by Drs. Vikram Lakhanpal and Isabel Warner
On November 12 and 13, Dr. Vikram Lakhanpal, the Agriculture and Energy Legislative Policy Fellow, attended the 2025 Governor’s Conference on Agriculture in Columbia, MO, presented by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Dr. Lakhanpal met with Missouri farmers, academic experts, and government employees to learn more about the state of agriculture in Missouri.
“One of the most illuminating panels was on pests,” said Dr. Lakhanpal. “Several animal and plant health experts discussed the bugs that keep them up at night, including the spongy moth, spotted lanternfly, and New World screwworm. Each one poses a different risk to different types of plants and animals, and learning about them was really interesting… and really terrifying!”
Dr. Lakhanpal also attended a panel on rural economic development, featuring the heads of Missouri Farmers Care, Missouri Partnership, and Moberly Area Economic Development Corporation. The panelists discussed how they work with businesses and local governments to attract companies to rural areas of the state. “I learned a lot about how these groups help towns make their strongest pitch to businesses looking to expand,” Dr. Lakhanpal remarked. “One point of emphasis was knowing the assets your community already has, both in terms of facilities as well as soft infrastructure. 80 of Missouri’s 114 counties are considered ‘agro-ready,’ meaning they have built-in advantages to attract agricultural businesses.”
Another panel featured researchers at the University of Missouri – Columbia who have developed data-driven resources to provide insights to farmers. The Missouri Agricultural, Food and Forestry Innovation Center (MAFFIC) provides several online tools, including Intel For Ag, that help new and expanding farmers determine the feasibility of their plans. The Rural & Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RAFF) publishes a variety of reports on farm production and income, including biannual Farm Income Outlooks for ten different states.
A running theme throughout the conference was the impact of federal policies on local business. Between tariffs and the recent government shutdown, there was a lot of discussion about how farmers could navigate uncertainty. “One panel discussion mentioned how… cattle [had turned] into a politicized and volatile market a few weeks earlier with a social media post about beef prices, which is a hard thing to anticipate, let alone plan for,” Dr. Lakhanpal noted.
For the final panel of the conference, the directors of five different state Departments – Natural Resources, Transportation, Conservation, Economic Development, and Education – discussed ongoing projects run by their departments to serve rural areas and Missourians in the agriculture industry. “I learned that the Department of Transportation has invested $300 million over the last five years to improve low-volume roads in rural areas,” Dr. Lakhanpal commented. “I also learned that Missouri’s timber industry is dealing with transitions. A lot of oak trees were planted in the late 19th Century in response to a period of aggressive cutover, and now those oaks are dying out.”
The conference concluded with a luncheon featuring remarks by Governor Kehoe and stand-up comedian Tim the Dairy Farmer. Said Dr. Lakhanpal, “The meals used food grown and produced in Missouri, and it was certainly a highlight of the conference!”