Senator Jon Tester: Farm Bill Perspective

It’s not very often voters choose a small-town farmer to represent them in the United States Senate.  But here in Montana, it happened last November.  Although I had experience leading Montana’s state legislature, I was no Washington insider.  I’d never even been inside the U.S. Capitol.  And even now, I only own a few suits.


I ran to serve Montana because like many other folks, I saw that Congress wasn’t paying much attention to average working families.  Lawmakers were making backroom deals in order to line their pockets and serve special interests.  Montana wanted a voice for everyone—from someone who values hard work, honesty and common sense.


Those are values that my grandparents relied on when they homesteaded my farm nearly a century ago.  My parents passed them on to my brothers and me.  And my wife Sharla and I passed them on to our kids.


Hard work, honesty and common sense are values that built and sustain rural America, where folks make their living off the land.  Agriculture isn’t just my way of life; it is backbone of every rural state like Montana.  Family farms and ranches are a critically important part of our heritage, and the fact is we won’t thrive as a nation without them.


That’s why I’m looking forward to sharing my input as a farmer as my Senate colleagues write the 2007 Farm Bill.  I told them how important it is to have a safety net—to make sure folks in agriculture can survive when times aren’t so good.  I told my colleagues how important it is to get the national County of Origin Labeling program up and running.  American consumers deserve to know where their food comes from.  I also believe there needs to be something in the Farm Bill that promotes the role of energy development in family agriculture.


Alternative energy development has a big future in Montana agriculture.  In fact if I had a bit more time, I’d plant a few dozen acres of camelina and press oil out of the seeds to make my own biodiesel.  Since taking office I have visited with scientists, researchers, developers, ranchers and fellow farmers about Montana’s potential for responsible energy development.  With our ability to produce biofuels and to harness wind, solar power and even geothermal energy, Montana can—and will—be a world leader in alternative energy development.


Finally, I want to say something about something that’s very important to me—the role of infrastructure in rural America.  That’s why I stand beside my senior senator, Max Baucus, in defending projects in the Senate that make transportation safer and more accessible.  That’s why I fight for access to high-tech, quality, affordable health care for all Americans.  I work hard to make sure all Montanans have solid opportunities like education and good-paying jobs.  And I’m making sure that our government lives up to the promises it made to the folks who served in our military.


Technology is bringing us all together.  There’s no reason folks who live in rural America can’t have the same opportunities as folks who live in bigger communities.  And we can do it without jeopardizing our rural heritage.  All it will take is a little hard work, honesty and common sense.