We were impressed when, earlier this month, Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg visited a farm in Faribault County to learn about struggling farmers and participated in the roundtable discussion (pictured above) for an audience of very larger farm machinery.
Coverage of struggling farmers continued this weekend, with the latest narrative appearing in the Star Tribune, which includes a map that demonstrates acreage, not farm equipment, votes.
The struggle is real. In Minnesota farmers struggling with low prices amid tariffs weigh their support for Trump, we were surprised to read this:
It's going to take years to get it back,” Nate Hultgren, of Raymond, said of his lost soybean markets. He estimates his family farm took a total loss of up to $12,500 on soybeans because of the trade war with China.
Trump’s farm bailout, paying out $19 billion so far, was intended to offset the impact on farmers of the administration’s trade disputes with China, Mexico, Canada and other countries. Since October 2018, nearly $1.5 billion has been paid out to an estimated 54,000 farmers in Minnesota. . . .
We're also surprised that the Star Tribune didn't drill down to see what any of the farmers interviewed for this article received, since that data is available at the EWG Farm Subsidy Database. Market Facilitation Program payments (the farm bailout) for 2018-2019 are discoverable by searching by counties. In Kandiyohi County, Hultgren Farms * was in the top ten recipients, getting $172,856, putting them at #9.
Here's the list of programs for which the Hultgrens received payments during 2018-2019:
Market Facilitation Program - Corn $3,832
Market Facilitation Program - Soybeans $49,400
Market Facilitation Program -
Non-specified commodity crops $119,624
Now, that's for all four members of the family who receive subsidies, found here in the EWG database.
We can only hope the $172,856 helped with the pain of losing "$12,500 on soybeans because of the trade war with China."
At the same time, some Minnesota farmers have made clear that they don’t vote on trade policy alone.
Noah Hultgren, Nate’s brother, wants less government spending, opposes abortion and is wary of policies such as Medicare for All or eliminating college debt. For a lot of farmers social issues outweigh the losses they’ve taken from tariffs, he said.
“They’ll say, ‘Maybe he has cost us one dollar a bushel on soybeans, but I like his stance on abortion, or other conservative stances,’ ” Noah said.
Impeachment also does not seem to be changing many minds among rural Trump supporters, who tend to see it as a distant, partisan exercise. Noah said he and others are just tired of the partisanship.
Nate is one of several Minnesota farmers — including some Republicans — who said they would potentially vote for Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar if she won the Democratic nomination. She has visited their local sugar beet cooperative, and Nate said he trusts her more than the other candidates. But with Klobuchar netting in the single digits of national polls, he is looking at other options. And he is unimpressed.
Noah, 40, and Nate, 43, help run their family farm west of Willmar, a sprawling 6,000-acre operation. Both men supported Trump in 2016 and lean Republican, though they like Seventh Congressional District Rep. Collin Peterson — one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, who voted against impeachment. While Noah plans to vote for Trump, Nate is on the fence. The farm’s CEO, Nate has a finance degree and manages the budget from a modern office with the black and red family logo on the wall. He watched the trade war with China shrink their bottom line, and he’s hesitant to vote for Trump unless he reaches a firm trade deal before Election Day.
We have to give the Hultgrens credit for diversifying their operations beyond corn and soybeans, though the Strib doesn't tell its readers that. Willmar Radio reported in August, Pennock area farm operation growing industrial hemp:
Hultgren Farms of rural Pennock is growing hemp this year, trying to see if they can be successful in meeting the increasing demands of people who want to eat, drink, smoke and wear the once illegal plant and it's by-products. The 2018 Federal Farm Bill categorized hemp as an agricultural crop and allows for production. Nate Hultgren says they've planted 65 acres of hemp, which is about 1% of their total acres, in a field near Belgrade. Hultgren says they planted about 45 acres last year and were not pleased with the results. Hultgren says the key is to have the crop classified as "food grade" which then opens up many market possibilities...
. . .Hultgren says when it comes to hemp, they are taking a slow, careful approach. He says with corn and soybean prices so low, new opportunities are often born out of tough times. He says, why not try and make a profit instead of a gauranteed loss.
