Unemployment, health care, broadband concerns highlight Ag Summit talks

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, during a visit to Poplar Bluff’s Orscheln Farm & Home Store Tuesday morning, said he’s heard about several consistent issues during his 30-county Ag Summit this summer.

“It’s mainly been health care, unemployment, workforce, broadband and trade agreements,” said Smith of the issues he hears about the most during constituent visits.

“Business has been good for us. With every unfortunate situation, there’s always some positives, and it’s been very good for us because we’re essential,” Director of Store Planning and Administration Dave Hult told Smith. “Our products are driven by what people need.”

Rep. Jason Smith (left) tours the Poplar Bluff Orscheln Farm & Home store with District Manager Randy Croney and others during a Tuesday Ag Summit stop.DAR/Paul Davis

Even so, Hult explained, his company’s biggest issue, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been finding people to work.

The company, he said, has 165 stores in nine states and has been family owned since 1960.

“The unemployment schedule has really hurt us more than helped us,” Hult told Smith as they toured the local store.

Rep. Jason Smith listens to concerns from officials with Orscheln Farm & Home stores during an Ag Summit stop in Poplar Bluff Tuesday morning.DAR/Paul Davis

Each agreed a primary contributor to the issue has been the extra $600 weekly unemployment payments people received during the pandemic.

“A lot of folks are having a hard time finding people to work because they’ve been making more money drawing unemployment,” Smith explained.

His office, Smith noted, “tried to figure out what our median income is in our congressional district for a family of four, and it’s right at $40,000. If you use that $600 a week unemployment and figure out how much that would be in our district, it would come out to $23 an hour not to be working.”

Rep. Jason Smith (from left) speaks with Orscheln Farm & Home Director of Store Planning and Administration Dave Hult, Poplar Bluff store manager Chad Gofton and District Manager Randy Croney during a stop Tuesday at the Poplar Bluff store, part of his annual Ag Summit.DAR/Paul Davis

“People are taking a pay cut to come to work,” added Poplar Bluff store manager Chad Gofton.

“Unemployment is about helping those who are displaced, and it shouldn’t be making more money than working. It’s not right, and it’s been a big fight,” Smith said. “We had more people in our district making money not working than were by working.”

Another issue, Orscheln District Manager Randy Croney told Smith, is the current state of country-of-origin labeling for beef products.

“Country-of-origin labeling is definitely a big concern of our customer base, which would affect our business as well. We want to make sure our farmers are prosperous,” Croney said.

As a cattle farmer himself, Smith said, he agrees, but it’s “been a big challenge to figure that out.”

With country-of-origin labeling in place, he said, both Canada and Mexico, members of the North American Free Trade Agreement, enforce heavy tariffs on U.S. products.

“It’s a big issue, especially when you look at the big four meat packers controlling 80% of the meat processing, and two of the four are South American companies,” Smith said.

Currently, Smith told Orscheln staff, the government is “working on legislation to create a federal tax incentive to create farmer-owned, mid-size co-op meat processing facilities in rural areas.”

Smith also said a trade agreement with China, to this point, hasn’t realized the benefits to American farmers it promised, but the situation is improving.

Broadband internet service also is a big issue, Smith said, and one Hult said has adversely affected one of his company’s stores, where an adequate backup system is not available.

“We’re in areas where you can’t get cellphone service, let alone internet service,” Smith said, adding the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the broadband need in rural areas.

Citing school closures as an example, Smith said, “your schools close and you preach online learning, but that means no learning for a lot of our people.

“Internet service is a huge economic development tool, and right now, we’re being left behind in rural America because of broadband.”

Hult also brought up the ongoing issue of expensive health care for his employees.

“If you talked to our people, they’ll probably tell you health care is a big issue. We have insurance, but it’s expensive,” he said.

Tuesday’s stop in Poplar Bluff, Smith said, was the 25th of his 30-county Ag Summit, which he has undertaken the last eight years.

“It’s been a whole lot of diversity, from farms to ag businesses, to manufacturers to stores and tourism,” Smith said.