 million will support connectivity for telehealth services for vulnerable populations. The state will partner with the Missouri Telehealth Network at Mizzou to secure about 12,000 hotspots for the state’s 29 federally qualified health centers and the 26 community mental health centers.

Governor Parson traveled to mid-Missouri’s Tipton earlier in the day, to sign legislation extending Missouri’s broadband grant program through 2027. Missouri’s broadband internet grant program is for unserved and underserved areas in the state.

Missouri’s governor to sign bipartisan broadband legislation on Thursday in Tipton

July 1, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation extending Missouri’s broadband grant program through 2027 will be signed into law by the governor on Thursday morning in central Missouri’s Tipton.

Governor Mike Parson (R) will travel to Co-Mo Connect in Moniteau County for Thursday’s 10:15 a.m. ceremonial signing. The bipartisan bill is sponsored by State Rep. Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal, who will join the governor in Tipton.

State Rep. Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on March 9, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Missouri’s broadband internet grant program is for unserved and underserved areas in the state. The grant program is currently scheduled to expire in August 2021. House Bill 1768 extends the program until June 2027.

In addition to extending the broadband grant program, the Riggs legislation requires the state Department of Economic Development (DED) to maintain a record of all federal grants awarded to entities to provide, maintain and expand rural broadband in Missouri.

Representative Riggs’ legislation was approved by the Missouri Senate in May by a 31-0 vote. The House approved it in May, on a 143-3 vote.

Governor Parson emphasized the importance of rural broadband, during a February address to the Missouri Farm Bureau in Jefferson City. At the time, the governor noted there were about ten Missouri school districts that didn’t have broadband.

Parson says broadband ties-in with education and workforce development.

MoDOT to begin major I-70 project at east-central Missouri’s Mineola Hill next week

June 29, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) says the massive project to replace the aging I-70 Rocheport bridge in mid-Missouri is still in the planning phases. MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna says the agency is making good progress on a related project to build one-point-two miles of truck climbing lanes on I-70 at east-central Missouri’s Mineola Hill.

The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) says work will begin on July 6 to add a third lane to both eastbound and westbound I-70 at Mineola Hill in Montgomery County (fall 2019 file photo courtesy of MoDOT)

“And we’re hoping by the end of the calendar year, we’re actually going to have a climbing lane at Mineola Hill,” McKenna says.

In 2019, MoDOT received an $81 million federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant for the I-70 Rocheport bridge replacement and for the I-70 Mineola Hill truck climbing lanes. MoDOT says the Mineola Hill climbing lanes will generate safety and mobility benefits for both cars and trucks that travel at different speeds along that segment of I-70, which is in Montgomery County.

MoDOT says work will begin next Monday to add a third lane to both eastbound and westbound I-70 at Mineola Hill. MoDOT crews will be on-site to begin setting traffic control, as well as setting erosion control.

“We have substantial additional work on environmental work and engineering, before we get to the point of putting out an RFP for construction services on that,” says McKenna.

Construction at Mineola Hill is expected to be done by next fall. Columbia-based Emery Sapp and Sons is the prime contractor, and Barlett and West is handling design services.

As for the I-70 bridge in Rocheport, more than 12 million vehicles cross it every year. That includes three million trucks.

“And that equals to about 100 million tons of freight, which equals more than $154 billion annually so many trucks,” U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, told Missourinet in 2019.

Rocheport, which is just west of Columbia, is in Congresswoman Hartzler’s district. The current Rocheport bridge is 60 years old, and MoDOT says it’s in poor condition.

McKenna pleased with progress of Missouri’s $350 million bridge bonding plan

June 25, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

More than 100 bridges in Missouri’s $350 million bridge bonding plan are now under contract, and 13 have already been completed.

Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Director Patrick McKenna briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on June 25, 2020. Governor Parson listens (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Director Patrick McKenna briefed Capitol reporters about the bonding plan’s status, during a Thursday media briefing in Jefferson City. McKenna says an additional 58 bridges are currently under construction.

“Before the fiscal year is concluded (on June 30), we’ve already got 114 of those (bridge projects) under contract. Our team and our consulting partners have been working very hard,” McKenna says.

