[imgbelt img=Johnson.jpeg]Rep. Colin Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat, said President Barack Obama’s plan to cut farm subsidies was “more than dead on arrival. They’re going to have to go back to the drawing board.” Peterson gave his thoughts on Obama’s ag plan while at the national convention of the National Farmers Union.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the NFU convention (the second time in the last three years she made an appearance). She said she favored a proposal to increase the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline. NFU members supported a number of proposals at their convention. The membership voted in favor of loans or grants to aid the production of nutritious foods for local markets and schools. They supported using commodity checkoff funds to help food banks. They passed a proposal favoring a single payer healthcare system for all Americans. And the NFU membership called on the Department of Agriculture to implement the country of origin labeling (COOL) as called for in the 2008 Farm Bill.The NFU elected Roger Johnson (above), North Dakota’s Agriculture Director, as the new NFU president, replacing Tom Buis.