Missouri\u2019s agriculture industry affects every aspect of our lives, including our economy, our health, and our quality of life. With nearly 100,000 farms and 28 million acres of farmland, we are a proud agricultural state. In fact, nearly 90% of Missouri farms are family-owned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But today, our farmers face both immediate and long-term challenges. They\u2019re experiencing increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather patterns that disrupt crop yields.<\/strong> And they\u2019re on the receiving end of the scourge of foreign corporations and governments buying up more and more acres of Missouri farmland. Let me be clear: we must do more to protect Missouri farmers. Independent, family-owned farms are the backbone of our great state, and we simply cannot trust Big Ag and foreign governments to take care of our communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Senate, I\u2019ll stand up for our independent, family-owned farms from day one, and work to finally prohibit the Chinese Communist Party from purchasing American farmland. We can\u2019t keep letting monopolistic corporations and foreign countries put our local farmers out of business. Protecting Missouri farms and their ability to produce healthy, locally-grown food will be my priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear Missourians,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Missouri\u2019s farming community has long been a backbone of our state and our economy. Our farmers contribute $94 billion a year in economic activity, powering more than 450,000 jobs and strengthening communities from the bootheel on up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet for Eric Schmitt, this critical sector on which hundreds of thousands of Missouri families rely is nothing but a political pawn on which to advance his political career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schmitt might talk a good game about protecting Missouri farmers, but he sold them out without a moment\u2019s hesitation when given the opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2013, a Chinese company was seeking to purchase U.S. pork producer Smithfield, which maintains extensive operations in Missouri. However, the sale was being hindered by a longstanding Missouri law that banned the foreign ownership of farmland \u2013 protecting our farms and farmers from foreign takeovers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But then, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, \u201cin what was presented as a coincidence, Missouri legislators \u2014 led by recipients of Smithfield Foods\u2019 political donations \u2014 pushed through a controversial, last-minute measure to allow\u201d Missouri farmland to be owned by Chinese companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schmitt was one of those lawmakers. At the time, Schmitt had received thousands of dollars in political contributions from Smithfield, plus personal gifts from their top lobbyist. And he knew that spigot of campaign money and personal benefits would be turned off if he didn\u2019t vote their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of protecting Missourians, our food supply, and our national security, Schmitt voted to sell us out \u2013 twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schmitt got his way \u2013 his bill changed the law to allow Chinese companies to take over Missouri farmland. And he benefited \u2013 he continued to receive annual gifts from Smithfield, as well as thousands in campaign contributions. But Missourians got hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to his vote, Smithfield was purchased by a Chinese company, and today China controls more than 146,000 acres of our farms. The deal was even directed by the Chinese Communist Party, with NPR reporting that \u201cthe Chinese government does exercise management control\u201d of Smithfield\u2019s parent company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s a major risk to our economy, our national security, and to Missouri families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Giving China control over our food supply jacks up costs on Missouri families, as the Chinese government puts its interests first. As the Center for Strategic & International Studies has reported, \u201cWhen the pandemic hit, Smithfield increased pork exports to China even as the United States experienced widespread meat shortages due to supply chain disruptions and Smithfield closed some of its plants due to poor working conditions.\u201d Nearly a decade after Schmitt\u2019s vote, the price of bacon has risen 45 percent since he helped allow China to take over one of our largest employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also threatens our national security. Throughout the country, China has been buying up land near U.S. military bases and other sensitive areas \u2013 fueling concerns that their landholdings can be used for spying or economic espionage. Thanks to Schmitt, that can happen right here in Missouri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it hurts Missouri families. When Chinese companies \u2013 controlled by the Chinese Communist Party \u2013 buy up our farmland, it means the profits earned off the backs of the hard labor of our farmers goes not into our communities, but back to China. Smith\u2019s vote made wealthy billionaires connected to the Chinese Communist Party richer, while weakening Missouri towns and families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s long past time to put a stop not only to Eric Schmitt, but to his disastrous sellout of Missouri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As soon as I get to the United States Senate, the very first bill I introduce will be to partner with Republican Senators Tom Cotton and Tommy Tuberville to join them on their Securing America\u2019s Land from Foreign Interference Act<\/a> which prohibits the Chinese Communist Party from purchasing American farmland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We must protect Missouri farmland from being taken over by foreign interests, and ensure that Missouri farmers remain in charge so that our families and communities can grow and be strengthened by the hard work they put into their land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Washington, I won\u2019t be swayed by anyone \u2013 certainly not by gifts and campaign contributions from Chinese companies \u2013 from achieving that goal. I\u2019ll be nobody\u2019s senator but your\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trudy Busch Valentine<\/p>\n\n\n\n [1]<\/em> \u201cEconomic Contribution Study of Missouri Agriculture and Forestry.\u201d Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority, November 2021<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [2]<\/em> \u201cIs Missouri\u2019s agricultural law being rewritten in Hong Kong?\u201d St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5\/24\/15<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n [3] <\/em>Vote to pass SB 9, Missouri Senate Journal, P 1992, 5\/16\/13<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n [4]<\/em> Vote to override veto of SB 9, Missouri Senate Journal, P 1992, 9\/11\/13<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [5]<\/em> \u201cForeign Purchases of U.S. Agricultural Land: Facts, Figures, and an Assessment of Real Threats.\u201d CSIS 9\/8\/21<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n [6]<\/em> \u201cWho\u2019s behind the Chinese takeover of world\u2019s biggest pork producer?\u201d PBS Newshour, 9\/12\/14<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n