At Farmfest, GOP candidates for governor take aim at regulation

With the primary election a week away, the four Republican candidates for governor on Tuesday aimed their fire at agriculture's regulators, not each other.

During a candidate forum at Farmfest, the annual agricultural showcase in southwest Minnesota, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, former House Speaker Kurt Zellers and businessman Scott Honour, found a receptive crowd for their message that government regulations are getting in the way of small businesses like farms.

"Get government out of the way," Johnson said.

At the federal level, farmers are worried about Environmental Protection Agency oversight of water that could affect their operations. They're also concerned about state policies governing everything from fertilizer use to how much water they can pump for irrigation.

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Seifert told the crowd that all that government involvement hurts farmers.

"I talk to people every single day, whether they're in a small town, or they're on a farm, that are simply getting micromanaged by the government out of business," Seifert said. "I talked to a dairy farmer down at the Dodge County fair, they were going to expand their herd. They decided to sell their herd because of government regulations."

But there are also limits on just how much the GOP candidates want to reduce government's role in agriculture. Seifert and Zellers said they support the state's biofuels policy, which mandates the use of soybean-based biodiesel.

Johnson said he's not a big fan of the policy, but wouldn't try to change the legislation for now if he becomes governor. Honour said he favors less government involvement in promoting biofuels.

"Let the market foster growth of these fuels, but in a way that is ultimately creating the right balance, and not one that's driven by government mandates," Honour said.

The candidates said Gov. Mark Dayton supports an over-active government. They also criticized Dayton for not being at the Farmfest forum on agriculture.

Kurt Zellers said the governors' absence proves he's no friend of farmers.

"Where has he been? Holed up in St. Paul," Zellers said. "It's a failure in leadership."

Speaking in Brooklyn Park, Dayton said he would wait to debate farm and other issues until after next week's primary, when the GOP field has been whittled from four candidates to one.

"When it gets down to one week from today then we'll have a chance to draw some clear contrasts between whatever he's proposing and what I've proposed," Dayton said.

Some of the Republican candidates touted their rural backgrounds during the forum. Seifert, who grew up in the area, appeared to receive the most applause during the debate. Zellers called himself a farm kid, someone who's spent half his life doing farm work.

Johnson, the Hennepin County commissioner, was careful about raising his rural connections. He said that tactic can backfire.

"Even though I grew up in greater Minnesota I don't try to fake the farmer thing," Johnson said. "Because I have learned over the years that farmers probably have a better B.S. meter than anybody else in the state of Minnesota."

Whether that line will gain Johnson many farm votes will be seen in next week's primary. The winner there takes on Dayton, who is seeking a second term.