A heavily-traveled bridge on Highway 79 in eastern Missouri’s Lincoln County will open to the public on Friday afternoon. During the media briefing, Director McKenna told Missourinet that the 82-year-old bridge in Lincoln County has been replaced, using funding from the 2019 bridge bonding plan.

“It’s replacing a bridge that was built in 1938, and that will be upgraded to current standards. It’s going to be eight feet wider and 20 feet longer,” says McKenna.

Lincoln County, which is north of St. Charles County, has been one of the fastest-growing counties in the state.

McKenna says 13 bridges have already been completed, so the Lincoln County bridge will be the 14th.

In 2019, Missouri lawmakers approved the $350 million bridge bonding plan, which is repairing or replacing 250 deteriorating bridges. The plan was a top priority for both Governor Mike Parson (R) and Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan).

McKenna tells Capitol reporters that MoDOT crews are staying busy during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are more than 400 active construction projects. McKenna praises the agency’s construction partners.

He also notes that the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has authorized more than $1 billion in construction awards this year.

McKenna joined the governor at this afternoon’s media briefing. Earlier in the day, McKenna testified before a legislative committee about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on MoDOT.

McKenna testified before the bipartisan Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight, telling lawmakers that the pandemic has had a $45 to $100 million impact on his agency.

Chinn: 2020 Missouri State Fair to continue with everything but concerts

June 19, 2020 By Ashley Byrd

Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn says the Missouri State Fair will take place as scheduled from August 13-23 in Sedalia. The concert lineup will be the only regular feature not included. She says that many performers have been backing out of shows this year because of COVID-19 concerns, so that helped the decision.

The fair will still feature carnival, exhibits, contests, livestock showings, vendors, and food.

Chinn says fair organizers are working with vendors to make sure they have safety measures in place.

It also includes the Governer’s Ham Breakfast, says Gov. Parson. About a thousand people mingle at the breakfast gathering with state and national leaders of both parties.

“They have a new facility there, we’re thinking about ways that we can control the crowd size to that and alternative things,” Parson said. “We may change things as we move forward about what attendance looks like— are we going to let people be bunched up or are we going to let them be separated by bleacher rows or whatever that is.”

Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Chris Chinn is recognized during a groundbreaking ceremony for Ranken Technical College’s new Troy campus on June 17, 2020 (photo courtesy of Governor Parson’s Flickr page)

The governor notes that the state fair, which started in 1901, has only been canceled one time. That was during World War II.

More than 337,000 people attended the 2019 state fair.

Governor requests federal disaster declaration for 19 Missouri counties damaged by May storms

June 17, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Gov. Mike Parson has requested President Donald Trump’s approval of a major federal disaster declaration for 19 Missouri counties damaged by storms last month. Joint preliminary assessments estimate more than $9.3 million in damage to public infrastructure from storms that hit the state on May 3 and 4. The counties affected are mostly in southeast Missouri, but also include ones in western, southwest and southern Missouri.

U.S. Capitol dome

Poplar Bluff-based Ozark Border Electric Cooperative in southeast Missouri described the storms as the worst to hit the region since the 2009 ice storm. KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau reported more than 10,000 residents across the region were without power for a time. An EF-1 tornado also swirled through the Bootheel town of Marston.

The governor is requesting public assistance for Bates, Butler, Carter, Dallas, Douglas, Dunklin, Henry, Hickory, Howell, Laclede, New Madrid, Oregon, Pemiscot, Polk, Ripley, Shannon, Stoddard, Wayne and Wright counties.

“Our local, state, and federal assessment teams have documented extensive damage to electric power systems and other public infrastructure as a result of the severe storms,” Parson says in a press release. “Our Missouri communities are already strapped by emergency response costs because of COVID-19. I am confident federal assistance will be forthcoming.”

If a federal declaration is approved, local governments and qualifying nonprofits could request federal aid for emergency response and recovery costs of public infrastructure damaged.

State and federal emergency management agencies conducted virtual damage assessments due to COVID-19.

Earlier story:
Power restored in southeast Missouri’s Portageville; storms described as worst since 2009 https://wp.me/p16gMv-wvj

Missouri governor: 250 new jobs coming to “small town pretty close to Bolivar” (AUDIO)

June 16, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor says 250 new agricultural-related jobs are coming to southwest Missouri.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on June 16, 2020 (photo courtesy of Governor Parson’s Flickr page)

Governor Mike Parson made the announcement during a briefing with Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on Tuesday. While the governor isn’t naming the town yet, he tells Missourinet that it’s a “small town pretty close to Bolivar.”

