Farmers pressured Minnesota’s governor Tuesday to issue a disaster declaration.
One farmer even told Governor Tim Walz at a roundtable discussion that it will be game over for his crops if the cold holds for the next few days.
“It’s in our business to keep these folks in business for the next generation,” Walz told farmers in East Grand Forks, Minn., at a potato inspection office of Minnesota’s department of agriculture.
Casey Folson was one of the farmers taking part in the roundtable and he’s a fifth generation potato farmer.
“The Red River Valley is the No. 1 supplier of red potatoes in the United States,” Folson said.
His family began with a small North Dakota farm but has since expanded to hundreds of acres in East Grand Forks.
“They go all over the United States to all the Lower 48 to retailers to food distributors,” Folson said.
Walking through his fields, Folson was disappointed at the poor crop caused by Mother Nature.
“You see that ground is so hard you can’t even open it,” Folson said.
The number of trucks picking up potatoes is down this year compared to last year and it’s not only having an impact on farmers but also businesses connected to the agriculture industry.
“We’ve only harvested 40 percent of our acres and still have about 60 percent in the ground,” Folson said. “With the temperatures getting colder, it’s looking more and more like they’re not getting harvested.”
That same sentiment was shared by other growers to Walz and agriculture commissioner Thom Petersen.
“This perfect storm of trade deals and weather and just not getting it right for you, we can fix some of that,” Walz said.
Minnesota farmers argued for a disaster declaration to be issued similar to what was done in North Dakota. However, unlike North Dakota, the amount of damage to date hasn’t reached the necessary threshold for such a declaration in Minnesota, according to the director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
“This is incredibly stressful work. It’s incredible stressful when your family’s on the line, we know that,” Walz said. “I think this is where communities come together.”
Farmers mentioned to Walz they’re more worried about the younger generation. Folson said it has been a tough year but his family sees it as an anomaly, hoping another year like this one doesn’t rear its ugly head.
Governor Walz told farmers he would explore getting a secretarial declaration, which would come from the USDA and help farmers with loans.