There's more, as MN Farm Living's Wanda Patsche reported in MN Agriculture: Noah Hultgren, A Diversified Farmer:
. ..
Meadow Star Dairy near Pennock under construction:
After 7 years, Construction of Meadow Star Dairy near Pennock is well underway. Partner Nate Hultgren says they hope to start milking cows by late October. Hultgren says the mega-dairy operation is licensed for 8500 cows and they will actually be milking about 6000 on a daily basis, using a gargantuan carousel...
Meadow Star is owned by Riverview Dairy in Morris, and Hultgren says if you want to see what Meadow Stay will be like, tour the Riverview facility during their open house on Thursday. Hultgren and Kim Larson are the local partners in the project...
The Hultgren Farms website notes on its "Our Team" page:
Nate graduated from MACCRAY High School and was a Cum Laude Finance graduate from University of Minnesota-Duluth. He and his wife Jaime have been married for 19 years and have five children: Lily (13), Nora (11), Elias (11), Ruby (9), and Oliver (7).
Nate is the also the managing partner for Hultgren Holdings. He serves on boards of directors for Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative, American Sugarbeet Growers Association, and Heritage Bank. He is also a member of the Governor's Advisory Board for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Farm activities include input purchasing, crop marketing, operations planning, planting, Meadow Star Dairy/CY Harvesting grower coordinator, capital budgeting, cash flow forecasting, FSA Programs, kidney bean harvesting, and corn drying.
Bluestem had noted the irony of a Riverview dairy partner being on the Governor's Advisory Board in Guy who works for dairy at heart of elimination of MPCA Citizen Board appointed to new fake board.
More from the Our Team page:
. . . Noah is a real estate broker for Fieldstock Realty. He is past president of the Minnesota Corn Growers and is on the Kandiyohi County Corn & Soybean Growers board.
Noah's areas of responsibility at Hultgren Farms include seed selection and planting, crop scouting, and managing the sugarbeet harvest.
Noah has focused his agronomy studies on no-till and minimum-tillage practices. He is investigating increased use of cover crops and other soil health improvement techniques. . . .
. . .Duane has been the heart and soul of Hultgren Farms since he started farming full-time in 1972. He has been an integral part of growth that has seen acreage go from 400 acres to 6,000 acres.
Duane has been married to Nancy for 46 years. Together they raised four kids (Nate, Noah, Emily, and Carly). They have 12 grandchildren.
Duane has served on the Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative board, NFO board, Raymond/MACCRAY School Board, Kandiyohi County Economic Development board, and currently is the chair of the St. Johns Township board. . . .
The About Us page notes:
Today, Hultgren Farms is the owner of two patents for grain drying without the use of fossil fuels, is a partner in CY Harvesting (a custom forage harvesting group), is partner in Riverview LLP (dairy and beef), and has a retail farm-fresh beef store. We collaborate with our neighbors to originate forages and apply manure for adjacent Meadow Star Dairy, an 8,500-head dairy.
We have embraced a minimum-tillage approach, and are utilizing cover crops and non-commercial fertilizer sources. We plant filter strips along waterways, and we are working with Fieldstock Realty to build wetland banks across West Central Minnesota.
We are working hard to tell our story in Washington D.C., St. Paul, and in our local community. Our family serves on boards and committees such as Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative, Minnesota Corn Growers, American Sugarbeet Growers Association, Kandiyohi County Corn & Soybean Growers, Heritage Bank, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, St. Johns Township, Calvary Lutheran Church, and MACCRAY Schools.
It's good to see that this struggle hasn't been at the expense of diversification, conservation and community service, even though the Hultgrens now populate an article about struggling farmers and support for the President.
Photo: A roundtable discussion in a machine shed near Wells, Minnesota. Photo by Pat Christman in the Mankato Free Press gallery, PHOTOS: Michael Bloomberg makes campaign stop in Wells. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reported about the visit's purpose:
Jim Anderson, a Bloomberg senior campaign adviser, told reporters the visit was part of a series of campaign stops to highlight various sectors of the United States economy that are struggling.
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