News

Minnesota Farmers Union working to protect farmer resources

The Minnesota Farmers Union wants to ensure financial and emotional support for farmers remains a priority in the legislature.

MFU government relations director Stu Lourey was recently asked by Brownfield if he’s concerned some legislators might look at improving net farm income and assume the state can scale back assistance to crop and livestock producers.

“What I see from my vantage (point) is that much like other sectors of the economy, the pandemic had really uneven effects on folks. Some folks are doing really well (but) some folks are still reeling from five years of record-low prices.”

Lourey says he believes legislators understand how cyclical farming can be.

“And we’ve been really quick to point out that while this year has been a good year certainly, it is coming off a number of tough years for a number of folks.”

He says that’s why MFU made strengthening the Farmer Lender Mediation Act a priority this legislative session.  The program gives farmers an opportunity to renegotiate, restructure, or resolve farm debt through the use of a trained neutral facilitator.