Mindy Patterson & Chrissy Wozniak give their Top 3 Best & Worst Trump Picks

In this week's North American Ag Spotlight podcast Chrissy Wozniak welcomes back Mindy Patterson, president and co-founder of The Cavalry Group and an unwavering advocate for agriculture. Mindy shares her perspective on the aftermath of the November election, discussing key government picks and their potential impact on agriculture, private property rights, and American livelihoods.

Key Topics Covered:

• The Importance of Legislative Awareness: Mindy emphasizes how legislation at the local, state, and federal levels can significantly affect farmers, ranchers, and business owners, urging the agricultural community to stay vigilant and involved.
• The Sustains Act and Its Implications: A detailed breakdown of the Sustains Act, highlighting its potential threats to private property and rural communities under the guise of conservation and public-private partnerships.
• Defending Private Property Rights: The risks of government overreach, eminent domain misuse, and how these issues intertwine with controversial policies like CO2 pipelines and conservation easements.
• The Fight Against Animal Rights Extremism: Updates on The Cavalry Group's efforts to combat deceptive legislation targeting lawful businesses, including rodeo and horse-drawn carriage bans.
• Call to Action for Producers: Mindy passionately encourages agricultural producers to engage in policy discussions, attend town halls, and collaborate with advocacy groups to protect their industries.

Mindy also shares insights into recent and upcoming legislation, The Cavalry Group’s advocacy efforts, and strategies for pushing back against government overreach. This episode is a must-listen for those in agriculture, policy-making, and anyone concerned with private property rights.

Additional Resources:

Links to The Cavalry Group’s legislative tracking tools and resources.
Information on becoming a member of The Cavalry Group.
Details on connecting with advocacy organizations like American Agri-Women.

📢 Don’t miss this compelling discussion—listen now to get inspired and informed! Be sure to subscribe to North American Ag Spotlight on your favorite podcast platform and follow us on Rumble and Telegram for video content.

Learn more about the Cavalry Group at https://www.thecavalrygroup.com
Follow Mindy Patterson at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindy-patterson-1441a030/
#farm #farming #agriculture

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Transcript

00:00:05:18 - 00:00:31:09
Chrissy Wozniak
Hi, and welcome to North American Tech Spotlight. I'm Chrissy Wozniak.I am so excited to welcome back to the show. A very inspirational warrior for agriculture. She specializes in protecting members of the cavalry group against the onslaught of and more rights driven legislation at the local, state and federal levels, while also working to expose infiltration of animal rights activism in government.

00:00:31:11 - 00:00:55:20
Chrissy Wozniak
She's also an active member of American Agri women and has become a great personal friend and kindred spirit to me. Today, we're going to discuss the aftermath of the November election, and I'm really curious to hear her opinions on President Trump's picks so far. Today, I want to welcome the great Mindy Patterson. Welcome, Mindy, and thank you so much for being here.

00:00:55:23 - 00:01:01:16
Mindy Patterson
Thank you for having me. And the feeling's mutual, by the way. So thank you.

00:01:01:18 - 00:01:11:03
Chrissy Wozniak
So let's start. Can you give, the audience just a little bit of your background? I know your returning. Great guest. So most people probably know know of you. But just in case someone doesn't.

00:01:11:05 - 00:01:38:07
Mindy Patterson
Sure. When president and co-founder of the cavalry group, which is a member based company, representing our members, and advocating for our members, I should say it's a local, state and federal level, legally, legislatively and in the media, and against animal rights activism and a lot of the legislative push by actually, both animal rights and the environmental extremists are sort of melding together these days.

00:01:38:07 - 00:01:41:02
Mindy Patterson
And their agenda.

00:01:41:04 - 00:02:01:20
Chrissy Wozniak
So and thank you for everything that you do. Oh, gosh. Thank it's love. It's so great to have the Mindy and Hannah to let us know what is happening and what's coming down the line. It's really important for our industry to have someone like you that's always aware and watching about what's going on, and what we need to, when we need to take action, I think.

00:02:01:22 - 00:02:17:16
Mindy Patterson
Thank you. Yeah. Legislation is ground zero to protect our rights and our livelihoods and our and our way of life. I mean, it's just it's key. Everybody needs to jump in the boat and grab a paddle because we it takes everybody to show up to win, right?

00:02:17:16 - 00:02:36:03
Chrissy Wozniak
Absolutely. So. So when I asked you to come on the show again, I kind of just want to have a candid conversation about these picks and what we'll do is we'll do our top three and you do your one. I'll do my one, two, two, three, three. And then we'll go into, you know, the ones that we're kind of cautious of as well.

00:02:36:05 - 00:02:43:03
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah. And so yeah, let's let's get started. What are what's your top favorite Trump pick so far.

00:02:43:05 - 00:03:04:00
Mindy Patterson
My top favorite without a doubt is Brooke Rollins for Secretary of Agriculture. I'm actually really excited about her. She wasn't even on the list. That was being presented as options. You know, there was a list of 15 potential picks, and she wasn't even in the room at first. And, when she was announced, I had heard of her.

00:03:04:00 - 00:03:29:03
Mindy Patterson
And because I had been following, Trump's group, and, that she was the CEO of, the America First Policy Institute and, I just really like her stance on policy and that she's for a limited government and she's she's an attorney. And I just think she's got a the perfect background to be secretary of Agriculture from that perspective, I really do.

00:03:29:05 - 00:03:39:22
Mindy Patterson
And and she's from Texas. She does have an AG background and, you know, experience. So I'm excited about her. She's definitely my top pick.

00:03:39:24 - 00:03:50:08
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah, yeah. Great pick. I think, I didn't really know much about her until the pick. And then I did some research and I agree, I think I think she's going to be great. I love the America First background for sure.

00:03:50:14 - 00:03:51:01
Mindy Patterson
Yes.

00:03:51:01 - 00:04:18:04
Chrissy Wozniak
And, my top pick is definitely, not truly egg, I guess egg centered, but U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee and I, I love him, I've loved him. He's the reason why I started following politics back in my 20s, early 20s. Yeah. And, I read his book from Hope to Higher Ground. I probably was in, like, I don't know, 21, 22 probably.

