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

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.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Hello, and welcome to the Topcon Talks Agriculture
podcast.
I hope you're having anincredible week.
Thanks for taking time out ofyour busy schedule to listen to
us on your phone or yourcomputer.
We have a fascinating episodefor you today.
My name is Dan Hendricks, and Iam your host.
I serve as a senior businessdevelopment manager for Topcon

(00:34):
Agriculture, and I get to workwith an amazing team of talented
individuals who loveagriculture, enjoy technology,
and strive to help farmers andgrowers find solutions and
increase their profits.
Our special guest for today'sepisode is Mr.
Dawson Holly.
Perhaps some of our listenersare familiar with Dawson's

(00:56):
story.
At the Spry age of 18 years old,he was elected by the people of
North Dakota to be a staterepresentative for District 31,
making him the youngest lawmakerin the state's history.
Dawson's connection withagriculture runs deep and has
always been a part of his life.
His family manages a dairyoperation in North Dakota, and

(01:20):
not only does he have politicalduties, but he's also studying
business management at theUniversity of Mary in his
freshman year, plus continuingto help run the family dairy.
So, Dawson, welcome to thepodcast.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Thank you so much, Dan, for having me on today.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Hey, it's, it's our pleasure to to have you and, uh,
thanks for taking a break frompolitics and studying and
milking cows to, uh, just giveus a little bit of time.
You're, you're a very busy guy,

Speaker 2 (01:50):
, of course.
Anytime.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Yes.
Okay.
Well, it's my understanding thatyou're a fifth generation dairy
farmer.
So, uh, tell us a little bitabout your background, where you
grew up and about your life onthe farm.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Yes.
So, uh, so my family's a fifthgeneration dairy farm.
We're from Mandan, North Dakota.
Um, we moved from New Salem,North Dakota in 2003.
Um, my family owns and operateseight 800 cal, um, rotary,
rotary parlor operation, andI've grown up on the farm ever
since I was born, and it'sbasically the life that I've

(02:26):
known, so,

Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah.
So it's in your blood.
Yeah.
.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So then how did you becomeinterested in serving through
the state representation?
How'd you get from farming topolitics?

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Well, I think it, uh, initially started when I was
chatting with my grandpa one dayand we were just talking over
some, um, facts that NorthDakota has about the dairy
industry.
And then I was kind of stunnedthat North Dakota only has about
40 dairy farms left in the wholestate.
And Wow.
I was like, okay, what's wrongand how can we get this on

(03:04):
track?
Because we lose an average ofone to two every year.
And I'm like, if we don't dosomething now, we're not gonna
have dairy in the nextgeneration.
So that's when I started to putmy thinking hat on and I was
like, okay, let's, what's themost, or what's the biggest area
that the dairy industry needsfixing?
And I found that it was badagriculture policy in the state

(03:26):
legislature that needs fixingthe most.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
Okay.
So you felt like you could makea difference in help solve some
of these problems.
So, so you talked about 40dairies in the state right now.
What did it look like 10 yearsago?
What did it look like 20 yearsago?
How many dairies?

Speaker 2 (03:43):
So the governor actually gave a address about
this, um, probably two weeksago.
And I think he said in the 1930sthere 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.

(04:04):
Okay.
And then, uh, the big impactthat we, that I remember seeing
on those charts was the, the, Ithink it was the dairy buyout
program in like the eighties,the seventies, eighties that
really took a hit in the dairyindustry.
And then just over time, theit's dairy industry is really
hard because you have to milkthe cows 365 days a year, three

(04:26):
times a day, and there's no daysoff.
And like, that's not attractiveto many generations

Speaker 1 (04:32):
.
Right.
It never stops.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
Right.
Yeah.
And Right.
I can agree with them.
It's not very attractive somedays.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
So tell me how your parents responded when you told
them that you had, uh, politicalaspirations and you were gonna
run for office.
Well,

Speaker 2 (04:47):
I think at first they were kind of joking or they
thought I was joking likeme running, but then I did the
petition way to get my name onthe ballot and I got 200
signatures within a week.
And they're like, whoa, that's alot of support within one week
and like, right.
They're like, this is more, um,unusual than, like, you would

(05:10):
think most of the time to get200 signatures, you would need
almost like two or three weeks,but I got it in within one week.
And, and then people, and thenit was just this movement that
grow was growing and therepeople were tired of the same
old, same old people on theballot and they felt like there
was a lack of transparency with,um, the previous people that

(05:32):
were serving and they felt likethey weren't being listened to
and that there was a stereotypethat we have all these old
politicians in the North Dakotalegislature and we need some new
blood in there.
So then my generation has a sayfor the next generation's
actions so that we can takeover.

