New agriculture rules set for governor's OK

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden today plans to sign into law an omnibus agriculture bill that includes provisions standardizing meat inspection regulations and to encourage farmers to pay required levies for boll weevil eradication.

Holden is to sign the legislation in St. Joseph after having conducted bill-signing ceremonies in other parts of the state this election year. It will take effect Aug. 28.

State Rep. Peter Myers, R-Sikeston, sponsored the bill in the House of Representatives. He said the meat inspection provision would conform state inspection programs with federal requirements.

"It would not lower regulations, it would just make them consistent," Myers said.

The boll weevil section would allow the Missouri Department of Agriculture to place a lien on a cotton farmer's next crop if he failed to pay his assessed fee for combating the pest. Myers said most farmers pay willingly since boll weevils are a universal problem for cotton producers, but the new law will provide an incentive for the few who don't.

The measure also revises the tax credit program for farmers who invest in new generation cooperatives, such as those that promote soy diesel or ethanol. The bill will allow tax credits to be redeemed quarterly rather than annually.

Since the amount of a credit often exceeds the recipient's tax liability, businesses and financial institutions often purchase the credits. Allowing credits to be redeemed more frequently is intended make them more attractive to purchasers, in turn providing a greater rate of return for the farmers who sell them.

One novel component of the bill would allow neighboring farmers to formally establish "growers' districts" in which they agree to plant the same type of a hybrid crop in order to avoid cross-pollination problems.

Such districts can be particularly useful when growing specialized varieties for industrial or pharmaceutical uses.

Agriculture department director Peter Hofherr said the provision is one of several in the bill that promotes entrepreneurial innovation.

Financial records submitted by companies to the department in order to participate in various programs would be closed from public view under the measure.

"That proprietary information might become public was a concern to a lot of folks," Hofherr said.

The bill would also shield from legal liability charitable groups that distribute venison to the needy under the Share the Harvest program. Such groups could not be held responsible for any illness that might result from eating the meat as long as it has been processed by a state-approved facility.

The bill is SB 740.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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