00:04:18:06 - 00:04:45:03
Chrissy Wozniak
And just, Yeah, just fell in love with his values. And I think there isn't a better place, a better position for him than the ambassador to Israel. And that's a really important position. And, and for, for agriculture as well. Like, I think every the, the unique thing about agriculture is that it's so wide and so, you know, it touches everything, it touches every position and it touches every, every part of government.

00:04:45:05 - 00:04:48:02
Chrissy Wozniak
So, so yeah, I'm really happy about that pick.

00:04:48:04 - 00:04:52:08
Mindy Patterson
Me too. That is a good one. That's a great, great pick.

00:04:52:10 - 00:04:54:13
Chrissy Wozniak
And so who is your number two?

00:04:54:15 - 00:05:20:19
Mindy Patterson
My number two would be again, not, you know, agriculture focused. But I'm really tickled about Kash Patel, being the nominee for the director of the FBI. I think he'll be phenomenal. And, I'm looking forward to some of the things that he's wanting to expose, and get to the root of. I think there's just been so much corruption going on in government, and that's been stonewalled by the current director.

00:05:20:23 - 00:05:38:16
Mindy Patterson
And it's just it's talk about weaponization of government. The the people running the FBI have been really leading that that effort. And I think Kash Patel will completely unravel all of those things and get to the truth. I'm looking forward to that. Really looking forward. So.

00:05:38:19 - 00:05:58:08
Chrissy Wozniak
Oh, yeah, definitely. I'm I'm really excited to see what happens after reading, government gangsters. Yes. He mentions all the names and, yeah, I highly recommend people reading that book. And then, you know, sitting with your popcorn and watching what? Get out over. Yeah.

00:05:58:08 - 00:06:08:17
Mindy Patterson
We are we have just under 40 days, under 40 days till the inauguration. And all of this will, you know, they'll all be taking their positions. It'll be exciting.

00:06:08:21 - 00:06:35:03
Chrissy Wozniak
So, yeah, I agree. And my second would be director of the National Institute of Health, Doctor Jay Bhattacharya. Definitely my second pick. Love that guy. He was one of the. If people haven't heard of what he did during the pandemic. He was brave. He was brave. He was canceled. He was fired. He was, you know, and he just kept being brave.

00:06:35:03 - 00:06:48:12
Chrissy Wozniak
And I just really respect that. And, it'll be very interesting with this team of people. I think a lot is going to be exposed and a lot is going to be uncovered. Oh, and, I'm just so happy to see him there.

00:06:48:14 - 00:07:04:10
Mindy Patterson
Yes. And if if I'm not mistaken, he wants to get government out of health care. I mean, that's that's one of the stances that he's taken. That's a great that's a great pick. I that wasn't even on my radar. That's a good one. That's great. Yeah.

00:07:04:11 - 00:07:12:06
Chrissy Wozniak
It's another in the area of corruption. Right. Exactly. It feels like, you know, untangling a knot and I think a.

00:07:12:07 - 00:07:13:12
Mindy Patterson
Really do part.

00:07:13:12 - 00:07:15:01
Chrissy Wozniak
Of untangling the knot.

00:07:15:03 - 00:07:18:10
Mindy Patterson
Yes, yes, we have lots of knots doing tangle.

00:07:18:12 - 00:07:22:20
Chrissy Wozniak
Yes. For sure. And so who is your third?

00:07:22:22 - 00:07:41:17
Mindy Patterson
Well, it's not really a cabinet position. I don't know if it's officially a cabinet position, but I'd have to say the Department of Government Efficiency. I think this is going to be fun to talk about grabbing your popcorn. I, you know, Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, have a big job ahead of them, but I think they're the perfect ones to take it on.

00:07:41:19 - 00:08:06:15
Mindy Patterson
You know, Elon has already proven, you know, efficiency when he took over Twitter. Now X and, you know, just slimmed it down to, a basic, you know, company with he got rid of all the pork from that company. So it's just great. I'm looking forward to seeing what they're going to do with other agencies, especially USDA.

00:08:06:17 - 00:08:24:16
Chrissy Wozniak
So yes, very much so. Yeah. And that is exactly my third pick too. I am so excited to see what they can do together. I like that it's both of them too. There's things I don't agree with. With both of them.

00:08:24:18 - 00:08:25:00
Mindy Patterson
Yeah.

00:08:25:06 - 00:08:37:00
Chrissy Wozniak
Like serious things. But if they can align on some of these great things they stand for and, you know, property value is going to go down in Washington.

00:08:37:02 - 00:08:59:13
Mindy Patterson
Exactly. And Trump is the true great regardless of, you know, certain idiosyncrasies of where they want to take things, you know, if they just expose what's been happening. Just that alone is huge. So I think that's really what's going to be happening is with all these different positions that we've mentioned, the curtain is going to be pulled back.

00:08:59:15 - 00:09:01:06
Mindy Patterson
You know, I agree.

00:09:01:08 - 00:09:08:04
Chrissy Wozniak
So now let's go to least favorite. So who are some of your least favorite picks and why.

00:09:08:06 - 00:09:38:23
Mindy Patterson
My top list is Pam Bondi for Attorney General. I'm just not excited about it. You know, she was attorney general, at in Florida when proposition 13 passed, which was a animal rights driven measure in the state of Florida. Very deceptive. But she definitely has, a background of hanging out with the animal rights groups, specifically Kitty block at the Humane Society of the United States.

00:09:39:00 - 00:10:07:06
Mindy Patterson
And, she's very sympathetic toward the animal rights agenda. And that concerns me as attorney general, because there are bills that have been introduced this year, during the hundred and 18th Congress that wants, the DOJ to partner with USDA in the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act. I don't see any positive outcome of partnering with the Department of Justice, in enforcing the Animal Welfare Act.

00:10:07:06 - 00:10:35:19
Mindy Patterson
If we're trying to, you know, get away from weaponization of government, I just don't I just don't see that going well or having a positive result at all. I just don't think that should be the case anyway. But with Pam Bondi in charge, it concerns me. You know, if they have that ideology behind their, their way of, managing their agency, that could be bad for us.

