A rescue plan for farmers seeks to reduce an over-supply of food by feeding the poor and supplementing school lunches.

Missouri Agriculture Director Jon Hagler says a day doesn’t go by that he doesn’t hear from a farmer struggling to survive, such as a call he got from a dairy farmer in northwest Missouri.

"In three generations of dairy farming she has never faced it as rough as she’s facing it right now," Hagler tells the Missourinet. "(She) is at the point where she is going to have to make a decision whether to close the operation for good if it doesn’t break soon."

Hagler says he isn’t alone. During a National Association of State Departments of Agriculture conference in Montgomery, Alabama, Hagler’s fellow directors shared similar stories. From those discussions rose "Meat the Need", a play on words designed to rid the meat market of a glut of pork and poultry as well as dairy products.

All of agriculture has been hurt by the economic downturn. The dairy industry and pork has been under considerable strain, with farmers complaining of high input costs, but low prices. Poultry has also suffered under the downturn. Hagler says agriculture directors throughout the country worry they will lose farms if something isn’t done.

"Meat the Need" proposes that the federal government shift economic stimulus money to buy milk, cheese and other dairy products in up to three installments of 75 million pounds over a 120-day period. Purchases of surplus dairy products would end if the price of milk rises to $16 per hundredweight, the break-even point. The proposal requests the federal government buy 100 million pounds of pork in three installments as well, until the price rises to 49 cents per pound. The plan calls for a one-time purchase of 100 million pounds of turkey.

The proposal suggests the United States Department of Agriculture use the current Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by requiring SNAP recipients to spend the new allocations only on meat and dairy products available locally, purchased with special electronic benefit transfer cards dedicated to the "Meat the Need" program.

Beef producers in Missouri are under pressure as well. Though the proposal doesn’t include beef, it would help beef production, according to Hagler, by removing excess pork and poultry products. Hagler argues that a surplus in pork and poultry has suppressed grocery store prices for those meats, leading consumers away from beef, aggravating the cost-squeeze for beef producers.

The excess dairy, pork and poultry purchased by the government would be distributed it to food banks, school lunch programs and foreign military food assistance programs, under the proposal.

"We could get rid of it in such a way so that those extra products go directly to low-income and needy families and I think that’s really an important component," Hagler says.

Hagler believes the proposal will be well-receive in Washington, D.C. He says removing the glut of dairy, pork and poultry would raise the price for farmers and help farm families make it through this tough time.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack brought the Obama Administration’s rural tour to Missouri, touting the benefits of the federal economic stimulus act and attempting to reassure farmers they will benefit from changes being proposed in Washington.

Vilsack said part of the $787 billion dollar economic recovery package paid for more assistance for the 35 million Americans who receive food stamps, so they could buy more at the grocery store.

"If you’re a farmer think about this," Vilsack said Friday at State Fair Community College in Sedalia. "If more people are able to buy more at the grocery store, that means more has to be stocked at the grocery store and if more has to be stocked, than more has to be trucked and if more has to be trucked than more has to be produced and processed and if more has to be produced and processed than that means there’s more being purchased."

In June, President Obama announced that Vilsack would lead the Administration’s rural tour. Vilsack told the crowd in Sedalia that he had visited states from New Hampshire to Alaska. He counted his visit to Missouri as his 16th stop on the tour. Vilsack, who is the former governor of Iowa, called it somewhat of a homecoming, because his wife has relatives in Missouri. The stop in Sedalia drew more than 100 people.

Vilsack said the federal economic recovery package sought both to bridge from the tough times to better times, but also sought to address long-neglected infrastructure needs in rural America by financing the construction of roads and bridges.

The agriculture secretary also said the Obama Administration has a plan to revitalize rural America through bringing broad-band Internet access to farm country, steering the country toward alternative energy such as bio-fuels and linking local production to local consumption.

Vilsack acknowledged he faced a tough crowd in trying to convince farmers that climate change legislation would be "a net winner" for farmers.

"Now, I know this is a controversial issue and I know there is a lot of angst about this," Vilsack told the crowd.

Vilsack insisted the country’s capacity to innovate would create opportunities five and ten years from now that cannot be envisioned today. He cited a USDA study that estimated a net economic benefit of $10-20 billion to farm country due to the offsets which are part of the so-called cap and trade legislation.

A speaker at the forum challenged the secretary on the point, stating that there were segments of the agriculture community which will not be able to reap the benefits of the offsets, but will have to cope with the higher cost of energy the legislation will spur.

"I think we’re developing a new paradigm here for rural America, which I think is long overdue," Vilsack responded. "I’m hopeful and optimistic that it will put more money in the pockets of farmers."

Vilsack was introduced by West-Central Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton. He and Skelton earlier toured Show Me Energy Biomass Plant in Centerview prior to driving to Sedalia.

You can get more information about the rural tour, plus updates on the Web at RuralTour.gov or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RuralTour .

Download/listen Agriculture Sec Tom Vilsack brings rural tour to State Fair CC (1 hr 15 min MP3)

Missouri’s agricultural showcase begins Thursday as the State Fair opens in Sedalia.

State Agriculture Director Jon Hagler says the State Fair does indeed showcase Missouri agriculture.

