He says this time will be different. Wellstone rode a well-organized grassroots campaign to victory in his first Senate election. He's planning a similar effort for farmers. We have to put together the resources. We have to get some support.
Some organizers have to be hired.
And then we bring the people to Washington. Recent federal changes in crop insurance had a major effect. In northwest Minnesota this year, heavy rain again washed out thousands of acres of crops. The new crop insurance regulations allowed farmers to collect insurance payments on land too wet to plant. Pennington County extension agent Howard Person says it's a small but important change because farmers didn't have to spend money on seeds, chemicals and machinery for a crop that had little chance of success.