Topcon Talks Agriculture

North Dakota's youngest lawmaker EVER ... tackles topics in agriculture | S06E08

January 26, 2023 Topcon Positioning Systems Season 6 Episode 8
Topcon Talks Agriculture
North Dakota's youngest lawmaker EVER ... tackles topics in agriculture | S06E08
Show Notes Transcript

Meet Dawson Holle, North Dakota’s youngest ever elected State Representative. Dawson tells us about his background growing up on a dairy farm and how that influenced his journey into politics. He shares his hopes for the future of agriculture, and answers 12 rapid-fire questions that are guaranteed to make you smile.

Speaker 1:

Hello, and welcome to the Topcon Talks Agriculture podcast. I hope you're having an incredible week. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to listen to us on your phone or your computer. We have a fascinating episode for you today. My name is Dan Hendricks, and I am your host. I serve as a senior business development manager for Topcon Agriculture, and I get to work with an amazing team of talented individuals who love agriculture, enjoy technology, and strive to help farmers and growers find solutions and increase their profits. Our special guest for today's episode is Mr. Dawson Holly. Perhaps some of our listeners are familiar with Dawson's story. At the Spry age of 18 years old, he was elected by the people of North Dakota to be a state representative for District 31, making him the youngest lawmaker in the state's history. Dawson's connection with agriculture runs deep and has always been a part of his life. His family manages a dairy operation in North Dakota, and not only does he have political duties, but he's also studying business management at the University of Mary in his freshman year, plus continuing to help run the family dairy. So, Dawson, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much, Dan, for having me on today.

Speaker 1:

Hey, it's, it's our pleasure to to have you and, uh, thanks for taking a break from politics and studying and milking cows to, uh, just give us a little bit of time. You're, you're a very busy guy,

Speaker 2:

<laugh>, of course. Anytime.

Speaker 1:

Yes. Okay. Well, it's my understanding that you're a fifth generation dairy farmer. So, uh, tell us a little bit about your background, where you grew up and about your life on the farm.

Speaker 2:

Yes. So, uh, so my family's a fifth generation dairy farm. We're from Mandan, North Dakota. Um, we moved from New Salem, North Dakota in 2003. Um, my family owns and operates eight 800 cal, um, rotary, rotary parlor operation, and I've grown up on the farm ever since I was born, and it's basically the life that I've known, so,

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So it's in your blood. Yeah.<laugh>. Yeah. Yeah. So then how did you become interested in serving through the state representation? How'd you get from farming to politics?

Speaker 2:

Well, I think it, uh, initially started when I was chatting with my grandpa one day and we were just talking over some, um, facts that North Dakota has about the dairy industry. And then I was kind of stunned that North Dakota only has about 40 dairy farms left in the whole state. And Wow. I was like, okay, what's wrong and how can we get this on track? Because we lose an average of one to two every year. And I'm like, if we don't do something now, we're not gonna have dairy in the next generation. So that's when I started to put my thinking hat on and I was like, okay, let's, what's the most, or what's the biggest area that the dairy industry needs fixing? And I found that it was bad agriculture policy in the state legislature that needs fixing the most.

Speaker 1:

Okay. So you felt like you could make a difference in help solve some of these problems. So, so you talked about 40 dairies in the state right now. What did it look like 10 years ago? What did it look like 20 years ago? How many dairies?

Speaker 2:

So the governor actually gave a address about this, um, probably two weeks ago. And I think he said in the 1930s there was over, I wish I had this fax in front of me. I think he said a hundred, um, and 36 dairy operations in the whole state. Okay. And then, uh, the big impact that we, that I remember seeing on those charts was the, the, I think it was the dairy buyout program in like the eighties, the seventies, eighties that really took a hit in the dairy industry. And then just over time, the it's dairy industry is really hard because you have to milk the cows 365 days a year, three times a day, and there's no days off. And like, that's not attractive to many generations

Speaker 1:

<laugh>. Right. It never stops.

Speaker 2:

Right. Yeah. And Right. I can agree with them. It's not very attractive some days<laugh>.

