I don't think the face of the Democratic Party is Nancy Pelosi.

In 2011, agricultural exports hit a record high and producers saw their best incomes in nearly 40 years.

I think we all share the same goal, which is a United States of America that inspires people and leads.

People don't understand rural America. Sixteen percent of our population is rural, but 40 percent of our military is rural. I don't believe that's because of a lack of opportunity in rural America. I believe that's because if you grow up in rural America, you know you can't just keep taking from the land. You've got to give something back.

But It doesn't make sense for us to have a continued reliance on a supply of oil where whenever there is unrest in another part of the world, gasoline prices jump up. We need a renewable fuel industry that's more than corn-based, of course, and there are a whole series of great opportunities here.

Local and regional food systems are about opportunity.

Rural Americans want leaders who help middle-class communities to plan and prosper over the long-term - not opportunists who reap the rewards for themselves, leaving nothing for the people who do the sowing.