Staff photo by Fritz Busch Newly-elected First District Congressman Brad Finstad, R-New Ulm, talks at the Brown County Farm Bureau annual meeting at the Sleepy Eye Golf Club Thursday. Finstad is serving the remaining congressional term of the late Congressman Jim Hagedorn.

SLEEPY EYE — Newly-elected 1st District U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad said he’s been busy listening to people as he thanked the Brown County Farm Bureau at its annual meeting at the Sleepy Eye Golf Club Thursday.

“God gave me two ears and one mouth,” he said. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve,” Finstad said about his brief time in Washington, D.C., setting up his new office and learning about the new position.

“Farm Bureau has offered me so much in my maturity and my leadership,” Finstad said. “My story started with a lot of you. People believed in me before I even knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.”

Finstad said he learned a lot about public policy and legislation working for the Minnesota Farm Bureau and as agricultural policy advisory to U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy.

“I’m just so humbled and honored to sit in your seat in Congress. It doesn’t belong to me or a party. It belongs to you,” said Finstad. “Being a good listener is something I work hard on. We’re building a great team.”

Finstad said he’ll use his farm boy “common sense” in Congress. He’s been placed on the agriculture, education and labor committees.

“I think about what a great country we have, the greatest country in the world,” said Finstad. “Think about our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. The real blood, sweat and tears they gave to give us the great country that we have. We have to look in the mirror and ask ourselves: are we doing what we can? Are we making sacrifices we need to make this a better country than what we found for our kids? I think a lot of us think we’re not doing that. I think we need to work shoulder-to-shoulder to make our country better to make that happen.”

“I ask for your prayers, continued support and friendship. I thank you for that,” Finstad said.

Farm Bureau resolutions approved by the board were:

• Limiting foreign ownership of utility companies, food processing companies and natural resource businesses including agricultural land to less than 10% interest. In addition, opposing preferential treatment of foreign investments in agriculture and insist foreign investors be required to conform to the same tax laws, import and export regulations as American producers.

• Supporting exempting farmers and custom harvesters from requirements to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL) when transporting agricultural commodities, including forestry products, production inputs and harvesting equipment between farms and markets.

• CDL exemptions for 4-H and FFA educators, contestants and others hauling livestock and equine for recreational and educational purposes such as rodeos, trail rides and other events.

• Exempting part-time employees (500 hours or less annually) from the requirement to obtain a CDL.

• Opposing a mandatory CDL for producers and their employees to transport fuel, chemicals, fertilizer and farm commodities, plus the added restrictions to recreational livestock hauling that require a CDL and electronic log device.

• Making the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit available to all beginning farmers, regardless of the relationship between the current farmer and new farmer and without an age limit on how many years the new farmer has been working on the farm. Even if they have not purchased a farm or land, they should be eligible.

• Recommending the AFBF (American Farm Bureau Federation) Board appoint a committee to study the carbon credit process and markets, identifying resources and existing laws.

(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.)