Secretary of Agriculture Visits North Dakota and Minnesota For Agriculture Tour

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — In her first two and a half months since being in office, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins took part in an Agriculture tour. Her first stop took place in the heart of the Red River Valley at NDSU for a roundtable with AG producers and farmers.

“We’re talking almost daily about all of this, so you know it’s a lot of big talk. And I don’t love to talk big without the results to back it up, but I think we’ve made some real progress in the two and a half months that I’ve been there. But I think it is really only just the beginning,” said Brooke Rollins.

At the roundtable many shared their concerns for the changing shift in the farming industry. With the ongoing trade war, farmers are concerned what battles lay ahead for them and where business will go.

“A lot of us will not likely be here in 26 if we don’t get some certainty and change. And farming is an uncertain business. We have weather and market risks all the time. We have tools like crop insurance, and those things help mitigate that, but we do need a little more certainty and clarity,” said Justin Sherlock, President of North Dakota Soybean Growers Association.

Rollins addressed concerns by stating she and her staff are currently working on a farm bill and working with the Trump administration to address many of the concerns.
Her next stop at Grand Farm in Wheatland showcased the new innovations that the agriculture community has developed.

“We have seen over the course of 250 years almost that that experiment has proven more wildly successful than anyone could have ever imagined in terms of economic success, prosperity, freedom of religion, etc. etc. etc. What we saw in the field today is the next iteration of that as America continues to lead the world,” said Rollins.

Rollins made her final stop in Moorhead at the American Crystal Sugar Factory.