Love note from Jeff City

My Fellow Missourians:

The Hickory County Cattlemen’s Bus Tour is coming up and all area beef producers are invited and encouraged to attend. This Cattlemen’s Bus Tour is made up of several area counties that used to include the old Kaysinger Area Extension District consisting of Bates, Benton, Cedar, Hickory, Henry, St. Clair, and Vernon. I have been on this tour several times in years past and highly recommend participating in this tour. For several years I had the opportunity to plan many of the tour stops as Sales Manager for Moorman Manufacturing Company. I can speak from personal experience that it provides beef producers a great opportunity to rub elbows and compare notes with one another and learn about agriculture operations in Missouri as well as other states.

Dr. Patrick Davis, Cedar County University of Missouri Extension Center Regional Livestock Specialist, has provided information on the tour with the registration deadline quickly approaching: July 15. The tour dates are Aug. 7-10, 2017. Cost is $365 covering hotel rooms and bus travel expenses. Meals are not included in this cost. To register or for questions, please call Mr. Terry Halleran, Hickory County MU Extension Center, at 417-745-6767. Per Mr. Halleran, as of today, there is still room for 20 more individuals. Below is the tour itinerary:

• Monday, Aug. 7

Journagan Ranch in Mountain Grove, MO

The largest purebred Hereford herd in the United States.

This herd was donated to Missouri State University by the Leo Journagan Family and used by the university to provide students the opportunity to gain hands-on ranching experience through a unique internship program that has benefited dozens of students, for some, their first experience on a farm.

Tribute Farm in Benton.

This is a large scale, irrigated, grazing dairy in which cows are grass fed, unconfined and able to produce A2 milk.

• Tuesday, Aug. 8

Black Hawk Farms in Princeton, KY

This farm raises, finishes, and markets their high quality premium Black Angus beef in the Black Hawk and Princeton, KY, area as well as having a state-of-the-art compost barn for grain finishing their cattle.

University of Kentucky Research and Education Center in Princeton, KY

They conduct research with livestock, pastures, grain crops, tobacco, fruits and vegetables.

We will also tour a horse production operation in the Princeton, KY, area.

• Wednesday, Aug. 9

Oak Hollow Angus in Smiths Grove, KY

This is the largest Angus breeder in Kentucky, raising females that have to be profitable to the commercial cattlemen and continual selection for traits of economic importance.

Cool Springs Ranch in Elizabethtown, KY

250 head cow-calf operation that transitioned into a large-scale Stocker operation with the goal of selling a million pounds of beef per year through rotational grazing along with modern feeding facilities in each paddock.

Operation has the ability to irrigate pastures as the result of a complex underground piping system, which at one point is pumping water vertically over 200 feet.

Beauchamp/Alexander Cattle Operation in Hardinsburg, KY

This cattle operation has Beefmaster and Angus cattle, selling several bulls to commercial cattle producers. They have consigned heifers, West Kentucky Bred Heifer Sale. They received the KFGC Grassroots award in 2005.

• Thursday, Aug. 10

Tom Saxe in Thompsonville, IL.

This former extension specialist in southern Illinois will discuss his Sim-Angus cattle and seedstock operation.

Soulard Farmers Market in St. Louis.

This is a historic farmers market with a 200-year tradition featuring locally grown and shipped-in goods, including produce, meats, cheeses, spices, gourmet kettle corn, flowers, baked goods and general merchandise.

St. James Winery in St. James.

This winery’s 40-year history involves producing unique regional wines that reflect the natural character of their grape varieties grown in the Ozark Highlands.

Real ID Compliance (HB151):

With the passage of HB151, Missouri has taken a step toward compliance with the Federal Real ID Act of 2005. According to the MO Department of Revenue, several other steps will need to be taken over the next 18 months to make Missouri’s driver licenses and non-driver identification cards fully compliant.

For today, Missouri residents should continue to treat renewals and new license requests as they have in the past. Missouri will need an enforcement waiver extension from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In preparation to implement the new law, Governor Greiten’s office is in contact with DHS regarding such an extension. Once that request is granted, current Missouri driver licenses and non-driver identification cards will be accepted on military bases, and the January, 2018, deadline for air travel will no longer be enforced. Current Missouri identification will be accepted for the duration of the extension.

HB 151 will become effective on Aug. 28. At that time, the MO Department of Revenue will begin the process to reach certification with the DHS. Several internal and external processes will need to be changed or upgraded to obtain certification and is expected to take at least 18 months.

If any Missouri citizens have questions or concerns, they are welcome to contact the MO Department of Revenue at 573-751-4600 or 573-526-2407.