DFL Leader Responds to President Trump’s Mankato Visit

by CJ Baumgartner (FOX 21 Local News) ... One DFL senator has criticism on the president’s policies toward farmers. Assistant Minnesota Senate Minority Leader and District 19 Senator Nick Frentz says he’s glad to have any president come to the area to talk about key issues, including issues facing corn and soybean farmers.

He says the Trump administration has not been good for Minnesota farmers, citing that corn and soybean prices are lower than they were four years ago.

Frentz points to the Environmental Protection Agency’s policies waiving regulations for oil companies have hurt the demand for alternative fuels like corn-based ethanol. He says more government support for ethanol and less for oil companies would go a long way for farmers in Minnesota.

“A quarter of the nation’s ethanol is produced within a two hour drive of Mankato. And that kind of regulatory misfunction hurts corn prices,” said Frentz. “And that hurts our farmers and that hurts all of Minnesota.”

He believes a Biden presidency would build better trade relationships with other nations. Saying farmers in the area depend on stable relationships with the country’s trading partners. Including with nations like Mexico, Canada, and mainly China, who is a big consumer of American ag products. READ MORE includes VIDEO

Excerpt from Spectrum News: ... The Southern Wisconsin dairy farmer voted for Donald Trump in 2016, but the last four years haven't convinced him to vote for another term.

(Mitch) Breunig cares about a lot of issues — healthcare, schools, guns — but he does look closely at agriculture too. He thinks in theory President Trump's trade negotiations were going to be a good thing, but he's not sure if things are better now. Particularly with Mexico, a giant dairy importer, which Breunig fears started looking elsewhere for some of its products during negotiations for the new U.S., Canada, Mexico trade agreement.

However, he hasn't heard much if anything from Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden on agriculture.

“I really would have to go back and really study his track record because I don't see him out here making speeches in Wisconsin talking about, you know what he's going to do for Wisconsin agriculture and agriculture as a whole,” Breunig said.

Rural voters will likely play a large role again in this Presidential Election according to the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay professor David Helpap. He said rural voters helped Trump in Wisconsin in 2016. However, when it comes to agriculture, it's not clear if he is in a better or worse spot this year.

“What we have to keep an eye out for now is, is there enough dissatisfaction with some of these rural voters that they're willing to swing back to the Democratic Party already, or are they going to say 'you know what we'll give the republican party and president Trump another chance',” Helpap said.

Helpap said that neither party has talked a lot about rural issues yet this election cycle.

“If you start seeing that level of attention, and I think you probably will, that's when you'll know that they are very interested in this group of voters,” Helpap said.

The key to getting those voters, Helpap said, could be to show them that you care about them either by showing up in their communities or speaking to them in another way.

“Show them that you care and realize that turnout is going to be a huge issue in 2020, no matter where it's coming from,” Helpap said.

Barry Burden, a political scientist with UW-Madison and director of the Elections Resource Center, said rural voters seem to have moved left some since the last Presidential Election.

“I think his position is worse in farming communities today than it would have been in 2016,” Burden said. “His policies have not quite delivered on the promises he made.”

Burden said trade deals have not yet materialized. He said effects from the USMCA deal which replaced NAFTA have not come through yet and aren't likely to make a big impact. READ MORE