REDWOOD COUNTY, Minn. — Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen on Tuesday, Aug. 2, outlined a 10-step plan to support Greater Minnesota communities complete with proposals to expand broadband access and speed up the process of getting farm permits.
Jensen outlined some of the tenets of his agriculture priorities during a sweltering news conference at Farmfest. And he said that "urbanites" in the Twin Cities metro area shouldn't dictate to rural agriculture producers how they run their operations.
"When I hear from the people who are involved in farming in my area, they're really frustrated with the fact that — especially in St. Paul — they feel like people make assumptions that farmers don't want to steward the land," Jensen said. "There's got to be greater sensitivity coming from — if you will — the urbanites to Greater Minnesota," Jensen said. "
Among other ideas that could help bolster Minnesota farmers, Jensen said the state should end its tax on fertilizer, re-write estate tax policies, add tax credits for beginning farmers and add representation of Greater Minnesota experts in agency head positions.
The comments come a day before Jensen and Gov. Tim Walz are set to face off in their first debate at the farm expo in Redwood County.
ADVERTISEMENT
Walz has supported some of the efforts in his legislative priorities and budget plans at the Capitol, including building out access to biofuels and increasing funding for broadband.
But Republican lawmakers at the news conference who represent rural communities said Jensen's ideas would have a more profound impact for farmers and ranchers than what the Walz Administration had put forward. And they said speeding up the state's permitting process for agriculture operations could help keep them in Minnesota.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party leaders on Tuesday said Jensen seemed to have pivoted from his prior positions on agriculture policy.
Earlier this year, Jensen urged Republicans at the Capitol to block a broad tax and supplemental spending package that included larger beginning farmer tax credits and the agriculture homestead credits.
“The tax relief for farmers that Scott Jensen now claims to support would already be law if he hadn’t pushed Senate Republicans to kill the bipartisan budget deal,” DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin said.
Jensen and Walz are set to debate agriculture and rural issues at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 3.
Follow Dana Ferguson on Twitter @bydanaferguson , call 651-290-0707 or email dferguson@forumcomm.com.
The Trust Project
