Missouri’s farmers and ranchers may spend a day here or there at the state Capitol visiting with legislators about key issues affecting agriculture. But for many of Missouri’s commodity organizations and farmer associations, there are key people who go to battle during the legislative session to safeguard and promote the industry. They are those in legislative affairs.

We caught up with these representatives from the Missouri Farm Bureau, Missouri Soybean Association, Missouri Corn Growers Association and Missouri Cattlemen’s Association to get their take on the successes and failures during the 2021 Missouri legislative session.

Hitting their mark

This group picked out eight victories from this year:

1. Boost for biodiesel. The Missouri Soybean Association secured $2 million in state funding for biofuel infrastructure projects administered through the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority.

“We’ve worked with fuel distributors looking for this type of investment that will help them secure the funds to put in infrastructure that allows them to buy and blend locally made biodiesel,” says Casey Wasser, Missouri Soybean Association director of policy. “That’s good for their consumers. It’s good for the farmers, and it’s good for the biodiesel producers.” He says applications for the funds will likely open in late summer or early fall.

2. Fuel funds for roads. Senate Bill 262 passed, allowing for the state’s first tax on fuel in 25 years, says BJ Tanksley, Missouri Farm Bureau director of state legislative affairs. “The purchasing power of current gas tanks just don’t add up to what it did before,” he notes.

Drivers will see a 2.5-cent increase annually over five years, increasing the state’s gas tax from 17 cents to 29.5 cents a gallon by 2025. The increase could start this October; however, a group has already filed a referendum with the Secretary of State’s office to have voters decide. Still, the measure saw widespread support among commodity groups.

“Farmers depend on reliable roads to get their product to market,” says Ben Travlos, Missouri Corn Growers Association associate director of public policy. He calls the measure a necessity to “modify our state’s transportation infrastructure.”

It is a unique tax as it is refundable for Missouri residents. Wasser points out that out-of-state drivers and vehicles registered at more than 26,001 pounds are not eligible for the refund.

“About 50% of the fuel tax paid in Missouri is paid by out-of-state residents,” Travlos says. That alone could generate $300 million annually for state road funds and $100 million annually to cities and counties, he adds.

3. Southern soybean research. The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council spends money to promote products along with production research.

“We’re always trying to do as much research as we possibly can on the agronomic side in order to have it pay off for the producers on the farm,” Wasser explains. This year, the association was able to secure direct funding for the University of Missouri Fisher Delta Research Center in Portageville, “totaling in the millions of dollars.” Wassler adds, “The upgrades there continue to put us on the map as a leader in ag research in partnership with the University of Missouri.”

4. Pesticide training by state. Travlos says the EPA is forcing states to “up their game on training for restricted-use pesticides. … One thing we were able to do with the legislation that we got across the finish line to mitigate the regulatory burden is establish a majority farmer committee to oversee the training program.”

He says that oversight includes setting fees. However, they will not exceed $75 for a five-year certification. The committee will also address the length of the training and look at course options — including a “test out” option.

5. Bring on broadband. This measure allows for municipalities to come together and form broadband districts. “But larger than that bill would be broadband funding where there was $10 million sent to the broadband grant program,” Tanksley explains.

6. Feral hog accord. “Transporting feral hogs is something that we would be naïve to believe does not occur,” says Mike Deering, Missouri Cattlemen’s Association executive vice president. “It is a sport to some people. We’re not opposed to people hunting these wild hogs and getting rid of them, but we are certainly opposed to the transporting and release of these hogs for sport.”

He says while the push was to make the transportation and holding of feral hogs a felony, there was compromise that occurred with House Bill 369. The first infraction, Tanksley says, makes it the highest-level misdemeanor,  and the second infraction could bring a possible felony. It also comes with stiff fines of up to $2,000.

7. Ordinance update. Deering says Senate Bill 271 clarifies language in a bill passed two years ago regarding county ordinances. “It makes clear that counties cannot add to the ordinances that are different from, more stringent than or not aligned with state laws," he says. "It makes sure we have synergy within the state.” The measure came after a few court cases showed the need for cleaning up the language in the law.

8. Protection from COVID-19 claims. Keeping businesses such as restaurants and processing plants is important to cattle producers. The Missouri Cattlemen’s Association supported the Missouri Chamber of Commerce effort to pass a bill that Deering says “reins in the COVID tyrants” that affect the restaurant industry with lawsuits. “That has a direct impact on the cattle business,” he says. The measure ensures that businesses, including processing plants and companies, cannot be sued.

Legislative letdowns

While it appears there were many positives for farmers and ranchers this 2021 legislative session, Tanksley says, “Overall, we were pretty let down with the way the session ended.” Every commodity group echoed this sentiment, and it all surrounded the fight to protect landowners from eminent domain.

Here are three letdowns from the legislative session:

1. Eminent domain dropped. Agriculture groups have been fighting entities such as the Grain Belt Express and Invenergy that use eminent domain to secure land for clean energy projects. However, Senate Bill 141 did not make it to the Senate floor, Deering says.

“We put our professional credibility on the line for this legislation," he says. "We had rallies. We had thousands of landowners involved in the process. Hundreds showed up at the Capitol, but at the end of the day, words weren’t honored and trust was broken.”

All ag groups agree that eminent domain should be used as a last resort for critical needs to benefit the state of Missouri and the public. It should not be used, Deering explains, “as a way for private for-profit companies to take private land for private gain, and then get around the rules by dropping a little energy off here and there along the path and claim that they’re benefiting the general citizens of the state.”

Travlos says more work needs to be done as this issue affects Missouri farmers. “We’ll be working with our fellow agricultural organizations to have discussions on this," he says. "We need to circle the wagons and figure out what the next steps are.”

Wassler agrees and says it could be a measure taken up during a special session. However, Deering adds there needs to be some trust regained with some members of the Missouri Legislature before it can move forward. “We need a few days for the smoke to settle a little bit to be able to see how we can transform this blow that we were dealt into an opportunity for our membership, as well as for all farmers and ranchers in the state," he says.

2. Biodiesel requirement. The Missouri Made Fuels Act would have mandated that every gallon of diesel fuel sold in Missouri have biodiesel included. The measure outlined tax credits for retailers if they would buy and blend biodiesel. “We were excited about that," Wasser says. "We knew that would increase consumption. However, it did not make it across the finish line."

3. Tax credits end. Ag groups agreed the loss of tax credits administered by the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority, what many corn and soybean farmers refer to as the New Gen Cooperative Tax Credit Program, is disheartening. These credits end in 2021. The Missouri Legislature failed to extend these types of credits that not only applied to corn and biodiesel cooperatives, but also helped meat processors that saw a huge boom during the COVID-19 crisis.