Love note from Jeff City

Greetings, My Fellow Missourians

I have spent the last several days attending my third Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) which was hosted by Missouri this year in St. Louis.  The 72nd Annual Meeting of the SLC joined together more than 1,300 legislators, staff, and guests from 15 Southern states to discuss regional and national policy issues.   The SLC was established in 1947 and is non-partisan with the mission to encourage cooperation and sharing of effective policy solutions to better serve constituents.  I serve on the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee as well as the Energy and Environment Committee.

During the event, members of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee went on an agricultural technical tour on the Mississippi River.   One 15-mile section of the river is known as the Agricultural Coast of America.  It can handle up to 500 barges per day.  Each tugboat pushes a group of 15 Barges transporting grain, coal, fertilizer, and much more.   One barge has the capacity of 1,500 tons, 62,500 bushels, or 453,500 gallons of products. The typical 15-barge tow is capable of hauling 22,500 tons or 767,500 bushels; that figures out to be 950 semi-truckloads!

MO DEPT OF CONSERVATION CWD SAMPLING EFFORTS FOR 2018 DEER SEASON:

From MDC-Jefferson City:  If you harvest a deer from certain counties in the CWD Management Zone during Nov. 10 or 11, 2018, you must take your deer (or the head with at least 6 inches of the neck in place) on the day of harvest to one of the following designated CWD sampling stations:  MDC CWD Sampling Stations  (You may take your deer to any station on this list.)   For questions about CWD sampling stations in Cedar, Hickory, and St. Clair Counties, please call the Conservation Department’s Southwest Regional Office at 417-895-6880.

The 31 counties for mandatory sampling are: Adair, Barry, Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Cedar, Cole, Crawford, Franklin, Grundy, Hickory, Jefferson, Knox, Linn, Macon, Madison, McDonald, Mercer, Moniteau, Ozark, Perry, Polk, Putnam, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Warren, and Washington.

MDC confirmed 33 new cases of CWD following the testing of nearly 24,500 free-ranging Missouri deer through its sampling and testing efforts last season. The new cases were found in Adair, Cedar, Franklin, Jefferson, Linn, Macon, Perry, Polk, St. Clair, and Ste. Genevieve counties. These new cases bring the total number of free-ranging deer in Missouri confirmed to have CWD to 75. Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/cwd.

The CWD Management Zone consists of counties in or near where cases of the disease have been found. The 48 counties are: Adair, Barry, Benton, Bollinger, Boone, Callaway, Cape Girardeau, Carroll, Cedar, Chariton, Cole, Cooper, Crawford, Dade, Franklin, Gasconade, Grundy, Hickory, Jefferson, Knox, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Madison, McDonald, Mercer, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Osage, Ozark, Perry, Polk, Putnam, Randolph, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Warren, and Washington.

To help limit the possible spread of CWD, MDC encourages hunters to process deer as close as possible to where harvested and to properly dispose of carcass parts by leaving or burying parts on site, or bagging parts and placing them in trash containers.

ALSO:  According to the Wildlife Code of Missouri, the placement of grain, salt products, minerals, and other consumable natural and manufactured products used to attract deer is prohibited year-round within counties of the CWD Management Zone. Exceptions are feed placed within 100 feet of any residence or occupied building, feed placed in such a manner to reasonably exclude access by deer, and feed and minerals present solely as a result of normal agricultural or forest management, or crop and wildlife food production practices.

100-MILE YARD SALE COMING SOON:

“Discover More on Route 54” is hosting the Annual 100-Mile Yard Sale scheduled for Labor Day weekend during daylight hours, August 31-September 1, along U.S. Highway 54 including the cities of Nevada, El Dorado Springs, Collins, Weaubleau, Wheatland, Hermitage, Preston, Macks Creek, and Camdenton.   Everyone is invited and encouraged to sell, attend, and ‘Discover More on Route 54!’  Sellers will be responsible for their own yard sale signs to attract motorists. With the increased holiday traffic, it’s encouraged that other non-profits (fire departments, churches, etc.) hold rummage sales & fundraisers at the same time.   –More information will be posted regularly.