What an awesome appointment for the Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner, a good friend of mine, Dave Frederickson

I am quite honored to personally know our next Ag Commissioner in Minnesota! Here's Dave Frederickson at work, during a Farm Bill Forum in Morris on August 16, 2010. Dave is the brother-in-law of Rich Kennedy of Herman.











After serving in the Minnesota Senate until 1993, Dave Frederickson was elected President of the Minnesota Farmers Union, who he served from 1993 to 2002. In March of 2002, Frederickson won a tough battle for the President of the National Farmers Union, beating out a very well-funded “commodity-group” backed President of the Oklahoma Farmers Union in what was an incredibly close race. I was actually a part of that process in March 2002, down in Texas, with a group of upper-midwestern farmers self-dubbed "the freedom fighters." It was an experience I'll never forget!

Frederickson served NFU from 2002 until 2007, when he went to work for Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Below, a Herman-Hoffman Tribune exclusive interview with Dave Frederickson on August 16 in Morris.


I'm very excited for rural Minnesota and our agriculture community. Commissioner Frederickson will do an outstanding job representing us and promoting policies that benefit small towns and the farm families who support Greater Minnesota.

Minnesota Farmers Union state convention is a big success

Click below for an update from the Minnesota Farmers Union 69th annual state convention in Minneapolis, written by rural blogger and journalist Sally Jo Sorenson of Hutchinson. (She's also the McLeod County MFU president)

http://www.bluestemprairie.com/bluestemprairie/2010/11/mfu-can-do-ag-group-passes-policy-and-special-orders-at-2010-state-convention.html

MFU: EPA takes first step on E-15 ethanol blend

October 13, 2010 – Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) President Doug Peterson welcomes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement today of the approval of E15 blend fuel in 2007 and newer vehicles. On March 6, 2009 Growth Energy (www.growthenergy.org) submitted its Green Jobs Waiver to the EPA, seeking a regulatory change to permit an increase in the allowable blend of ethanol in fuel to 15 percent (E15), from the arbitrary limit that currently caps the amount at 10 percent (E10). MFU says the approval for newer vehicles is a good first step, and MFU is confident it will be followed by approval for older model vehicles once the Department of Energy (DOE) completes its testing later this year.

“Minnesota has been a leader in biofuels, and this announcement is a step in the right direction to reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil, creating U.S. jobs and improving our environment” said Doug Peterson, MFU President.

Other points about the EPA announcement:

• today’s decision will apply to 43 million vehicles- nearly 20 percent of the current U.S. duty fleet.
• a second decision on cars 2001 to 2006 is expected by the end of the year and would add an additional 86 million cars, meaning that, if approved, E15 would be allowed in more than 54 percent of all the vehicles on the road today;
• moving to E15 is supported by sound science. Economic studies show that we can create more than 136,000 new jobs with E15, inject $24.4 billion back into the U.S. economy instead of bleeding it out overseas, and displace nearly seven billion gallons of gasoline from imported oil;
• this decision is in support of the goals of Congress to see demand for renewable fuels in the U.S. reach 36 billion gallons by 2022;
• ethanol production reinvests money in the U.S. economy instead of sending dollars and jobs overseas;
• our continued dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic future. Every year we pay $300 billion annually – the equivalent of a thousand-dollar-a-person tribute – to foreign countries for oil, instead of investing in our own economy;
• moving from our current E10 blend to E15 means we could reduce an additional eight million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year. That means E15 would reduce GHG emissions equal to removing an additional 1.35 million vehicles from the road; and
• we have plenty of corn to meet both our food and energy needs. Consistent increases in crop yields and record harvests prove that America’s farmers will continue to produce enough corn to meet demand for ethanol and domestic demand for corn as food and feed, as well as corn for export. In September 2010, the USDA crop report estimated that American farmers are expected to produce a record 13.16 billion bushels of corn without adding a single additional acre of land into agriculture production.

For more information: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/additive/e15/.

Minnesota Farmers Union (www.mfu.org) is a nonprofit membership-based organization working to protect and enhance the economic interests and quality of life of family farmers and ranchers, as well as rural communities.

Pope, Grant, and Douglas Minnesota Farmers Union units holds Tri-County meeting at Lakeside in Glenwood

The annual Tri-County Convention was held tonight at Lakeside Ballroom in Glenwood.

Bruce Miller, a 1972 graduate of the University of Minnesota-Morris and current director of membership for MFU, was the keynote speaker. He is in the photo below, giving a very good explanation of Legacy Grant funding in Minnesota, which comes from the recent sales tax increase that voters approved in 2008.


Below, county convention goers talk about an idea to limit the terms of our politicians in Washington, D.C.

Below, the problem with declining enrollments and job opportunities in small towns is discussed.


A number of topics important to the success of Rural Minnesota were discussed. In the short period that I attended the meeting, the following areas of discussion were held - cutting E.P.A. funding, the size and scope of the DNR's power, the pros and cons of term limits, rural areas' aging populations, declining school enrollments, job opportunities in small towns, and Legacy Grant funding.

USDA and Department of Justice holds anti-trust hearing in Fort Collins, Colorado - MFU is well represented there

Minnesota Farmers Union vice president Gary Wertish and the Yellow Medicine County Farmers Union President are among the MFU members who are attending the Fort Collins, Colorado USDA-DOJ anti-trust hearing on livestock.

The message is simple, to advocate for fair market prices for livestock farmers.