Speaker 1:

So tell me how your parents responded when you told them that you had, uh, political aspirations and you were gonna run for office. Well,

Speaker 2:

I think at first they were kind of joking or they thought I was joking<laugh> like me running, but then I did the petition way to get my name on the ballot and I got 200 signatures within a week. And they're like, whoa, that's a lot of support within one week<laugh> and like, right. They're like, this is more, um, unusual than, like, you would think most of the time to get 200 signatures, you would need almost like two or three weeks, but I got it in within one week. And, and then people, and then it was just this movement that grow was growing and there people were tired of the same old, same old people on the ballot and they felt like there was a lack of transparency with, um, the previous people that were serving and they felt like they weren't being listened to and that there was a stereotype that we have all these old politicians in the North Dakota legislature and we need some new blood in there. So then my generation has a say for the next generation's actions so that we can take over. So

Speaker 1:

That is really cool. So while, while most high schoolers, uh, are thinking about prom or graduation, you're out busy gathering support for your campaign, so Yeah. Did, did you go door to door or, I mean, what's that process look like? How did you, how did you get support?

Speaker 2:

So, um, if you're not familiar with North Dakota and the state legislature, district 31 has four counties in it. So there is, I would say over 40 cities. So I went door to door in every city and gathered support that way. And it was just the slow things that people liked. My policy, I was like, here's my, here's my platform. I know my age might seem like, whoa, let's not trust this guy because he doesn't have a lot of experience. But I was like, at least look over my platform and then decided the ballot whether or not you wanna vote for me. And I, I think that resonated with a lot of people is that I knocked on their door and I was like, here's my platform. And I shook their hand and I was like, I would like your vote.

Speaker 1:

So yeah. So yeah, just kind of the old fashioned way. You just looked him in the eye and told him what you stood for and mm-hmm.<affirmative>, uh, that's really cool. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Cause I went to a few towns and they're like, this is the first time that, um, a district 31, um, candidate has ever went here in this town before. And that was very flooring to me because as a representative, you should be representing your whole district, not just parts of it that have population, so.

Speaker 1:

Right. Well, it sounds like, sounds like it worked<laugh> for you. Yeah. So tell me if you believe that growing up on a farm mm-hmm.<affirmative> influenced how you spoke to the public?

Speaker 2:

I think, I think a lot of people can resonate with like a farming background because, uh, the time when you work, there's not really a timeline is basically when the sun rises and then you're done with work and when the sun sets. And I feel like that resonates with a lot of people is because you're constantly working and there's no time off. And especially in the dairy industry, there's always something to do and you always gotta be fixing. And so when I wanted to run for the legislature, I'm like, I'm determined this is my goals that I wanna set when I run. And if you don't like that, that's understandable. There's other candidates on the ballot, so. Right.

Speaker 1:

Well it sounds like, um, you know, people believed you and you and, and your story resonated and your platform resonated. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>, uh, do you feel like your farming background made you a little bit more relatable to the average person?

Speaker 2:

I feel like it did. I feel like, um, I feel like if it would've been just one random 18 year old that maybe mm-hmm.<affirmative> was a city kid, it probably would've been a lot harder because my family has a lot of ties in the community. Since we're a dairy farm, we have a lot of relationships with other farm for like, um, feed contracts and stuff like that. So I knew a lot of people in the community, so I think that really helped me personally.

Speaker 1:

Well, let's talk about how you were accepted once you did win. I mean, many people would be intimidated to work alongside of politicians who've mm-hmm.<affirmative> have lots of experience. But as a young candidate, what were some of the challenges you faced running for office and how did you overcome those challenges?

Speaker 2:

So before the primer, I think the big factor that I'd overcome was probably funding because I didn't have a lot of money per se, in, in the budget to run like a big campaign. So I was using my savings and, and I put up as much as I could. And, and that was an, an issue. I think another issue that I, um, encountered, um, was, um, I think probably the, my experience because I don't have a lot of experience. I'm a young kid mm-hmm.<affirmative>, and, and when you look at my resume, it's shorter compared to the other candidates just because I just haven't been around this long and I haven't got the opportunity to serve on boards and stuff like that because I'm not of age.

Speaker 1:

Uh, in your opinion, why might a young candidate who lacks the credentials of a typical politician still provide a valuable perspective to an older state like North Dakota?

