VIENNA — The Maries County Commission entered the county as a participant in the statewide Agri-Ready program during a special presentation at the courthouse on July 25.

Agri-Ready is a program run by the organization Missouri Farmers Care (MFC), which “is a joint effort by Missouri’s farming and agriculture community to stand together for the men and women who provide the food and jobs on which our communities depend,” according to promotional materials.

The organization launched the Agri-Ready program in 2015. An Agri-Ready County designation “recognizes counties that actively support Missouri agriculture through establishing an environment and county policies conducive to agricultural business success.”

Maries County’s addition to the Agri-Ready list marks more than 70 counties enrolled in the program. All the neighboring counties participate in the program except for Phelps and Pulaski.

State Rep. Bennie Cook, who approached the county commission earlier this summer about obtaining the Agri-Ready designation, said he was encouraging those counties to pursue the designation, too.

A county must meet seven qualifications to obtain Agri-Ready designation:

1. County commission attests to willingness to promote agricultural stewardship, growth and opportunity;

2. Not have any health or zoning ordinance that discourage, limit or restrict agricultural operations;

3. Defer to the Missouri Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources for all environmental permitting of agricultural operations;

4. Not impose additional agricultural bonding, permit fees, or insurance requirements;

5. Not apply definitions to agricultural operation more stringent than state laws or regulations;

6. Allow land application of nutrients at agronomic rates based on data from the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; and

7. Allow the use of biotechnology crops and crop protection products in accordance with their federally labeled use.

According to informational materials published by MFC, Missouri farms have an economic impact of more than $93 billion. The state is home to 27 million acres of farmland spread across more than 87,000 farms.

Information the group published about the economic impact of the agricultural industry in Maries County came from the 2021 Missouri Economic Contribution of Agriculture and Forestry Study and the 2022 Census of Agriculture. According to the MFC report, Maries County has an agricultural output of $282.7 million. The industry has $76.8 million in added value. The county has nearly 1,900 jobs related to agriculture. Maries County is home to approximately 736 farms across 216,335 acres of farmland.

Some of the benefits of becoming Agri-Ready, according to MFC, include the advancement of local agricultural enterprise, promotion of the county as a place conducive to business expansion and enhancing workforce readiness for agricultural careers. MFC will also recruit local FFA student leaders to implement the Agriculture Education on the Move program in third-grade classrooms. The organization will also equip counties with resources to support agricultural growth opportunities including promotional videos, social media posts and other resources.

During the July 22 commission meeting, Cook met with the commissioners to ask if they had any questions before the gathering later in the week.

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel asked Cook about the benefit of the county’s Agri-Ready designation from the perspective of the average resident.

“It means that you’re friendly toward agriculture and you’re not pushing for regulations on ag for farms or for meat processors,” he said. “You’re inviting anyone who is agriculture into the county.”

Cook emphasized that the designation is not binding and if the county commission ever wants to go in a different direction, it may do so. Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman said he did not predict the commission would do that.

During the July 25 presentation, MFC Executive Director Ashley McCarty addressed the group who had gathered in the courtroom, including representatives from many local agricultural organizations and businesses.

“Our goal is just to promote agriculture in partnership and walk hand-in-hand with your leadership,” she said. “We have no vision for what agricultural opportunity looks like in Maries County. That is up to the people that sit in this room, but we support any opportunity.”

McCarty said one of the activities MFC does to promote the goals of participating counties is to produce videos showcasing what the counties have to offer and what their goals for agriculture are in the future.

After an overview of the organization, the commissioners signed the document to add Maries County to the Agri-Ready county roster.

“Ag is the biggest thing in Maries County by a longshot I think,” Stratman said. “If (the designation) can somehow promote industry, especially in the ag sector, that’s great.”

“It’s great to put Maries County on the map as Agri-Ready because we know we’re agriculture-friendly here,” Cook said. “It’s just great to make that designation and make it official today.”

Security cameras

The Missouri Department of Revenue recently completed a quarterly review of the Vienna License Office. For the second quarter in a row, the review found that the camera in the license office does not store video for the 60-day minimum requirement. Repeated violations on quarterly reviews can impact scores, which could eventually lead to a breach of the contract between the state and the county to operate the office.

The commissioners agreed that they did not want the issue to escalate. Stratman called Fort Knox Alarm & Security, the company that installed the cameras, to ask it to look at the license office and address the appearance of the wires on the courthouse exterior.

During the July 25 meeting, Stratman said the company had fixed the issue in the license office.

Vehicle taxes

Treasurer Angie Stricklan shared the county’s motor vehicle revenue for May. Road One and Road Two share the revenue 55 percent and 45 percent, respectively.

Motor fuel tax revenue totaled $43,207.71 in July, which was a 6 percent increase over the previous July. Motor vehicle taxes totaled $10,580.66 in July, which was a 2 percent increase over the previous July. Motor vehicle fees totaled $3,359.29 in July, which was a 10 percent decrease from the previous July.

Courthouse elevator

Stratman said one of the companies that visited the courthouse to look at the elevator mentioned that the elevator possibly needed changes to comply with regulations. He planned to call the state to find out if anything about the elevator’s setup needed to change during possible renovations. At the time of the July 25 meeting, the county had received one bid for the elevator work.