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Peterson says 2007 has been great for Farmers Union Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Agri News staff writer
MINNEAPOLIS -- 2007 has been a tremendous year for Minnesota Farmers Union, said MFU president Doug Peterson.
Peterson addressed about 450 people gathered for the 66th annual Minnesota Farmers Union annual convention Nov. 17.
The mission of the convention is to develop policy. That policy will speak to legislators at the state and federal level, Peterson said. The staff of MFU will carry out the policy developed by members by meeting with lawmakers and attending a lot of meetings, he said. The organization gets its strength from members, he added.
Peterson told of something that happened at the Legislature last year. About a week and a half before the Legislature was to adjourn a small windfarm in southeast Minnesota was to be sold to a Portuguese company. The company hired 17 lobbyists and spent $20,000 to $25,000 to hire a telemarketing firm accusing MFU for being out of touch because its policy forbids foreign ownership of farmland. The company neglected to say it would make $1 billion on the sale.
"We needed to own the energy. We needed to own the footprint," Peterson said.
MFU won, but Peterson cautioned that the issue will be back.
He talked of Minnesota's leadership in renewable energy and praised the his son, Rep. Aaron Peterson, and Sen. Ellen Anderson for putting together a renewable electricity standard. He gave kudos to the Pawlenty administration for signing the bill.
Farmers Union policy started renewable energy in Minnesota, Peterson said, and it will deliver the next generation of biofuels. Increased dependence on biofuels will mean increased independence from foreign oil, he said. It will bring rural America back to life.
Peterson said rural, urban and suburban districts aren't that different. Everyone wants access to health care, quality education and property tax relief.
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