Candidate for North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner
Vern Thompson's Reality Check
No sugarcoating. No political spin. Just the truth about costs, markets, ownership, and the leaders who let North Dakota down.
Mission
Save North Dakota's Farmers and Ranchers
We are facing the biggest farm crisis in 40 years.
Production agriculture isn't just an industry — it's $41.3 billion in economic activity and 123,000 North Dakota jobs. It's our identity. It's our way of life. And right now, it's in trouble.
$41.3B
Economic activity tied to production agriculture
123,000
North Dakota jobs dependent on agriculture
40 years
Since we've seen a farm crisis this severe
Costs
Costs Have Exploded
Every farmer and consumer feels it:
Fertilizer prices have doubled
Diesel fuel is over five dollars in parts of the state
Machinery and parts prices are through the roof
Farm debt is at record highs
Income is flat or falling
Markets
Our Markets Collapsed
Tariffs cost us export buyers we spent decades building relationships with. Farmers are still trying to move last year's grain:
Thousands of bushels of soybeans sitting in wraps — some elevators won't even take them
Soybeans are $2–$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
Who’s Buying Our Land?
According to the 2022 Census, North Dakota has 25,000 farms — a 30% drop since the last farm crisis. Industry insiders say the real number today is even lower. Farm bankruptcies and forced sales are up sharply.
Many farm kids don't see a future in farming. And who's buying the land they leave behind?
Bill Gates
Scott Bessent
Out-of-state corporations
Wall Street Funds
Investors who have never set foot on a North Dakota field. Once that land is gone, it's gone forever. Rural communities suffer. Rural schools are hit. The people who built this state get pushed off it.
Leadership Failure
Where Were Our Leaders?
While farmers faced exploding costs, collapsed markets, and lost land — North Dakota's elected officials had nothing to say.
No town halls. No tough questions. No defense of the second-largest industry in North Dakota.
No pushback on tariffs. No alarm raised about the price shocks hitting every farm and every grocery cart.
Our congressional delegation and statewide elected officials were silent. Missing in action. They didn't stand up. They didn't speak out. They failed the people they swore to represent.
If they won't say it — Vern will.
The Bottom Line
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
That is Vern's reality check — and the reason he's running for North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner.
The fight for North Dakota's farmers and ranchers doesn't stop. Neither will Vern.