CAULFIELD — On the eve of Tuesday’s primary election, U.S. Rep. Jason Smith made a stop at Caulfield as part of his annual farm tour to discuss agricultural concerns directly with local producers.
Smith represents Missouri's 8th Congressional District, which encompasses all or part of 28 counties in south-central and Southeast Missouri, including Howell, Oregon, Shannon, Texas, Wright, Douglas and Ozark counties. The region is largely driven by agricultural operations. Smith, a Salem native with degrees in agricultural economics and business administration, is a fourth-generation owner of a family farm.
During his stop in Howell County, Smith visited Faithful Farming, a local cow-calf operation owned by Jake and Brittney Long. The couple has two sons, J. Henry and Jack. Jake Long took over the operation from his parents, Vernon and Kathy Long, making him the third generation to work the land.
Smith and Long discussed issues currently affecting cattle production, including concerns regarding screwworm infections and alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-borne condition that causes a potentially severe allergy to red meat and dairy products in humans.
Smith’s chats with local producers frequently focus on the long-term future of Missouri agriculture, and how farm families plan for it. The dramatic shifts in farming over the decades were highlighted in conversations with Vernon Long, who recalled how his father’s practices were shaped by the severe drought and economic hardships of the Great Depression. Those hardships created a lasting hesitancy toward expansion, he noted, as the family had lost a previous farm before purchasing the current property.
Originally operated as a dairy farm, the property still features one of its original wooden barns. Vernon farmed the land for 35 years, and his grandsons could eventually become the fourth generation to operate it.
Like many modern farm families, Jake and Brittney both balance off-farm careers. Jake serves as superintendent at Howell Valley School and preaches at Prairie Grove Church of Christ, a congregation of about 30 near the Hocomo community off west U.S. 160. Brittney works in the technology sector.
With an eye to the future, and to help set their children up for future success, the couple has expanded the farm by buying a few hundred adjacent acres from neighbors and established a social media presence through “Faithful Farming” Facebook and Instagram pages.
While the couple notes that 7-year-old J. Henry and his younger brother Jack haven't formally decided whether they want to take over the farm someday, the family hopes that passion grows. The elder son, J. Henry, already drives a side-by-side around the property to assist with daily chores and livestock feeding.
Faithful Farming was Smith’s fifth and final stop of the day on Monday, following visits to beef cattle operations in Dent and Phelps counties, a dairy farm in Douglas County, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Dr. Mylhan Myers' clinic in Rolla.