00:10:35:23 - 00:10:38:01
Mindy Patterson
So I'm not happy about it.

00:10:38:01 - 00:11:02:11
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah. That's that's interesting because I don't I don't know a lot about her. And I usually like to rally behind the Florida pigs because they're usually pretty good, of course. But I see a lot of, I guess, division on opinion about her. And, it'll be it'll be interesting. Hopefully she takes the role of, you know, America first property rights and focuses there.

00:11:02:13 - 00:11:02:20
Mindy Patterson
Yeah.

00:11:02:20 - 00:11:04:23
Chrissy Wozniak
Hopefully. And I'm.

00:11:04:23 - 00:11:32:14
Mindy Patterson
Hoping yeah. Yeah I mean the animal rights agenda is not, just isolated to the left. Unfortunately, there are way too many Republicans, local, state and federal that, support animal rights. And I think it's an issue, quite honestly, where people are trying to virtue signal. I mean, it it's it's hard it's difficult to go against that. People will vilify you and say, oh, you're a terrible you're an anti for animal abuse.

00:11:32:14 - 00:11:52:15
Mindy Patterson
Well, that's not the case at all. Their their agenda is very deceptive and it erodes the Constitution and private property rights and animal ownership altogether. So it it's it's a deceptive thing but it's weasels into policy. And that's what we need to avoid anyway. That's my number one. Not so good.

00:11:52:15 - 00:12:23:24
Chrissy Wozniak
Pick right. Yes. Yeah. And I would say mine is I'm confused by this pick and very wary. And that would be Secretary of Homeland Security Christine. I'm not hearing good things. I really don't like her position on on carbon pipeline. Amanda Radtke was at our convention, American women convention. And and, really, told her story of fighting the carbon pipeline and, and Christine, really seems to be driven by, you know, follow the money.

00:12:23:24 - 00:12:34:18
Chrissy Wozniak
And that's where she is. So I am concerned about that. And I don't get it. Why somebody in the middle of the country would be in Homeland Security. Any thoughts on that?

00:12:34:20 - 00:13:02:03
Mindy Patterson
Oh, I echo your concerns 100%. She has lost any favor in my regard. Since she was promoting eminent domain and promoting the CO2 pipelines, there's a lot of Republican. I shouldn't say a lot. There's quite a few Republican governors right now that are promoting the CO2 pipeline, scheme, and it's just ridiculous. And it you can't help but wonder if there's not kickbacks taking place.

00:13:02:03 - 00:13:28:15
Mindy Patterson
And I've wondered that with Christy known because after her strong, what I consider to be strong leadership in the beginning of her governorship, you know, she was revered and now she is. Her popularity has plummeted since this CO2 pipeline debacle. And her wanting to, implement eminent domain on farmers and ranchers, in South Dakota. It's just really unfortunate.

00:13:28:15 - 00:13:42:12
Mindy Patterson
I'm not a fan of hers, and I just don't see the the background, how her experience will parlay into Homeland Security and how that will benefit that, that department. But we'll see. I mean, we'll see.

00:13:42:14 - 00:13:47:03
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah. Yeah. Me too. So what would be your next worst pick?

00:13:47:05 - 00:13:53:21
Mindy Patterson
Well, I know what you and I have talked about him, and so I'm probably stealing your next one, but, Doug Burgum.

00:13:53:23 - 00:13:56:07
Chrissy Wozniak
Yep. That's my number two.

00:13:56:09 - 00:14:16:01
Mindy Patterson
Yeah. As interior secretary, I have concerns about him because, well, he's a globalist. You know, he has a background of partnering with Bill gates and, other global issues. And whether it's naive or whether it's intentional, I don't know, but it's concerning.

00:14:16:03 - 00:14:17:02
Chrissy Wozniak
Nobody knows for sure.

00:14:17:08 - 00:14:32:11
Mindy Patterson
Yeah. He should know. Yeah. Yeah. I think we give these, these lawmakers way too much. Leeway in that regard because certainly they would have to know. So I'm concerned I think we need to watch him. Definitely.

00:14:32:13 - 00:14:36:17
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah. Yeah I agree. And then what's your third pick for worst thing.

00:14:36:19 - 00:14:43:00
Mindy Patterson
Yeah I really don't I don't have a third pick. I look combed it over the list and I don't know. How about you.

00:14:43:02 - 00:15:05:13
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah I think and it's another one where I'm just not sure. I guess it's not as strong as, you know, Bergman, Nome, but UN Ambassador Elise Stefanik and I just don't. She came out really strong on on a lot of things. But then it, you know, on other things, she just seems to be. Marino. What are your thoughts on her?

00:15:05:15 - 00:15:28:05
Mindy Patterson
Big time. You know, she was a co-sponsor of the Sustains act, and that's concerning. And it was surprising because I thought, you know, I've heard her interviews on Fox and other news, stations where she seemed to be spot on with her, constitutional approach and her private property stance. And I thought, oh, she's a she's a good one.

00:15:28:07 - 00:15:47:01
Mindy Patterson
And then when I learned about the sustains Act earlier this year and saw that she was a co-sponsor, it shocked me. So, you know, the fact that she's headed to the ambassador of the UN, that's concerning because the Sustains Act is an extension of UN policy. It's crazy to me.

00:15:47:05 - 00:15:59:02
Chrissy Wozniak
So yeah. Yeah. And so for anyone that doesn't know, can you explain the the sustains act, how it's kind of been snuck in? Oh, what's happening with it?

00:15:59:03 - 00:16:40:09
Mindy Patterson
Absolutely. Well, the sustains Act, which was H.R. 2606, has passed. So it's law. It quietly passed in 2022 is an amendment of a consolidated Appropriations act of 2023. And as a law, it presents super very serious concerns for rural America and private property owners because it empowers the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service to accept private nonfederal funds through public private partnerships to address climate change, climate change through carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat improvement, and drinking water protection.

00:16:40:11 - 00:17:09:18
Mindy Patterson
So while this may sound, you know, okay, or a great idea to some these things this this is going to be hijacked to be in in our opinion at the Calvary Group. It's the nail in the coffin for rural America. Honestly. Because as we know, the CO2 pipeline situation is spreading across the United States as something as this urgent emergency, situation.

