After skipping out on Farmfest one year ago to accept the Democratic nomination for vice president, Gov. Tim Walz returned to the annual all-things agriculture event in southwest Minnesota on Wednesday.
Walz was not listed as a speaker or participant on any of the Farmfest daily schedules leading up to the Aug. 5-7 event, which draws thousands of visitors and agriculture industry representatives from around the state and nation to Redwood County.
What some described as a “low-key appearance” by the governor may not be that surprising, since Walz has received a number of jeers and boos in recent visits to the event held in the town of Morgan.
Gov. Tim Walz making a low-key appearance at Farmfest. Hanging out by the pork chop grill in the Farm Bureau tent. When he speaks here he gets booed so this is probably the right strategy. pic.twitter.com/LYk4T0FB57
— Bill Walsh (@billtwalsh) August 6, 2025
During Wednesday’s visit, Walz stopped by the pork chop grill and made a brief on-stage address prior to a panel discussion on “The Future Outlook of Minnesota’s Agricultural Higher Education & Workforce.”
“[Farmfest] is a tradition for many folks and it needs to be,” Walz said. “I’m preaching to the choir in this room, ag is still one of the cornerstones of our economy here in Minnesota. It’s a 100-plus billion dollar industry, 400,000 people, but more important than that, Minnesota is a leader not just nationally, but globally in feeding, fueling and clothing the world and innovation.”
“The one thing that is probably most encouraging to me is that in the legislature, when we’re debating the ag bill, it’s one of the most bipartisan bills we have,” Walz concluded.
He kept his remarks about as non-partisan as one could expect during a non-election year. The governor has said he won’t make an announcement about whether he will seek a third term until the end of the Minnesota State Fair. He’s also been telling journalists and podcast hosts as of late that he has no interest in running for the White House in 2028.
Political networking opportunity with Greater Minnesota
Farmfest has become a go-to opportunity for candidates to establish credibility with voters in Greater Minnesota. Two of the politicians at this year’s event were Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Congresswoman Angie Craig, both Democrats who are battling it out for the DFL nomination for U.S. Senate next year.
Other elected officials and aspiring office-holders in attendance included Republican gubernatorial candidates Kendall Qualls and Phillip Parrish, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Adam Schwarze, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Reps. Michelle Fischbach, Brad Finstad, and Pete Stauber, and more.
“I hear it everywhere I go: farmers are struggling under Tim Walz. Rural Minnesota hasn’t forgotten that Walz shut down processing plants during COVID, raised costs with heavy mandates, and then pretended to care about agriculture,” Qualls said in a recent press release. “I’m running for Minnesota to fight for our farmers and ensure that their voice is heard in St Paul.”
State Auditor Julie Blaha, who is up for reelection next year should she decide to run again, also made an appearance. That was just four years after a vehicle she was driving crashed into a semi-truck on her way home from Farmfest. Blaha, and then Sen. Melisa Lopez-Franzen, received minor injuries in the accident, which later led to political controversy when details of the crash emerged months later.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
