Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of the Board, SCOTTS MIRACLE-GRO CO
FULL INTERVIEW: Jim Hagedorn discusses successes of past term, future of healthcare
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About James Hagedorn
In a March 2026 interview on The CEO Series, ScottsMiracle-Gro CEO Jim Hagedorn discussed the company's $2 billion loss from its investment in cannabis. Hagedorn described the loss as "the worst thing ever" and said he was "afraid" of "almost running this company into the garbage." He stated that the company viewed cannabis as an "early mover advantage" and that the acquired companies were "really good companies," but acknowledged the investment was a mistake. Hagedorn attributed part of the difficulty to the federal illegality of cannabis, noting that businesses in that sector cannot deduct expenses, resulting in an effective tax rate "north of 75%." Hagedorn also offered his views on leadership more broadly, saying "the state of leadership is abysmal" from President Trump down to "the mega cap." He contrasted the cannabis investment with the company's current position, stating that "the investment error is sucked out of the room" and that investors can now choose between companies like Nvidia or ScottsMiracle-Gro, which he described as a "seasonal little company with this family ownership."
Transcript (11 segments)
✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Narrator0:00
Representative Jim Hagedorn narrowly beat his opponent Dan Feehan in 2018 by less than half a percent, approximately 1,300 votes, and this year is also slated to be a close one. While in office, Hagedorn has said one of his main priorities is to decrease the reach of government on your life. This means decreasing taxes and rolling back excessive regulations. But Feehan, a veteran teacher and former Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon, believes his pedigree proves he is the person to deliver the much-wanted changes in health care and the economy. Today, we are hearing from both candidates making their case to voters.
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Interviewer0:38
First, I am joined live by Representative Jim Hagedorn. Welcome, Congressman. Thanks so much for joining us today.
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James Hagedorn0:44
Thank you. It's great to be with you.
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Interviewer0:46
So, why do you believe voters should keep you in office? What's your case to voters now that we are less than a month out?
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James Hagedorn0:53
So, in '18 we won a close race, but we overperformed. I was one of only two Republicans in the country to take back a Democrat seat. And since then, every step of the way, I've been looking out for the interests of the district and delivering for Southern Minnesotans first and foremost. Making sure that our farmers were sustained, get the ethanol program worked on the way Congress intended, expand trade through the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, and then to make sure that we minimized our losses during the coronavirus pandemic. Secondarily, I've been very supportive of small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Employee Retention Tax Credit, which I worked with Congressman Pappas, a Democrat, to get through. And finally, and this is very important for Rochester, looking out for our world-class medical care and making sure that our rural hospitals are sustained. Whether it was money through the Coronavirus Cares Act to make sure that we had proper funding, getting rid of onerous regulations from the FDA so Mayo could do their plasma trials and things like that, I've looked out for the district. Lastly, I'm a big supporter of the police, and I have the endorsements of the Fraternal Order of Police in Minnesota and the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association. I'm proud of that, and I defend them 100%.
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Interviewer2:08
And Congressman, you did touch on this in your previous response, but specifically, what would you say to those who have been negatively impacted during this pandemic? How have you served them, and what do you see happening moving forward?
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James Hagedorn2:20
We made sure that we had the testing, protective equipment, everything possible. I tried to support the President when he took the initiative to close down travel with China and other places, which I think saved a lot of lives. And most importantly, I've stood up for the hospitals, small businesses, schools, people that wanted to have high school sports, to say that the Governor was a little bit over the top in his arbitrary decrees, and we needed to open up Minnesota so we could save those businesses. We've done a lot of harm through what I would say are lockdowns to people that are relatively healthy and young and not that vulnerable. And unfortunately, the state of Minnesota hasn't done a very good job protecting those most vulnerable in our nursing homes.
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Interviewer2:58
And about 45 seconds remaining on the clock here, Congressman. Is there anything else you would like to add to our viewers this afternoon?
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James Hagedorn3:05
Well, the biggest issue for Rochester, Minnesota, is the future of world-class medicine in Rochester. That drives the economy and it sustains a lot of high-wage jobs. I'm somebody that wants competition in health care, transparency and cost, high-risk pools, so everybody can get timely, quality medical care. My opponent supports more government, more government reimbursement, which in the long run is not going to sustain the model of medicine in Rochester. It's going to hurt the economy. I will work every day to protect you from that and to make sure that we can sustain our world-class medicine and Rochester's vibrant economy.
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Interviewer3:40
Representative Hagedorn, thank you so much for joining us today.
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James Hagedorn3:44
Thank you.