Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst made the following statement regarding USDA’s announcement that it is relocating NIFA and ERS to Missouri:

Missouri farmers are excited to hear that the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and Economic Research Service (ERS) will soon call downtown Kansas City, Missouri, their permanent home. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue’s announcement recognizes what we already knew: Missouri is the epicenter of agriculture in the United States.

Although we were happy to learn earlier this year that the agencies would move to the KC metro region, downtown Kansas City, Missouri, is a particularly-excellent location. It has surged in popularity over the past two decades and is now the type of vibrant downtown that will attract top-shelf talent to these important agencies. We welcome the employees of NIFA and ERS to Missouri and look forward to working much more closely with them in the future.