Thank you, Roger. Again, to -- to those of you that perhaps were not in the room when we first started, a hardy welcome to the session today as we begin this listening session here in Minnesota for the World Trade Organization folks that will be involved with the negotiations in Seattle this -- this fall. It is a great privilege for me to introduce to you my boss, Governor Jesse Ventura, elected to the Governorship last November. It goes without saying that I think he shocked a lot of the political establishment not only here in Minnesota, not only around the United States but literally around the world. We are very pleased that he is here today to share some of his thoughts and the administration’s thoughts in terms of how important trade really is for the agricultural sector. Certainly, one of Governor Ventura’s precepts is that grassroots participation is extremely important in any political process. What we’re doing here today is a perfect example of grassroots' participation, that is government taking its ears to the people and listening to what they have to say on this particular issue. Also, of course, Governor Ventura strongly believes that people need to be working together to help their own situation, and that’s really what agriculture wants to do in terms of having a voice at the WTO talks later on this year. With that in mind, please join me in welcoming Governor Ventura, Governor of the State of Minnesota.

GOVERNOR VENTURA:

Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Hugoson. Always a pleasure. I just wanted to state, first of all, that Light Rail is working well this morning. You know I have to battle to get a transportation package. It took me 30 minutes to go five miles up there on -- where 494 intersects with 94 up by Weaver Lake Road. Are you listening, Press? Okay. Good morning, welcome to St. Paul, the capital city of Minnesota. I know we have a lot of distinguished visitors here from throughout Minnesota, as well as from our neighboring states of Wisconsin, Iowa, North and South Dakota. Governor Ed Schafer of North Dakota, I appreciate your courage for coming here today, Governor. I know I saw a few bumper stickers in the parking lot that said, My Governor can beat up your Governor. Don’t worry, I’m not going to beat you up today. It only means I could if I wanted to, but rest assured I don’t want to, because today Governor Schafer and I are on the same team absolutely. We also have some special guests here from the Federal Government in Washington, D.C. I understand that you’re here to listen today. That’s good. I like it when the Federal Government takes time to listen to how the farmers are doing here in the upper Midwest. I saw a bumper sticker that applies to you, too, I think. It said, Think globally. Act locally. But in this case I think it needs to be changed around. For our purpose here it should say, Think locally. Act globally. We want you to keep in mind our local concerns as you go to the global conference to discuss trade issues in Seattle this fall. I’m not here to talk about how Minnesota is doing versus North Dakota or Wisconsin or Iowa. I’m here to talk about how we are doing collectively competing against other nations in the global marketplace with our agricultural products. I’m a big believer in self-sufficiency and personal responsibility. The competitive spirit that makes our nation strong grows out of the creative, determined effort of each individual. It all, of course, starts there. Yet I am also a believer in government responsibility. Some issues go beyond the reach of individuals. That’s where the government must and should step in. What it means is that each part of society has its own role and its own responsibility to play. The farmer has the role, the state government has a role and, of course, the Federal Government has a role. Are the farmers doing their part? I should say so. In Minnesota we’ve witnessed several consecutive years of record crops. Agriculture is responsible for about one-fifth of our economy. One out of every four workers in Minnesota owes their job to agriculture and related industries. With so much productivity, why is there a crisis? Why are some farmers suffering more than they have since the mid 1980’s? Because they produce so much that it needs to be sold to other nations. One-third of Minnesota’s agriculture product is exported to the tune of $2 billion a year. I’ll repeat that. Two billion - two. Thirty seven percent of Minnesota’s corn is exported mainly to Asia and Europe. Fifty four percent of our soybeans gets sold around the world mainly to Asia. Thirty five percent of our wheat crop goes to the Middle East, Africa and, you guessed it, Asia. The farmers are definitely working hard, but a basic problem is that there are a lot of things going on around the world that are beyond their control. Farmers can’t be responsible for the economic crisis in Asia. Farmers can’t take the blame for other nations that have unfair trading practices. Decisions made in Beijing and Ottawa can affect how much money a farmer in Wausaukea or Fergus Falls gets for his or her crop. The Wall Street Journal recently featured a story about how Brazil is rapidly expanding its farming potential. A new project could open up 75 million acres of Western Brazil for growing soybeans. That would equal the entire U.S. soybean crop. Our problem is not productivity; our problem is how to maximize our competitive edge. If another country figures out a way to match us, then we have to go one step further. Maybe if we lose our market for soybeans, we have to come up with value-added product made out of soybeans. To compete at a global level, we have to make sure our products stand out. Don’t forget, we’re not only a grain state here, we’re a brain state. What can the state government do about these problems? What is our responsibility? There are a number of things we as the state can do. (1) First aid. Some family farms are suffering and need help right away. The State of Minnesota is providing $122 million in tax relief. (2) Investment in agriculture. We have a number of projects in the works to promote Minnesota’s agricultural exports. In November I’ll be traveling to Japan, our number two trading partner, in order to build a -- to build relationships, open markets and promote the products of Minnesota. Our Commissioner of Agriculture, Gene Hugoson, and his staff are working on long-term marketing and development initiatives. We have allocated millions of dollars for this and we hope that seed money will yield -- yield big crops of future profits. (3) Reform. Common sense tells me that if something is not working the best thing to do is to figure out how to fix it. I’m very lucky to have some of the brightest people in Minnesota helping me to solve these problems. I’m establishing a farm cabinet, a think tank, composed of some of my Commissioners whose departments are involved in these very issues; agriculture, trade and economic development, revenue, finance, commerce and the pollution control agency. My farm cabinet is going to analyze all the factors that affect the ability of Minnesota farmers to compete. They will analyze how our farmers stack up to farmers in other states, as well as other countries. Then we will start fixing the things that need fixing. You think I’m tough? Wait until you see what happens when Minnesota farmers start -- start their muscle building. The next bumper sticker you may see is My farmer can beat up your farmer. The key idea that will reform agriculture in Minnesota is that competition means a lot more than just productivity. But what about the Federal Government, how can it help? What role should it play? Uncle Sam, you can go to bat for the farmers for Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and the entire upper Midwest. Our states rely upon exports more than most other states do. We face a global problem. We need a global power, the United States government. We need you to make agriculture a number one priority. We need you to be aggressive about removing unnecessary trade barriers and opening up new markets for our farmers. We cannot let other countries have an unfair advantage by setting up artificial barriers to keep our products out. Above all, we must be competitive. We cannot let other countries beat us to the punch. I’ll have a lot more to say on this, but I’m going to wait until I visit Washington, D.C., in a couple of weeks. Our farmers and our state government are doing their part. It’s now up to the federal agencies in agriculture and trade to do -- to get ready to do business in Seattle in November with the World Trade Organization. Your work is cut out for you. Thank you for listening and we definitely will be watching for the results. Thank you.