Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was elected Tuesday to serve as Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture, replacing David Scott of Georgia.

“I just won my D+1 district by nearly 14 points because my farmers and rural constituents know that I’ll meet them where they’re at, I’ll listen to their concerns and I’ll work with whoever I can to improve their lives,” said Craig in a statement. “My focus will be on improving people’s lives – not scoring political points. We can lower food and energy costs for consumers. We can strengthen the farm safety net and open the doors of opportunity to new and beginning farmers. And we can ensure that nutrition assistance programs are available for the Americans who need them.”

Agriculture groups were quick to praise Rep. Craig. American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall says Rep. Craig has a long history of working in a bipartisan manner to advance the needs of America’s farmers and ranchers.

“Her leadership is needed now more than ever, as farmers face economic headwinds including inflation, high supply costs and decreasing commodity prices. Those challenges can quickly become a crisis if they’re not addressed with a new, modernized farm bill. Congress has kicked the can down the road too many times. Now is the time to act. We stand ready to work with Rep. Craig to ensure passage of a new 5-year farm bill and to address other matters important to agriculture and rural America.”