A Missouri Farm Bureau survey brings to life many of the hidden effects of COVID-19 on farmers and rural communities. While the on-farm impacts have been dramatic, the personal effects are even more painful to read:

“I have not seen my first grandchild yet.”

“My daughter didn’t get to get married like she planned.”

“I’m lonely and miss my friends.”

Many respondents expressed feelings of isolation, loneliness and even depression. Inability to attend church and fellowship with friends has had a big impact on rural life. Although there were many differing opinions, over 63 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they take COVID-19 seriously.

Several people were upset by disruptions of normal social activities.

“Not being able to gather is really hard. A graduation, a wedding and even a funeral have been disrupted,”

said one. Another respondent described similar heart-wrenching situations.

“I wasn’t able to visit my daughter in the hospital. My son missed his junior prom, and we won’t get to see him graduate from his US Army basic training in a couple months.”

The agricultural effects have been severe as well. Nearly one-quarter of livestock farmers surveyed (23.5 percent) have had a meat processor reduce the normal schedule of animals they deliver for processing. The same percentage have had to locate an alternate processing facility for animals.

The economic shutdown made it difficult for many farmers to do their jobs. One out of every eight farmers said they had experienced disruptions getting equipment. Many more expressed frustration in finding parts.

At the beginning of the shutdown, Congress and the Trump administration moved quickly to provide help to businesses. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was created to help businesses stay afloat through the shutdown. The U.S. Department of Agriculture formed the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to provide specific support to farmers across the country.

Unfortunately, many farmers did not apply for PPP. Our survey found that only 13.4 percent of farmers received support through the program. Livestock producers had an especially hard time qualifying, as only 4.9 percent of farmers who only raise livestock received help.

The CFAP program is much better targeted to help farmers. At the time of the survey, 58 percent of livestock farmers planned to apply for CFAP funds, and just over 50 percent of all farmers.

As Congress debates further COVID-19 aid, respondents had many different requests. Livestock producers suggested more investigation into meatpacker consolidation and pricing issues. Missouri Farm Bureau strongly supports this request. Numerous respondents also suggested stronger provisions to protect family farms, more equitable price support for grain and livestock, support for ethanol and biodiesel and incentives for more meat processing plants.

The survey was completed by 377 people, about three-quarters of whom are farmers and 95 percent of whom are Missouri Farm Bureau members. Responses were solicited from MOFB newsletter subscribers and collected during the second week of June.

Source: Missouri Farm Bureau

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Over one million rural residents in Missouri do not have access to high-speed internet, more than any state except California or Texas. Missouri ranks 41st in the nation in broadband connectivity.

The lack of rural internet connectivity causes plenty of day-to-day frustrations. But in a crisis like the current fight against coronavirus, the impact becomes even more glaring.

Several schools, including the University of Missouri, have suspended in-person classes. Many current courses will be held remotely via teleconferencing technology. Students will be expected to work on projects remotely and submit homework and take tests electronically. Many businesses are developing contingency plans that include employees working remotely. Travel can often be replaced with teleconferencing and virtual meetings. Email and paperless technologies allow information-sharing without physical, in-person contact.

Technological advances enabled by broadband internet technology are valuable in our current fight. They let schools and businesses implement recommended “social distancing” without major disruption. Unfortunately, access to broadband is a limiting factor for rural students and employees. Working or studying remotely is only an option only if you have access to broadband.

Developing broadband infrastructure throughout Missouri would help rural residents follow the best health practices during future crises. Rural broadband would also bring more options for treating patients through remote telemedicine. When keeping doctors healthy is the top priority, giving them options to assess and treat patients remotely is valuable. It would also help solve the chronic shortage of physicians faced by many rural areas.

In the face of a global pandemic, it’s definitely better to be safe than sorry. However, we look forward to the day when remote access to school, work, and healthcare is available to everyone, not only those who live in a city or town. We should see this event as a wake-up call to expand our infrastructure so that staying connected and healthy while at home is easier in the future.

Source: Missouri Farm Bureau Federation

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A PDMP is a tool to help doctors and pharmacists recognize the early signs of prescription drug abuse. Often they can intervene before a situation becomes too hard to solve. The program would keep track of a patient’s prescription history for Schedule II through IV drugs. These Schedules include opioids, anabolic steroids, and valium. A PDMP would let doctors and pharmacists review their patients’ histories. The information could help them make better-informed decisions about how to treat their patients’ needs.

PDMPs are effective at reducing doctor shopping and overprescription of opioids. The CDC has documented numerous such cases following the implementation of a PDMP. For example, one year after mandating that prescribers check the state’s PDMP before prescribing opioids, New York saw a 75% drop in patients seeing multiple prescribers for the same drugs.

While a PDMP is not a silver bullet to end opioid addiction, it is an important piece of the solution. This is a key element of the Trump administration’s five-point strategy to fight the opioid epidemic. This effort, led by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has contributed to a nationwide slowing of the epidemic.

