MARSHALL — The number of Minnesota farmers entering mediation due to financial hardship has increased sharply this year, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Farm Advocate Steve Zenk says many producers are struggling to cover operating loans. “We’re seeing right now people that are going to have difficulty paying back their operating loans this fall. With the lower grain prices, and all the inputs have continued to go up, so at the end of the year, there might not be enough money to go around to get everybody paid.”
Zenk warns that farmers have limited time to act once notified of mediation. “If you don’t do it during that time, you’re waving your right to mediation and telling the lender to go ahead and do whatever you want to do.” Failure to respond could result in loss of assets, such as machinery or real estate.
In addition to low crop prices, tariffs and the ongoing federal government shutdown have added pressure on Minnesota’s agricultural economy. Governor Tim Walz says tariffs are hurting producers long-term. “We’re seeing of course crisis in farm country because we’re not having soybean purchases made. And I’m reminding people that these purchases China is making elsewhere outside the United States are ten year contracts and it’s going to be very, very difficult for us to get back into the market.”
Senator Amy Klobuchar also criticized the broad use of tariffs, saying, “Our farmers have spent generations building these export markets, only to have them closed off by haphazard tariffs. We learned from the trade war during the President’s first term that these markets don’t come back overnight. The ongoing uncertainty creates long-term damage to relationships with our trading partners, at the same time that these tariffs are raising farmers’ input costs. I support targeted tariffs like those used to counter steel dumping, not across-the-board tariffs that raise costs, cut off access to markets, and hurt our economy.”
Congressman Tom Emmer says a plan to direct tariff revenue to struggling farmers is stalled. “It’s a short-term solution but it’s something that they desperately need especially with the low prices they’re getting compared to what it costs them to produce a bushel of whatever it is.”
More information on farmer mediation is available at www.mnfarmstress.com.
