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Kline discusses agricultural issues with farmers Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Agri News staff writer
FARIBAULT, Minn. -- Pork producers have lost 70 percent of their equity and if they shut down, they won't start again, Dan Perkins told Rep. John Kline at an agriculture advisory committee meeting Aug. 20 in Faribault.
Perkins, a farm business management instructor from Morris, was one of several people who spoke during an hour-long roundtable meeting where Kline tried hard to listen and not speak.
He facilitated the discussion, telling one part of the room or another that they were too quiet, but for the most part the discussion bounced from person-to-person, with several topics discussed.
Lack of leadership in agriculture, imports, exports, regulations for selling dairy products to the government, Section 32 funds and packer and corporate ownership of livestock were among the topics covered.
The meeting was the first advisory committee meeting in about a year, said Kline, a Republican who represents Minnesota's 2nd District. Meetings were held more frequently leading up to the farm bill, he said.
The advisory committee was enlarged for this meeting to hear from more dairy producers, Kline said. Not only were the chairs lining the four tables arranged so everyone faced each other full, chairs were brought in to accommodate more people.
"I felt like I needed to hear from a lot of people," Kline said.
The great thing about the meeting was that he heard what's going on in the field, Kline said.
"There was a lot of food for thought here," he said. |
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