Minnesota Farmers Union

(January 22, 2010) - Last month, I wrote a piece about the new economy, and the need for farmers to be at the table, and part of the discussion as policies develop.  Precinct caucuses are a perfect example of how to get involved and have influence in the process and the development of agendas.

Tuesday night February 2, all across Minnesota, voters will have the chance to attend their precinct caucuses in their local communities.  Minnesota is unique in the fact that the precinct caucus system allows for grassroots level involvement, whether with the GOP, DFL, Independent, or Green party.  All parties are open to those who want to be a part of the political process and to offer their ideas.  With health care, climate change, animal care, environmental concerns, and other issues, it is as important now as it has ever been for farmers and rural Minnesotans to take a couple hours out of their day and attend your caucus.

In Minnesota, there are over five million people, yet about 80,000 are listed as "farmers," which is another reason to attend.  Minnesota will also elect a new governor in 2010 and the precinct caucus is the first major step in that process.

(January 6, 2009) - No matter where one turns there is news about the economic crisis. What was once thought to be an event confined to some bad mortgages has now engulfed most of the world.

Japan is in crisis, Toyota has announced its first quarterly loss in seven decades; China is wondering how to maintain its middle class now that export orders have slowed; and the US reels from one set of bad numbers, increasing unemployment figures, to another, an increase in the number of mortgage foreclosures.

So far farmers have escaped the worst of it. While crop prices are half of their mid-summer highs, they are still nearly double the farm gate prices of a few years ago. Some farmers got burned with advance purchases of fertilizer and seeds, while others saw their forward contracts of corn sales vanish as some ethanol plants went under, but overall crop agriculture is in a better position than it was in 1999 and 2000.