KAAL
By Brandon Antony
(ABC 6 News)- Olmsted County served as the backdrop Wednesday for United States Senator Amy Klobuchar, as part of her 13-county rural economy tour.
The senator visited a farm in Eyota, hearing about issues now impacting farmers. Issues she’s hoping to bring attention to in a new farm bill.
Senator Klobuchar touched on everything from tariffs, to rural health care for farmers, and she heard some about some of these concerns firsthand at Paclear Farm.
One of the farmers at Paclear Farm was Jeff Pagel. Pagel said one of the big things he wanted to talk about was the lack of access to childcare for rural farmers.
“We want to make sure we have access to it, and that it’s affordable. I have some other friends where it’s more beneficial for them for one of the spouses to stay home with the kids then it is to send them to daycare,” Pagel said.
But the visit wasn’t just about childcare; another big issue that came up regarded tariffs.
“Part of the problem is, just on the time of day, you never know what tariffs are going to be. You know, and it’s constantly changing. I think as Amy said we need some consistency there so we know where everybody is at,” said Ron Pagel, another farmer.
These farmers were also able to show off some of the latest technology being used frequently at the farm.
“We have technology that is as simple as automatic takeoff for the milkers, so sensors that basically senses milk flow, and when the milk flow falls below a certain level, it takes the milker off,” Jeff Pagel said.
And seeing these high tech methods up close is one of the things that impressed Senator Klobuchar the most during her visit.
“What I love about this farm is the example of 1, diversifying crops, cows, kind of going with what’s next in the trends to using technology. Our small farmers are really strapped often when it comes to having workers or having people to help them,” Klobuchar said.
And although things are moving in a good direction despite challenges at Paclear Farm, Klobuchar knows there’s more work to be done to help the Ag community.
“It’s really hard for them to stay in business, and we’ve seen a five year high of farm bankruptcy this last year, and we don’t want that to continue,” Klobuchar said.
This was one of the final stops on her tour. She says her plans are to take what she learned back to the Senate to continue supporting rural farmers down the line.