Campaign Announcement
I announced my candidacy for North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner. The North Dakota Democratic-NPL is in the process of filing my name with the Secretary of State.
REALITY CHECK
I’m here to give a reality check.
No sugarcoating.
No political spin.
Just the truth about costs, markets, ownership, and the Industrial Commission.
MISSION
My mission is simple.
Save North Dakota farmers and ranchers who are facing the biggest farm crisis in 40 years.
Production agriculture isn’t just an industry.
It’s $41.3 billion in economic activity.
It’s 123,000 North Dakota jobs.
It’s our identity.
It’s our way of life.
And right now, it’s in trouble.
COSTS
Costs have exploded.
Every farmer and consumer feels it.
Fertilizer has doubled.
Diesel fuel is over five dollars in parts of the state.
Machinery prices are through the roof.
Farm debt is at record highs.
Income is flat or falling.
And while families are getting crushed, our elected leaders stay quiet on:
Tariffs.
War with Iran.
The price shocks hitting every farm and every grocery cart because of it.
North Dakotans are paying the price.
And many are not going to survive economically unless someone stands up and says enough is enough.
And our congressional delegation and statewide elected officials?
Silent.
Missing in action.
They didn’t stand up.
They didn’t speak out.
They failed the people they swore to represent.
MARKETS
Our markets collapsed because of tariffs.
We lost export buyers we spent decades building relationships with.
And again: silence from our elected officials.
No town halls.
No tough questions.
No defense of the second‑largest industry in North Dakota.
Farmers are still trying to move last year’s soybeans.
There are thousands of bushels sitting in wraps across North Dakota.
Some elevators won’t even take them.
Prices have tanked.
Soybeans are $2 to $3 below breakeven.
Corn is over a dollar below breakeven.
Hard red spring wheat is below breakeven.
This isn’t a dip.
This is a crisis.
OWNERSHIP
According to the 2022 Census, North Dakota has 25,000 farms.
That’s a 30% drop since the last farm crisis.
And industry folks tell me the real number today is even lower.
Farm bankruptcies and forced sales are up sharply.
Families are being pushed off the land.
And who’s buying it?
Not the next generation.
Many farm kids don’t see a future in farming.
Instead, it’s billionaires.
It’s out‑of‑state corporations.
It’s investors who have never set foot on a North Dakota field.
Bill Gates.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Wall Street funds.
They’re buying up the land that built this state.
And once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
Rural communities and businesses are impacted.
Rural schools are hit.
CONCLUSION: THE REALITY CHECK
Producers are being squeezed from every direction:
• Rising input costs
• High interest rates
• Falling crop prices
• Weak export demand
• No permanent farm bill
• More debt pushed on families who can’t take on any more
• And now, threats to our anti‑corporate farming law
This is the worst pressure since the 1980s.
And too many leaders refuse to say it out loud.
North Dakota deserves leaders who will:
• Stand up for family farmers
• Speak honestly about the crisis
• Fight to keep land in the hands of the people who work it: not corporations, not absentee investors, not Wall Street
If our current elected officials won’t say it, then I will.
That is my reality check, and the reason why I’m running for ND Ag Commissioner.
Over the next few weeks we will be unveiling more about the campaign. Stay tuned. Together we can make a difference!