00:17:09:18 - 00:17:35:09
Mindy Patterson
And it's just not the case at all. It's a total boondoggle and wildlife, wildlife habitat improvement. Well, we've been contending with the Endangered Species Act for decades that has been hijacked to destroy private property, under wildlife conservation. And then anything to do with water is going to be, also hijacked to halt any kind of, land use.

00:17:35:14 - 00:17:59:09
Mindy Patterson
So what the sustains Act means is that wealth and these public private partnerships, what this means is that wealthy corporations and, and special interest groups and environmental extremists will have a seat at the table in shaping how landowners can manage their property. And the Sustains Act allows these groups basically a pay to play influence for federal regulatory programs.

00:17:59:11 - 00:18:20:15
Mindy Patterson
And it'll be sidelining the needs and the rights of rural communities and private landowners. This is really concerning. And and so the main concern of this really is the private the public private partnership funding, to the NRCs. And that's really the, the meat of, of what we're concerned about because again, it's, it's a pay to play scheme.

00:18:20:15 - 00:18:56:24
Mindy Patterson
It's awful. It's just it's really when and it's and it's something that amends several other federal bills that have passed previously. So again on the surface this looks benign and non-threatening. But it's not it's not a good bill at all. It's very deceptive. And what was worrisome to me, as you know, back in June when I learned about it, I was on the the Hill at the same time you were I questioned members of Congress and many had not even heard of it, even though they had voted for the omnibus bill that it, you know, amended.

00:18:57:01 - 00:19:23:05
Mindy Patterson
They didn't realize what was in there. That's that's scary. And and I have to say, as a quick aside, that's something that I hope to see completely obliterated going forward in Congress. This business of passing agenda driven legislation, amending other, omnibus bills that are funding, you know, wars in Ukraine or, or budgets or whatever. And no one knows that they're there.

00:19:23:06 - 00:19:43:11
Mindy Patterson
That's got to stop. Let's get back to having committee hearings and having rigorous debate about legislation so that both sides can be heard the way it's supposed to be, instead of just sneaking these things through. It's and this is happening with everything. It seems they just get snuck in and let's have them pass on the merits of the bill instead of sneaking them on as a rider.

00:19:43:11 - 00:19:46:06
Mindy Patterson
On to other things. It's really creepy.

00:19:46:08 - 00:20:13:23
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah, and the what's alarming to me, especially in this act, and all of the legislation that is pointing in the same direction and that's the deceptive marketing in saying conservation. And everybody wants to save the world. So they're hiding it under conservation. And, and what that means is that there's layers of your property, there's air above your property, there's the ground under your property, and you know, what they would like to do.

00:20:13:23 - 00:20:44:14
Chrissy Wozniak
And they there were proposals last year, you know, selling off and making a stock exchange based on air above your property in the land below your property. And, these I know a lot of people, and it's really popular right now, these conservation groups that are putting easements on property. And that is very alarming. And when you look into it and see the players, like I was watching Yellowstone last week, and there's a commercial from Carhartt about conservation.

00:20:44:16 - 00:21:08:08
Chrissy Wozniak
Okay. What's going on. Right. That's not and it looks beautiful in the sunset and the wheat and the mountains and oh, Carhartt cares about the environment. No no no no no. What is going on. Right. And you know, to me and I know you feel the same way. There's no reason to lock up land in perpetuity so that people can't own property in the future.

00:21:08:08 - 00:21:26:16
Chrissy Wozniak
That's what's happening. People have to come to terms with the fact that this is not about saving the land. This is about the government having control of the land you have forever, and never being a human can't own it and decide what they want done on that land, and farmers are falling for it. What are your thoughts on that?

00:21:26:18 - 00:21:51:24
Mindy Patterson
Private property is the cornerstone of America. It's the cornerstone of our Constitution and everything you've just described it with these conservation easements under the guise of conservation, completely erodes ownership of private property. And one thing that plays into what you just said, I snuck on to a webinar. I didn't sneak on, but I signed up for it from American Farmland Trust.

00:21:52:02 - 00:22:17:06
Mindy Patterson
And it's a left leaning group that had Tom Vilsack speak. And I was glad to hear directly from Secretary Vilsack mouth. He created. He's creating a crisis that he's wanting to provide government subsidies for farmers and ranchers because he said repeatedly on this webinar for America Farmland Trust, he kept saying, we have to stop the bleeding. We have to stop the bleeding for farmers and ranchers.

00:22:17:08 - 00:22:49:08
Mindy Patterson
And our solution for them is to provide subsidies for them, to provide easements on their properties for carbon sequestration. And he included, wind and solar complexes, industrial complexes. So he's wanting everybody to basically take their farmland and ranch land out of producing food and allowing for easements on their property in exchange for subsidies from the government that ultimately we're paying for as taxpayers.

00:22:49:10 - 00:23:28:04
Mindy Patterson
I find this appalling. I mean, that's really what he's pushing. Are these subsidies. And, you know, he's they're making it very attractive for people, and difficult to turn down. I find it really horrific and quite frankly, irresponsible, that we're just pushing all of these alternative energy, things that really don't solve any issue at all. We, we, you know, we are very much, running on coal and oil and gas and we need to get back to that and provide the American people with affordable energy.

00:23:28:04 - 00:23:54:07
Mindy Patterson
And I just, you know, and it's okay to maybe explore other options, but not mandated on, American citizens until we're fully up and running in an efficient manner. We're we're far from that with all of these things. I mean, I'm sure you've heard about these transmission lines that they're wanting to develop down the center of the U.S. from east to west, west to east.

00:23:54:07 - 00:24:22:03
Mindy Patterson
And we're we're not prepared for any of this, but they're scrambling to get this done. And it's another thing that would just erodes, land ownership and private property under the guise of, as you just said, conservation and energy production and we have a system in place with oil and gas and coal. We need to fire everything back up, get the, you know, anyway, that's my that's my thought about that.

