North Dakota Corn Growers Association member Bryan Dean says attending the Great American Agriculture Celebration at the White House was a rare opportunity to see agriculture take center stage. Dean, a farmer from Velva, called the event “surreal” and said it brought together a wide cross-section of production agriculture. “It was really an amazing event to look around and see so many different groups.” Dean said the biggest takeaway was the administration’s focus on trade and market access. “The encouragement I’d think was that the administration is really on board with the agricultural production side of things, to make sure we get those trade deals.” However, he noted concerns remain, including input costs and equipment regulations. Dean said not all farmers have fertilizer secured heading into planting season. “Everybody’s going to have that pinch in the pocketbook when they have to get that last bit of fertilizer.” Dean added that rising costs could lead to shifts in crop rotations across the region.
