Missouri Grocers Association Archives

Missouri lawmakers hope to see a cattle slaughter facility in the Show-Me State (AUDIO)

May 29, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Two state lawmakers testified Thursday in Jefferson City that an effort is underway to get a cattle slaughter facility in Missouri.

Joint Committee on Agriculture Chairman Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, speaks about the importance of a cattle slaughter facility during a hearing on May 28, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Reps. Don Rone, R-Portageville, and Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, testified before the Joint Committee on Agriculture. Rone says he and Shaul participated in a conference call this week with retailers, grocers and meat wholesalers.

“This would be a processing plant in Missouri, for Missouri for Missouri-grown cattle and to be sold in Missouri,” Rone says.

Rone, who chairs the House Agriculture Policy Committee, emphasizes the effort is in its very early stages. He tells Missourinet we’re a “long way from brick-and-mortar.”

A specific region hasn’t been selected.

Representative Shaul, who heads the Missouri Grocers Association, says Missourians are interested in locally raised and locally harvested agricultural products.

“What COVID has shown us is that there is a weakness in our supply chain, and the consumers of Missouri want Missouri product and we want to be able to give it to them at retail,” says Shaul.

He says the aim is to get Missouri-made products processed here and sold to Missourians.

Joint Committee on Agriculture Chairman Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, supports the plan.

“And there’s one thing that the COVID crisis has shown us is that we in Missouri need to take care of our own,” Haffner says. “We don’t necessarily from a legislative format do a very good job of that.”

Supporters of the proposal hope to form a working group by July. Many of Missouri’s commodity groups attended Thursday’s hearing.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) also participated in the hearing, and MDA Director Chris Chinn serves on the Joint Committee on Agriculture.

State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, who’s served on the House Agriculture Committee for eight years, traveled to Jefferson City to listen to the discussion and testimony. He tells Missourinet that the state deserves a cow processing plant.

Love notes Missouri is second in the nation in cow numbers.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee Chairman Don Rone, R-Portageville, which was recorded on May 28, 2020 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Missouri grocers working with attorney general to prevent gouging during pandemic (AUDIO)

March 26, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s attorney general is teaming up with the Missouri Grocers Association (MGA), to protect you from any potential price-gouging during the COVID-19 outbreak.

State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on March 2, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, heads the 1,300 member MGA. He told the attorney general’s office last week that there will be upward price pressure on some commodities, due to the rapid sale of them.

“We’re (the attorney general’s office and MGA) working together to make sure, one, to protect the consumers of the state, to make sure they’re getting a fair deal on their food,” Shaul says. “But also making sure that the businesses in Missouri aren’t subject to frivolous complaints.”

Shaul notes egg prices are continuing to rise, and he expects some relief on that next week.

He tells Missourinet the aim of the partnership with Schmitt’s office is to provide you with food at a reasonable price, and to protect retailers from “bad actors.”

“Anytime you have a crisis like this, the majority of the grocery industry in Missouri is acting properly, and doing what they can to meet the needs of the citizens of Missouri,” says Shaul.

He says the grocery industry is working tirelessly to serve their communities, during the pandemic. Shaul says Missouri’s grocery workers and retailers have answered the call from Missourians for food.

But he also agrees with Schmitt’s position that “there are a few bad actors that may cast Missouri’s hardworking grocers in a bad light.”

Consumers who see price gouging at their stores can call Schmitt’s office at 1-800-392-8222.

Missouri’s governor says many residents have seen empty grocery store shelves, and emphasizes this is a demand issue and not a supply one. Governor Mike Parson says Missouri’s food supply remains strong, adding that the state’s farmers, ranchers and grocers are working hard to restock shelves quickly.

Click here to listen to the full six-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri Grocers Association President Dan Shaul, which was recorded on March 26, 2020: