Local farmer, U.S. Senator talk rural issues

STAFF PHOTO BY KAREN M. JORGENSEN

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith sits in the driver’s seat of a 1927 Model T that Jim Checkel is storing at his home. The federal lawmaker visited the Dodge County farm last week to discuss issues relevant to rural constituents. 

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith made a stop at the Jim Checkel farm in Dodge County last week during a swing through southeast Minnesota, a visit designed to highlight the economic pressures facing farmers and rural families.
After a look at some of Checkel’s many collections — including old tractors, barbed wire, wagon and vehicle jacks — their conversation turned to issues that rural Americans are concerned about, but focused on rural health care and ambulance service in Greater Minnesota.
The importance of ambulance service in rural areas cannot be underestimated, both agreed.
Checkel said last month, a local ambulance service had two emergencies with patients in full cardiac arrest. A quick response, he said, was able to save both individuals.
He also related a personal experience from 1972, when a neighbor who was helping out at the family farm was killed in a combine accident.
At that time, Checkel said, there was no ambulance service to respond immediately — and the Rescue Squad was also out. His father, Checkel said, stayed with the neighbor for 45 minutes, doing what he could until paramedics arrived.
The death, he added, affected not just the man’s family, but also the friends and neighbors who helped the family with their farm chores.
Other health care issues, Smith said, include the closing of rural clinics and hospitals.
If people don’t have hospitals and doctors, Checkel said, they won’t stay in the area.
One of the good things that came out of the pandemic, the senator said, was the advancement of telehealth services. Smith said she believes telehealth should continue to move forward and be used in more areas, such as occupational health programs. Society must be innovative in deciding how to use telehealth, she said.
Another ongoing issue: Congress’s ongoing struggle to get a farm bill passed.
Questions are always raised about connecting the farm bill with food programs like SNAP. To pass a farm bill, Smith said, Congressional leaders must build a coalition of both rural and urban dwellers.
It’s vital, she explained, because passing a farm bill requires the help of urban lawmakers — whose constituents may relate better to issues like SNAP, known colloquially as food stamps, despite the fact that it sounds like only rural residents benefit.
On the subject of farm subsidies, Checkel said there are both large and small farms in the U.S., and a place for both of them. “Let’s work together,” he said.
Smith added that in addition to traditional crops like corn and soybeans, the bill needs to also include the apple farmers, vegetable farmers and organic farmers.
Smith also criticized the expanding military budget. She said she is a strong believer in the military, but the Department of Defense has never had its budget audited.
“Are farmers getting a fair shake,” she said. “No.”
What they want, she said, is access to markets and a fair price. They also want to be able to repair their own equipment.
Smith has said she will not seek re-election this fall, choosing instead to retire from the Senate at the end of the current session.