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USDA official touting trade in Minnesota

A USDA official is touting the benefits of trade in Minnesota this week.

Deputy Under-Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Alexis Taylor visited two farms in the state Wednesday.

“Part of it is just getting out of D.C. and talking to people who I really feel I work for, and that all of us at USDA really work for.  And making sure a host of issues, not just trade but also some of the programs, whether it’s crop insurance or the Farm Service Agency programs are working for them.”

Taylor says the feedback she receives from farmers helps her make policy decisions that benefit rural America.

Regarding the Trans Pacific Partnership, she tells Brownfield it’s hard to know if and when the trade deal will get done.

“But it remains a top priority for USDA (and) the administration, and really making sure that agriculture as a group-which has been largely in support of TPP-kind of stay there and continue to talk about the benefits of it.”

Taylor met with local producers during a tour of Shiefelbein Farms in Kimball and Thalmann Seeds in Plato.