(Jackson, Mn.)– Ag funding was a topic of discussion at a townhall event in Jackson earlier this week.
Minnesota Farmer’s Union President Gary Wertish says it’s anybody’s guess what the outcome of discussions will be on both the state and federal levels. He says the Minnesota Legislature is nearly divided along party affiliations. Wertish says that’s likely going to have an impact on budget discussions…
“Right now we have just a slight surplus but in the out years we’re going to have a deficit so the state legislature really has a big problem here. They have to come together. Right now we have a closely divided Minnesota Legislature so they’re going to have to work together to come up with a solution and come up with a balanced budget. So that’s at the top of the mind at the state and basically the Minnesota Farmers Union, our top issue at the state is that we get a strong agriculture budget for the Minnesota Department of Ag because ag is such an important driver of the state’s economy and yet by the state budget it’s a very small percentage.”
Wertish says there’s even more uncertainty on the federal level…
“At the federal level there’s just a lot of uncertainty whether it’s farm bill or funding. It’s just a lot of uncertainty coming out of Washington, D.C.”
Wertish says ag funding is at the top of their list right now when it comes to legislative priorities.
