U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) accepted a key to the City of St. Joseph Friday morning from Mayor Bill Falkner at the 12th annual Farm City Breakfast.

Mayor Falkner noted that Blunt has been to St. Joseph 45 times since 2011 and thanked him for his service and friendship to the city.

“I am surprised and honored to receive the key to the City of St. Joseph from Mayor Falkner,” Blunt said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed all forty-five visits to St. Joseph and I plan to keep coming back as long as the city will have me. Although now that I have the key, I can just let myself in anytime.”

At the breakfast, Blunt discussed critical steps to advance Missouri’s agriculture leadership in the 21st Century, including reining in excessive regulations, investing in agriculture research and technology, and harnessing American energy to drive economic growth.

“Whether it’s providing good-paying jobs, putting healthy food on our tables, educating our children, or developing the next generation of technology, agriculture is at the heart of who we are as Missourians, and will continue playing a critical role in our communities,” Blunt said. “As the son of dairy farmers, I have a profound respect for the hard work our farmers and producers do, and I could not be more honored to receive a key to the City of St. Joseph, one of the nation’s leading agriculture communities. I will continue working to advance solutions that will allow our agriculture industry to grow and thrive for decades to come.”