Northarvest Bean Growers Association’s Post

Yesterday was a pretty surreal moment as Grand Farm had the opportunity of hosting four U.S. Senators as we hosted an Ag Appropriation Field Hearing. With a room of 250+ people, the ecosystem really showed up as Senators Hoeven, Smith, Klobuchar and Boozman talked about the importance of funding ag research. Here are a few of my takeaways. 1. I had a lot of hope for our political system after seeing these senators working together, solving problems, asking relevant questions and getting along (shocking, I know.) so much of what we see on the media is political theater. They’re real people working on real problems. Agriculture is not a right or left issue. It brings us all together. 2. About 1% of the Farm Bill funding is for ag research. Our producers and ag industry are facing numerous challenges and adequately funding ag research will continue to keep our farmers and the U.S. in a strong position. 3. The USDA has strong leadership with Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small, Under Secretary Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Dr. Simon Liu and all federal and local leaders. 4. We have a hell of a team. The amount of work that went into getting the campus and building ready for this high profile event is incredibly impressive and everybody did it with a smile and lots of laughs Thanks to everybody who made yesterday possible. It was one for the books.