Over a dozen farmers and ag leaders joined Wolle and Johnson for a roundtable on ag issues. The event was covered by KEYC and the Mankato Free Press.

St. James, MN — On Thursday afternoon, Harold Wolle, former president of the National Corn Growers Association and the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, hosted a roundtable discussion with Jake Johnson and over a dozen area farmers and agricultural leaders.

Participants raised topics ranging from the harms caused by tariffs and rising equipment costs, to the cuts to rural healthcare and key USDA programs. One participant shared his deep concern about the national debt, and Jake highlighted his strong commitment to making the federal budget add up.

“I appreciated the chance to hear from farmers and ag leaders in Watonwan County, especially around how I could be a strong advocate for them in Congress,” said Jake Johnson. “Thank you to Harold Wolle for pulling together such an insightful and helpful conversation.”

The event was part of a series of roundtables that Jake is hosting with farmers. In just the last month, Jake has hosted three other farmers’ roundtables — one in Rushford Village, one in Blue Earth, and one in Trimont. This is in addition to the 21 public, in-person town hall meetings Jake is hosting this summer, while Finstad refuses to host a single one for the fourth year in a row.

The event was covered by local press:

KEYC News Now: Jake Johnson Campaign

• Most responses from constituents regarded tariffs, price of equipment, and specifically the national debt.

• “The tariffs are now in such a state of confusion, I doubt anybody here has a good handle on what tariff any specific one of our trading partners is paying,” said Harold Wolle.

• Candidate Johnson is hoping to fix the issues that people raised.

• “For me, it’s going to DC to end the tariffs, end the Iran War, get a Congress that is actually fighting for our farmers, small business owners, and families. I’m going to DC to try to tackle some of these problems, solve them in a bipartisan way, and work with anybody who is willing to work with me to try to get some solutions for people,” said Jake Johnson.

• “We’re very proud that we don’t take money from corporations, we’re funded by real people,” said Jake Johnson.

Mankato Free Press: 1st District candidate Jake Johnson talks cost, challenges with St. James farmers.

• A whirlwind campaign tour brought itself through a farm in St. James on Thursday. DFL candidate Jake Johnson, who is running for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District against Republican incumbent Brad Finstad, teamed up with local farmer Harold Wolle to host a roundtable on agriculture. [...] The roundtable focused mostly on the problems facing farmers and agricultural workers, and how they can be eased in Washington.

• “People absolutely are hanging on by a thread here in rural Minnesota. I mean, we heard it on the input side, things are too expensive for a lot of different reasons, and then export markets continue to evaporate, and our farmers, they have control over their yields, they’re incredible at doing what they are trained to do, what they know how to do, what they’ve grown up doing, and there are so many forces outside of their control that they just don’t have control over,” Johnson said.

• Input and upkeep costs were among some of the biggest barriers for these workers, especially for those looking to get started in the agriculture industry. Those costs played into what Johnson said was his big takeaway from the talk. [...] Some specific costs were the rise in steel and aluminum, leading to an explosion in the cost of tractors, and the increasing costs of hog pens.

• “I think one mistake that the Democratic party has made before is forsaking places like this, just focusing on urban centers, just focusing on certain cities. That’s not what we’re doing on our campaign,” Johnson said. “Folks absolutely love their rural communities and they are doing everything that they can to hang on to their way of life right now.”

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