(05:52):
So

Speaker 1 (05:53):
That is really cool.
So while, while most highschoolers, uh, are thinking
about prom or graduation, you'reout 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 getsupport?

Speaker 2 (06:11):
So, um, if you're not familiar with North Dakota and
the state legislature, district31 has four counties in it.
So there is, I would say over 40cities.
So I went door to door in everycity and gathered support that
way.
And it was just the slow thingsthat people liked.
My policy, I was like, here'smy, here's my platform.

(06:33):
I know my age might seem like,whoa, let's not trust this guy
because he doesn't have a lot ofexperience.
But I was like, at least lookover my platform and then
decided the ballot whether ornot you wanna vote for me.
And I, I think that resonatedwith a lot of people is that I
knocked on their door and I waslike, here's my platform.
And I shook their hand and I waslike, I would like your vote.

Speaker 1 (06:57):
So yeah.
So yeah, just kind of the oldfashioned way.
You just looked him in the eyeand told him what you stood for
and mm-hmm.
, uh, that's reallycool.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
Cause I went to a few towns and they're like, this is
the first time that, um, adistrict 31, um, candidate has
ever went here in this townbefore.
And that was very flooring to mebecause as a representative, you
should be representing yourwhole district, not just parts
of it that have population, so.

Speaker 1 (07:23):
Right.
Well, it sounds like, soundslike it worked for you.
Yeah.
So tell me if you believe thatgrowing up on a farm mm-hmm.
influenced how youspoke to the public?

Speaker 2 (07:35):
I think, I think a lot of people can resonate with
like a farming backgroundbecause, uh, the time when you
work, there's not really atimeline is basically when the
sun rises and then you're donewith work and when the sun sets.
And I feel like that resonateswith a lot of people is because
you're constantly working andthere's no time off.

(07:57):
And especially in the dairyindustry, there's always
something to do and you alwaysgotta be fixing.
And so when I wanted to run forthe legislature, I'm like, I'm
determined this is my goals thatI wanna set when I run.
And if you don't like that,that's understandable.
There's other candidates on theballot, so.
Right.

Speaker 1 (08:16):
Well it sounds like, um, you know, people believed
you and you and, and your storyresonated and your platform
resonated.
Mm-hmm.
, uh, do you feellike your farming background
made you a little bit morerelatable to the average person?

Speaker 2 (08:32):
I feel like it did.
I feel like, um, I feel like ifit would've been just one random
18 year old that maybe mm-hmm.
was a city kid, itprobably would've been a lot
harder because my family has alot of ties in the community.
Since we're a dairy farm, wehave a lot of relationships with
other farm for like, um, feedcontracts and stuff like that.

(08:52):
So I knew a lot of people in thecommunity, so I think that
really helped me personally.

Speaker 1 (08:58):
Well, let's talk about how you were accepted once
you did win.
I mean, many people would beintimidated to work alongside of
politicians who've mm-hmm.
have lots ofexperience.
But as a young candidate, whatwere some of the challenges you
faced running for office and howdid you overcome those
challenges?

Speaker 2 (09:18):
So before the primer, I think the big factor that I'd
overcome was probably fundingbecause I didn't have a lot of
money per se, in, in the budgetto 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.

(09:38):
I think another issue that I,um, encountered, um, was, um, I
think probably the, myexperience because I don't have
a lot of experience.
I'm a young kid mm-hmm.
, and, and when youlook at my resume, it's shorter
compared to the other candidatesjust because I just haven't been
around this long and I haven'tgot the opportunity to serve on

(10:01):
boards and stuff like thatbecause I'm not of age.

Speaker 1 (10:05):
Uh, in your opinion, why might a young candidate who
lacks the credentials of atypical politician still provide
a valuable perspective to anolder state like North Dakota?

Speaker 2 (10:16):
Well, I feel like a lot of the hot topic issues that
we're dealing with, especiallyin an education I've encountered
in the school personally mm-hmm.
, and I can speakwith that compared to other
politicians that they just hearabout it.
Like during the covid my schoolgot shut down, so we were put
online and you can see how thatreally affected, um, North

(10:38):
Dakota, like students overall, alot of their testing scores went
down and like just their, um,emotional level went down
because they were stuck in ahouse for a year.

