Members of the Minnesota Farmers Union came together in Minneapolis on Sunday for the 83rd-annual state convention.

The annual convention aims to bring the community together and focus on the future.

Union President Gary Wertish says one of the biggest challenges for farmers is high input prices for fertilizer and fuel. A sheet titled “Farmer’s Share” showed that farmers and ranchers only make 14.3 cents per every dollar spent by consumers.

“We see prices going up in the grocery store we often blame farmers. But the farmers aren’t getting a large part of the increase,” said Janet Kubat, the union’s communications director.

Wertish says that on a national level, there’s a push for Congress to expand the current farm bill as a safety net for farmers.

As he looks to the future, he is concerned about President-Elect Trump’s proposed tariffs of 60-80% on Chinese goods, saying it could hurt farms and consumers.

The union also passed a policy in the school lunch program to have 20% of food or ingredients to come from local farmers.

WASHINTON D.C. (WJON News) — Four Minnesota politicians have formed a committee to recommend candidates to President Donald Trump.

Congressmen Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber, Brad Finstad, and Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach announced the formation of the committee to help recommend candidates for U.S. Attorney, U.S. Marshal, and other vacancies that may come up in Minnesota.

The lawmakers say the committee’s members are some of the sharpest legal minds in Minnesota and they have a wealth of experience and expertise. The committee will be chaired by former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Barry Anderson. The full committee will be:

Barry Anderson (Chair), former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice
David Asp, Partner at Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP
John Hinderaker, President of the Center of the American Experiment
Allie Howell, Trial, and Appellate Counsel at the Upper Midwest Law Center
Tad Jude, a former judge in Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District