The following is from the Red River Farm Network on Friday morning: Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and Attorney General Eric Holder are in Fort Collins, CO this morning, preparing for a full day of testimony on livestock markets and antitrust issues. Political leaders will take a turn at the mic before livestock producers get an opportunity to share their experiences and perspectives. USDA and the Justice Department will hold a final competition workshop in Washington, D.C. in December.

More on this will appear in the September 2 issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

MFU to attend DOJ/USDA workshop on the dairy industry

On Friday, June 24, Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) Vice President Gary Wertish and MFU Government Relations Director Thom Petersen will be attending the Department of Justice and the United States Department of Agriculture’s workshop about the dairy industry. The workshop will be held at the University of Wisconsin – Madison at the Union Theater in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street.

“Fair competition and price discovery are hampered by the concentration of the dairy industry in the hands of a few,” said Doug Peterson, Minnesota Farmers Union President. “This concentration serves the bottom line of the companies, not the family farmers or the consumers. I hope these hearings will start to pinpoint solutions for fairer competition and price discovery so our family farmers can compete and stay in business.”

The goals of the workshop are to promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to the appropriate legal and economic analyses of these issues, as well as to listen to and learn from parties with experience in the agriculture sector. There will be a roundtable discussion; farmer presentations of issues; and panels on: trends in the dairy industry, market consolidation, and market transparency. The Honorable Eric Holder, Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice and The Honorable Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture will be in attendance.

To speak with MFU representatives before, during, or after the workshop, contact MFU Vice President Gary Wertish at 651.262.7128 or MFU Government Relations Director Thom Petersen at 612.860.9462. You can also find more information about the workshop at http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/workshops/ag2010/wisconsin-agenda.htm.

Minnesota Farmers Union (www.mfu.org) is a nonprofit membership-based organization working to protect and enhance the economic interests and quality of life of family farmers and ranchers, as well as rural communities.

MFU VP represents Farmers Union at summit

Minnesota Farmers Union Vice President Gary Wertish represented the National Farmers Union (NFU) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Summit of Rural America event in Hillsboro, Mo., June 4. The event was a wrap up to the Rural Tour that has been ongoing since the summer of 2009. The objective of both the tour and summit was to gain insight from residents in small towns and collect their thoughts on revitalizing our agricultural nation.

Wertish co-chaired a breakout session on farm competitiveness and market productivity. Breakout sessions focused on providing solutions, ideas and success stories to address the challenges facing rural America. The philosophy behind the sessions was to create a constructive dialogue geared towards sharing success stories instead of reiterating problems or challenges.

“According to USDA statistics, one in twelve jobs in the U.S. are agriculture-related, and as rural residents we know how important we are to the U.S. economy,” said Wertish. “Our messages need to be expressed to the rest of the country and I truly believe that the USDA is on board with being proactive in obtaining the needs of America’s farmers, ranchers and rural residents.”

More video clips from the Minnesota Farmers Union rural issues discussion on April 13 at Lakeside Ballroom in Glenwood

In this video clip you can listen in on an excellent discussion on biofuels and renewable energy.


A discussion on funding issues with the 4-H youth program in Minnesota.

Sitting in on the Minnesota Farmers Union agriculture discussion at Lakeside Ballroom in Glenwood

Minnesota Farmers Union president Doug Peterson and some of his staff are on hand now at Lakeside Ballroom in Glenwood.

Tom Meium of Congressman Collin Peterson's office said the following:

Collin favors these parts of the health care reform bill: ends the pre-existing condition exclusion - children covered up to 26 - health insurance companies can no longer drop you if you get a serious illness

Collin heard mostly from farmers, independent business owners who pay for their own insurance - they expressed grave concerns about rates going up. It was not addressed in the bill, even supporters of the bill acknowledge that insurance rates will go up.

Inflation rates and uncontrolled expenses that have been going up for quite some time have not been addressed.

Eleven percent of the CD7 do not have health insurance. About 1/3 of those will be covered. That's disappointing to Collin. He was hoping more of the uninsured would be covered.

That plus the expenses out of consumers pockets not being addressed led Collin to vote No on the bill.

If you compare legislation to a football game, we're probably at about halftime.
The first half was developing a bill. The second half will be implementation of the bill.

Health and Human Services will bring this to reality over the next 4 to 5 years. "Rubber hits the road" - the legislative intent will be put into action.

Collin pledges his support to the work of the second half. He won't be a part of the political games and rhetoric about repealing the bill.

He supports several parts of the bill. He will work with his colleagues of both parties to address the cost issue and make it a workable program.

• Other issues were discussed throughout the forum, with a heavy emphasis on health care reform and agriculture concentration.

More will be posted on this meeting on Wednesday.

Spring meetings are underway for Minnesota Farmers Union - local site is in Glenwood tomorrow morning (Tuesday)

Minnesota Farmers Union President Doug Peterson invites members and friends to attend the annual MFU spring meetings April 12-15.

This is an opportunity for members, rural folk, or anyone, to come see how Minnesota Farmers Union works on the issues that impact our rural community and state and how MFU can make a difference for farmers and rural Minnesotans. People are encouraged to come discuss their concerns. MFU will be talking about where issues stand at the State Legislature, as well as on the federal level. Grab a friend or neighbor and come join MFU. Coffee is on us!

The dates, time and location of the meetings are as follows:

· Tuesday, April 13, 9:30 a.m.: Lakeside Café in Glenwood, 180 South Lakeshore Drive.