Protecting Family Farms and Boosting Local Economies
Agriculture is the backbone of Missouri’s 4th District, but our traditional way of life is under attack. For generations, independent family farms have sustained our communities, but today, they are being squeezed out by corporate monopolies and predatory land grabs.
True economic strength comes from the ground up, not the top down. We need to shift the power balance away from multi-billion dollar multinational conglomerates and put it back into the hands of local producers, small business owners, and working families.
Our Priorities for a Resilient Rural Economy
1. Fighting Corporate Monopolies and Ensuring Fair Markets
A handful of massive, multi-billion dollar corporate conglomerates now control the vast majority of our meatpacking, seed supply, and fertilizer industries. This corporate consolidation drives down prices for independent farmers while driving up costs for consumers at the grocery store. We need aggressive enforcement of antitrust laws to break up these monopolies, enforce fair market competition, and guarantee a level playing field for local producers.
2. Stopping Foreign and Corporate Land Grabs
Our agricultural land should belong to the people who work it, not out-of-state corporate investors or foreign entities looking to turn a quick profit. We must implement strict federal restrictions on the corporate and foreign ownership of American farmland, ensuring that local families have the opportunity to buy land, pass it down to the next generation, and keep Missouri’s agricultural wealth within our local communities.
3. Championing the Right to Repair
When a tractor or piece of harvesting equipment breaks down, a farmer should have the right to fix it themselves or take it to an independent local mechanic. Corporate manufacturers use digital locks and proprietary software to force farmers into using expensive, authorized dealerships, costing thousands in unnecessary delays. We will pass federal Right to Repair legislation to give farmers full access to the diagnostic tools and parts they need to keep their operations moving.
4. Investing in Main Street and Fair Wages
A thriving agricultural economy requires vibrant small towns to support it. We must invest in our local Main Streets by expanding access to low-interest capital for small businesses and ensuring that working families earn a fair, living wage. When workers have money in their pockets, they spend it at local shops, creating a robust, self-sustaining economic circle that benefits everyone in the district.
The Bottom Line
Our rural communities shouldn’t have to export their wealth to Wall Street. By standing up to corporate giants and protecting our independent family farms, we can build a resilient, homegrown economy where hard work pays off and our small towns can thrive for generations to come.