Senators visit farmers to discuss ag innovation, Farm bill

(ABC 6 News) – Despite the division on Capitol Hill, Senators Amy Klobuchar and John Bozeman were able to come together in support of local farmers and the farm bill.

“As we look at improvements to the farm bill we got to get with the times,” Klobuchar said.

Senator Klobuchar says modernizing farming needs to be the focus of the farming industry.

Not just in Minnesota but across the country. A big part of that is expanding rural broadband.

“We used to think roads railroads runways and water is how you develop an area, but if you’re not wired it just doesn’t work,” explained Bozeman.
Making farms more efficient. With another focus on making them more eco-friendly.

“The other thing is we are very concerned about the climate. We want to take care of our air and water so much of the technology that we use depends on having broadband and adequate strength broadband, said Bozeman.

At Rossman Farms, they take conservation very seriously.

The senators with this visit today had an opportunity to see the equipment that they use in our conservation practices and get a better understanding,” said Michelle Rossman.

Food insecurity is another big issue the farm bill looks to address.

“You can see what’s going on in with droughts in other parts of the world or when you start having a bunch of migration because people can’t farm anymore on tiny plots of land. The science becomes important to it so they can farm,” explained Klobuchar.

“There are a lot of programs in the farm bill that are going to address food insecurity. To make we are going to continue to have safe, economical food in the United States that is open to all the citizens and that they are supported and have access to that food,” said Rossman.

And they want to make sure farmers are protected.

“Federal crop insurance is very important and very vital for our operation. To be able to go borrow money to be able to put the crop in the ground and it’s just very critical that we have that safety net,” said Tony Rossman.

Federal insurance helps farms when crop yield is low or prices drastically drop.

“I think there are some smart things we can do to make it better. It’s been pretty successful as a safety net,” said Klobuchar.

The two senators are hopeful they can get a bi-partisan deal done.
“Agriculture isn’t about Democrats or Republicans,” Bozeman said.

The current farm bill expires in September. Senators will have until then to come up with a renewal plan.