April 1998
Addressing the Silent Crisis
By Tracy Sayler
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Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.
"As a legislator from the metropolitan area, my eyes were opened wide," she wrote. "I was hardly prepared for what I heard. The farmers in northwestern Minnesota are facing a very serious situation- truly a silent crisis."
Other metro-area lawmakers, including Speaker of the House Rep. Phil Carruthers and Attorney General Skip Humphrey, joined state and federal lawmakers who represent northwest Minnesota, at the late February hearings which attracted over 700 people.
The state and federal lawmakers heard personal accounts of how multiple years of scab, coupled with lower commodity prices, have victimized farm income and the area's farm economy.
In the Red River Valley, farmers need 47 bushels of wheat and 80 bushels of barley to break even on cash-rented land, according to statistics of farms enrolled in the North Dakota and Minnesota Farm Business Education program. But wheat and barley income in recent years has fallen well short of those benchmarks.
Farm Credit Services of Grand Forks, ND estimates that of its 1,770 farm customers in the northern Valley with short-term operating loans, about 20% have less than acceptable credit, meaning they are experiencing cash flow difficulties. Of this 20%, about 60% derive a majority of their income from small grains. The size and number of farmers which fit this category has more than doubled in the last three years.
An additional 25% to 30% is on the brink, one crop year away from joining the forementioned group. That's almost half of the Grand Forks FCS customer base, or close to 900 growers, who are at or near the brink of unacceptable farm credit because of poor cash flow.
The situation can be blamed primarily on scab, which has decimated the region's small grains crops from 1993-97. That's why solving the disease should be viewed as one of the most important solutions needed, said Tim Dufault, in testimony at the Crookston hearing.
At the federal level, more funding is needed to research scab, and it is crucial that the decline in the actual production history (APH) yield of federal crop insurance due to crop disaster gets fixed. "The declining APH is eroding coverage guarantee for standard MPCI policies and increasing Nonstandard Classification," said Dufault.
Dufault said that at the state level, lawmakers should consider an emergency disaster program to augment federal crop insurance policies, reducing propery taxes, buying down interest rates or offering reduced state-guaranteed operating loans.
State lawmakers at this writing were drafting a bill that would offer growers in the hardest-hit Minnesota counties a rebate (up to $4,000) on premiums paid for wheat and barley federal crop insurance policies in 1997.
Heartland Capital Funding, Inc., Prior Lake, MN, is one of several financial companies that will buy all or a portion of a farmer's remaining transition payments contracted under the 1996 Farm Bill. Farmers receive cash up front from their transition payment schedule, but at a discounted rate. It's legit; payment is based on form CCC-478B from your local Farm Service Agency office. Call Heartland at 1-800-897-9825 for more details.
Separately, the Northwest Minnesota Farm Wrap Project is a "one-stop shop" for farmers to call toll-free for advice and referral in managing farm financial, educational/vocational, emotional, psychological, health, legal, and tax needs. The project puts farmers in contact with specialists who can help find solutions to keep farming, or to leave farming. Contact First Call Minnesota at 1-800-543-7709 or 218-281-3820 for more information.
In North Dakota, the ND Mental Health Association operates a hot line (1-800-472-2911) open 24 hours a day, seven days a week that includes a referral service, crisis intervention, trained volunteers, a resource center and speakers on various topics relating to rural stress. For assistance on financial and legal issues, North Dakota growers can call the ND Ag Mediation Service (note that there may be a charge for some mediation services) at 1-800-642-4752 or 701-328-4769. n