House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson hosted Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue during a bipartisan listening session with members of the House Agriculture Committee and other members of Congress this morning at the annual Minnesota Farmfest. Peterson issued the following statement after the listening session:

“With all of the stress in farm country, it was important for Secretary Perdue to be here at Farmfest so Minnesota farmers could share directly with the Administration the issues they are having first-hand. At the forum farmers shared serious concerns about the trade war; the potential benefits of USMCA, which I support; the ongoing need for labor on dairy farms and other agricultural operations; and issues brought on by bad weather in the spring and throughout planting season, among many other topics. We talked about new programs in the Farm Bill and ways those programs will help farmers, with a particular focus on the dairy folks and what the new Dairy Margin Coverage program can do for them.

“We heard loudly and clearly that farmers don’t want to get their revenue from the government, but we also know that we at the federal level have a responsibility to make sure folks aren’t left behind as a result of forces beyond their control. There is still a lot of work to be done, and I’m going to continue do what I can as Chair of the Agriculture Committee as well as work with the Secretary to help.”