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Rep. Hulshof honored with Farm Bureau's Golden Plow awardRep. Kenny Hulshof, R-MO, received the Golden Plow award, the highest honor the American Farm Bureau Federation presents to members of Congress, for his advocacy for farmers and ranchers and his efforts on their behalf throughout his time in Congress. The Golden Plow was presented to Rep. Hulshof March 13 during a luncheon meeting of members of the AFBF board of directors in Washington, D.C. Rep. Hulshof represents the Ninth Congressional District of 25 counties in northeastern and central Missouri, and he has ties to a family farm he owns and operates in southeastern Missouri. He represents the interests of farmers and ranchers in his district, state and nationwide through his service on the House Ways and Means Committee, the House Budget Committee and his co-chairmanship of the House Biofuels Caucus. "To think the same two feet that walked barefoot down rows of cotton are now walking the halls of Congress is truly an American dream come true," Rep. Hulshof said, "I'm a product of the land." He also briefly related his parents' challenges as young farmers starting out with little but faith to rely on in the Bootheel of Missouri in the mid-1950s. When Missouri Farm Bureau nominated Rep. Hulshof to receive the Golden Plow award, it cited his support of now-enacted provisions to create biofuels tax incentives. His efforts were instrumental in helping establish the first tax incentives for biodiesel production, and he has worked tirelessly to keep incentives for renewable fuels on the books. The Mississippi River and its tributaries are critical for the efficient movement of agricultural commodities produced in Missouri and a number of other states, and Rep. Hulshof is steadfast in his support of legislation to aid river transport. As chairman of the House Mississippi River Caucus, Rep. Hulshof leads efforts to modernize locks and dams to ensure farm products get to market in a timely manner. In particular, he helped write the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway System provisions in the Water Resources Development Act that became law last year. In addition, Missouri Farm Bureau commended Rep. Hulshof for his leadership since 2005 as the prime sponsor of legislation to permanently repeal the death tax, a long-time, priority issue of AFBF. He also wrote legislation to establish Farm and Ranch Risk Management Accounts, tax-favored savings accounts that would help farmers and ranchers manage risks and weather tough times, another concept AFBF has long advocated. "I'll always be known as the son of a cotton farmer," Rep. Hulshof said. He shared how his support for abolishing the death tax is personal, given his and his mother's experiences settling their farm estate after his father's death. He also said he plans to "plow some ground" on behalf of agriculture in the months ahead as he wraps up his House career that began in 1997. He said he hopes he has the opportunity to continue his efforts on behalf of farmers as governor of Missouri, the elected position he is seeking later this year. In addition, Rep. Hulshof said his first legislation to make it to the president's desk was an agriculture-related bill that was vetoed before being modified and incorporated into other legislation later enacted. Trained as an attorney, Rep. Hulshof also received an undergraduate degree in agriculture economics from the University of Missouri. AFBF presents Golden Plow awards to one House member and one Senate member each year. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-AR, received the other AFBF Golden Plow award in a Capitol Hill presentation last month. 4/7/08 Date: 4/3/08 Advertisement
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