Giving North Dakotans a Voice in the Farm Bill
As I’ve met with farmers and ranchers across the state over the past several years, it’s clear that they need the certainty of a new Farm Bill before the current bill expires at the end of September. With commodity prices falling as the administration’s trade war is escalating, Congress can’t waste any time or get bogged down with divisive and partisan provisions. The Farm Bill is too important to our farmers and our rural economy. And it’s my top priority.
I have always said that as a U.S. senator from North Dakota, my top priority is getting a Farm Bill done. At the beginning of August, I was appointed as one of 9 U.S. senators to serve on the Farm Bill conference committee which is tasked with reaching a compromise agreement between the U.S. Senate and U.S. House Farm Bills before the current bill expires at the end of September.
I’ll join the 47 members of the U.S. House of Representatives on the committee. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I’ll play a role in every piece of the Farm Bill that we will discuss and I’ll advocate for North Dakota’s priorities. The U.S. Senate will keep working throughout August and the U.S. House should keep working too. Getting a Farm Bill done before the current Farm Bill expires on September 30 should be of utmost importance for everyone.
My goal is to give North Dakota farmers, ranchers, and rural communities some much needed certainty amid uncertain times for agriculture. Our bipartisan Senate Farm Bill received the most votes of any Farm Bill in history, going back to the first one in 1933 — and that’s telling. It reinforces that ours is a good bill that supports North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers just as it’s supposed to do.
Since I helped write, negotiate, and pass the last Farm Bill passed in 2014, I’ve been working on the next Farm Bill to make sure it addresses the needs of North Dakota farmers and ranchers and supports farm families and rural communities across our country.
I’ve met with farmers, ranchers, ag manufacturers, and so many others across our state — including during two extensive several day Farm Bill tours across North Dakota in 2016 and 2017, which included checking out honeybee habitat in a full bee suit, visiting local FSA offices, and being out in the field on farms across our state.
August 2017
August 2016
This year, I followed those tours with regular meetings with farmers, ranchers, agriculture industry leaders, high school students, and more from across our state to make sure their voices were heard in the next Farm Bill. This bipartisan Senate Farm Bill incorporates much of what I heard from North Dakotans.
Visit with Agriculture Students at Kindred High School
In May, I met with high school students at Kindred High School studying agriculture to share how my Next Generation in Agriculture bill would help make sure that a younger generation of agriculture workers have the education and support they need to begin a career in farming and ranching. Agriculture is the lifeblood of our rural communities, and it was inspiring to meet students in Kindred who are passionate about continuing our strong tradition of family farming.
The average age of a farmer in North Dakota is between 57 and 60, and the percentage of new farmers has declined since 1982 — it’s critical that we support young and beginning farmers and help farm communities like Kindred remain strong for generations to come.
Livestock Haulers Exchange in Dickinson
In May, I visited the Dickinson-West Stockmens’ Livestock Exchange to discuss a bipartisan bill I introduced earlier this year, and also introduced as an amendment to the Senate Farm Bill, to ease the burden of the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) regulations set to go into effect for livestock and insect haulers later this year. I heard directly from ranchers about their concerns about the regulations during the day’s livestock auction. The same day, the Department of Transportation released updated guidance that immediately put several provisions of my bill into effect.
Ranchers need their livestock to be transported safely and quickly, and haulers need flexibility to handle a variety of unpredictable factors like the weather and loading times. The new ELD regulations have caused confusion and hardship for haulers of livestock and insects, proving once again that once-size-fits-all regulations simply don’t work for rural America. That’s why I crafted this bill to give relief to those impacted by the new rules by giving truckers the flexibility they need to get the job done and support hardworking ranchers in North Dakota.
In March, I sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao urging her to immediately address several serious concerns about the new ELD rules, and the Department of Transportation responded by announcing another delay in implementation to allow more time to gain input and address the concerns of the agriculture community.
