Political Quotes

“I rise today to talk about tariffs and their impact on Montana's family farmers and businesses. In Montana we have more than 27,000 family farms and ranches. Folks who farm and ranch these lands are descendants of homesteaders and pioneers, including myself. They are also young producers who may be preparing for their first harvest. Might I add that we don't have enough young producers in our State. The population of farmers is getting far too old. These folks work 7 days a week, for long hours, to raise the food that feeds our families across this world, and they power our rural economies in this country. Farmers and ranchers are small business operators and owners who are always on tight margins and always are looking to make sure that they can make the books balance by being on the positive side of the ledger. Why? So they can keep their farms and ranches viable to be able to have the next generation take over their operation. Just like any other business--a local bar or a hardware store--you need to be able to make a profit to stay in business. Producers need to make sure that they have predictability in input costs--we are talking about fertilizers, fuel, and seed--and predictability in markets, the places where we sell our grain, which has always been a challenge and which has become more of a challenge over the past 6 months.…”