The Issues » Agriculture

Protecting Your Freedom to Farm

Share Your Agriculture Story with Tom

The family farm is under attack. Government does not trust us to do what’s best for our farms. Radical activists are trying to convince us that everyday nutrients are causing cancer, that cows are causing “global warming” and that hogs are getting people sick. Logical people know otherwise.

The family farm is key to the vitality of rural Minnesota and government needs to step aside. People truly connected to our land and its history are those who work the fields and raise animals for a living: our farmers and their families. To protect their livelihoods, we must reduce the number of regulatory burdens farmers face when they want to expand their livestock operation and, within reasonable bounds, let farmers determine what is best for their land and the people they feed.

I have fought hard against punitive changes to the Green Acres program and I will work to ensure that the program remains unaltered. Government must not change the rules in the middle of the game! We must also work to ensure that farmers get a full tax deduction on their capital equipment expenditures so they can continue to invest in continuously better farming practices.

Because value-added agricultural exports return at least three times the profit that raw agricultural exports do, we need to ensure that government does not impede the people who make them. These producers boost local economies by creating jobs. But today, Minnesota’s increased regulations and taxes have pushed many producers to relocate in South Dakota. It is time to stop this trend now!

Agriculture is the number-one industry in Minnesota. Profitable family farms are key to our state’s economic success and I will do whatever it takes to get government out of their way.