News
Missouri’s dairy industry positioned to grow
The legislative director for Missouri Dairy says the state’s dairy industry is positioned to grow.
Gene Wiseman said while the number of Missouri dairy farms and cattle have dropped in recent years, production levels haven’t. And he tells Brownfield there is a lot of opportunity for dairy producers to come to the state.
“We are an agriculture state, our land prices are competitive with other Midwestern [and] Southern states, our taxation is competitive,” Wiseman said. “And, we have an agriculture governor and legislature that is pro-agriculture here in the state.”
He said Missouri also has strong local dairy processing.
“The Prairie Farms, the Highlands in the state, we have Aurora Organic in Columbia,” he said. “And then we have a variety of smaller processing plants that are producing artisan cheeses and products for their local areas.”
Wiseman said he’s focused on helping new farmers get started but also protecting the ability of existing farms to be passed down to the next generation.
