As my first year as director of agriculture comes to a close, I reflect back on all of the exciting and challenging things I’ve experienced — finding a new path forward with dicamba, helping farmers cope with floods, collecting feedback on rules through the governor’s No MO Red Tape initiative, visiting with thousands of Missouri farmers and ranchers, solidifying relationships with new and existing international markets, and taking my team on the road for the Reach More tour.

Through it all, I’ve been encouraged and inspired by the men and women who provide food, fuel, forestry and fiber products to consumers in Missouri and across the globe. I’ve also found a new family in my coworkers at the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

Getting to know the employees at the department, I am confident that we have a unique ability to serve you. We have a passion for agriculture. Most of our staff members are from a farm background or currently live on the farm, and they take that to work with them each day. Not only does that increase their knowledge, but — more importantly — it increases their passion. All of the members of our department staff care deeply about what they do. They want more Missourians to know what they do to improve your life, and why they do it.

To help tell that story, several of our brightest stars at the department stepped into a role they may not have been completely comfortable with. A handful of our employees have become on-camera spokespeople for the programs for which they work. The “This is YOUR Department of Agriculture” video series has captured a snapshot of what our agency does; more importantly, it has captured the people who embody our team mentality. They love their jobs, and they feel strongly about making sure agriculture retains its strong foothold in our communities and in our economy.

The first video featured Duane Robertson, a market news reporter in our Agriculture Business Development division. Duane is a cattle producer himself, so he knows firsthand how valuable market trends and information are to the decisions he makes for his farm operation. Next, Dr. Jeff Jenkins, district veterinarian in the Animal Health division, will detail how he helps ranchers improve the health of their livestock. Check out these videos, and more, on our Facebook page, facebook.com/moagriculture.

As we continue to promote the department, and have you listen to our story, we always want to listen to you. We continue to strive to be more and do more to serve Missourians. Instead of continuing with the status quo, we’re pushing our team to evaluate the way we work. Can we do better? Can we be more efficient? Are we listening to our stakeholders and providing them with what they need to be successful on their farm operation or in their business? To glean the answers to those questions, we need to hear from you.

We’re looking for input on next winter’s Governor’s Conference on Agriculture. We want to know what you’d like to hear, or who you’d like to hear from at our conference. What would make you feel like it was worth it to spend a day and a half away from your farm? We also want feedback on MDA in general. How are we doing? Are we meeting your needs?

The two-minute survey is available online at agriculture.mo.gov/more/tour.php. Your feedback will help us shape our vision moving forward.

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