(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) The Missouri Democratic Party held a press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at Callison Hall to discuss the party's "Farmer's Bill of Rights."

The proposed bill is comprised of three values that are meant to protect the rights of Missouri's family farmers as well as restore competition in the community.

The three rights include right to fair and open markets, right to local control of land and right to rural opportunity.

Missouri Democrats believe that the state needs to renew guidelines to counter big corporations and monopolies of Missouri farmlands that take away wealth from rural communities by sometimes shipping it to other countries.

There are five priority policies that the Farmer's Bill of Rights outlines including stopping ownership of farms to foreign nations, improving country-of-origin labeling, transparency for contract growers, protect local regulation of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and end corporate stacking of the clean water commission.

The Missouri GOP released a response to the Democrat's Farmer's Bill of Rights on Monday stating "We don't need an unveiling of what we are doing for Missouri agriculture, voters already understand it and have for many years," Chairman of the Missouri Republican Party Todd Graves said. "Our farmers and ranchers are a large part of what makes out state great and that community will continue to find an ally in the Missouri Republican Party."

Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party Sam Cooper added "After losing rural Missouri by historic margins in 2016, it's comical that the Missouri Democrat Party now thinks a press conference in Jefferson City makes them the party of farmers. The Missouri Republican Party always has and always will stand with Missouri farmers and rural Missourians, not just when it's politically convenient."