Speaker 1 (10:49):
So do you think your age gives you any other
advantages?

Speaker 2 (10:54):
I, I don't say I wanna say that I have more
energy, but I think I'mmore determined to and,
and I, I wanna stay up late andread these bills and like make
sure I get both sides of thecoin.
And yeah, just be informedoverall because I have a lot of
education that I need to do inorder to succeed.

(11:16):
And I am, um, for my committees,I'm on human services and
political subdivisions and Iknow nothing really about
healthcare and I've been justgoogling healthcare definitions
the whole time because I don'tknow much about healthcare and
I'm pretty young too, so.

Speaker 1 (11:32):
Right.
.
Yeah.
We're constantly learningthough, and that, that's a very
cool perspective.
Yeah.
So if I understand it correctly,yesterday you sat through the
68th regular legislativeassembly session.
Was that your first session?

Speaker 2 (11:46):
Uh, well, we're still in session now too.

Speaker 1 (11:48):
Okay.
It's still going on.
Yes, yes.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
All right.
Well we're going for another, Iwanna say like 74 days.

Speaker 1 (11:56):
I see.
And what did you take away fromit?

Speaker 2 (11:58):
Um, so, so far I've taken away is listen first and
then speak second.
That is something that I've, I'mtaken away is because, um,
someone else's opinion might bebetter than yours.
So definitely listen.
And second of all, always have anotebook with you for taking

(12:20):
notes cuz like, I feel likeespecially when you're like
wanting to give a speech orsomething like that, having like
that little notebook to jot somelike, information down or cool
statistics or facts that reallyhelped me.

Speaker 1 (12:33):
So tell me about some of the mandates and regulations
that impact the agricultureindustry in North Dakota that
you're particularly passionateabout and how has your family
been impacted by those mandates?

Speaker 2 (12:46):
So, uh, should I discuss the two bills that I'm
doing?
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (12:50):
To, yeah.
Okay.
Let's hear this.
So

Speaker 2 (12:51):
I'm doing two, um, dairy bills that I'm hoping that
will make, um, dairy go back ontrack in North Dakota.
The first one is I define milkin the century code and that's
like our rule book.
And you might be asking yourselfwhy define milk?
And I think that's reallyimportant is because the dairy
industry almost has this waragainst soy milk and they're

(13:15):
like, well, and the consumer isgetting confused because they
think that they're gaining thesame nu nutritional value as say
milk, but they really aren't.
So with this bill, I wannadefine milk and then I want to
also say what produces milk.
Because in our statute right nowit says that cows only produce

(13:35):
milk, but that's not true.
And like I had some goat farmerscontacting me and they're
getting mad and they're like, wewanna be included too.
And I'm like, I get it.
So I'll put you guys in too.
So,

Speaker 1 (13:46):
Okay.
So the, the first bill is aboutdefining milk and then what's
the second one about?
And

Speaker 2 (13:51):
Then my second one that I'm doing, it legalizes a
sale of Ron Milk in North Dakotawith 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 awholesaler or a retail store.

Speaker 1 (14:07):
Okay.
Well very cool

Speaker 2 (14:09):
Because right now North Dakota only has two um,
processing plants, Uhhuh, and they're at
mass capacity.
So if we wanted a dairy industryor a dairy farm to actually
build up and grow, we reallyhave no place for it to go other
than out of state.

Speaker 1 (14:23):
Yeah.
So you have to have, you have tohave more capacity then, right?

Speaker 2 (14:27):
Right.
Yeah.
And the first step I think atleast getting dairy back on
track is we have um, these smalltowns in North Dakota that want
milk, but they have to bring itin from Fargo or Bismarck, but
they have a dairy farm rightdown like a mile down the road,
why can't they buy milk fromtheir local farm?

(14:47):
And I was like, well that thatshould be plain and simple.
They should.

Speaker 1 (14:51):
So Right.
So it would just make milk moreaccessible and local to them.
Exactly.

Speaker 2 (14:57):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
Very cool.
Interesting.
Yep.
Okay, so Congress is presentlynegotiating a new farm bill,
something that gets updatedevery five years and this can
have a huge impact on farmingeconomies and livelihoods.
What would your constituentsgain from this new bill?
Or what would you like for themto gain from this new bill?

