APPRECIATION: From Minnesota Corn yesterday via Instagram, VERBATIM: “Farm work is hard work. On Farmworker Appreciation Day, we want to thank the people behind the scenes who keep things running. From planting to harvest, the work you do matters and we couldn’t do what we do without you.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/4ozrTi3 (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn Growers Association)
All Fluence Media tip sheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
WORKFORCE: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump tried to give the agriculture industry a boost this week as Minnesota farmers gathered in Morgan for Farmfest. Trump, who had briefly stopped deportations of undocumented farm workers before an uproar from some of his base led him to restart them, said this week that his administration would continue to deport criminals, but that he wants to ‘work with’ farmers to find a solution for their workers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3J83G1V
TRADE: Via Marshall Independent, VERBATIM: “Tariffs were a top issue at Farmfest this year, but [Governor Tim Walz] said ag trade discussions had been going on for decades. Walz said trade deals were needed, but they needed to be fair. He did not believe the blanket tariffs placed on countries by the Trump administration were the correct solution.” QUOTE: “I don’t think it is the right way and I wouldn’t advise it, but at least these folks would know what to expect,” Walz said. “No one wins a trade war. Agriculture always loses a trade war.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mDXldb
MORE: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “New USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agriculture Affairs Luke Lindberg says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has many provisions that will benefit U.S. farmers and ranchers. ‘But it also doubled our capacity for MAP and FMD (Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development), the two main programs, the market access facilitation programs. That get our farmers in those markets to make those sales happen.’ Lindberg was a panelist on a forum titled Beyond the Trade Deficit: Rethinking Trade Balance and Opportunities at Farmfest in southwest Minnesota Wednesday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40W0Mn9
MORE: Via Farmfest, the trade panel. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/40Wd7HS
TALK: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Between tariff drama, low commodity prices, declining farm profitability and Make America Healthy Again, there was plenty to talk about at Minnesota Farmfest this year. Reporters Christopher Vondracek and Jp Lawrence shared a few key quotes overheard at the annual Redwood County gathering earlier this week.” QUOTES: https://fluence-media.co/4m9N3BG
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3VZAwp9
SILOS: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “High atop a massive grain elevator in the middle of Minot, North Dakota, artist Guido van Helten swipes a concrete wall with a brush that looks more appropriate for painting a fence than creating a monumental mural . . . The work on the former Union Silos is van Helten’s latest effort to paint murals on a gigantic scale, with earlier projects on structures ranging from a dam in Australia to part of a former cooling tower at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine. Although he has created murals throughout the world, grain silos in the U.S. Midwest have been among his most frequent sites.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3J9iD3I
$8 MILLION: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “New data shows Minnesota consumers who filled up with Unleaded 88 have saved more than $8 million so far in 2025. Minnesota Biofuels Association executive director Brian Werner tells Brownfield May savings alone on fuel blended with 15 percent ethanol reached nearly $2 million compared to regular gasoline.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4owZVDC
DEER: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minnesota deer farmers have been denied a second time in their fight to stop a 2023 state law that will bring an end to their industry in Minnesota after another generation. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the group’s lawsuit, rejecting their argument that they have the right to pursue a chosen profession. ‘There is no fundamental right to pursue the occupation of whitetail deer farming,’ the Eighth Circuit justices ruled. The change in law adopted by the 2023 Legislature introduced new regulations aimed at ridding deer farms as vectors of chronic wasting disease (CWD) — a growing problem in Minnesota’s wild deer herd.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4leSbTH
CROP PROTECTION: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “The president of American Farm Bureau suggests the Trump administration is gaining a deeper appreciation for crop protection products. AFBF president Zippy Duvall says during a recent meeting with President Trump they discussed the importance of crop protection tools like pesticides.” DUVALL: “I can’t tell you how many times he said ‘tell me why that is, tell me how that is.’ He just kept on with questions after questions, and I actually basically gave him a science class on what crop protection tools did for us and how it helped us be able to keep (food) pantries in this country full. And he realizes now how important that is.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4mxgTjb
