Dear Friend, 

It’s no secret that the past several years have been challenging ones for our farmers. High fertilizer, seed, pesticides and overall energy prices combined with labor shortages and supply chain slowdowns have all made a hard job even more difficult. As your voice in the House of Representatives, it is our goal to support the important work of Sixth District farmers.

As the needs of our farmers, ranchers and producers evolve, so too must the legislation designed to support them. Every five years, Congress has the job of updating the Farm Bill. This bill covers virtually every program that our ag community relies on every day, from workforce development to crop insurance to farm loan programs.

It is crucial that before we pass a Farm Bill in Washington, we learn how best to advocate for you. That is why, ahead of the 2023 Farm Bill, we have made it a top priority to host listening sessions with farmers from across the Sixth Congressional District.

Emmer hosts the fourth Farm Bill Listening Session at Oliver Kelley Farm in Elk River

Late last month, we held a listening session at Oliver Kelley Farm in Elk River. The event was the last of four sessions which brought together our team and dozens of key stakeholders in the Sixth District ag community, including representatives from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Farmer’s Union, Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation, Compeer Financial, Minnesota Pork, Edge Farmer Dairy Cooperative, Second Harvest Heartland and more.

Over the course of our conversations, participants highlighted the importance of affordable, reliable energy, accessible mental health resources for farmers and investments in workforce development. You can read more about our listening sessions in Brownfield Ag News.

We are committed to making sure the 2023 Farm Bill reflects the needs of the Sixth Congressional District. If you didn’t have a chance to join us for a listening session, we still want to hear from you. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts about this or any other way we can support our farmers, here.

Sincerely,