00:24:22:04 - 00:24:58:23
Mindy Patterson
It's very concerning and baseline I, I don't see how people can justify destroying the beauty of America with these, you know, endless, you know, infinity in sight. Wind turbines and solar panels. I've been to Montana. I've been to Texas. We have them here in Oklahoma all over the country. And it's just it turns my stomach to see these things because we don't need to be going in that direction.

00:24:58:23 - 00:25:08:08
Mindy Patterson
We have other, other things that are much more efficient and just seems like a waste. And it's it's sad.

00:25:08:10 - 00:25:19:08
Chrissy Wozniak
I agree, I know a champion in this area is, Congresswoman Hagaman and she's brought something forth to try to put a stop to this, right?

00:25:19:10 - 00:25:47:07
Mindy Patterson
Yes, yes, she has legislation to basically repeal the Sustains Act. And, and she, she has really been a champion. And yesterday she introduced, the prove it act. Yes. It's a brand new legislation that wants to, protect small businesses from, government overreach and the rulemaking procedure, which is really, really cool. Yeah. I had it written down here.

00:25:47:09 - 00:26:24:09
Mindy Patterson
I'm looking for the bill number, but, Yeah, she she is is going on offense, which is what I love about Congresswoman Hagaman. So she plans to work on her legislation to repeal the Sustains act completely, as well as, protect, you know, citizens who are, running small businesses such as farmers and ranchers. I mean, she uses an example when she announced the prove it act, as, protecting them against USDA's overreach of their agency with this ID mandate ID, meaning the electric, identification systems.

00:26:24:09 - 00:26:46:23
Mindy Patterson
That was again, snuck on to another bill, to get it through. It wasn't there was no committee hearing. There was no debate. It just, you know, went through as a writer and on another piece of legislation and became a mandate, which some people thought was great. Others are very much opposed to. We are very much opposed to that.

00:26:46:23 - 00:27:14:01
Mindy Patterson
And the reason we're opposed to it is because it creates a, new database, USDA of private information and farmers and ranchers, or anybody who has, falls under the purview of this, who raises cattle and bison. Anyway, so we're concerned that it's just another government overreach and method of control, but this, database could then be FOI requested.

00:27:14:01 - 00:27:43:10
Mindy Patterson
So the extremists could get Ahold of your information. How many cows do you have, how many acres you own, and to be used to vilify, them under their. You know, climate hoax, agenda and, you know, push policy because that's what they do. They try to, smear people, you know, and vilify them for raising, breeding and working with animals and that's really where this could lead with the RFID ID mandate.

00:27:43:10 - 00:27:54:01
Mindy Patterson
And there's other problems with it as well. But that's where we see this as a concern that they will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and all their private information.

00:27:54:03 - 00:28:14:02
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah, definitely. And thinking about, EPA, for example, this crazy administrative state has been just a thorn in the side to agriculture for years and years. And, what do you think about Lee Zeldin as pick for EPA administrator?

00:28:14:04 - 00:28:42:01
Mindy Patterson
I like him, I think he'll be great. You know, I, I'm not as familiar with him as I am, a handful of others, but I, I think he will do a good job. He, too, is, for limited government. And, I think he could potentially come in and and pare back the agency significantly, which, you know, that's another agency that's very much had its boot on the throat of agriculture.

00:28:42:03 - 00:29:07:21
Mindy Patterson
And there have been several lawsuits through the years. I know American Farm Bureau sued EPA on behalf of farmers, in recent years. And, you know, enough already. You know, these agencies, you know, our big gripe about USDA is that they're not they're an they've become an adversarial agency for people who are required to, be licensed under them.

00:29:07:23 - 00:29:16:03
Mindy Patterson
And all we ask is that they become, you know, go back to being a partner, not an adversary. That's not a lot to ask, you know.

00:29:16:05 - 00:29:48:16
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah. And what I've seen and you've seen it too, up in, in DC is you go to meet with USDA and EPA and these pigs have no knowledge about farming and they have no knowledge. They you know, we sat down with, and I don't think you were there that day, but we are USDA and we're meeting with the Forestry Service and the woman they sent to talk to us, who is somebody in our government, and the reason why she went into forestry is because she grew up in downtown Chicago, and there was a tree in the park, and she loved the tree.

00:29:48:18 - 00:29:52:17
Chrissy Wozniak
It's just emotional. It's just unbelievable.

00:29:52:17 - 00:29:54:03
Mindy Patterson
I yeah.

00:29:54:05 - 00:30:19:12
Chrissy Wozniak
That day was just so disheartening. You know, she didn't realize she was entering a room full of Oregon timber women who showed her the error of her ways in more ways than one, which was really nice. She got a good education about what forestry really is. Not to mention our president had her entire town and her house and everything she owned burned down in a forest fire in California and Paradise and the Paradise fire.

00:30:19:14 - 00:30:32:10
Chrissy Wozniak
And this person from downtown Chicago is going to tell us about the emotional attachment to trees. Give me a break. These people have to quit it and get people with with brains and not just die scores.

00:30:32:12 - 00:30:56:15
Mindy Patterson
Amen. A man well, I hope die goes away completely from every federal agency. And I will be eager to see if the, diversity, Equity and Inclusion office in the basement of the Longworth Building will pack up and leave. Because I was horrified to see that there's an entire office space dedicated to die, on the hill. Yikes.

00:30:56:17 - 00:31:22:03
Mindy Patterson
I wonder if taxpayers even were aware that that was the case, but I couldn't agree with you more. It's it's shameful. Honestly. It's just this agenda that's been inserted into all through all these agencies. And honestly, that seems to be it would appear that that's their purpose is to advance their, their leftist agenda instead of just doing what they were originally tasked to do.

00:31:22:05 - 00:31:59:08
Mindy Patterson
And a lot of these bureaucracies have just grown huge. I mean, flying into Washington, DC and to Reagan International Airport. You fly over, you know, Tysons Corner and the Reston area. And it's just grown hugely in the last 20 years or so, but mainly under Obama. All those office buildings were, you know, fulfilled with more government bureaucracy, bureaucrats and agencies under Obama and again, under Biden at government has just grown hugely under the Obama administration.

