Smith describes how high costs, tight margins raise the stakes for farm bill

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KASSON, Minn. — With Minnesota farmers facing tight margins, rising input costs and uncertainty over federal support, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said completing a long-delayed farm bill remains one of her top priorities before leaving office next year.

On a hot day in late May, Smith stood in the front yard of the farm owned by Dodge County farmer and retired Mayo Clinic technologist Jim Checkel, who explained to her his career philosophy after giving a tour of the farm. 

“There’s a natural progression in which you keep getting promoted until you reach your level of incompetence,” he said. 

“I’ve worked in the United States Senate, so I know what you mean,” Smith said. 

Smith — who was appointed to the Senate in 2018 and announced last February she would not seek a third term — helped pass over 70 bills and provisions into law in that time. She helped shape portions of the 2018 Farm Bill, including dairy safety net and conservation provisions, and backed legislation aimed at rural health care, beginning farmers and agricultural trade issues.

On the health care side, Smith championed the creation of a rural health liaison at USDA and pushed for expanded mental health and suicide prevention resources for farmers, while also authoring legislation supporting obstetrics education and training in rural communities.

The visit at Checkel’s farm was part of Smith’s rural economy tour to hear from Minnesota farmers about input costs, rural health care and federal spending priorities.

Farm bill negotiations 

Smith currently finds herself in a familiar position: negotiating the farm bill that has been in extension since the 2018 version expired. For months, Minnesota farmers have been telling her that times are rough, and Washington isn’t moving fast enough.

“Patience is a virtue,” Smith said. “It’s just not my virtue, and I’m impatient with this.”

In the last eight months of her term, defined in part by her seat on the Agriculture Committee, she said finishing a farm bill is among her top priorities, but the path to do so remains uncertain.

The House passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 on April 30, sending it to the Senate. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman has said farm bill text will be released in June, with a markup to follow. 

Smith said she came away from a recent bipartisan committee meeting “somewhat optimistic.” She noted that agricultural policy tends to divide along regional rather than party lines.

“The issues we deal with on the ag committee are rarely Democratic or Republican issues,” she said. “It’s more likely to be regional than it is to be partisan.”

Smith said farmers are not as optimistic, and she has spoken with many across the state who are struggling with operating loans they may not be able to repay. She pointed to fertilizer prices as a particular pressure point, saying costs are up 60% to 70% in some cases, while profits at major fertilizer companies have climbed 120% to 140%.

“There’s plenty of money in this system,” she said. “The question is, where is it going?”

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Chair John Hoeven indicated bridge payments for farmers may be included in a supplemental spending package. Smith said farmers have told her that it would be “really helpful and even necessary right now.”

“If (farmers) got their operating loans late this winter or spring, they’re just not seeing how they’re going to be able to pay those back with input costs what they are, and prices what they are.”

Beyond the farm bill, Smith raised concerns about rural health care, including hospital closures, Medicare cuts and the underfunding of rural ambulance services. Classifying ambulance services as a life-saving necessity rather than a transportation tool could change how they are reimbursed, Smith said of a reform she argued would help keep rural emergency services viable.

Smith said she believes farmers are not getting a fair shake in terms of investment and support from the federal government.

“What farmers tell me is that they want access to market, so that they can sell their products. They want a fair price for their products. They want to know that they’re not getting ripped off by these big companies that can charge whatever they want to for seed and fertilizer and chemicals, pesticides. And they want to know how come, if they’re able to, they can’t repair their own farm equipment,” Smith said. “It does feel to a lot of farmers, like the system is stacked against them, and you know it doesn’t have to be that way. Those are choices that we’re making, and again, somebody’s benefiting from it, but I often don’t think that it is family farmers.”

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