CHS Southwest Grain Tour in Richardton
In early June, I toured CHS Southwest Grain to discuss the importance of exports for North Dakota grain growers and the needs of North Dakota’s farmers as she works in Congress on the next Farm Bill. CHS Southwest Grain has over 5,000 patrons with loading facilities in Taylor and New Salem in North Dakota, and Lemmon in South Dakota. It also runs a 52-car loader dedicated solely to durum in Dickinson. North Dakota grows over half of the durum wheat produced in the United States, and it’s one of the critical exports that could be threatened by the tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed by the administration on Canada, Mexico, and the European Union (EU) which were announced the day before my visit. It was clear that CHS Southwest Grain understands just how important trade is to the company’s success and to supporting North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers, who are the heart and soul of North Dakota’s agriculture economy.
Coffee and Farm Bill Discussion with Farmers in the Grand Forks Area
In mid June, I hosted a discussion at Frank and Lucy Matejcek’s Red River Angus Farm with farmers and ranchers from the Grand Forks area to discuss how the bipartisan 2018 Senate Farm Bill will help North Dakota. I also heard their concerns about the administration’s misguided threats to disrupt trade with NAFTA partners, Canada and Mexico, which are North Dakota’s largest export markets, that could put North Dakota’s farm economy at risk and create prolonged uncertainty for farmers. It’s always a good day when I’m talking with North Dakota farmers, and it’s an even better day when I’m spending time with them on the farm.
Roundtable Discussion in Mandan, NDSU Extension Center Tour and Discussion in Minot
In early July, I held roundtable discussions with farmers, ranchers, agriculture leaders, and faith leaders in Mandan and Minot to talk about North Dakota priorities in the Farm Bill being debated in Congress and the damaging impact of the administration’s escalating trade war on farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers across the state. Our conversations happend the same week that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a report showing how the administration’s ongoing trade war threatens over $60 million in North Dakota exports, and estimated that over 111,000 jobs in North Dakota are supported by trade.
Since joining the Senate, I’ve made it a priority to listen to the needs and concerns of North Dakotans when writing the last Farm Bill and this new Farm Bill. My discussions with farmers and community leaders in Mandan and Minot were an important part of gaining input from North Dakota’s hardworking farmers and ranchers as we work toward passing a final Final Bill, as they know best how this bill will impact them.
After our roundtable discussion in Minot, I visited the North Central Research Extension Center (NCREC) and discussed the Farm Bill and trade policy priorities with NCREC employees and farmers from the region.
Roundtable Discussion and NDSU Extension Center Tour in Carrington, Discussion in Wahpeton
After a busy day meeting with farmers and ranchers in Mandan and Minot, I continued my discussions the next day in Carrington and Wahpeton where I met with farmers, ranchers, agriculture leaders, and faith leaders to discuss North Dakota priorities in the Farm Bill being debated in Congress and the damaging impact of the administration’s escalating trade war.
The same day, retaliatory tariffs from China went into effect, putting the value of North Dakota’s soybean crop and the livelihoods of farmers at risk. As the administration’s trade policies continue to threaten access to markets that are critical to the success of North Dakota’s agriculture economy, I shared how I’m pushing for quick passage of a final bipartisan Farm Bill and will continue to fight for trade policies that benefit North Dakota’s producers.
In Carrington, I met with representatives from the North Dakota Barley Council, Farm Crop Insurance Corporation Board, and farmers from the region at the Carrington Research Extension Center. Following our discussion of the Farm Bill and trade policy priorities, I toured the center’s facilities and test plots to learn about their latest work in agriculture research, which I prioritized in the Farm Bill.
In Wahpeton, I met with representatives from the North Dakota Grain Growers Association, North Dakota Corn Growers Association, Great Plains Food Bank, the FSA state director, and local farmers at Ag Country Farm Credit Services.
Discussion and NDSU Research Extension Center Tour in Langdon
In Langdon, I met with representatives from the North Dakota Farmers Union, Cavalier County Farmers Union, local farmers from Langdon and Lakota, and the director of the NDSU Extension Center where I heard concerns about the administration’s trade war and shared my efforts to promote a smarter trade policy that expands markets for North Dakota producers, including frequent meetings with administration officials and by cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to give Congress a say in the tariffs.
In the Senate Farm Bill, I also fought to protect funding for agriculture research. After our discussion, I had the chance to enjoy the sunny weather while touring the NDSU Extension Center’s test plots and learned about their research on crops like winter wheat, canola, flax, soybeans, dry edible beans and other crops that dominate acreage in the region.
