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Nixon signs ag bills at Missouri State Fair

SEDALIA, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon signed several agriculture-related bills at the Missouri State Fair on Friday.

Flanked by Missouri Agriculture Director Richard Fordyce, the Democratic governor signed three pieces of legislation intended to strengthen the state’s beef cattle industry, promote the use of farm fuels and cut through layers of bureaucratic red tape for farmers across the state.

Nixon signed Senate Bills 665, 657 and 664, which, in that order, reauthorized the existing Qualified Beef Tax Credit, promotes the installation of blended fuel pumps at more gas stations throughout the state; and, finally, cuts red tape for farmers by waiving the requirement that an authorized farm corporation or family farm corporation file an annual corporate registration report with the Missouri Secretary of State when there has been no change to the corporation’s reported information.

Senate Bills 665 and 664 were each sponsored by Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar and Senate Bill 657 was sponsored by Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown.

“Agriculture is Missouri’s number one industry, and that’s why we work hard to help family farms by cutting red tape and promoting the sale and success of Missouri grown products,” Nixon said in a prepared statement.

In the release, Nixon said he appreciated the work of the legislature and Missouri producers to enact legislation strengthening the beef industry.

“This is an area we identified for growth, and today we’re following through on those efforts,” Nixon said.

Missouri currently ranks third in the nation in the number of beef cows, but nearly all those animals leave Missouri before they’re full-grown and are finished and processed in other states, which translates into a loss of $1 billion in value every year.

Senate Bill 665 re-authorizes the existing Qualified Beef Tax Credit until 2021 and changes the tax credit amount to 10 cents per pound for sale weights under 600 pounds and 25 cents per pound for sale weights over 600 pounds, not to exceed $15,000.

This legislation also creates the Meat Processing Facility Investment Tax Credit for taxpayers who construct, modernize or expand their meat processing facility in the amount equal to 25 percent of the amount the taxpayer paid, not to exceed $75,000. Senate Bill 665 also rebrands the Farm-to-School Program as the Farm-to-Table Program and expands eligibility of the program to connect Missouri farmers with correctional facilities, hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities and military bases.

Director Fordyce praised his boss, saying the governor has fought for agriculture throughout his administration.

“Governor Nixon understands the importance of this industry and what it takes to advance farmers,” Fordyce said in the release. “From leading successful trade missions overseas to investing in our youth, he is committed to growth in agriculture.”

Senate Bill 657 is designed to promote the installation of blended fuel pumps at more gas stations throughout the state by ensuring that the liability insurance gas stations are already required to have under state law will also provide coverage for the release of blended fuels from incompatible storage tanks.

Senate Bill 664, a proposal from Secretary of State Jason Kander that was sponsored in the Missouri Senate by Parson, cuts red tape for farmers by waiving the requirement that an authorized farm corporation or family farm corporation file an annual corporate registration report with the Missouri Secretary of State when there has been no change to the corporation’s reported information. According to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office, out of the 765 farm corporations in Missouri, only around 10 percent have a change to the reported information in any given year.

In addition to the three agriculture-related bills the Governor signed at the State Fairgrounds today, he also signed Senate Bill 655, which was also sponsored by Senator Munzlinger, which makes revisions relating to the administration of Missouri’s fertilizer laws, including setting timeframes in which fertilizer samples taken for inspection must be analyzed and the results communicated.