Dixon rancher appointed to leadership of Vicky Hartzler's ag advisory panel

Pulaski County Daily News ^ | 10/26/2010 | Darrell Todd Maurina

[darrellmaurina]

PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Oct. 26, 2010) — Staff members for Vicky Hartzler’s congressional campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton announced Monday that they’ve appointed three Fourth District residents, including Dixon rancher Charles Bassett, to serve as leaders of the campaign’s “Farmers and Ranchers Coalition.” Other members are Brent Heid of Hartzler’s hometown of Harrisonville and Dwayne Schad of Versailles. Bassett, who is the father-in-law of State Rep. David Day of Dixon and a relative of incoming county clerk Brent Bassett, has run a cow-calf operation for nearly 50 years, has known Hartzler for nearly a decade, and was an early backer of Hartzler even before she won the Republican primary. “Some of the reasons I supported Vicky are first and foremost she’s a businesswoman and I just think America needs leadership right now with business experience,” Bassett said. “Then from a Farm Bureau standpoint, obviously she is a farmer too. If America is going to meet our future food needs, we need some people in Washington, D.C. who understand how food and fiber is produced and the hard work that goes into that.”