Speaker 2:

Well, I feel like a lot of the hot topic issues that we're dealing with, especially in an education I've encountered in the school personally mm-hmm.<affirmative>, and I can speak with that compared to other politicians that they just hear about it. Like during the covid my school got shut down, so we were put online and you can see how that really affected, um, North Dakota, like students overall, a lot of their testing scores went down and like just their, um, emotional level went down because they were stuck in a house for a year.

Speaker 1:

So do you think your age gives you any other advantages?

Speaker 2:

I, I don't say I wanna say that I have more energy<laugh>, but I think I'm more determined to<laugh> and, and I, I wanna stay up late and read these bills and like make sure I get both sides of the coin. And yeah, just be informed overall because I have a lot of education that I need to do in order to succeed. And I am, um, for my committees, I'm on human services and political subdivisions and I know nothing really about healthcare and I've been just googling healthcare definitions the whole time because I don't know much about healthcare and I'm pretty young too, so.

Speaker 1:

Right.<laugh>. Yeah. We're constantly learning though, and that, that's a very cool perspective. Yeah. So if I understand it correctly, yesterday you sat through the 68th regular legislative assembly session. Was that your first session?

Speaker 2:

Uh, well, we're still in session now too.

Speaker 1:

Okay. It's still going on. Yes, yes.

Speaker 2:

All right. Well we're going for another, I wanna say like 74 days.

Speaker 1:

I see. And what did you take away from it?

Speaker 2:

Um, so, so far I've taken away is listen first and then speak second. That is something that I've, I'm taken away is because, um, someone else's opinion might be better than yours. So definitely listen. And second of all, always have a notebook with you for taking notes cuz like, I feel like especially when you're like wanting to give a speech or something like that, having like that little notebook to jot some like, information down or cool statistics or facts that really helped me.

Speaker 1:

So tell me about some of the mandates and regulations that impact the agriculture industry in North Dakota that you're particularly passionate about and how has your family been impacted by those mandates?

Speaker 2:

So, uh, should I discuss the two bills that I'm doing? Yeah.

Speaker 1:

To, yeah. Okay. Let's hear this. So

Speaker 2:

I'm doing two, um, dairy bills that I'm hoping that will make, um, dairy go back on track in North Dakota. The first one is I define milk in the century code and that's like our rule book. And you might be asking yourself why define milk? And I think that's really important is because the dairy industry almost has this war against soy milk and they're like, well, and the consumer is getting confused because they think that they're gaining the same nu nutritional value as say milk, but they really aren't. So with this bill, I wanna define milk and then I want to also say what produces milk. Because in our statute right now it says that cows only produce milk, but that's not true. And like I had some goat farmers contacting me and they're getting mad and they're like, we wanna be included too. And I'm like, I get it. So I'll put you guys in too. So,

Speaker 1:

Okay. So the, the first bill is about defining milk and then what's the second one about? And

Speaker 2:

Then my second one that I'm doing, it legalizes a sale of Ron Milk in North Dakota with a grade a permit, a grade a facility. And the milk can only be sold, uh, on the farm to the consumer and it can't be sold in a wholesaler or a retail store.

Speaker 1:

Okay. Well very cool

Speaker 2:

Because right now North Dakota only has two um, processing plants, Uhhuh<affirmative>, and they're at mass capacity. So if we wanted a dairy industry or a dairy farm to actually build up and grow, we really have no place for it to go other than out of state.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So you have to have, you have to have more capacity then, right?

Speaker 2:

Right. Yeah. And the first step I think at least getting dairy back on track is we have um, these small towns in North Dakota that want milk, but they have to bring it in from Fargo or Bismarck, but they have a dairy farm right down like a mile down the road, why can't they buy milk from their local farm? And I was like, well that that should be plain and simple. They should.

Speaker 1:

So Right. So it would just make milk more accessible and local to them. Exactly.

Speaker 2:

Yep.

Speaker 1:

Very cool. Interesting. Yep. Okay, so Congress is presently negotiating a new farm bill, something that gets updated every five years and this can have a huge impact on farming economies and livelihoods. What would your constituents gain from this new bill? Or what would you like for them to gain from this new bill?

