Issue Position: Agriculture

Issue Position

"Agriculture impacts all our lives, whether we live on or off the farm. It has been and continues to be the bedrock of our area by being the great economic engine of our economy..."

Ag in all its forms has been what our area of Minnesota has been about for generations. Like many of you I have direct and personal connections to agriculture.

My wife Cindy's family continues to farm their family farm that her grandfather and her dad farmed. We both have extended family and friends who farm today, my dad and moms parents were farmers, my dad was a lineman for our Rural Electric Co-op all his life. He and I spent many Saturdays installing tri-plex to replace the old copper wires on many farmsteads. And, like many of you I have spent time picking rocks, weeding fields and baling hay on the farm.

Agriculture impacts all our lives, whether we live on or off the farm. It has been and continues to be the bedrock of our area by being the great economic engine of our economy, as well as the base for many of our personal backgrounds and community involvement.

Agriculture & Jobs
Whether direct or indirect, the jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities that I believe Ag agriculture provides our best completive advantage to retain and keep smart productive people in our area and its communities.
I will work to encourage growth in good paying jobs in Ag thru education, thru seeking opportunities in value-added Ag and its related industries for our area. I will also champion our bio-science industries and their growth in our area, along with promotion and working on renewable energy in all its forms, Energy driven by Ag related products and by-products grown and produced right here.

I would like to see our area and it leading edge Ag producers, suppliers and related industries be known as the "Silicon Valley" of Ag, a place where we can aggregate the resources of products, knowledge, and people, and capital so that this is the "place to be" both for jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Agriculture & the Environment
We all know that Ag has a great impact on not only our economy but also on our environment. I believe most farmers want to be and are good stewards of this great gift and tremendous resource of natural capital we have been given in West Central Minnesota. I will work to encourage responsible and sustainable use of this resource thru collaboration, education and fact driven decision making in this important area.

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