Minnesota Farmer’s Union president on stalled Farm Bill, weather extremes and Walz veepstakes
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Minnesota Farmfest kicks off in Morgan on Tuesday, and a stalled Farm Bill and volatile weather conditions are top of mind for many of the thousands of farmers, agricultural leaders and politicians in attendance.
Farm Bill fatigue
U.S. Congress has to pass — or at least pass an extension of — the 2018 Farm Bill by Sept. 30, but talks have stalled after months of party-line debate.
Funding for nutrition programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and farm support programs are at the center of the debate over the normally bipartisan and sprawling legislation, which also encompasses disaster relief dollars, farmer subsidies and more.
Gary Wertish, Minnesota Farmer’s Union president, said it goes far beyond its reputation as a safety net bill for farmers.
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“It’s really a real development bill too. There’s a lot of money that goes into really rural communities,” he said, fingering regional differences for this year’s stall. “And now we’re into heavy into presidential politics, so it’s going to be tough to get it across the finish line.”
Wertish told MPR News the biggest unknown is whether there’ll be a short-term extension to the current Farm Bill then left in the hands of a “lame duck Congress,” or a full-year extension that would mean a fresh Congressional makeup and “the whole thing has to start completely all over.” On behalf of the Farmer’s Union, Wertish wants a “good farm bill” rather than a quick one.
“It’s unfortunate that we haven’t gotten it across the finish line, but … we don’t give up,” Wertish said. “Hopefully we get past the partisanship and get serious and actually get one done.”
Extremely rainy season after two years of deep drought
The spring and summer of 2024 have seen heavy, sometimes historic, precipitation totals, contrasted with the preceding two years of drought in Minnesota.
Wertish said all the rain has caused commodity prices to fall dramatically.
“Right now, your corn and soybeans are really below the cost of production for the farmer. But our inputs have not dropped [and] are still relatively high,” he said.
The USDA reports soybeans fetched Minnesota farmers an average of $11.40 per bushel in June, 10 cents below May’s prices and $2.50 lower than June 2023. Spring wheat, corn and hay saw similar drops. Milk, however, was sitting at $23.00 per hundredweight, up $7.30 from last year.
“It’s pretty hard to cash flow right now,” Wertish added, stressing the Farm Bill was necessary to secure bank loans.
Gov. Walz as an agricultural advocate
Farmfest often features political debates and as of Tuesday morning, Gov. Tim Walz was scheduled to speak briefly Wednesday afternoon.
On Morning Edition, about an hour before presumptive Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris named Walz as her running mate, Wertish said the Farmer’s Union backed the governor as a good choice for vice president.
“He’s got a lot of rural roots,” plus experience working on the Farm Bill as a U.S. representative for Minnesota, “so he definitely understands agriculture well,” Wertish said.