I think we all can agree: 2019 is a year we can’t wait to see go.

While some producers were recovering from drought in the summer of 2018, others were hit hard with flooding this past spring. When you factor in trade disruptions in 2019, Missouri is one of the few states struck by all three challenges in a short 18 months.

You won’t see many agriculture leaders today listing big accomplishments for the year, but I’m going to try. I think we’ve seen progress that, while many pieces may not be complete, leaves us with these things to be thankful for heading into 2020:

Relocation of USDA agencies. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced in 2019 that USDA’s Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture would relocate to Kansas City, Mo. The move from Washington, D.C., will bring an estimated 253 agriculture jobs paying an average of $120,000 at ERS and 323 agriculture jobs paying an average of $116,000 at NIFA to the Kansas City area.

Broadband. Missouri officially launched the Broadband Development Grant for communities or companies looking to deploy high-speed internet to their citizens. The grant process will provide $5 million to our communities in need.

On top of that, USDA announced that Grand River Mutual Telephone Corp. will receive $41 million in funding to provide high-speed internet for families in Missouri and southern Iowa. That brings Missouri’s total of federal dollars working to deploy broadband to nearly $300 million.

Also new in 2019 was the formation of the FCC Precision Agriculture Task Force. The FCC has pulled together leaders from across American agriculture to advise the agency on how connectivity affects precision agriculture.

Trade progress. Trade certainly has been the topic of the year. At the time I’m writing this column, we are without a ratified U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement or China trade deal. The House of Representatives is expected to vote soon on USMCA, and will pass the final approval duty on to the Senate.

U.S. trade officials continue to work through various details with China and recently announced a "phase one" trade deal that could mean great things for agriculture.

The truly positive details on trade not only relate to the improvements made in those two draft agreements, but also to signed agreements with the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Brazil.

The European Union agreed to triple imports of duty-free beef from the U.S. Japan announced a $7 billion agreement with the U.S., and South Korea agreed to purchase $110 million in U.S. rice.

Additionally, Brazil agreed to implement a duty-free quota of 750,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat. China also lifted a ban of U.S. poultry that it had in place for four years.

Once USMCA and China trade deals cross the finish line, there will be something for every farmer in America to celebrate.

Flood Recovery Advisory Working Group. Gov. Mike Parson has provided leadership early and often on flooding issues. While several flooding events provided challenges along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, many of our rural communities and farmers were left underwater.

Parson formed the Flood Recovery Advisory Working Group, which has met monthly since this summer to provide recommendations to the governor on how we should proceed. The group’s goal is to set a new path forward for our state that will prioritize flood control and river navigation.

The governor also pulled together the governors of Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas to form a multistate coalition that will continue to address flooding issues with a regional perspective.

Food, Beverage, and Forest Products Manufacturing study. Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe established the Food, Beverage, and Forest Products Manufacturing Task Force, which aims to add value to Missouri agriculture by identifying specific areas for improvement. Together, the task force is hoping to tap into $25 billion in economic growth and the creation of 70,000 jobs.

As you can see, there is progress in Missouri agriculture to be thankful for this year, despite the significant changes we’ve seen together. Our department will continue to promote and protect agriculture in our state by advocating for you, your farm and your communities.

Chinn is the director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture and a hog producer from Clarence, Mo.