Question 1 - The Farm Bill is being debated, discussed, not passed. Continuing safety nets for farmers is critical. What types of safety nets should be added?> 13:17

Well I understand the kind of insurance programs which are traditional. One thing we've learned during the confrontation with China which we're still kind of navigating past, is that we need safety nets for international trade for dealing with not only China but any alternate countries.

And so I think that, I'm challenging Amy Klobuchar who has written many farm bills. One of the reasons is that the Farm Bill's inadequate. we've left out any protection against these kinds of crises. And so we need to start to decide how to reflect that. Do we need a policy of tariffs and other ways to deal with these situations? Some people have said well, we'll just trade with other countries, maybe we'll just research other countries, I think that's kind of frivolous, I think that we've got to seriously focus on this in additional to the traditional insurance.

Now on the disaster relief, I find it incredible that Tim Walz, having sat on the Ag Committee and living in Mankato, would neglect the obviously dangerous Rapidan Dam in the Mankato area which has caused so much damage that a special disaster relief piece is needed to offset the damage to Minnesota farmers. And just because someone wanted a family business.
This is one of a number of areas in which the State of Minnesota, which ran a great surplus in some years, should have been doing something. I’m not aware of the full scope of the state Ag Dept, but it makes sense that the State Legislature do serious planning for shifting some Ag functions to the State. After all Human Services and social programs are a big part of the State Budget.
Including now feeging school lunch to everybody. Some part of the state food surplus should be wired into Human Services and food programs, planning and facilitating some payments to our growers for food. Amy Klobuchar’s faild to incorporate trade conflicts with China, into a Farm Bill.

Question 2 - What is the level of importance and funding needed from the federal govt when it comes to preventing and mitigating animal disease?> 19:38>

As far as level if you're talking about dollars I don't have that figure. Animal disease obviously is something that has hurt farming, it's always a great risk. It's a disaster really in many cases, people's whole livestock have been wiped out. Obviously when there's this transmission to human COVID that's a big risk to people because we just liquidate whole bunches of turkeys or chickens because of the perceived danger to humans, so I think we need to learn a lot more about this. Somehow we need to prevent this COVID from always coming around. We see where it came from. It came from laboratories, okay? We need to stop doing things like this, kind of biological warfare things and return to the basics and fundamentals that made this country great.

Question 3 - Renewable fuels are critical and valued for MN farmers. How would you support the growth of biofuels> 33:24>

Well, farming is in a crisis. We do face a crisis and we've tried to solve it various ways so what I would say I would stress the limits on the role of Congress. Congress cannot do everything. It must set some limits. There's a projected deficit of $32 billion in agricultural goods, they were talking about it yesterday and I’ve verified that. So furthermore, we have overregulation and crazy ideas from the Democratic Senate including I believe Amy Klobuchar that heavily burden and oppress Minnesota farmers. So in my opinion we can no longer continue business as usual in the Ag Committees or the Farm Bill and farm trade.

Moreover, I believe the farm bill is inadequate to address the impact of trade conflict on our farmers as I've said. Contrary to what Amy Klobuchar said, Trump did not treat farmers like poker chips in a failed casino in the confrontation with China. The tool of farm trade tariffs will likely be necessary to maintain trade in agricultural goods with China and other countries. Some suggest funding research of what other countries than China Minnesota’s farmers can trade with. I consider this ludicrous and a waste of money. I understand that with no tools in place to protect Minnesota farmers from Chinese tariffs, farmers will look to other sources.

Another danger for the American food consumer is deviation into the energy sector. When farms are producing food just for energy that is not food production, that is production for the energy market.

It’s highly unlikely we can meet our energy needs in this way, and it detracts from food production with additional risks. I do not agree with the idea that the Farm Bill should help everybody.

Now if we are indeed headed to war, and I have heard of food rationing and everything rationing in World War II, but that is very dire. In that case food production will be subsumed under defense, and the farm bill will assume an all hands on deck program for every conceivable farm product.

Now we get into the area of moral hazards. So there's a danger when we deviate into the energy sector. If it's not used for food production you're deviating into the energy sector.

