Leslie Meyer Named Chair of National Association of Counties' Agriculture Committee

Audrain County Associate Commissioner Leslie Meyer has been named chair of the National Association of Counties' Agriculture and Rural Affairs Steering Committee. The appointment was announced by NACo President George Dunlap during the organization's annual conference in New Orleans last month.

Meyer, who has been involved with the committee for four years and served as vice chair for three of those years, said she is 'honored to have been chosen' for the role. She noted that it gives Audrain County a seat at the federal level.

Meyer has also authored two resolutions aimed at decreasing input costs for production agriculture and addressing low grain prices for farmers. The resolutions call for the federal government to invest in new markets, research new products using USA-grown crops, reduce tariffs on fertilizers and chemicals, implement fail-proof reporting for USDA market reports, and lift restrictive regulations.

Meyer pointed out that farmers in Audrain County are struggling due to increasing input costs. She noted that last fall, farmers received the same amount for a bushel of corn as her father did in the early 1980s, but because input costs have increased so significantly, farmers are losing 76 cents per bushel today, compared to making 93 cents per bushel back then.