The Missouri House will gavel-in Wednesday afternoon at 1 in Jefferson City to begin the special session that’s been called by GOP Governor Mike Parson.

The executive vice president of the Columbia-based Missouri Pork Association, Don Nikodim, tells 939 the Eagle that the state’s commodity groups fully support the special session call.

“We’re going to make this happen. And we think this is important not only for agriculture but as the governor talks about the largest tax cut in the history of the state … I think that’s important for everybody in Missouri too,” Nikodim says.

The governor wants Missouri lawmakers to approve the largest income tax cut in state history and to approve a six-year extension for agricultural tax credits. Those include programs for biodiesel, ethanol, meat processing facilities and urban farming.

Nikodim says the farm tax credits work.

“When you look at the Missouri Agriculture and Small Business program, this six-year sunset is the tax credit that funds that. And their track record has been really successful. And for them to be the only ones singled out not to have that kind of term to do their business in it just doesn’t make sense,” Nikodim says.

Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) director Chris Chinn says Mid-Missouri Energy’s ethanol plant in west-central Missouri’s Malta Bend has expanded and has produced additional jobs, because of tax credits. Director Chinn says farm tax credits are vital to economic development in rural communities.