Governor Tim Walz says farm income in Minnesota is a serious problem, pointing to this week’s U-of-M report showing it lowest in nearly a quarter century and likely as bad as during the 1980s. “We have got to get our trade deals worked out,” the governor says. “We’ll do some things that we can do at the state level, but really farm policy is heavily dictated by federal trade policy.”
Earlier this month the legislature and Walz approved a low-interest loan program for farmers who have building damage or livestock losses caused by the severe winter.
U-of- M Extension Ag Economist Dale Nordquist says U-S-D-A forecasts slightly higher farm income next year, “but certainly not enough of a difference to really cure many of the wounds out there.”