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Many unknowns for ag following USDA layoffs

There are many unknowns for agriculture following sweeping layoffs at USDA.

State Senator Aric Putnam chairs the Minnesota Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development Committee and says he recently hosted a hearing on federal funding and policy with Minnesota Department of Ag Commissioner Thom Petersen.

“We know there’s a USDA (and) we know there’s an MDA, but sometimes we’re not sure who pays for what. And that becomes a real challenging budget consideration for the state committee when we’re trying to figure out how to respond to some potential changes that are happening in the federal government.”

He tells Brownfield it’s a complicated bureaucracy.

“I don’t know farmers or anybody who really knows how a lot of these things interact with each other, and I don’t think we find out how they interact with us until we’re hurt by them or until they help. There are a lot of things we’re taking for granted that are going to be taken away, and there’s a tremendous amount of chaos too.”

Putnam says there’s been a lack of communication by the federal government in the wake of the firings.