"Agriculture is the backbone of Missouri’s economy and the State Fair is our annual celebration of the best that we have to offer in this vital industry," Hagler said during a news conference at the Missouri Department of Agriculture in Jefferson City.

Opening Day ceremonies begin at 10am Thursday, with the parade at 6 that evening. Admission costs only a dollar the first day. Cross Canadian Ragweed and Cash Cowboys play that evening. Entertainment includes the MRCA Exceptional Rodeo, Heart, Kansas, Shinedown and Brooks & Dunn. The Governor’s Ham Breakfast will be held the 20th. The Fair wraps up Sunday, August 23rd.

Governor Nixon says he enjoys it all, but his favorite aspect?

"My favorite part is seeing the number of young 4-H’ers that are there, showing their animals," Nixon replied. "It just gives you a sense that agriculture, as an industry, in the state of Missouri has a long history, but also a bright future."

More than 4,600 FFA and 4-H students will exhibit livestock during the 11 days of the State Fair.

The State Fair drew 313,000 people last year. Officials hope to draw 320,000 this year.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

House Speaker Ron Richard wants the legal issues clouding a grain fraud case to clear away a bit before he appoints a task force to study the issue further.

Rural members of the House , alarmed by both the fraud case emerging in east-central Missouri and the grain elevator bankruptcy in northwest Missouri, quickly put together legislation to address the issue ( HB915 ). A bill increasing the bond required of grain dealers and elevators and making it a misdemeanor for a licensed grain dealer to act outside the scope of his license passed the House, but failed to move in the Senate.

Speaker Richard, a Republican from Joplin, tells the Missourinet the cases raised questions he believes need to be addressed.

"We want accountability to make sure that if people are selling or buying grain they are insured, bonded," Richard says.

During the legislative session earlier this year, Richard had said he would appoint a task force to study the problem. Now that federal and state criminal charges have been filed against Cathy Gieseker of Martinsburg, he says he would like to see the case work through the legal process before considering appointing a task force.

Richard expects to gather rural legislators together during the Veto Session in September to discuss whether a task force should be formed.

"I’ll probably wait until Veto Session and have a meeting with all the ag guys and say, ‘Where do we go from here?’" says Richard.

Two cases shook rural lawmakers at the Capitol during the legislative session. The Gieseker case was beginning to surface, with estimates that it could grow to a $15 million dollar fraud case. Federal and state charges have been filed. The total has grown to $27 million with federal prosecutors speculating that it could grow to $50 million. Even as worries centered on the east-central Missouri case, another development took place across the state in northwest Missouri’s Gallatin. The Gallatin Grain Company went bankrupt. In February, Danny Froman voluntarily surrendered his warehouse and grain dealer licenses to the Department of Agriculture after an inspection of the company. Both cases have left hundreds of farmers will little hope of recovering millions in losses.

The major legislation discussed by lawmakers has been an increase in surety bonding requirements. The maximum bond a grain dealer or elevator has to carry in Missouri is $300,000. One bill sought to raise that to $1 million, but industry leaders stated that that high a bond could force elevators out of business. A revised measure sought a maximum bond of $600,000 and a minimum of $50,000. Bond requirements would be based on the amount of business handled by a grain operation.

Some legislators expressed frustration on how to attack the problem. They noted that even a bond of $600,000 wouldn’t come close to compensating farmers for losses and they pointed out that addressing a fraud case is different from addressing an elevator bankruptcy case.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (1:15 MP3)

Industry insiders, shocked by a huge grain market fraud case, caution the legislature against an over-reaction.

Executive Director Steve Taylor with the Missouri Agribusiness Association says the criminal case being built against Cathy Gieseker, a grain dealer out of Martinsburg, wasn’t as surprising to his members as you might think.

"When Gieseker was operating and they (his members) were getting out-bid by a dollar or more a bushel, they knew something was up," Taylor says.

Taylor says grain dealers and elevators will compete hard for a nickel difference in the price of a bushel of grain; even harder for a difference of a dime or a quarter.

"So, when you’re getting beat out for business over more than a quarter a bushel, you sit back and think, ‘How is this happening?’"

The most popular recommended response to the Gieseker fraud case is to increase the surety bond grain dealers and elevators are required to have on hand. The bonds are used to compensate farmers who lose money when a grain dealer or grain elevator goes bankrupt. Taylor has two objections. First, he notes none of the bonds being discussed could even come close to compensating farmers in the Gieseker case. Second, he says that increasing bond requirements too much could force some of his members out of business.

Talk at the Capitol has centered on increasing the bond from the current maximum of $300,000 to $600,000 and establishing a minimum $50,000 bond. The bond would be based on about 1% of sales. Federal and state charges filed in the Gieseker case accuse her of defrauding nearly 200 farmers out of at least $27 million, perhaps as much as $50 million.

Taylor says his members, agricultural wholesalers and retailers, have discussed a certification process so farmers know they can trust who they deal with.

"We need to look how we can, as an industry, work harder, work with the department ( Missouri Department of Agriculture ), work with grain producers and make sure, as much as we can, that this never happens again," Taylor says.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (1:15 MP3)