Speaker 2 (15:18):
Well, I think from the state level, they want
government to leave them alone.
I think that's just plain andsimple.
They want government out oftheir life and they just want
operate their farm and be leftalone.
And I agree with them.
I most farmers hate when there'sthese regulations of like, well
this is how you have to operateyour farm, but it really doesn't

(15:39):
impact the financial, um,balance at the end of

Speaker 1 (15:43):
The day.
Right.
So less regulations.

Speaker 2 (15:45):
Right, exactly.
And I think on the federal levelis it all comes down to money.
And that's the one thing is likein those drought years, it's
really nice to have that federalmoney, but a lot, sometimes
there is, um, like there is,your hands are tied per se, when
you get that money is becauseyou get the money short term,

(16:07):
but it seems like you're alwayspaid more than what you get.

Speaker 1 (16:11):
I see.
So

Speaker 2 (16:12):
I think that is one aspect I can't really say per se
cuz I haven't seen the farm billmm-hmm.
.
But I would love like more, um,drought coverage for farmers
because that's always the worstpart, especially for dairy, is
because we have to have suchhigh quality feed.
And then if we don't yield thatgreat of feed that year, we have
to then buy more feed from otheroutta state to then compensate

(16:36):
for our low quality feed.

Speaker 1 (16:37):
Well let's talk about then crop insurance reporting.
And um, some of our listenersmay know that Topcon's tap
software and my ag data have apartnership where we stream
harvest data that that assistsfarmers with electronic records
that would help them with cropinsurance.
So what changes do you wanna seewith crop insurance reporting?

Speaker 2 (17:02):
That's a tough question.
Um, I guess I have, I reallydon't know because I'm not
really focused on the federallevel.
I'm more focused on the statesand the state's, um, objects.
Um, but I guess overall I wantthe farmer to win at the end of
the day and I want the farmer tobe getting the most amount of

(17:23):
insur farm or crop insurancethat they can because most of
the times, um, especially in abad year, these crop insurance
makes or breaks the farm attheir, with their financial
balance.

Speaker 1 (17:36):
And, and sometimes do they put regulations on that
too?
Is that an issue that when theyget funding then their hands are
somewhat tied on how they canuse it?

Speaker 2 (17:46):
I guess I haven't explored that option, but it
might be.
I can't say that I know or don'tknow that, so.

Speaker 1 (17:54):
All right.
Well I wanna put your timemachine, uh, hat on for a second
and ask you, where do you seetechnology in agriculture taking
us in the next 10 years?

Speaker 2 (18:05):
Next 10 years?
Um,

Speaker 1 (18:07):
Yeah, what, what are some of the things that we're
gonna see that's different fromtoday?

Speaker 2 (18:11):
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 nomore people in the parlor and
it's all just gonna be robotics.
The cow just walks in the parlorand the machine just does all
the work and then the cowleaves.

(18:31):
And my farm has actually beeninnovating, like we have alley
scrapers that come in and, andalley scrapers, it pushes all of
the manure in the pens in thegutters per se.
And, and I think it's just thesmall tedious jobs that take a
lot of time that technology isreplacing.

(18:52):
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, isthat I heard that there's gonna
be electric tractors and allthat mm-hmm.
, I don't know howthat really is gonna work
because that's probably gonna bea big electric motor

Speaker 1 (19:13):
For Yeah.
Crack.
Yeah.
Well there's a lot of, there's alot of companies working on it
and a lot of venture capitalgoing for that.
It'll be interesting to see howit all shakes out.
Yeah, it

Speaker 2 (19:23):
Really will be.

Speaker 1 (19:24):
So Dawson, what is your hope for the future of
agriculture in North Dakota?
Well,

Speaker 2 (19:29):
I think my hope is is that we grow the dairy industry
and we keep the last 40 dairyfarms in North Dakota alive and
we make sure that they're set upstrategically so that they have
a good balance so that they canthen pass it on to the next
generation and that they cansurvive in the drought years and

(19:50):
then they can prosper on thegood years.

Speaker 1 (19:52):
And what advice would you give to younger generations
that would be interested inpublic service like yourself?
What would you tell someone elsethat's thinking about that?

Speaker 2 (20:04):
I think I would say go for it because the only thing
you have to, or the only thingyou can do is either win and
that's awesome or you lose, andif you lose, so what there's
always next time and you justget your name out there and it
only helps you and maybe yourideas will then further generate
the next conversation for yourstate or industry of how you can

(20:28):
better what area you arecampaigning on.

