What Can Vern Do For You?
The Agriculture Commissioner is among the top three most powerful elected officials in North Dakota. Here is why you should care who sits in that office.
Industrial Commission Duties
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The Agriculture Commissioner serves on the Industrial Commission, which oversees 17 state agencies. As one of three members alongside the governor and attorney general, Vern will ensure transparency in all commission decisions. He will refuse to meet in secret executive sessions, where commissioners lock out members of the public. No more sweetheart deals for billionaires. No more letting out-of-state corporations take advantage of our resources and infrastructure. Vern is standing up for workers, farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and every taxpayer in North Dakota.
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The people of North Dakota have been ignored for far too long. Sweetheart deals and unilateral decisions are being made in places of power that negatively impact your lives. Enough is enough. As your Agriculture Commissioner, Vern will hold regular in-person town halls to share what is going on in Bismarck and listen to what is going on in your communities. Together, we can make a difference.
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As one of the most influential voices in Bismarck, Vern will testify in legislative committees on behalf of your interests, not the interests of multi-billion dollar out-of-state corporations.
Production Agriculture
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We are experiencing the worst farm crisis in 40 years. As Ag Commissioner, Vern will fight for fair commodity and input prices so that hard working people can pass on their land to the next generation. Struggling farmers must be offered answers to their financial concerns, so we need to bolster the North Dakota Mediation Service with more ag credit counselors.
To respond to the last farm crisis in 1988, the Ag Department hired and trained 80 credit counselors. The current Ag Department, working for 26,000 farmers and ranchers, only has one. This is unacceptable.
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JBS, Tyson, Cargill, and National Beef control over 80% of America's beef processing. They set the prices. Farmers take what they're given. That's a monopoly! Vern will champion a meatpacking co-op to bring fair prices for producers, quality local meat to consumers, and a more vibrant rural economy.
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American consumers deserve to know where their food is coming from. Right now, voluntary labeling lets the big meatpackers hide that information. Restoring mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) for beef and pork will help North Dakota producers get the price they deserve for their superior products.
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Managing your mental health during the best of times is difficult enough. During times of unstable markets, low crop prices, and high input costs, producers are under an incredible amount of stress. Vern's Ag Department staff will focus on conducting surveys, researching solutions, and working with policymakers and organizations to address the current crisis.
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We need a comprehensive, permanent Farm Bill that includes funding for crop insurance, conservation, nutrition and agricultural research.
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Tariffs are hurting farmers and consumers. Since tariffs are a tax on American consumers, they never should have been enacted without authorization from Congress. We lost global markets — China used to buy 70% of our soybeans. Now Brazil and Argentina have taken over.
The result for consumers has been higher grocery prices. We are supposed to have a free market. Tariffs should be used sparingly and only after negotiations are in place.
Economic Development
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Development must be done the right way the first time.
Involve the community.
No NDAs. Do things out in the open.
Long term planning, so that when the construction is over or the data center is obsolete, the community isn't left with a mess. Build the roads up before you ruin them. Study road and pedestrian safety to prevent disasters. Build permanent housing, not man camps.
Community benefit agreements.
Vern collaborated with concerned citizens on the Responsible Hyperscale Development Framework. The RHDF is for counties and townships to prioritize community benefits and weigh impacts so that multi-billion dollar corporations can't take advantage of the land, resources, and infrastructure to make a quick buck without helping the community.
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The Industrial Commission has trampled on the rights of property owners, and taxpayer money has been used to benefit Summit Carbon, a billion dollar out-of-state company. Their public relations team bulldozed concerned citizens and threatened eminent domain. Doug Goehring and the rest of the Industrial Commission voted to issue permits to Summit Carbon. This was unconstitutional because not all landowners consented to this CO2 being injected under their land.
We need to stand up for landowners. Private property rights matter. The ND Constitution matters. The Industrial Commission also oversees the Carbon Capture and Sequestration Program. Vern will be the voice of private property rights and the ND Constitution on the Industrial Commission.
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Rural communities and family farms depend on one another to survive. Many of the country's best and brightest individuals grew up in rural communities, but this talented generation left for the cities due in large part to housing availability. Retaining and recruiting farm labor, business owners, veterinarians, teachers, and tradespeople is nearly impossible when there are no move-in ready homes available in a rural community.
One of the state agencies overseen by the Industrial Commission is the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency, which provides low-interest mortgages and supports affordable housing development. As Ag Commissioner, Vern will support initiatives for rural communities to build and remodel move-in ready homes.
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Support for rural communities does not end with housing. Local foods, water, infrastructure, and electricity are all under the umbrella of the Industrial Commission. Vern will take the office of the Ag Commissioner around the state to host town halls. Meeting with mayors, council members, and community leaders will inform the Ag Department on how to have the most impact supporting rural development. Potential projects include:
A rural endowment fund. Interest earned on the fund will provide flexible grants to communities with populations fewer than 1,000 residents.
More support for Operation Intern through the Department of Commerce, to attract workers to rural communities and recruit local young people to take over for aging business owners.
“I will join forces with Ag Commissioners across the country, buy my own plane ticket to DC, and knock some sense into Congress. They are not looking out for family farmers, ranchers, or consumers who want healthy, local foods.”