We received this press release from the Walz campaign yesterday afternoon:
Today, Congressman Tim Walz proudly accepted the endorsement of the National Farmers Union Political Action Committee in the 2008 Minnesota First Congressional District race. The endorsement followed Walz’s strong performance in a Congressional Candidate Forum at Farmfest. During the debate, Walz focused on his ability to work with Democrats and Republicans to achieve common-sense solutions for rural America .
Doug Peterson, Minnesota Farmers Union President, said, “Walz is a tireless advocate for rural America . In his first term in Congress, Walz has proven to be an effective leader who can reach across the aisle to get things done for farmers and rural families. The Farmers Union is proud to endorse Tim Walz for Congress in southern Minnesota .”
“I am honored to again receive the support of the National Farmers Union Political Action Committee,” said Congressman Walz. “Together, we worked to pass the new Farm Bill, which includes provisions I authored to expand opportunities for beginning farmers and ranchers. In the coming months, I am eager to continue to work with Farmers Union to build support for the bipartisan energy bill which I helped write.”
The Bipartisan House Energy Working Group recently introduced a bill [pdf] that would expand offshore drilling and use more than a trillion dollars over ten years in royalties from expanded drilling to fund renewable fuels research, conservation and preservation efforts. The bill has the potential to drastically expand the renewable fuels industries in southern Minnesota and is undoubtedly good for Minnesota ’s farmers and ranchers.
Walz, a high-school teacher and National Guard veteran, who was first elected to Congress in 2006, is a member of the House Agriculture Committee.
We are members of the Minnesota Farmers Union and attended the gathering where Congressman Walz was endorsed.
Probably the most entertaining moment was when Congressman Walz related the story about getting the National Geographic Education Foundation's "Geography Legislator of the Year" award for 2008. Walz noted how the award included a photo taken by a National Geographic photographer of an archetypal scene in each legislator's district.
The head of the National Geographic Society told the audience that the picture for Minnesota First featured a soybean field. Walz said he noted mentally that it was an alfalfa field, but spared his host some embarrassment by not sharing that insight with the NGEF's assembled throngs.
We all had a laugh over that; unfortunately, it's not just people on the East Coast who have a hard time knowing their crops. A friend in Kandiyohi County did outreach educational work for the local Soybean Growers in some small town schools. Repeatedly, hardly of the eighth graders she worked with knew what soybean plants looked like--even though thousands of acres of beans grew nearby.
Who knows what it was like for the alfalfa educators.
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