“I don’t know that I’m quite at liberty to say just exactly where that is down home, but it absolutely will be a great opportunity for people in a small town down there to do that,” Parson says.

The governor says he met this week with company executives from Oregon and Kansas, about this project. The meeting took place in Parson’s hometown of Bolivar.

Bolivar is about 30 miles northwest of Springfield.

Parson describes the 250 new jobs as a business expansion, adding that it’s good news for Missouri moving forward.

“It’s exciting news and it will have to do with agriculture, so it’s always a good thing for me when I see those new jobs coming in and especially with the situation that we’ve been in,” says Parson.

Agriculture is an $88 billion industry in Missouri, making it the state’s largest industry.

Missouri fully reopened for business on Tuesday morning and has entered phase two of its “Show Me Strong Recovery Plan.”

While there is no statewide health order during phase two, Parson emphasizes that COVID-19 is not gone. He continues to urge Missourians to practice social distancing and to continue with good hygiene.

Click here to listen to Missouri Governor Mike Parson respond to Brian Hauswirth’s question about the 250 new jobs coming to southwest Missouri. The governor spoke on June 16, 2020 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Parson: Missouri State Fair will happen in August, likely without concerts (AUDIO)

June 11, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

While the governor says the Missouri State Fair will take place in August in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia, he says it will look different than previous years because of COVID-19 concerns.

The Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia (2018 file photo courtesy of State Fair)

Governor Mike Parson (R) made the announcement during a statehouse press conference in Jefferson City on Thursday.

“The state fair has only been canceled one time in over 100 years and it was during World War II,” Parson says. “As an ag governor, I guess I want to say somebody that comes from the farm, I don’t want it to be the second time on my watch that it’s canceled.”

The state fair will take place August 13-23. In response to questions from Missourinet, Governor Parson says there could be shorter hours and that some popular events may not happen.

“I doubt there will be a ham breakfast because it’s the governor’s ham breakfast so I doubt that I’m going to be asking for that, that I know of for that,” says Parson.

The 2019 governor’s ham breakfast was a sellout, with 1,000 tickets sold. The event is popular because of its food, but also because it’s an opportunity for Missouri voters to meet the governor, their congressional delegation and state lawmakers from both parties.

Governor Parson says details for vendors and other partners are still being worked out.

“More than likely there’s not going to be concerts there, there may not be a lot of vendors there, but again we haven’t sat down with (Missouri State Fair Director) Mark Wolfe and the (State Fair) Commission, so I don’t want to jump in front of them, we’re all trying to plan that together,” Parson says.

Governor Parson emphasizes the state fair is about supporting agriculture and youth in agriculture.

The Missouri State Fair has issued a statement, which says the fair’s mission has always been to showcase Missouri agriculture, “so our livestock shows will continue to honor that tradition.”

The statement also says they know the “countless hours our exhibitors and Fair families have put in to taking care of the livestock and 4-H and FFA projects,” and that their priority continues to be the promotion of excellence in Missouri agriculture and our future agriculture leaders.

More than 337-thousand people attended the 2019 State Fair.

The first Missouri State Fair took place in 1901, when Missouri’s population was two-thirds rural.

The state fairgrounds, which covers 396 acres, is open year-round in Sedalia. It also provides facilities for horse and livestock shows, arts and craft festivals and camping.

Click here to listen to Missouri Governor Mike Parson’s comments about the 2020 Missouri State Fair in Sedalia to Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and other Capitol reporters. The governor spoke in Jefferson City on June 11, 2020:

Parson Thursday briefing: Missouri is fully open, State Fair will go on in some form (VIDEO)

June 11, 2020 By Ashley Byrd

Missouri’s governor announced today that he thinks the state is better prepared to handle the COVID-19 virus and will be fully open for business June 16. The phase 2 step should still include social distancing and other precautions, he says, especially for people with health conditions that make them vulnerable.

That includes nursing homes, said Parson, so his office will publish a plan for long-term care facilities “in the next few days.”

In the briefing, state Economic Development Director Rob Dixon said “signs are pointing toward recovery” in the state’s business activities.

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