The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING THE RETIREMENT OF BLAKE HURST
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HON. JASON SMITH
of missouri
in the house of representatives
Monday, February 1, 2021
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my dear friend, Blake Hurst, on his recent retirement as president of the Missouri Farm Bureau. Blake was first elected as the 14th president of Missouri Farm Bureau on December 7, 2010. His prior service with the organization included being a district board member on the Missouri state board for eight years and serving seven years as Missouri Farm Bureau vice president. Blake, and his wife Julie, raise corn and soybeans in Northwest Missouri and they also operate a wholesale greenhouse business. They are blessed with 3 children and 6 grandchildren.
Looking back on Blake's years of service, what particularly stands out is his resolve in leading the entire Missouri Farm Bureau organization in responding to and working through claims from the catastrophic tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, on the evening of Sunday, May 22, 2011. Blake and the whole Missouri Farm Bureau organization showed great courage during that difficult time.
Founded in 1915, Missouri was the first state Farm Bureau in America, and during Blake's tenure Missouri Farm Bureau celebrated 100 years as an organization. Other accomplishments that Blake can be proud of include helping with the passage of Missouri's Freedom to Farm, the final rule defining Waters of the United States, and the passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Blake even showcased his skilled dancing maneuvers in a video supporting the USMCA.
Blake is well-respected by rural communities and agricultural leaders in the state of Missouri. Blake is also a freelance writer. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The American, Weekly Standard, Wilson's Quarterly, Reader's Digest, Today's Farmer and the Show Me magazine of Missouri Farm Bureau. Mr. Hurst has excelled at telling the story of agriculture in America, and he has excelled in fighting to conserve the rural way of life. I am proud to call Blake my friend and I think it's safe to say his time at Missouri Farm Bureau will serve as a legacy for generations to come.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 18
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