The Cole County Commission has applied to be part of a new program aimed at agriculture economic development.
The Agri-Ready Designation Program is open to all counties in the state at no cost. If approved, Cole County would be the fifth county designated.
The county must have policies conducive to promoting growth and development of farming, agri-business and agriculture processing.
To get the designation, a county must:
Not have any health or zoning ordinances that discourage, limit or restrict agricultural operations.
Defer to the Missouri Department of Agriculture and Department of Natural Resources for all environmental permitting of agriculture operations.
Not impose additional agricultural bonding, permit fees or insurance requirements.
Not apply definitions to agricultural operations more stringent than state laws or regulations.
Allow the use of biotechnology crops and crop protection products in accordance with their federally labeled use.
Not have any regulation or ordinances that discourage limit or restrict agricultural processing facilities.
The designation program was launched last year by Missouri Farmers Care (MFC) which is made up of groups promoting agriculture activities. These groups - such as the Missouri Soybean Association - help underwrite the designation program eliminating cost to the counties.
"There's no need for more restrictions," said Gary Wheeler, Soybean Association executive director. "We have enough taxes to pay."
The 2007-12 agriculture census of Cole County shows the number of farms went down from 1,103 to 1,055. However, the average size of a farm rose from 164 to 167 acres. There was also an 11 percent rise in the market value of the products sold from Cole County farms, going from $34.7 million to $38.3 million.
During census period, there were $10.5 million in crop sales and $27.8 million in livestock sales. The size of most Cole County farms in 2012 was between 50-179 acres with 33 percent of the land used for pasture and 38 percent to raise crops.
Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman said he thought this could eventually help with efforts being discussed to possibly put in a port facility in the Algoa area, which could help businesses get their products out to market.