Speaker 2:

Well, I think from the state level, they want government to leave them alone. I think that's just plain and simple. They want government out of their life and they just want operate their farm and be left alone. And I agree with them. I most farmers hate when there's these regulations of like, well this is how you have to operate your farm, but it really doesn't impact the financial, um, balance at the end of

Speaker 1:

The day. Right. So less regulations.

Speaker 2:

Right, exactly. And I think on the federal level is it all comes down to money. And that's the one thing is like in those drought years, it's really nice to have that federal money, but a lot, sometimes there is, um, like there is, your hands are tied per se, when you get that money is because you get the money short term, but it seems like you're always paid more than what you get.

Speaker 1:

I see. So

Speaker 2:

I think that is one aspect I can't really say per se cuz I haven't seen the farm bill mm-hmm.<affirmative>. But I would love like more, um, drought coverage for farmers because that's always the worst part, especially for dairy, is because we have to have such high quality feed. And then if we don't yield that great of feed that year, we have to then buy more feed from other outta state to then compensate for our low quality feed.

Speaker 1:

Well let's talk about then crop insurance reporting. And um, some of our listeners may know that Topcon's tap software and my ag data have a partnership where we stream harvest data that that assists farmers with electronic records that would help them with crop insurance. So what changes do you wanna see with crop insurance reporting?

Speaker 2:

That's a tough question. Um, I guess I have, I really don't know because I'm not really focused on the federal level. I'm more focused on the states and the state's, um, objects. Um, but I guess overall I want the farmer to win at the end of the day and I want the farmer to be getting the most amount of insur farm or crop insurance that they can because most of the times, um, especially in a bad year, these crop insurance makes or breaks the farm at their, with their financial balance.

Speaker 1:

And, and sometimes do they put regulations on that too? Is that an issue that when they get funding then their hands are somewhat tied on how they can use it?

Speaker 2:

I guess I haven't explored that option, but it might be. I can't say that I know or don't know that, so.

Speaker 1:

All right. Well I wanna put your time machine, uh, hat on for a second and ask you, where do you see technology in agriculture taking us in the next 10 years?

Speaker 2:

Next 10 years? Um,

Speaker 1:

Yeah, what, what are some of the things that we're gonna see that's different from today?

Speaker 2:

I think probably, um, fully automated dairies I think is like milking facilities, especially from a dairy aspect. Um, I think we're gonna have no more people in the parlor and it's all just gonna be robotics. The cow just walks in the parlor and the machine just does all the work and then the cow leaves. And my farm has actually been innovating, like we have alley scrapers that come in and, and alley scrapers, it pushes all of the manure in the pens in the gutters per se. And, and I think it's just the small tedious jobs that take a lot of time that technology is replacing. So I think that is, um, definitely one agriculture aspect that I'll see. And I think, um, from like a, I've heard this, but I don't know if it's gonna be true, is that I heard that there's gonna be electric tractors and all that mm-hmm.<affirmative>, I don't know how that really is gonna work because that's probably gonna be a big electric motor

Speaker 1:

For Yeah. Crack. Yeah. Well there's a lot of, there's a lot of companies working on it and a lot of venture capital going for that. It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Yeah, it

Speaker 2:

Really will be.

Speaker 1:

So Dawson, what is your hope for the future of agriculture in North Dakota? Well,

Speaker 2:

I think my hope is is that we grow the dairy industry and we keep the last 40 dairy farms in North Dakota alive and we make sure that they're set up strategically so that they have a good balance so that they can then pass it on to the next generation and that they can survive in the drought years and then they can prosper on the good years.

Speaker 1:

And what advice would you give to younger generations that would be interested in public service like yourself? What would you tell someone else that's thinking about that?

Speaker 2:

I think I would say go for it because the only thing you have to, or the only thing you can do is either win and that's awesome or you lose, and if you lose, so what there's always next time and you just get your name out there and it only helps you and maybe your ideas will then further generate the next conversation for your state or industry of how you can better what area you are campaigning on.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So when you went through this process, I mean, I'm sure you had to consider that losing was a possibility.

Speaker 2:

Yep.

