Wahpeton Daily News
By Cameron Sutphin
Running on only an hour of sleep because she was voting on the Senate floor until 3 a.m., U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota met with farmers in Breckenridge to discuss issues facing Minnesota farmers.
This is part of Sen. Klobuchar’s travels around Minnesota as she stops in all of the 87 counties this year.
Matt Hasbargen, who farms with his family on their farm in Breckenridge in Breckenridge, welcomed the senator back to Hasbargen Farm.
“This is actually a welcome back. Twenty years ago you showed up on this farm with a guy by the name of Collin Peterson, and he introduced us, this group right here, to you as a senate candidate for the state of Minnesota,” Hasbargen said.
Hasbargen then went on to thank the senator for being an advocate for agriculture and rural communities.
“The biggest thing we wanted to do is have you here and say thank you because you have been a huge advocate for US agriculture and rural America … All the support you give us on farm bills, crop insurance, farm programs, research and development — all of those things, we’re very grateful for all of that,” Hasbargen said.
After the warm introduction, Sen. Klobuchar spoke about being a member of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
“I’m the ranking Democrat on agriculture (Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee). I love it; it’s great. We have a really good committee, interestingly, if we’re ready to pounce to do something,” Sen. Klobuchar said.
Sen. Klobuchar talked about the reason behind the unanimous vote to confirm Brooke Rollins as the secretary of agriculture.
“She wasn’t maybe our first choice, but we were trying to show the unity of AG (Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee) on that front,” Sen. Klobuchar said.
Next, Sen. Klobuchar mentioned positive things happening within the committee, especially regarding sugar.
“We’ve just had some really good hearings that have been positive, so we’re excited. Hoeven (Republican Senator John Hoeven) is playing a major role; he’s number two to Boozman (Committee Chair and Republican Senator John Boozman), and that’s helpful for us on sugar; that’s a huge deal for this part of the state,” Sen. Klobuchar said.
Sen. Klobuchar spoke about the ‘one big beautiful bill’ that Republicans are trying to pass and her hopes for agricultural funds making it into the bill.
“It’s about trying to get the funding so it’s not totally messed up in this tax bill that you’re hearing about, the reconciliation, it’s called. It will be a Republican bill, but we don’t know how they’re going to handle ag (agriculture). Really, with all the changes and the tariffs, they need to advocate strongly because we can’t do much about it,” she said.
Sen. Klobuchar revealed that the tariffs on Canada and President Trump’s rhetoric towards Canada have hurt tourism.
“The tariffs have been a huge problem for the economy … It’s really bad for tourism. Canadians are 70% down nationally; they’re just refusing to come to America; they’re mad about the 51st state,” she said.
Sen. Klobuchar continued, “And then of course with some of the soybeans and the markets …that’s what’s going on right now … It’s this 10% across the board; it’s not really paused, it’s in place—10% extra on every country, and then Canada is 25%.”
A concern mentioned about trade with Canada was stuffed molasses, molasses coming into the United States from Canada with sugar hidden in it.
Because the sugar is hidden inside the molasses, it is imported into the United States without companies having to pay tariffs. After the molasses crosses the border, the sugar is taken out of the molasses and sold separately. Some funding was given last year to the border patrol for testing molasses.
“You would bring a trade case … You could do that; you just have to get evidence … This is good to know, especially with the trade negotiations, and I do a lot with Canada, so I can raise this when the time is right,” Sen. Klobuchar said.
As the event started to wind down, Hasbargen told a funny story about attending a conference this winter.
“The MC of the event said, ‘I have to apologize; there’s a change in the agenda. Our first three presenters were all fired by Elon Musk last week,” Hasbargen said. The room immediately erupted with laughter.
Hasbargen continued, “Let’s say it was a shock to the system. So there were five researchers and four technicians from USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) that were let go, specifically working on sugar bean research.”
Sen. Klobuchar responded, “I just put out there yesterday 15 programs that were frozen … we asked what was frozen. These aren’t employees; these are funding sources … It’s just really scary if we don’t have enough for things like that, so we have to prioritize research.”
After taking some time to walk around the farm and take pictures with her supporters, Sen. Klobuchar left the farm to head to the remaining counties to hear her constituents’ concerns.