Hello and welcome to the Bullwark podcast. I'm your host, Tim Miller.

Delighted to welcome back to the show, one of my favorite former U.S. senators.

She's from North Dakota and the chair of the board of the

one country project. She also hosts the podcast Hot Dish with her brother Joel. It's Heidi Hyke Camp.

What's going on, Heidi? It is a beautiful fall day in North Dakota and just glad to not be in the

Beltway. Where in North Dakota are you? Are you in Bismarck? I forget. Wherearck? I am in Mandan, which is a beautiful city across the river from Bismarck. Okay. How far is it from Buxton? I got my bean bag here. You know, I think it's so funny because they think you got that. I saw some rumors about where you got that bean sack. And I'm like, no, he got it from his husband. I know where he got it. It is quite a waste. It is probably 200 miles from Bucksie. Okay. I've never been to Bucksman. It might as well be the same for me. But I'm wrapping it. I'm wrapping it proudly. I want to start with you. That's one of the reasons we call it you up, bringing you back. I'm going to start to talk to you about farm stuff because my husband does his best to brief me. But every once in a while, I do make airs. Like I was talking about, well, was I saying something about soybeans rotting or something? He's like, that's not what happens with soybeans. But anyway, I do my best as a suburbanite. But there's a lot of stuff happening in farm country.

There's a New York Times story earlier this week about Iowa, but some similarities to your neck of the woods.

I want to read just a little bit from this.

The cost of tractors and fertilizers have shot up with tariffs.

Labor has grown scarcer in agribusiness, manufacturers of laid off workers.

Even the wind turbines that

provide income from farmers are in the president's sites. During the first quarter of 2025, Iowa's

gross domestic product contracted at a 1.2% annual rate, which is like a great recession level contraction.

Things are a little better in North Dakota because oil and gas stuff. But what's your sense for

how bad the economic straits are in rural America right now? Things are a little better in North Dakota because oil and gas stuff. But what's your sense for how

bad the economic straits are in rural America right now?

You know, the one thing that we watch, the lagging indicator for farm economy is bankruptcies and

farm bankers, people who, you know, kind of put the cash on the barrelhead before the planting, how they're

feeling about the economy. And I think they're really nervous. We're hearing more and more

stories about how they are not taking anything for collateral on operating loans besides

land. And farmers since the 80s have been loath to somehow leverage their

land, but that may be where it's at. And the sad thing is that the large producers right now,

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