A few weeks ago, the Irish Farmers Journal spoke with the Missouri director of agriculture Chris Chinn. A fifth-generation farmer, Chris was appointed to Missouri’s top political position in agriculture in January 2017.
To put the American state of Missouri in context, the island of Ireland is approximately 20m acres; the state of Missouri is over 44m acres. Of this, 28m acres are farmed across 100,000 farms. We caught up with Chris to ask about her main issues and policy objectives for the duration of her term.
Rules and regulations simplification
President Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants to reduce the rules and regulations which govern US agriculture. However, it is less well known that the state of Missouri initiated this process long before the Trump administration existed.
One of director Chinn’s first acts was to carry out a review of some 4,700 rules and regulations which affect agriculture in Missouri. Her challenge is to reduce the rules by one-third.
Most farmers in the US believe that the government is interfering too much with farming and that this is preventing farmers from effectively running their businesses. Director Chinn aims to rectify this.
“We’re going through every government restriction we have and are trying to figure out if there are some we can do away with. On every rule we ask the questions; is it necessary; is it over burdensome; can we make it easier to comply with.”
Farm profitability and NAFTA
Missouri’s largest farming sector is crops, mainly corn (maize), soya beans and, to a lesser extent, wheat, cotton and rice. The sector covers over 11m acres.
US farmers haven’t escaped the depressed grain prices experienced in recent years and when I spoke with director Chinn, the spot price for corn was $3.10/bushel (€122/t) and soya beans was $330/bushel (€280/t).
Director Chinn was quick to point out that the work she was doing to develop trade was essential in protecting farmers’ bottom lines.
“As director of agriculture, it is my responsibility to ensure that we can explore new markets and protect existing markets.”
Then the conversation swiftly moved to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA has generated millions of dollars’ worth of trade for the state.
Mexico alone imported $170m worth of corn and $229m worth of soya bean meal from Missouri in 2016.
The rhetoric from President Trump, before and during his administration, that he would pull out of the agreement has incited fear among the farming community.
But director Chinn’s response was clear; if the agreement must be updated, it needs to do no harm to agriculture.
“If we revisit and open up NAFTA that’s great, but we want to leave agriculture the way it is. When we talk to farmers and ask if they want any changes, they say leave it alone.”
Women in agriculture
When asked about the fact that just 11% of people involved in agriculture in Missouri are women, director Chinn said: “I definitely see the rules changing. I think girls are stepping up and realising that they can do this too. This is a field that has a lot of opportunity for me as a woman.”
She was also adamant to state that leadership roles are based on having the necessary skills and attributes for the job and not because of gender.
“I do not think that I got this job just because I’m a woman; I think I got the job because I was qualified and had the leadership skills which were necessary.”
US farmers believe that the government has gotten too involved with the running of their business and President Trump wants to rectify this.Any updates of the NAFTA agreement must not harm US agriculture.Director Chinn believes leadership roles are based on someone’s ability to do the job as opposed to their gender.
A few weeks ago, the Irish Farmers Journal spoke with the Missouri director of agriculture Chris Chinn. A fifth-generation farmer, Chris was appointed to Missouri’s top political position in agriculture in January 2017.
To put the American state of Missouri in context, the island of Ireland is approximately 20m acres; the state of Missouri is over 44m acres. Of this, 28m acres are farmed across 100,000 farms. We caught up with Chris to ask about her main issues and policy objectives for the duration of her term.
Rules and regulations simplification
President Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants to reduce the rules and regulations which govern US agriculture. However, it is less well known that the state of Missouri initiated this process long before the Trump administration existed.
One of director Chinn’s first acts was to carry out a review of some 4,700 rules and regulations which affect agriculture in Missouri. Her challenge is to reduce the rules by one-third.
Most farmers in the US believe that the government is interfering too much with farming and that this is preventing farmers from effectively running their businesses. Director Chinn aims to rectify this.
“We’re going through every government restriction we have and are trying to figure out if there are some we can do away with. On every rule we ask the questions; is it necessary; is it over burdensome; can we make it easier to comply with.”
Farm profitability and NAFTA
Missouri’s largest farming sector is crops, mainly corn (maize), soya beans and, to a lesser extent, wheat, cotton and rice. The sector covers over 11m acres.
US farmers haven’t escaped the depressed grain prices experienced in recent years and when I spoke with director Chinn, the spot price for corn was $3.10/bushel (€122/t) and soya beans was $330/bushel (€280/t).
Director Chinn was quick to point out that the work she was doing to develop trade was essential in protecting farmers’ bottom lines.
“As director of agriculture, it is my responsibility to ensure that we can explore new markets and protect existing markets.”
Then the conversation swiftly moved to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA has generated millions of dollars’ worth of trade for the state.
Mexico alone imported $170m worth of corn and $229m worth of soya bean meal from Missouri in 2016.
The rhetoric from President Trump, before and during his administration, that he would pull out of the agreement has incited fear among the farming community.
But director Chinn’s response was clear; if the agreement must be updated, it needs to do no harm to agriculture.
“If we revisit and open up NAFTA that’s great, but we want to leave agriculture the way it is. When we talk to farmers and ask if they want any changes, they say leave it alone.”
Women in agriculture
When asked about the fact that just 11% of people involved in agriculture in Missouri are women, director Chinn said: “I definitely see the rules changing. I think girls are stepping up and realising that they can do this too. This is a field that has a lot of opportunity for me as a woman.”
She was also adamant to state that leadership roles are based on having the necessary skills and attributes for the job and not because of gender.
“I do not think that I got this job just because I’m a woman; I think I got the job because I was qualified and had the leadership skills which were necessary.”
US farmers believe that the government has gotten too involved with the running of their business and President Trump wants to rectify this.Any updates of the NAFTA agreement must not harm US agriculture.Director Chinn believes leadership roles are based on someone’s ability to do the job as opposed to their gender. 
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