Incredibly, Missouri remains the only state in the nation without a PDMP. Amid the largest drug crisis in our nation’s history, it’s disappointing that every state but ours has taken this step. In 2018, the last year for which data were available, 1,132 Missourians died from an opioid overdose. This is more than double the number from 10 years earlier. Over 47,000 Americans died from opioids that year, more than died at the height of the AIDS epidemic.

Representative Holly Rehder (R-Scott City) has led the push for a Missouri PDMP for the past seven years. Senator Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville) is championing the bill in the Senate. For years, a small handful of state senators have blocked their efforts. These senators claim that a PDMP would constitute an invasion of privacy and invite government abuse.

The hypothetical situations these senators toss around are not based on evidence or experience. Forty-nine other states have had PDMPs for years, and the senators’ catastrophic predictions have never materialized.

Privacy is important to Missourians, as it should be. In reality, though, we have often decided to allow monitoring to occur when the risk to the public is great. Sales of many dangerous substances have been monitored for years. For example, an average Joe cannot just walk into any corner drug store and purchase plutonium or high explosives. It could easily be argued that opioids are even more dangerous than these substances. Plutonium and explosives together don’t kill anywhere near 1,100 of our fellow citizens each year.

The Trump administration is correct – Missouri needs a PDMP so doctors can finally have the necessary tools to fight opioid addiction. The Missouri Senate should take notice and enact a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.

Source: Missouri Farm Bureau Federation

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Now in her fourth term, Wagner has served in Congress since 2013. She is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Following the endorsement, Wagner said:

“Agriculture is the top economic driver in the State of Missouri and I am honored to have the endorsement of the Missouri Farm Bureau. In Washington, I will continue to promote free and fair trade like the recent passage of the USMCA, advocate for Missouri’s hardworking farmers and push back against burdensome regulations that hinder agribusiness throughout the Midwest.”

Denny Mertz, a trustee of the St. Louis Regional Endorsement Committee, said:

“Congresswoman Wagner cares about families in the St. Louis area. From her dedication to stopping human trafficking to her consistent support for the issues that matter to farmers, their families, and agribusiness, she has shown that she is the best candidate for the job.”

PAC trustees on Regional Endorsement Committees are selected by their county Farm Bureau organizations.

Source: Missouri Farm Bureau

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“Rural Missourians deserve adequate representation in Jefferson City. We are glad to see the Senate approve SJR 38, as it would help ensure rural communities remain intact and are represented fairly by people who live in them. Legislators’ districts should not be drawn to place a thumb on the scales for either political party. Instead, we should prioritize keeping communities of interest together. We encourage the House to take up this legislation and give the people of Missouri a better option for redistricting.”

Source: Missouri Farm Bureau

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While shooting this series, we met some incredible people in widely-differing jobs. Each one told us about the integral role trade plays in his or her job.

Clarissa Cauthorn is a seed salesperson for Beck Hybrids based in Audrain County. She told us, “If we don’t have trade, farmers don’t have money. … If farmers don’t have the capability to purchase a product, I’m out of a job. I’ll have to find a new job in a different industry.”

Eric Woodward manages a John Deere dealership in Marshall named Ag-Power, Inc. He said that fluctuations in trade have had a big impact on the local economy, beyond even tractor sales. According to Eric, if trade markets took a turn for the worse, “we would we would see customers shutting down all their purchasing decisions. That’s going to have a massive ripple effect … it’s going to affect the grocery stores, the clothing companies, anybody that’s in a retail business. Those folks are holding up their decisions for a reason, and that’s because they don’t know where this is going.”

We caught up with Steven Douglas, a tugboat captain and pilot on the Missouri River, as he was cruising past Boonville and McBaine. He told us how past trade disruptions affected his industry. “In the early ‘80s after the Carter grain embargo, a lot of boats were idled,” he said. “A lot of people had to go do lesser jobs and go to factories and go to truck drive and leave the industry. … when I started on the river (in 1989), all those stories were still fresh in everybody’s mind. … A lot of boats stayed idled for years.”

The downstream impacts of trade are broad. Missouri exports $4 billion of agriculture products annually, supporting over 32,400 jobs in our state. Trade remains one of our economy’s best growth opportunities as well. Our farmers have the capacity to serve the rising middle class in nations like China and India, plus begin to reach growing markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

Trade is crucial to the entire nation. President Trump recently announced a preliminary agriculturally-focused trade agreement with China that could be a boon for American farmers. He also is expected to deliver a massive new free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada to Congress for consideration in the coming weeks. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, or USMCA, would modernize the countries prior trade agreements. It would also further open markets for American products to Mexico and Canada.

A final vote may not occur until after the new year, and the ongoing saga of impeachment could derail even the best-laid plans. However, Missouri’s Congressional delegation has expressed almost unanimous support for USMCA. Once the vote is called, we anticipate our elected representatives will stand with the tens of thousands of Missourians who are Paid by Trade.

Source: Missouri Farm Bureau

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