Finance and Economic

Missouri’s struggling dairy farmers are asking Gov. Jay Nixon to call a special session of the state Legislature so lawmakers can approve emergency funding to help keep them in business.

The farmers asked in August for a nearly $16.5 million emergency payment from federal stimulus funds but were told that only the Legislature could approve distribution of the funds, not the governor, according to the Missouri Dairy Association.

The association is pointing to lawmakers in other states who are trying to secure funds from the $787 billion stimulus package for dairy farmers in their states. About $1 billion of that package is eligible for states, according to association leaders.

Dairy farmers are facing their worst economic crisis in decades, with prices $5 below the cost of production, per hundred pounds of milk. The state has about 2,000 dairy farmers with an economic impact of roughly $1.5 billion, the association said.

Jon Hagler, head of the state’s Department of Agriculture, said in a statement Friday: "Producers in Missouri have been faced with challenges and continue to struggle during these hard economic times.

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