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Minnesota lawmaker concerned about shutdown impacting farmers

A Minnesota legislator is very concerned about how the government shutdown is impacting farmers.

Democrat Jeanne Poppe, the Minnesota House Agriculture, Policy and Finance chair, says she’s not sure if there could be a worse time for the shutdown to happen.

“Sometimes in the winter there is still a lot of preparation being done for spring planting, and going to the banks and the lenders trying to make sure you’ve got the cash flow and are able to buy the seed and make those decisions.”

With no apparent end to the shutdown in sight, she tells Brownfield it’s a very tenuous situation for farmers.

“They’re not sure what they can do, and I think if they’re struggling already it just adds to the stress and anxiety of the situation. And it’s harder to come up with what they can do and how to make it financially.”

Poppe says the shutdown has not directly impacted the Minnesota Legislative Session, now in its second week.  But if the shutdown goes much longer, she says state lawmakers will have to look at local resources to help in the absence of federal dollars farmers depend on.