00:31:59:08 - 00:32:22:03
Mindy Patterson
And and that's the thing. When Biden took office, you know, we had had what felt like five minutes of sunshine under Trump's first administration. We, you know, had a minute to breathe under, you know, USDA, not just clamoring to put people out of business, it would seem. And when Biden took office, we were very much aware that we were back to Obama.

00:32:22:03 - 00:32:41:19
Mindy Patterson
ERA enforcement is what what we've called it. And, yeah, I just it's been it's been a struggle. And I know it's not just the USDA, it's every, every agency. And they've all grown just two big governments, two big. It's not split. That was not it's not supposed to be this way, you know.

00:32:42:00 - 00:33:06:11
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah, absolutely. Another thing that concerns me about the new incoming X and is RFK released that video of him standing in front of USDA and said he's going to change everything. And that, I think, is a bit of a threat to production. I think a lot of I've, I've listened a lot to what he has to say.

00:33:06:11 - 00:33:23:15
Chrissy Wozniak
I've read a bunch of books that, you know, that he points to and, and I like, I like what he's doing. I like the, the trajectory. But there's a lot of things he doesn't understand about farming and, and I, and I hope that my worry is misplaced, but it's still there. What do you think?

00:33:23:17 - 00:33:52:10
Mindy Patterson
I, I echo your sentiment. I think that, we have to be very careful that we don't fan the flame of, a lot of the propaganda that makes its way out there about our food system. You know, the United States has a, terrific, food system and and agriculture, system, if you will. And, you know, we're we're doing more with less these days.

00:33:52:10 - 00:34:13:23
Mindy Patterson
And, which is amazing. I mean, the population of farmers and ranchers right now in the US is, what, under 2% or less than 1.5% now. And so to have someone come in and I agree with you, I think his motives are great. And I, I agree that, you know, there are certain things and habits we may need to change.

00:34:13:23 - 00:34:38:05
Mindy Patterson
But when it comes to policy, I hope that he takes a back seat and lets the experts in agriculture, have a voice and make some of these decisions and determination, because a lot of these things have just been I mean, social media has been the bane of our existence on some of this stuff because they they grapple with, things and bury the facts.

00:34:38:05 - 00:34:53:20
Mindy Patterson
And a lot of it is just, hysteria that gets whipped up about, you know, farmers are trying to kill. You know, that's really what what it boils down to. So we have to be careful. I it'll be interesting to watch. That's all I can say for sure.

00:34:53:20 - 00:35:26:07
Chrissy Wozniak
And I think it's going to be a good opportunity for especially organizations in agriculture to, you know, I think with marketing, Brian, always but to separate producers from packers and processors. Yeah, we can really show that it's different. It's different. It's not. If you go to the grocery store and you can look at a food and see the food, it was you can see, the meat and the vegetable, you know, that came from a farmer, not from a processor.

00:35:26:09 - 00:35:44:07
Chrissy Wozniak
And there's a big difference in health. In, yeah. In, in not. Right. And I think it's a good opportunity for these for us to now brand us and say producers are care just as much about your health as their own. And they live on these farms and they want healthy food. We got to follow the money here.

00:35:44:07 - 00:35:46:03
Chrissy Wozniak
But farmers not making money here.

00:35:46:05 - 00:36:08:06
Mindy Patterson
Yeah. No, that's a that's a really, really core component to all of this. And and you articulated that beautifully. Yeah. I agree with you 100%. I just think we need to proceed with caution on that. But I will say, I think that trumps collaboration with RFK has, you know, he's proven to be big tent, as we used to call it, back in the Reagan years.

00:36:08:06 - 00:36:18:15
Mindy Patterson
You know, it's I think that's why he was so successful in this election, because he does appeal to a very big tent, of issues.

00:36:18:17 - 00:36:32:01
Chrissy Wozniak
And. Yeah. And truly be bipartisan. Right. Let's throw away the football jerseys. Let's just get to work and don't treat this like sports. Treat it like our lives depend on it, which it does well.

00:36:32:01 - 00:36:52:21
Mindy Patterson
And in the big picture of things, the United States is very heavily regulated in so many different things. And agriculture is something that we are on the abyss of, of government regulating farmers and ranchers right out of business. And they already have. And, you know, we're working with that slim margin. We need to cherish our farmers and ranchers.

00:36:52:23 - 00:37:28:17
Mindy Patterson
We need to cherish our land, and preserve it and preserve private property. And I think the rest will take care of itself. But we need to make sure that we have lawmakers and leaders, in the white House, that appreciate and cherish our founding. And I think we're heading in that positive direction, finally, because everything else that's come out of this recent administration has been dismantling our constitution and dismantling private property, and just coming at us with full barrels in every angle.

00:37:28:17 - 00:37:53:23
Mindy Patterson
It's been exhausting, quite frankly. And, you know, so I'm I'm looking forward to the months and years to come. I think they're I'm all about solutions. We're all about solutions at the Calvary Group, for sure. And I love going on offense, which is why I appreciate Congresswoman Hagerman so much, by the way, her prove It act is, H.R. 7198.

00:37:54:00 - 00:37:55:24
Chrissy Wozniak
Thank you.

00:37:56:01 - 00:38:09:24
Mindy Patterson
And, and it was literally just introduced yesterday, but it really is just a bipartisan bill to, protect small business and including farmers and ranchers from government overreach. So it's exciting. I love that.

00:38:09:24 - 00:38:10:15
Chrissy Wozniak
Yes.

00:38:10:17 - 00:38:12:05
Mindy Patterson
She's a superstar.

00:38:12:07 - 00:38:21:10
Chrissy Wozniak
Yes, she sure is. What about farm Bill? What's going to what's going to happen? Are we going to get it done in lame duck? What's. You're running at a time, right?

00:38:21:12 - 00:38:45:15
Mindy Patterson
We are running out of time. You know, basically two weeks left of lame duck. I, I honest, my personal opinion is I don't think we're going to have a farm bill at the end of the year. They're trying to agree between House version, which passed back in May, and the Senate version. And, you know, Senator Stabenow, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is retiring this year.

