Smith taking part in Farm Tour

BENTON -- "With every stop I'm learning something. The diversity in agriculture in our district is unreal," said Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith as his second day of his annual Farm Tour got underway on Wednesday.

Smith, who had just completed a tour of the Tribute Dairy Farm in Scott County, was on his way to Charleston to tour Concept Ag-Seed and later in the day would be at the AC Riley Cotton Gin. Tuesday's stops included a goat farm and a walnut tree farm while later in this year's Farm Tour he would visit the more traditional row-crop and cattle farms as well as meet those who make their living growing everything from mushrooms and fish to blueberries and peanuts.

Last year's tour, which was only a week long, provided him with input from his constituents about the Farm Bill, Smith said. He also learned about efforts by the National Park Service to require special permits for baptisms and pointed out he was able to go back to Washington and put a halt to the requirement.

This year with the tour expanded to two weeks, Smith said much of what he is hearing involves the difficulty in dealing with burdensome regulations.

"We hope to take the information we receive and try to address it," Smith added.

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