Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Spreutels Red Angus this week in Oregon County to discuss federal policies impacting agriculture. This month Congressman Smith is meeting with farmers and ranchers all across southern Missouri to discuss the different challenges within Missouri’s diverse agriculture industry.
At his full factory cattle farm, Wilbur Spreutels raises calves from birth to packaging, but he said it isn’t anything on the farm that worries him. He says the Obama-era electronic logging device mandate for truckers could soon be a serious roadblock for the cattle industry. Spreutels hauls his cattle to Colorado to be processed, and the 11-hour hours of service rule would make his 14-hour trek more complicated than necessary.
Congressman Smith agreed, saying the mandate is burdensome for independent truck owners and operators, but especially harmful to ranchers who haul livestock.
Congressman Smith is a vocal opponent of the ELD mandate. He has coauthored a bill to eliminate the mandate altogether and has repeatedly pushed the House of Representatives to vote on repealing or delaying the rule.
Spreutels Red Angus has won more than a dozen Grid Master Awards from the Red Angus Association of America for excellence in commercial cattle and the cattle feeding industry. Prior to moving to Missouri, Wilbur Spreutels was a dairy farmer for 30 years in New York.