Farmfest, the annual gathering of agriculture interests, will feature a full lineup of candidate forums this year. The forums will include candidates for Minnesota governor, a special forum for Minnesota’s First Congressional District, and a congressional candidate forum for Minnesota’s Second, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Congressional districts.
“This is a very intriguing lineup of candidate forums, and the forums are quite timely, considering Minnesota’s statewide primary and special elections in the First Congressional District are being held the following week,” according to Kent Thiesse, Farmfest forum coordinator.
The forums will be Aug. 2-4 in the Wicks Buildings Farmfest Center, which is near the
center of the show site. Farmfest is located at the Gilfillan Estate, 7 miles southeast of Redwood Falls on U.S. Highway 67.
The Governor Candidate’s Forum will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3 and will feature the two major candidates in Minnesota’s gubernatorial race. Confirmed candidates are
incumbent Gov. Tim Walz, the DFL-endorsed candidate, and Dr. Scott Jensen, the Republican- endorsed candidate. The forum will be broadcast live on WCCO radio, and the Forum will be moderated by the station’s analyst, Blois Olson. The questions will be asked by rural leaders and will focus on variety of issues affecting the agriculture industry and greater Minnesota.
Farmfest will be host to a First District congressional candidate forum at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, that will feature Republican Brad Finstad and DFL candidate Jeff Ettinger. Both are vying for an open seat in the First Congressional District in a special election Aug. 9, which was created by the death of Congressman Jim Hagedorn earlier this year. A panel of agriculture leaders will pose questions to the candidates on a variety of issues affecting farmers and rural families.
The congressional candidates forum on agriculture and rural ossues will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2. Congressional candidates from Minnesota’s Second, Sixth,
Seventh, and Eighth Congressional Districts are confirmed to participate in the forum, cluding:
Second District Congresswoman Angie Craig (D), and her challenger Tyler Kistner (R); Sixth District Congressman Tom Emmer (R) and his challenger Jeanne Hendricks (D); Seventh District Congresswoman, Michele Fischbach (R) and her challenger Jill Abahsain (D); and Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber (R) and his challenger Jen Schultz (D).
A panel of leaders representing various farm organizations and commodity groups will offer questions to the candidates on a variety of agriculture and rural issues.
A special feature forum titled “The 'Must-Haves' in the Next Farm Bill” will be at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, and will focus on many of the key policy issues that are being considered
as Congress develops the 2023 Farm Bill. The forum panel will include: Scott VanderWal, American Farm Bureau Federation vice president; Rob Larew,, National Farmers Union president; Don Schiefelbein, National Cattleman’s Beef Association president; Terry Wolters, National Pork Producers Council past president; Tom Haag, National Corn Growers Associaition first vice president; George Goblish, American Soybean Association executive board member; and Ian Cunningham, National Associatioin of Conservation Districts vice president.
Another feature educational forum at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, is titled: “Getting the Most from Federal Ag Programs.” The forum panel will include several state and regional officials representing various USDA agencies. Panel members include: Whitney Place, Minnesota State Farm Service Agency director; Colleen Landkammer, USDA Rural Development director; Troy Daniell, NRCS state conservationist; Pam Stahlke, USDA Risk Management Agency regional director; Dan Loftus, National Ag Statistics Service state statistician; and Stephan Schaefbauer, USDA APHIS area veterinarian. The panel members will give an overview of current program efforts within their USDA agency and will be available for an audience question-and-answer session on the various USDA programs and issues that have arisen.
A free pancake breakfast sponsored by Minnesota Farm Bureau will be 8-10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, that will include a special “Ag Outlook Forum” beginning at 8:30 a.m. and feature several grain marketing, weather, ag policy, crop and livestock experts. Presenters will include Mark Schultz, marketing analyst with Northstar Commodity, Bernt Nelson, American Farm Bureau economist, Dave Nicolai, University of Minnesota crop specialist; and American Farm Bureau policy analysts Courtney Briggs and RJ Layher.
The “Women in Ag Event” tis set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, and will feature keynote speaker, Michelle Miller, The Farm Babe. Her keynote address will help attendees bridge the gap between farmers and consumers and asks, “how can we as farmers and ranchers better tell the story of agriculture?” She will share her journey to social media stardom and inspire others to step up to the plate, fight misinformed activists, and communicate tough topics and the success that is modern farming. At the conclusion of the panel, the five finalists for the 2022 Farmfest Woman Farmer of the Year Award will be introduced, concluding with the announcement of this year’s winner.
A Farmfest tradition will continue with the annual “Farm Family of the Year” Recognition Program at 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4. Approximately 80 farm families from each county throughout Minnesota have been selected at the county level for this special recognition. This event is jointly sponsored by the University of Minnesota and Farmfest.
