Minnesota's farm families need a Senator they can count on.
Farming is more than just a way of life for many Minnesota families and the foundation of our rural communities. It's an essential element of our state's economy and a pillar of our national security. Farming is part of who we are as Minnesotans.
While our talented producers have made Minnesota a world leader in producing food, energy, and other goods, many rural Minnesotans I talk to are worried about the future. Only 6% of farmers are under age 35, and many people are concerned about keeping the rural tradition alive for future generations. And all over the state, the combination of a struggling economy, sparse resources, and high energy costs are putting a strain on our rural communities.
Here's where I stand:
First and foremost, we need to address the energy crisis. Rural Minnesotans can't afford $4/gallon gas, and farmers can't afford the skyrocketing input costs brought on by the Bush-Coleman energy plan. You can read about what I'll do to fix the problem.
Fortunately, rural Minnesota can be the epicenter and the engine of a renewable energy economy, and one of my top priorities in Washington will be to make sure that happens – and to make sure that farmers get their share of the benefits.
- I'll fight for wind credits that farmers can actually use on their earned income.
- I'll build on Minnesota's success in ethanol and biodiesel, and fight to ensure that Minnesota is a leader in the next generation of biofuels – cellulosic ethanol.
On other farm issues, I support the recently-passed Farm Bill and congratulate Chairman Peterson on his hard work. I look forward to joining him in Washington to work on important updates and tweaks to that new law:
- Commodity prices: A year ago, when the farm bill was being written, no one could have predicted the spike in the cost of inputs or the volatility of commodity prices. I'll work to add provisions that protect farmers in volatile times. I want triggers in the farm bill to automatically raise target prices and loan rates when input costs go up. And I want to work with banks and the Farm Credit System to plan for changing credit needs that farmers and grain elevators have when prices change frequently and unpredictably.
- Payment reform: I support Amy Klobuchar's proposal to prevent non-farmers from getting farm bill payments, and the Dorgan-Grassley proposal to limit payments to any one farmer to $250,000. I don't think Ted Turner should be getting farm payments when real farmers need help.
- Livestock: Times are hard for our livestock producers; feed costs have skyrocketed, but the price they're getting on the market hasn't. I'll fight for emergency assistance for livestock producers, based on the feed cost adjuster in the MILC program. I'll also push for immediate implementation of COOL, “split state” status through the USDA to spare producers from being hindered by bovine TB outbreaks, and a common-ground solution to open up some CRP acres to grazing. And I won't burden Minnesota's livestock producers, the best stewards of the land in the country, with additional regulations on waste.
- Trade: I favor a balanced approach to trade that recognizes the importance of opening up markets for our products but protects our farmers as well as our workers, our consumers, and our values. Frankly, the Bush-Coleman approach gives away too much for too little – CAFTA, for example, sold out Minnesota's entire sugar industry for access to six markets with the combined size of Columbus, Ohio. I will support fair trade agreements, but I won't sell out our farmers in a bad deal like CAFTA.
I'll also work hard to invest in rural communities:
- We need the federal government to do its part and fund physical infrastructure like roads and bridges. This can be part of a new stimulus package, creating jobs and putting money into the economy while also improving our infrastructure.
- I'll fight to end unfunded mandates in education so that the burden of funding our schools doesn't fall on the backs of property owners – and so that we can end the problems of school district consolidation and crumbling physical resources.
- To help keep young people and commerce in rural communities, I'll work to ensure that every family and every business has access to broadband Internet.
- And with the economy struggling, I'll push for increased funding to states and counties to avoid having to lay off police, fire fighters, teachers, nurses, and other essential service providers.
Unfortunately, Norm Coleman hasn't always been there for our farmers when it counted:
- On CAFTA, instead of protecting our sugarbeet growers, he sided with George W. Bush and voted for a bad trade deal.
- In the 2006 budget bill, instead of protecting funding for ag programs, he sided with George W. Bush and voted to cut $3 billion, including a reduction of the MILC payment rate.
- On country-of-origin labeling (COOL), instead of protecting our livestock producers, he sided with George W. Bush and voted to delay that important measure.
And the Bush-Coleman economic plan – budget-busting tax breaks for millionaires and special giveaways to the special interests, including Big Oil – has resulted in under-funded schools, crumbling infrastructure, and an energy policy written by and for the oil companies.