Speaker 1 (20:31):
Yeah.
So when you went through thisprocess, I mean, I'm sure you
had to consider that losing wasa possibility.

Speaker 2 (20:39):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (20:39):
Uh, how did that play in your mind?
Or, or how did that make you actdifferently?
Or, or were you just ready tosay, Hey, if I lose, I lose lose
and I go on?
Or, how are you gonna acceptthat?

Speaker 2 (20:51):
I think I, I, I think I made a note to myself that I
will re, I am gonna respect theresults of whatever it is, and
at the end of the day, I put110% effort into this, and at
the end of the day, I would walkaway and, and if I would lose
and the voters would say thatI'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

(21:14):
be, is that when an electionhappens, we have to trust the
results that it happened andthat that's what the voters
wanted.

Speaker 1 (21:21):
Sure.
Well, that's a greatperspective.
Unfortunately for you, you werethe winner.
So Yeah, that was very, verycool.
I, I imagine that was a funnight winning an election and
going to bed and going, youknow, that feeling of, of
pulling it all together and, andwinning, uh, a seat in office.
So yeah,

Speaker 2 (21:40):
It felt like a dream almost.

Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah.
That is really cool.
Uh, well, Dawson, we're gonnaplay a little, uh, thing, a
little game that I call fast andfurious farming facts.
Okay.
So this is gonna help ourlisteners get to know you, uh, a
little bit better.
And I'm gonna ask you 12questions and what I need you
just to give me the first answerthat pops in your head, okay?

(22:05):
All right.
And so we're just gonna gothrough 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 anywherein the world, where would it be?

Speaker 2 (22:20):
Hawaii.

Speaker 1 (22:21):
Hawaii?
Okay.
Yeah.
.
Uh, name your favorite tractormanufacturer.

Speaker 2 (22:27):
Case.

Speaker 1 (22:27):
Case, uh, Carhartt or Wranglers?

Speaker 2 (22:32):
I gotta go with Wranglers.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
What college sports team do you cheer for?

Speaker 2 (22:39):
Um, fight u n D, fighting Hawks.

Speaker 1 (22:41):
All right.
Ford, Dodge, or Chevy Truck?

Speaker 2 (22:46):
That's a tough one.
I gotta go with Ford

Speaker 1 (22:48):
Though.
Okay.
What manure smells the worst.
Cattle, hogs, chickens orturkeys?

Speaker 2 (22:56):
Definitely hogs.

Speaker 1 (22:57):
.
Okay.
Uh, this is a milk question.
Do you prefer whole milk, 2%skim or lactose free milk?

Speaker 2 (23:06):
Uh, is raw an option?

Speaker 1 (23:07):
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 (23:18):
I gotta go with George

Speaker 1 (23:20):
Strait.
Okay.
Yeah.
Kind of a throwback there.
, uh, who is yourfavorite character on
Yellowstone?

Speaker 2 (23:27):
Yellowstone?
Um, I gotta go with, um, Beth

Speaker 1 (23:34):
Beth's.
Rebel.
She's a rebel.
Yeah.
That's great.
Tv.
Yeah.
Beth is something.
All right.
Favorite coffee brood at homeGas station or Starbucks

Speaker 2 (23:45):
At home?

Speaker 1 (23:46):
Brood at home.
Okay.
Would you rather go to DisneyWorld, the county fair or
Bucky's?

Speaker 2 (23:55):
Uh, Disney World.

Speaker 1 (23:56):
Disney World, okay.
Who is the greatest stock carracer of all time?
Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt.
Jeff Gordon or Ricky?
Bobby?

Speaker 2 (24:05):
Definitely.
Ricky Bobby.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
Ricky Bobby.
Okay.
Awesome job.
Wonderful.
Awesome job.
Well, Dawson, I can't thank youenough for joining today and
giving us, uh, some of your timeand telling your story and
sharing your passion foragriculture and serving the
people of North Dakota.
Uh, we greatly appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (24:23):
Well, thank you so much for having me on, Dan.
It was, it was awesome joiningyou and having the conversation
of hopefully growing dairy inNorth Dakota and agriculture as
well.

Speaker 1 (24:33):
And I want to thank each of our listeners for tuning
in today.
Topcon appreciates all of ourfriends in agriculture who work
tirelessly to put food on ourtables.
Farmers are the best.
If you enjoyed this episode,remember to like, share and
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(24:56):
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See you next time.
Go out and make it a great day.