HURON, SD – Several state policy proposals of the South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU) line up with their national group. State Farmers Union President Doug Sombke says one of their goals is to address the concentration problem that is hurting farmers and ranchers across the country.
“The conditions of agriculture today, the dominancy of consolidations in world-wide corporations, and their prominence in politics has distorted what family farmers and ranchers really need to make day-to-day working decisions and to make a living.”
He says solutions at both the national and state level need to be found with specific legislation as those problems are hitting farmers and ranchers and consumers the same way.
“We need congress to make sure that laws enacted are specific to the problems of today and that they are upheld, that the Department of Justice follows through. The fact of the matter is that it not only affects family farmers, it affects the consumer.”
Sombke points to specific bills that call for holding large companies accountable for how they’re impacting agriculture.
“We need more specifics in the law that hold these companies accountable. Let’s just admit it. They need to be cut down to size. They are too powerful. Not just across this country but across the world.”
Sombke says it’s critical that ag and non ag interests work together with members of both political parties to achieve solutions that benefit everybody.
