HEART OF STEELE

Standing last week in a room filled with farmers, ag industry representatives, and government folks left me with a better understanding of the massive system that keeps us fed.

If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you know most food prices have gone up considerably. Thanks in large part to last year’s avian flu outbreak and the deaths of 57 million birds across the U.S., egg prices are making everyone squawk.

And here’s another factor affecting food prices: the cost of transportation. While Congress averted a railroad strike late last year, employees still may walk off the job over working conditions.

Barge shipping on the Mississippi–important to many Minnesota farmers–has been hit with the double-whammy of rising costs and low water levels.

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar wanted to hear from farmers, and they had a lot to say locally and in other parts of the state. The Owatonna meeting also included representatives from Community Pathways, a Steele County food shelf that struggles under the combined weight of increased food insecurity across the county and skyrocketing food costs.

Because it includes so many diverse programs, the final cost of the five-year Farm Bill will no doubt range in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Some in Congress have already called the price tag a sticking point.

But for those who attended last week’s listening session–and all whose hearts lie in agriculture–every single dollar represents a precious investment in feeding America, or at least their little corner of it.