Photo by Samantha Davis
U.S. Senate District 7 candidates, left to right, U.S. Sen. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., Steven Boyd, (Republican) and AJ Peters (Democrat) participate in the Farmfest forum on Tuesday.
GILFILLAN ESTATES — U.S. House candidates running for the Minnesota District 7 seat all argued for the passing of updated Farm bill during a forum at Farmfest on Tuesday.
U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., sparred with fellow Republican candidate Steven Boyd and the Democrat candidate AJ Peters The debate was moderated by Don Wick, president of the Red River Farm Network.
Besides the Farm Bill, the candidates also discussed trade policy, the H5N1 outbreak and immigration and agricultural labor.
The current Farm Bill expired last September, and must be passed, or at least approve an extension, by Sept. 30. The bill authorizes federal agricultural, food aid programs, disaster relief and other factors of support for farmers.
“I think one of the things that we need to make sure we’re doing is pressuring the Senate. The Senate democrats have not done their job. The House Republicans have a half strong Farm Bill that has passed by the committee, and it passed out bipartisanly. One of the things that we’ve got in the bill is the Farmer Act, which increases that crop insurance percentage from six to 90% … That that was one of the biggest priorities that folks came in to talk to us about the Farm Bill, was that crop insurance,” Fischbach said.
“When we’re looking at the Farm Bill, one of the things I hear a lot from farmers that I talk to is the reference price increase and that it’s outdated now with inflation that has been caused by this administration, and what we’ve done in the last four years that the input costs are not keeping up,” Boyd said. “That’s going to be key for a lot of farmers, as they’re seeing a crunch when it comes to low prices and input costs.”
Peters wrapped up the discussion on the Farm Bill.
“One of the things about all this is the complexity of applying for all of these benefits,” Peters said. “We do need to simplify our application for enrollment, but we also have to enhance the coverage … We have to increase the payment limits for commodity programs.”
The candidates next spoke about the trade policy and congress’ role in helping farmers in a market that is below the cost of production.
“I think we need to do better with our trade policy. We have to look into other markets where to develop and get into,” Boyd said. “On the other side, we have regulation that’s absolutely driving up the input costs. So, when these prices are low, or get killed on the front end from the regulation from the government, a lot of it to the climate agenda, we have to draw a line in the sand and say, ‘We’re not going to keep playing these games.’ Farmers are getting squeezed in the middle.”
Peters talked about more support for farmers.
“The biggest thing is right now, farming is a gamble, and it’s a gamble the United States cannot afford to lose. We need to make sure that our farmers can stay on the farm, work, get their crops in and make sure that they make a profit. We need to make sure that when we do trade policies, that we create them in such a way that we’re playing fair … We need to broaden our markets. We also need to send out more types of crops in different countries that they may need,” Peters said.
“I sit on the Trade Subcommittee for Ways and Means, and that (trade policy) is something that we are really trying to encourage, because the Biden Administration has really let us down on that,” Fischbach said. “Over regulation, we are looking at making sure that tax policy helps our farmers and doesn’t hurt them. Because we’ve got a whole lot of things expiring next year, the 2017 tax cuts, there’s a variety of things that we need to deal with and address.”
The next topic discussed the H5N1 virus outbreak, which is Avian Influenza, and has recently been found in dairy cattle throughout Minnesota. The candidates were asked how they would address the issue.
“What we need to do is make sure that we turn it over to people that know what they’re talking about, not against politicians. What we need to do, is we need to ensure that farms and ranches get timely assistance out here,” Peters said. “We need to strengthen the insurance that they (farmers) have and create target licenses. So, when we lose livestock, we lose animals, we lose feed, we lose water, we need to make sure that we work so we are protecting human health, as well as making sure that the farms meet the economy and balance.”
Fischbach also stressed assistance and support for farmers.
“National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, the National Animal Vaccine, Countermeasures Bank in the Animal Health Laboratory Network, we need to make sure that they are strong and that they are able to respond. We need to make sure that those groups have the resources to respond immediately and do what they need to do,” Fischbach said.
“What we need to do is look at a locally led initiative. If we’re going to have that (livestock virus), we need to listen to the farmers, the producers themselves, who have the most interest in taking care of their livestock,” Boyd said.
The next debate discussed issues with agriculture labor shortages in farm production and food processing, and how the candidates plan to overcome that.
“One of the things that we need to do is address the visa issue. I actually introduced legislation to try to reform the H-2A Visa,” Fischbach said. “It is separate from immigration issues, because the folks who are applying for visas want to come here. They want to work, and so we need to make sure that we are addressing that, and that they are able to get those visas that they need.”
Boyd agreed with the H-2A Visa point, but presented a different approach.
“One thing we’re not talking enough about is the fact that we have people here that aren’t working that could be, and we’re making people comfortable with not working. So, we have to address that too, as well as why are we making these jobs unappealing to our own kids and our own citizens,” Boyd said. “Get them (kids) in a trade school, get them to tech school, get them involved in these industries, get kids out working, teach them a work ethic. Then, for those that are adults that are sitting on unemployment, or whatever the case may be, let’s put people back to work.”
Peters wrapped up the topic.
“We do want to work, we need to work. That is what we need to do. We need more workers. We’re two and a half million workers short,” Peters said. “We need to expand all worker visas. We need to make sure the borders are safe. To do that, we need to have more people working at the border … We need to create a pathway to legalize more of the workers that are here, and protect the rights for the farmers and the workers that are here.”
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Publish date : 2024-08-08 19:08:00
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