[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 18 (Monday, February 1, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E86]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE RETIREMENT OF BLAKE HURST

                                 ______
                                 

                            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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