Ag industry on display during GOP Convention

Sarah Stultz/Boone Newspapers

Published Thursday, September 4, 2008

In a celebration of America’s food and agriculture industry, several families from Freeborn County ventured to Minneapolis Tuesday night for an AgNite event put on by the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council.

The event was organized to correspond with the timing of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul but was not an official convention activity.

It was, however, attended by guests, delegates, policymakers, and food and agriculture industry leaders with the main purpose of showcasing the successes and innovating solutions in America’s food and agriculture industry.

Matt Benda and his wife, Heather, were two of the people who attended the event.

“It’s going really well,” Matt said about halfway through. “All I can say is at the event we’re promoting agriculture and putting a really good face on agriculture.”

He and Heather volunteered to help at the front door to make sure people got to their right places.

At that point, Matt said, he had seen Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation President Tim Penny and was hoping to see Gov. Tim Pawlenty and people of his staff before the night was over.

Dan Dorman, who also attended the event with his wife and son, said the family didn’t know what to expect from the night so they thought they’d go up and check it out. They saw several other couples from Freeborn County, who were mostly representatives of the ethanol industry, Dorman said.

“It was kind of fun to see them there,” he said.

He estimated several thousand people were in attendance.

Organizers put on the event while the convention was in St. Paul because many of the critical issues being debated on the campaign trail have roots in the Midwest, whether it be the U.S. energy policy, agriculture prices or changing global food demands, according to the AgNite Web site.

The GOP has some agricultural ties to Otter Tail County and the Upper Midwest.

Senate confirmation of former North Dakota Gov. Ed Schafer as the new U.S. secretary of agriculture for the final year of the Bush Administration is good news for Otter Tail County, according to Doug Peterson, Minnesota Farmers Union President.

“He (Schafer) is familiar with agricultural concerns in western Minnesota and eastern North Dakota,” Peterson said.

Otter Tail County Extension Educator Vince Crary said that Schafer also understands the challenges faced by area farmers who have dairy cows, forages (alfalfa and hay) and crops.