Speaker 1:

Uh, how did that play in your mind? Or, or how did that make you act differently? Or, or were you just ready to say, Hey, if I lose, I lose lose and I go on? Or, how are you gonna accept that?

Speaker 2:

I think I, I, I think I made a note to myself that I will re, I am gonna respect the results of whatever it is, and at the end of the day, I put 110% effort into this, and at the end of the day, I would walk away and, and if I would lose and the voters would say that I'm not the best viable option, that I agree with them. And, and at the end of the day, that's what politics needs to be, is that when an election happens, we have to trust the results that it happened and that that's what the voters wanted.

Speaker 1:

Sure. Well, that's a great perspective. Unfortunately for you, you were the winner. So Yeah, that was very, very cool. I, I imagine that was a fun night winning an election and going to bed and going, you know, that feeling of, of pulling it all together and, and winning, uh, a seat in office. So yeah,

Speaker 2:

It felt like a dream almost.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. That is really cool. Uh, well, Dawson, we're gonna play a little, uh, thing, a little game that I call fast and furious farming facts. Okay. So this is gonna help our listeners get to know you, uh, a little bit better. And I'm gonna ask you 12 questions and what I need you just to give me the first answer that pops in your head, okay? All right. And so we're just gonna go through these really quick, all right. Are you ready? I'm ready. Okay. You got this. All right. All right. Here we, here we go. Here's the first one. If you could own a farm anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Speaker 2:

Hawaii.

Speaker 1:

Hawaii? Okay. Yeah.<laugh>. Uh, name your favorite tractor manufacturer.

Speaker 2:

Case.

Speaker 1:

Case, uh, Carhartt or Wranglers?

Speaker 2:

I gotta go with Wranglers.

Speaker 1:

What college sports team do you cheer for?

Speaker 2:

Um, fight u n D, fighting Hawks.

Speaker 1:

All right. Ford, Dodge, or Chevy Truck?

Speaker 2:

That's a tough one. I gotta go with Ford

Speaker 1:

Though. Okay. What manure smells the worst. Cattle, hogs, chickens or turkeys?

Speaker 2:

Definitely hogs.

Speaker 1:

<laugh>. Okay. Uh, this is a milk question. Do you prefer whole milk, 2% skim or lactose free milk?

Speaker 2:

Uh, is raw an option?

Speaker 1:

Raw, you know, yes. Raw is an option. We'll add that too there. Okay. Uh, choose one. Johnny Cash, George Strait, Blake Shelton or Luke Combs?

Speaker 2:

I gotta go with George

Speaker 1:

Strait. Okay. Yeah. Kind of a throwback there.<laugh>, uh, who is your favorite character on Yellowstone?

Speaker 2:

Yellowstone? Um, I gotta go with, um, Beth

Speaker 1:

Beth's. Rebel<laugh>. She's a rebel. Yeah. That's great. Tv. Yeah. Beth is something. All right. Favorite coffee brood at home Gas station or Starbucks

Speaker 2:

At home?

Speaker 1:

Brood at home. Okay. Would you rather go to Disney World, the county fair or Bucky's?

Speaker 2:

Uh, Disney World.

Speaker 1:

Disney World, okay. Who is the greatest stock car racer of all time? Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt. Jeff Gordon or Ricky? Bobby?

Speaker 2:

Definitely. Ricky Bobby.

Speaker 1:

Ricky Bobby. Okay. Awesome job. Wonderful. Awesome job. Well, Dawson, I can't thank you enough for joining today and giving us, uh, some of your time and telling your story and sharing your passion for agriculture and serving the people of North Dakota. Uh, we greatly appreciate it.

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you so much for having me on, Dan. It was, it was awesome joining you and having the conversation of hopefully growing dairy in North Dakota and agriculture as well.

Speaker 1:

And I want to thank each of our listeners for tuning in today. Topcon appreciates all of our friends in agriculture who work tirelessly to put food on our tables. Farmers are the best. If you enjoyed this episode, remember to like, share and subscribe to Topcon Talks Agriculture on Spotify, apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please tell your friends about us. We'd love for you to follow Topcon Agriculture on social media. Thanks again for joining us today. See you next time. Go out and make it a great day.