‘For everyone’: Sen. Klobuchar visits Spam Museum, discusses farm bill

Published 7:10 am Thursday, July 5, 2018

As downtown Austin bustled with visitors in preparation of the Fourth of July, a U.S. senator swung through the city to pay a visit to the town’s arguably most famous attraction.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) visited the Spam Museum Tuesday afternoon, one stop in a series of meetings she is conducting across southern Minnesota. Her tour came after the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill — she’s a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee — which received strong bipartisan backing at the Senate, but narrowly passed in the House. Once the two bills are reconciled, the bill will hit President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D.-Minn._ and Hormel Foods Vice President of Legislative Affairs Jeff Grev watch small visitors at play during a visit to the Spam Museum Tuesday. Deb Nicklay for the Austin Daily Herald.

The bill includes Klobuchar’s provisions that would assist in providing certainty to farmers and ranchers, create an animal disease and disaster program, and continuing support for dairy farmers.

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The bill also seeks to protect and expand crop insurance to improve access for beginning farmers, preserving a strong safety net for farmers and maintaining important access to food assistance for families in need, while also saving millions of taxpayer dollars by cracking down on fraud and abuse.

“This (bill) was not just about the farmers, but for everyone,” Klobuchar told reporters at the Spam Museum. “This shows how connected everyone is to the rural community.”

Spambassador Brandon Boomgard, left, regales U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) about the popularity of Spam during her visit to the Spam Museum on Tuesday. Klobuchar was in town to speak with Hormel officials concerning issues related to the Farm Bill. Deb Nicklay for the Austin Daily Herald.

After she was greeted by museum staff, Klobuchar tried some of the “Spamples” — that was what the staff members called hors d’oeuvres such as Spam Pizza and sandwiches — and took a 20-minute tour of the new Spam Museum in downtown Austin. In attendance were city officials such as Mayor Tom Stiehm and City Administrator Craig Clark and Hormel Foods executives Jeff Grev and Glenn Leitch. Visitors met with Klobuchar, and the senator discovered that she was about “20 Spam cans tall” at a measurement wall.

This was not the first visit Klobuchar made to the Spam Museum, but Tuesday’s tour marked the first time the senator visited the museum’s new quarters and location.

Spam Museum Manager Savile Lord, right, greets U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Klobuchar’s husband John Bessler as they enter the Spam Museum on Tuesday. Deb Nicklay for the Austin Daily Herald.

During the tour, Klobuchar addressed growing concerns from rural Minnesota farmers amid growing tensions in the global trade conflict.

New tariffs were imposed by Canada on beef, and more retaliation is expected this week as China and Mexico have pork in their crosshairs. There were also plans for China to plan a 25 percent tariff on soybeans in addition to hikes on pork duties, and Mexico’s 20-percent levy on “the other white meat” is set to begin on Thursday.

Klobuchar acknowledged the necessity of “pressuring China,” and that rural farmers were facing “hard times” with the ongoing trade disputes in the global market.

“We hope to keep pushing for and to continue reasonable negotiations,” she said. “It’s bad for our farmers too.”

With farmers in the region bracing for the impact on soybean tariffs, the U.S. could see an economic loss of $3 billion from the soybean tariffs, according to Purdue University. The American Soybean Association cited that China purchases about half of the country’s soybean exports, or about $14 billion a year.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) greets visitors to the Spam Museum on Tuesday. Klobuchar was in town to speak with Hormel officials concerning issues related to the Farm Bill. In center back is Hormel Foods Vice President of External Affairs General Counsel, Lori Marco. Deb Nicklay for the Austin Daily Herald.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is offered some Spam treats during her visit to the Spam Museum Tuesday. At right is Spambassador Steve Nordrum; behind Nordrum is Hormel Foods Vice President of Legislative Affairs Jeff Grev. Klobuchar was in town to speak with Hormel officials concerning issues related to the Farm Bill. Deb Nicklay for the Austin Daily Herald.