FORECLOSURES: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Beneath the surface of Farmfest’s tractor sales and herbicide chats this week is a brewing financial crisis for Minnesota’s farmers. Hundreds have asked the state to intervene with their bankers, a midsummer level not seen since 2016, according to the University of Minnesota Extension. ‘Every year anymore, there’s 20 percent who really struggle,’ said Garen Paulson, an extension educator in Lamberton who specializes in business management. ‘That doesn’t sound like a lot, but think of your neighbors. That’s a pretty good size measure.’ In June, 197 farmers filed notice for help from the Extension’s Farmer-Lender Mediation program. July was even worse with 306 notices, a four-fold increase over the same month last year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3JoBbgp
CANNABIS: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “As dispensaries in Duluth and Albert Lea vie to be the first non-tribal business to open its doors for adult-use consumers, industry experts and tribal leaders say product may be in short supply until the next calendar year. The White Earth Band of Chippewa’s cannabis company Waabigwan Mashkiki is currently the only fully operational legal source for recreational flower for state-licensed marijuana retailers in Minnesota. ‘We just don’t have the product,’ Jason Tarasek, a cannabis attorney, said to a room of lawyers and lobbyists last month at the annual Cannabis Law Conference in downtown Minneapolis. ‘We don’t have the infrastructure.’ So far, 11 microbusinesses, including five that will cultivate cannabis, have been licensed by the state, according to the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). Microbusinesses may grow, process and sell marijuana products on a relatively small scale, similar to a microbrewery.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3JqfJrp
FARM BILL: Via Agri Pulse, VERBATIM: “House Ag Committee Chair ‘GT’ Thompson wants to take action on a skinny farm bill this fall. We spoke with ranking members of both the House and Senate Ag Committees, Rep. Angie Craig and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, at the Minnesota [Farmfest] about their priorities within a skinny farm bill and their willingness to negotiate after nutrition program cuts in reconciliation. Plus, AFBF President Zippy Duvall discusses his group's priorities for the second Make America Healthy Again Commission Report due to be released next week, Rep. Brad Finstad defends the need to include a Prop 12 legislative fix in a skinny farm bill, and Rep. Michelle Fischbach reviews President Trump's trade negotiations so far.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3J4Rejv
FRESH15: The latest season of Fresh15 includes interviews with new Minnesota House members. So far, five new members have shared their goals, background and fun facts before they take office in a historic session this January.
Rep. Kari Rehrauer
Rep. Wayne Johnson
Rep. Julie Greene
Rep. Keith Allen
Rep. Peter Johnson
Follow on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.TheDailyAgenda.com/Podcasts. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Telecom Alliance)
MARKET WEEK: Via USDA, VERBATIM: “U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen A. Vaden yesterday hosted the fifth day of the Great American Farmers Market on the National Mall with an evening celebrating the beauty of our nation’s land, people, and agriculture. Yesterday was themed ‘America the Beautiful Day’ and the programming featured remarks from Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden, a speech by ‘George Washington’ sharing about his 250-year-old cherries, connecting our agricultural past to the future of food and farming.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45FXM0J
PROTEIN: Via news release from GREATER MSP, VERBATIM: “As global demand for protein continues to rise, Minnesota-based MBOLD (an initiative of the GREATER MSP Partnership) and the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) have launched the Protein Navigator, a new service designed to help protein-focused companies explore, enter and grow within Minnesota’s dynamic food and agriculture ecosystem. The Protein Navigator provides tailored support for companies working across both plant-based and animal protein systems.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4m6TgOz
WFOY: Via Wadena Pioneer, VERBATIM: “Kris Huebsch said she was surprised and humbled to be named 2025 Minnesota Farmfest Woman Farmer of the Year Thursday, Aug. 7, on the final day of Farmfest. ‘So many women do so much good things ... yeah, I just couldn't believe they called my name,’ Huebsch said after the announcement. Being busy and being able to give back to the community is something that comes naturally for the farmer, entrepreneur, wife and mother of two girls.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45FO2n7
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
FEST TO FAIR: From MDA Commissioner Thom Petersen via X, VERBATIM: “FarmFest complete, snuck in a visit to Renville County Fair in Bird Island on the way back! Great to visit with everyone including the Revier family!” PHOTO: https://fluence-media.co/4mAp1zE
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