00:38:45:15 - 00:39:15:17
Mindy Patterson
So she's wanting the farm bill to be her legacy. So there's a big push from the Senate side to push this through. Senator Grassley wants us all to take a breath and wait, which I think is wise. We're concerned because there are two animal rights driven bills that are amending, the Senate version. So we're hoping that if they pull a Hail Mary and push a farm bill through in the 11th hour, which is possible, we've seen it happen.

00:39:15:19 - 00:39:48:06
Mindy Patterson
You know, I really don't see it happening, but it's. I guess it's possible. But, we're concerned that, you know, it's always the vehicle for the animal rights groups to get their agenda through. And, the two bills that they are slated to amend, the Senate version is the Puppy Protection Act, which really has little to do with the welfare of dogs and more just tightening the noose on breeders to put them out of business and then Better care for Animal Act, which is basically, a collaboration between USDA and the DOJ.

00:39:48:08 - 00:40:07:09
Mindy Patterson
That's what that would do to enforce the Animal Welfare Act. And that would be just incredibly detrimental to, a lot of, anyone who's regulated by USDA under the Animal Welfare Act. So we're concerned about that. Very much so. I wish I could say, yes, we're going to have a farm bill and it's going to be great.

00:40:07:09 - 00:40:20:23
Mindy Patterson
But I think if it goes into the next Congress, I hope to see some reform on farm bill because it's no longer really a farm bill. It's there's it's become the kitchen sink bill.

00:40:21:00 - 00:40:28:13
Chrissy Wozniak
So you mentioned before that it would be wise to separate snap out. And I couldn't agree with you more.

00:40:28:19 - 00:40:32:12
Mindy Patterson
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So I think that like a separate thing.

00:40:32:14 - 00:40:50:18
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah. Yeah. And the and the well I guess the to weigh it the other way snap brings more attention to farm bill. So it's tough right. Yeah. At least it gets more attention with snap in it. But snap to me is you know you're buying the votes of four people.

00:40:50:20 - 00:40:51:14
Mindy Patterson
Yes you.

00:40:51:14 - 00:40:54:10
Chrissy Wozniak
Are. And so and it's not about health.

00:40:54:12 - 00:41:21:19
Mindy Patterson
And I've been told by several in Congress that the reason Snap needs to be a part of the farm bill is that it does capture the interest of urban, citizens. So which is, you know, as you said, the poor that need the Snap programs. So I understand that to a point, but there's no harm in separating it out from the provisions that are provided to farmers and ranchers.

00:41:21:19 - 00:41:30:17
Mindy Patterson
So, I don't know, I hope to see some reform on that. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next. And the 119th Congress. Right.

00:41:30:20 - 00:41:41:12
Chrissy Wozniak
So yeah, I heard it, an alarming stat last week that I can't remember the number, but a high percentage of Snap dollars is spent on Coca Cola products.

00:41:41:14 - 00:41:43:02
Mindy Patterson
Oh, surprise me.

00:41:43:02 - 00:41:46:01
Chrissy Wozniak
So RFK can go right after that.

00:41:46:03 - 00:41:51:16
Mindy Patterson
That's a great point. And that's where he can work his magic. That's that's perfect. Yes.

00:41:51:18 - 00:41:58:22
Chrissy Wozniak
Yeah. That that's that shouldn't be taxpayer dollars. Agreed.

00:41:58:24 - 00:42:02:20
Mindy Patterson
Not that he has any magic. But you know what I mean figuratively speaking.

00:42:02:22 - 00:42:11:09
Chrissy Wozniak
Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So so what's your advice to the American producer and 2025 for 2025.

00:42:11:11 - 00:42:40:00
Mindy Patterson
Get involved in the legislative process. Get involved. There's not enough people engaging at the local and state, efforts in your state capitol there. Is there going to be bills moving in 2025 starting in January? That will impact your livelihood, your private property, your way of life. Pay attention, get involved. Get to know your county commissioner. Get to know your city council members.

00:42:40:02 - 00:43:23:08
Mindy Patterson
Get to know your state representative and your state senator. Get engaged. Go to town hall meetings. Go to the meetings. Go to the Capitol. Don't be afraid to testify in committee hearings. I cannot tell you. We have been doing this for 15 years at the Capitol, at the Calvary Group. Sorry. And it may just sound trite and like a canned speech of mine, but when I show up to testify on behalf of our members, whether it's a state piece of legislation or in a city council setting or a county commissioner, it's mind boggling to me that people are not showing up to save their business, to save their land, to save their livelihood.

00:43:23:10 - 00:43:46:03
Mindy Patterson
There's I mean, just pay attention. And that's one of the things that I'd like to offer your listeners. We track all of the legislation that impacts farmers and ranchers and people who raise bread and work with animals. You can go to our website under the Take Action tab. We're going to be revamping our, flash map of legislation for 2025.

00:43:46:03 - 00:44:10:01
Mindy Patterson
And you can hover over each state, every little dot. That is a bill that has been introduced in your state. Go there, click on the the tab on each state and learn about the legislation and find out when the hearings are get engaged. That is my advice to every producer. Whether you're a row crop farmer, whether you're, an animal producer, please get involved.

00:44:10:03 - 00:44:38:12
Mindy Patterson
It's it's not a good thing when it's just a handful of us showing up to these committee hearings and speaking on your behalf. You're the one that's impacted. This is your your livelihood. And these lawmakers end up being the judge, jury and executioner. And when the crazies are the only ones that show up in droves, unfortunately they're going to be making influencing the decision of lawmakers that are going to be deciding on policy that will impact you.

00:44:38:14 - 00:44:41:16
Mindy Patterson
So we've enough already. We've got to get involved.

00:44:41:16 - 00:45:00:12
Chrissy Wozniak
Oh yeah, that's such good points. And and that's there are so many groups that you can join to like for me, when I moved to Florida, I'm a Canadian expatriate who's going to listen to me. I can't even vote yet because I'm not a citizen yet. I'm still in the immigration process. But how can I have an impact?

