The midterms ended with a blue wave. Minnesota farmers have mixed feelings about this.

Fast Read

Minnesota farmers have had mixed reactions to Democrats regaining control of the U.S. House and Senate, as well as the state Legislature. But most farmers agree that what they want most from politicians are trade deals that open up long-term market opportunities.

Democrats are poised to take control of the U.S. House and Senate, as well as the Minnesota Legislature in January.

That’s a fact Steele County farmer Jason Keck isn’t too happy about. He believes the Minnesota DFL, despite being the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, is out of touch with rural areas.

“The Democrats are back in power,” Keck said. “It feels like the state is controlled by the Twin Cities, and there’s basically nothing we can do about it.”

Keck said he was disappointed because, in his eyes, the DFL isn’t doing enough to address pocketbook issues like property taxes, although the state offered some relief on that front earlier this year.

But he also believes that the DFL spends too much. Republicans have been crying foul since DFLers spent most of their 2023 budget surplus on things like education and social programs.

“It seems like they keep wanting more instead of staying within budget,” Keck said. “So that’s my biggest fear. It’s financial responsibility. At some point you have to pay the bills.”

In Garden City, farmer Robert Roelofs predicted Democrats would pick up a few seats in the midterms. But he nevertheless remains surprised to see the party’s overwhelming victories

“I think there were just enough people in rural areas who were unhappy with the fuel situation, the cost of inputs and the war that we’re engaged in here,” Roelofs said.

He is referring to the prices of diesel and inputs like fertilizer, which have become more expensive in part because of the war in Iran.

Farmers’ frustration with this situation likely led to big Democratic victories in farm states like Iowa, Wisconsin, and Kansas.

Roelofs hopes one outcome of the blue wave will be a bipartisan push to end the war in Iran.

At the state level, he has some hope for DFL Governor-elect Amy Klobuchar. He believed she was a strong advocate for farmers in her role on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“I hope that translates to her being governor — that we have a Democratic governor that’s a little more pro-farmer than what we’ve seen in the past in the state of Minnesota,” Roelofs said. “But we’ll see. She’ll have to prove it to us.”

Lauren Biegler, a farmer from Lake Wilson, feels happier with the results at the midpoint.

“I felt like it was a little check on our morality and decency and what we expect in terms of behavior and leadership,” Biegler said.

Biegler said she finds some of the Republican Party’s rhetoric to be hateful toward minorities and political opponents. And she was upset by the Republican Party’s support for immigration enforcement operations in the state and country.

“I mean, personally, with ICE and all that, it’s hard to watch,” Biegler said. “I hope there will be some perspective or perspective or something like that on these kinds of issues as well.”

But Biegler’s optimism about the blue wave has limits. She said neither party has done enough to help farmers get what they really need: more trade deals and new export markets. No bailout checks when times are tough.

“In the short term, yes, a check feels good because it’s tight here,” Biegler said. “But it’s not a long-term solution, and it feels like that’s all that’s happening.”

Still, Biegler says she’s cautiously optimistic about Klobuchar, who she says has done a lot of good for agriculture in a bipartisan way.

She just hopes Klobuchar doesn’t change once she takes office.