Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, came to Mankato this week to hold an ag roundtable with Al and local farmers. The Mankato Free Press came out to visit – the story’s not online, so here are a few excerpts:

“I want to be a senator that farm families can count on,” Franken told the group, which ranged from a sugar beet farmer from Willmar to an organic dairy farmer from Goodhue County.

Although Franken praised the farm bill negotiated by Harkin and Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson, who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, he said farm country remains in peril.

“They did a great job,” Franken said of Harkin and Peterson. “Still, our rural communities are under a lot of pressure.”

…

The farmers at the restaurant were invited by the Franken campaign, but they spent little time talking politics. Instead, they focused on a variety of concerns about the farm economy.

Adrian crop and livestock farmer Tim Henning said operating costs for everything for fuel to fertilizer to seed to insurance are rising faster than commodity prices. Henning predicted serious trouble in the weeks ahead as farmers turn to banks for loans of around 500,000 just to get next years crop in the ground.

“Jan 1, our suppliers are going to want checks for these input costs,” Henning said. “Credit is getting tighter and tighter all the time. This is an issue that can’t wait until the next congress takes hold.”

Another farmer, who described himself as a smaller operator in an era where farms were getting bigger, worried that banks will be more inclined to steer loans to the big guys.

“The guy with 500 acres can’t compete with the guy with 1,000″ he said.

…

Harkin promised to try to help farmers with credit issues if Congress returns to Washington after Nov. 4 to pass an economic stimulus package. But to tackle bigger long-term issues in a way that favors smaller farmers rather than large operations, he again asked Minnesota voters to provide reinforcements.

“I need good people like this on the Ag Committee,” he said, pointing to Franken. “We can make some real changes.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 19:45 and is filed under From the Trail, News Clips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.