This quarter, Ag Innovation News (AIN) highlights AURI’s first-term Board Director, Minnesota State Representative Samantha Vang. Representative Vang is Chair of the Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee and serves on the committees for Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy, Higher Education Finance and Policy, and Legacy Finance. In this edition of AIN’s Board Q&A, she shares her vision for helping Minnesota become more resilient.
Q: Can you share a little about your background?
I was born and raised in North Minneapolis, am a proud daughter of Hmong refugees and a Gustavus Adolphus graduate with a BA in Political Science and Communication Studies. As refugees, my parents only knew of farming with their hands to sustain our family, so I grew up helping my parents grow produce on rented land to feed our family.
Q: Why did you want to join AURI’s board of directors?
AURI is a hidden gem for the ag community here in Minnesota. I do not think there’s another organization like AURI that exists outside of the state where there’s a more innovative and direct service approach to support farmers and entrepreneurs in actualizing their agricultural products.
Q: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing farmers today?
This is hard, but as one of the younger members of the legislature, I understand the difficulties in trying to get a head start in industries such as farming. Like many industries, we are always looking at how we can continue to sustain our workforce and with an aging farming population, we need to be able to support the next generation of farmers.
Q: How can Minnesota best support its agricultural industry?
I think Minnesota has a ton of great resources that many farmers already utilize and are so popular, ranging from research to development to commercialization. The state can continue to ensure we maintain the infrastructure capacity to support more farmers in gaining access to these resources.
Q: What are your goals as a new board member?
To learn about exciting new developments and build new connections with ag industry leaders.
Q: Which ag-related issues are most important to you?
There are many, but the goal is to build and maintain resiliency, whether that’s in the workforce, in the face of climate change, or learning from lessons of the pandemic and ensuring a strong food system. A lot of my work has focused on diversifying the industry and supporting farmers who lack support. I recently created a program to help small farmers buy and own land. It’s modeled after homeownership, where first-time home buyers receive down payment assistance. Instead of buying your first home, it’s for buying your first farmland.
Q: What would you like to achieve in your current term with the Minnesota legislature?
I always see agriculture as the basic building block of our economy, from feeding our population to creating energy that fuels our economy. I want to continue to strengthen those areas as agriculture remains a critical component in feeding the world and providing sustainable energy to our state.
Q: What is something Minnesotans might be surprised to learn about you?
I speak Japanese and initially sought a career in foreign service.