Question 4 - There have not been significant new trade agreements in recent years. What should be done to expand markets for Minnesota farmers.> 39:44>

Well I hope everybody here has heard of James J Hill, I'm sure you all have and what James J Hill said was that with the modern political economy people are not looking at the organic whole how everything is interrelated, they're looking at little pieces. Now we have Amy Klobuchar and she said that Donald Trump was treating the farmers like poker chips in a defunct casino during the China confrontation. The truth is that Amy Klobuchar has failed to incorporate trade conflicts, such as the confrontation with China into a Farm Bill.
So what really happened in China? Well I was actually involved. I have been an editor for the Asian American press and I happened to be on MPR when they interviewed and heard from the Chinese ambassador. Now this is the Chinese ambassador who came throughout the Midwest and told people that could have deals with China, but when we got there what did they do? We were holding the bag because they put the tariffs in. So all these little field trips into international trade are not the way to go. You need a much broader path.

I was involved as a reporter when the Chinese Ambassador visited Minnesota and I discussed on MPR with him our conflicting ideas of human rights. His idea was that human rights means “everyone has a right to eat.” That’s an alien concept in our system of liberty. Of course it is the role of government to provide for the general welfare, but not by establishing absolute rights which the government then has to carry out.

Our farming is based on freedom. It’s not a tool for Amy Klobuchar or Kamala Harris to impose their ideas about environmentalism and green house gases, no. Or control of farmers’ water quality or onerous regulations.

Well that Chinese Ambassador went about the Midwest making promises for orders of American food products which when they were fulfilled seemed to run up against Chinese domestic producers who turned to the government for tariffs, leaving our farmers holding the bag. We are extremely fortunate we had Donald Trump to impose tariffs tdo make our farmers whole. This approach is necessary to deal with the behemoth like China, who is not food independent. Our top goal should be as James J Hill to maintain food independence. Any kind of program or policy that detracts from this should not be in the Farm Bill. The purpose of the Farm Bill is not to help everyone but protect farm independence.

Question 1 - The Farm Bill is being debated, discussed, not passed. Continuing safety nets for farmers is critical. What types of safety nets should be added? 13:17

Well I understand the kind of insurance programs which are traditional. One thing we've learned during the confrontation with china which we're kind of navigating past is that we need safety nets for international trade for dealing with not only china but any alternate country.
And so I'm challenging Amy Klobuchar who has written many farm bills. One of the reasons is that it's inadequate. we've left out any protection against these kinds of crises. And so we need to start to decide how to reflect that. Do we need a policy of tariffs and other ways to deal with these situations? Some people have said well we'll just trade with other countries, maybe we'll just research other countries, i think that's kind of frivolous, I think that we've got to seriously focus on this in additional to the traditional insurance.

Question 2 - What is the level of importance and funding needed form the federal govt when it 19:38>

As far as level if you're talking about dollars I don't have have that figure. Animal disease is something that has hurt farming, it's always a great risk. it's a disaster really in many cases, people's whole livestock have been wiped out. obviously when there's this transmission to human covid that's a big risk to people because we just liquidate whole bunches of turkeys or chickens because of the perceived danger to humans so i think we need to learn a lot more about this. somehow we need to prevent this covid from always coming around. we see where it came from. It came form laboratories. We need to stop doing things like this, kind of biological warfare things and return to the basics and fundamentals that made this country great.

Question 3 - Renewable fuels are critical and valued for MN farmers. How would you support the growth of biofuels 33:24>

Well farming is in a crisis. We do face a crisis and we've tried to solve it various ways so what I would say I would stress the limits on the role of Congress. Congress cannot do everything. It needs to set some limits. There's a projected deficit of $32 billion in agricultural goods. So furthermore, we have overregulation and crazy ideas from the Democratic Senate including I believe Amy Klobuchar that heavily burden and oppress Minnesota farmers. So in my opinion we can no longer continue business as usual in the Ag committees or the farm bill or the farm trade.
Moreover, I believe the farm bill is inadequate to address the impact of trade conflict on farmers as I've said. Wow we get into the area of moral hazards. So there's a danger when we deviate into the energy sector. If it's not used for food projects you're deviating.

Question 4 - There have not been significant new trade agreements in recent years. What should be done to expand markets for Minnesota farmers. 39:44>

Well I hope everybody here has heard of James J Hill, I'm sure you all have and what James J Hill said was that with the modern political economy people are not looking at the organic whole how everything is interrelated, they're looking at little pieces. now we have Amy Klobuchar and she said that Donald Trump was treating the farmers like poker chips in a defunct casino. So what really happened in China? Well I was actually involved. I have been an editor for the Asian American press and I happened to be on MPR when they interviewed and heard from the Chinese ambassador. now this is the Chinese ambassador who came throughout the Midwest and told people that could have deals with China but when we got there what did they do? we were holding the bag because they put the tariffs in. so all these little field trips into international trade are not the way to go. You need a much broader path.

Question 5 - >