MINNESOTA FARMER EMPHASIZES ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES IN TESTIMONY...

Minnesota Farmer Emphasizes Economic Difficulties in Testimony...

A week ago, the House Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, a subset of the House Committee on Agriculture, held a hearing on the state of the farm economy.

Mike Peterson from Minnesota

The hearing featured testimony from several family farmers and ranchers, including Mike Peterson, Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) member and owner and operator of Twin Oak Farms. He spoke about the challenging financial circumstances he has found himself in, despite efforts to decrease input costs. "The last five years have been incredibly challenging on my farm and on farms across Minnesota," Peterson said. "Market consolidation and the increase of monopoly power has caused our input costs to rise dramatically. Overproduction has driven commodity prices low - a situation that is further exacerbated by the impacts of ongoing trade disputes. Our current environment is unsustainable."

In addition to strengthening the farm safety net, Peterson urged the subcommittee to provide fair prices and market opportunities for family farmers. "If we want to get the next generation into farming, we have to at least give them a fighting chance," he concluded.

Source: NFU E-News