News for the Ninth By Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer

As a small farmer and rancher, I have a personal understanding of the importance of adhering to high standards of animal welfare. Over the last few weeks during my time in the District, I have heard from countless farmers and ranchers who are extremely concerned about the impact of a state ballot measure, Proposition B, in Missouri.
In rural communities where animals have been raised for generations there is real concern that Proposition B, which will appear on the November ballot, will do nothing to address those who keep animals in horrible conditions as long as the animals are not being bred to produce puppies for sale as pets. Many also believe the measure will harm the legal, licensed professional dog breeders in Missouri who produce healthy, happy puppies.
It is my belief that passage of Proposition B would be the first step toward ending the production of livestock in the state of Missouri. The next thing likely to happen is that animal rights groups will go after any hogs, chickens and turkeys in confinement. This is a dangerous and extreme measure. I’ve talked to folks in California and Ohio who are already seeing this kind of thing happen to their farmers and ranchers, and Missouri is next. To be clear, Proposition B is not about helping animals. It is about eliminating an already regulated industry and laying the necessary groundwork to severely restrict livestock production in our state. Passing this measure would impact our farmers in a very negative way.
To the people of the 9th District, taking away our beef, pork and poultry operations would be economically devastating when you consider that more than 35,000 farmers operate 23,000 farms on approximately 6.3 million acres, generating sales that are valued at approximately $1.4 billion for Missouri’s 9th District.
I feel very strongly about where Proposition B is going to take us and I look forward to continuing to discuss the issue. It is important that folks stand up and speak out when they feel that our agricultural industry is being targeted and our farming way of life is threatened.
CONTACT US: As always, for those of you with Internet access, I encourage you to visit my website http://luetkemeyer.house.gov/. For those without access to the Internet, I encourage you to call my offices in Columbia (573-886-8929), Washington, Mo. (636-239-2276), or Hannibal (573-231-1012) with your questions and concerns. If you want even greater access to what I am working on, please visit my YouTube site http://www.youtube.com/user/BLuetkemeyer and my Facebook page.