Ag Matters: Meet the Missouri Department of Agriculture staff

Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn authors a monthly column in Missouri Ruralist entitled Ag Matters. Below is this month's column.

As my first year as director of agriculture comes to a close, I reflect back on all of the exciting and challenging things I’ve experienced — finding a new path forward with dicamba, helping farmers cope with floods, collecting feedback on rules through the Governor’s No MO Red Tape initiative, visiting with thousands of Missouri farmers and ranchers, solidifying relationships with new and existing international markets, and taking my team on the road for the Reach More tour.

Through it all, I’ve been encouraged and inspired by the men and women who provide food, fuel, forestry and fiber products to consumers in Missouri and across the globe. I’ve also found a new family in my coworkers at the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

Getting to know the employees at the department, I am confident that we have a unique ability to serve you. We have a passion for agriculture. Most of our staff members are from a farm background or currently live on the farm, and they take that to work with them each day. Not only does that increase their knowledge, but — more importantly — it increases their passion. All of the members of our department staff care deeply about what they do. They want more Missourians to know what they do to improve your life, and why they do it.

To help tell that story, several of our brightest stars at the department stepped into a role they may not have been completely comfortable with. A handful of our employees have become on-camera spokespeople for the programs for which they work. The “This is YOUR Department of Agriculture” video series has captured a snapshot of what our agency does; more importantly, it has captured the people who embody our team mentality. They love their jobs, and they feel strongly about making sure agriculture retains its strong foothold in our communities and in our economy.

Click here to read the remainder of the Ag Matters column.