00:45:00:14 - 00:45:30:08
Chrissy Wozniak
And that's the the entirely the reason why I joined American Niagara Women together we have a bigger voice. And, and there are lots of great organizations, across the country that you can join and you don't have to read every bill. You know, if everybody takes a piece and we come together and discuss it, you know, that's what American Women does so well, is, you know, you have experts in certain fields, and then we can tailor our positions and then get laser focused about it.

00:45:30:14 - 00:45:49:08
Chrissy Wozniak
And I think everybody's got to start thinking that way. You know, the the, the great thing about a lot of these picks is they're brave, right? And a lot of these people were picked by Trump because they were brave. Everybody needs to get brave. Not just this handful of picks. Everybody, every single one of us has to get brave and and don't worry, it's not.

00:45:49:08 - 00:45:58:06
Chrissy Wozniak
It seems hard. It seems scary, and it seems boring to go through policy. But you don't. You don't have to. We need to just be a voice and pick a small part. Right.

00:45:58:08 - 00:46:20:11
Mindy Patterson
Amen. Yeah. Well said. And and it's it's inherent as citizens. It's our civil duty actually, to get involved in the process and pay attention to what these policies are that are moving. And the activists, both environmental and animal rights, have taken advantage of the fact that farmers and ranchers are busy. They're busy every day from sunup to sundown.

00:46:20:11 - 00:46:42:12
Mindy Patterson
And they, you know, these animal rights groups and environmental extremists are full time job to be activists. So that's what we're up against. But we can't let that stop us. And, you know, I just think it's really important to engage in the process in some capacity. And, and we try to assist in that honestly, because we know people are have busy lives.

00:46:42:12 - 00:47:01:00
Mindy Patterson
And so we try to make it as easy as possible to be an advocate for, their business and for agriculture. And I have to say, American Agro woman, to add to what you just said, you know, American agri women has been doing this for over 50 years. So, I mean that you cannot beat that. And they they're all about policy.

00:47:01:02 - 00:47:27:15
Mindy Patterson
So I can't think of a better organization, honestly, to lead the charge on a lot of these policy issues relating to, to agriculture. You know, we advocate for our members at the Calvary Group that raised bread and work with animals. And that's why we collaborate with, American agri women, because it's just a perfect fit. But having worked with American Agri women for 15 years now, I mean, they're they're hard at work on all the policy issues.

00:47:27:15 - 00:47:51:00
Mindy Patterson
It's exciting to see. And that's that's where that's where, things matter. That's all I can say. So we have members that call the office sometimes and say, oh my gosh, I had no idea that in my own backyard, a certain, ordinance passed and I had no idea, but I'm limited to, x number of animals on my property.

00:47:51:00 - 00:48:00:23
Mindy Patterson
Now, how do I undo this? It's like, well, it's hard to undo. So, you know, I wish you had paid attention to see what was going on in your city council before the ordinance even happened.

00:48:01:02 - 00:48:12:17
Chrissy Wozniak
So, yeah, and it really does start at the local level. And why don't you to, explain what the Calvary group does and, and, you know, for people that might want to become members.

00:48:12:19 - 00:48:44:22
Mindy Patterson
Sure. We, basically represent our members, at the local, state and federal level legislatively. So we have, especially during, legislative sessions, we inform our members about all the bills that are introduced as they come in. We assist our members in each state, you know, show up to testify. We help write testimony. We, you know, have we hold webinars and train them on how to testify, what to expect in a committee hearing and all that stuff.

00:48:44:24 - 00:49:11:23
Mindy Patterson
But our members are informed about, you know, legislation. The cornerstone of what we provide our members, and the reason we were founded was to protect against unlawful search and seizure. And that's the cornerstone of why we exist. But instead of waiting for the emergency number to ring, we honestly have found that I would say 80% of what we work on is, the legislative staff, local, state and federal.

00:49:11:23 - 00:49:35:02
Mindy Patterson
And it's constant. It is constant. And it is just this, it's we're always working with deceptive legislation. Right now, we're dealing with horse drawn carriage bans in Texas, of all places. The carriage, industry is under attack. Rodeo is under attack. All of these things are being and and it's animal rights groups that are pushing these things.

00:49:35:02 - 00:50:03:00
Mindy Patterson
It's it's not just some random, you know, lawmaker that's decided he doesn't like horse drawn carriages. Is these animal rights extremists that come in and coerce city council and county commissioners to put forth ordinances to ban outright ban of lawful business? So, we've gone on offense and we've passed legislation in, several states to, protect, lawful businesses that utilize working animals.

00:50:03:00 - 00:50:26:09
Mindy Patterson
And, so we hope to have our bill introduced and, and several more states this upcoming state legislative sessions in 2025. But again, you know, get to know your lawmakers and come up with ideas to go on offense to. I mean, it's all about policy. It's all about legislation. And I think, the more that our side shows up, we see victories.

00:50:26:09 - 00:50:45:03
Mindy Patterson
I mean that as a fact. I've seen in committee hearings time and time again, when we urge our members to show up to the microphone, we win. And again, if you're not there at the microphone, speaking about your business to protect your livelihood and what you love and what you do for a living, somebody else is going to speak for you.

00:50:45:03 - 00:51:02:17
Mindy Patterson
And we can't allow that to happen. And I know it's hard to give up your day and drive all the way to the Capitol. Some, some people live many hours away from their state capitol. And it's it takes up time and a lot of effort. But we have to be vigilant and we have to show we have to show up.

00:51:02:19 - 00:51:07:21
Mindy Patterson
That's what makes a difference. Absolutely.

00:51:07:23 - 00:51:25:16
Chrissy Wozniak
Couldn't agree more. Thank you so much, Mindy. Excellent conversation as usual. And, I, yeah, I look forward to the next one. And and always hearing your news and your newsletter, is great too. So we thank you. People want to subscribe to that. So thank you.

00:51:25:22 - 00:51:28:08
Mindy Patterson
I appreciate that. Thank you for having me.

00:51:28:10 - 00:51:47:10
Chrissy Wozniak
And thanks to all who are watching or listening. If you want to learn more, links are provided in the show notes. And don't forget to subscribe to North American Tech Spotlight on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Listen Notes if you prefer Video, you can find us on Rumble or Telegram channels. Or really wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you like the episode, I would love it if you shared it and have a great day.