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News from the Minnesota Association of Wheat |
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EU CLOSE TO FINALIZING NEGOTIATIONS WITH CHINA
RUSSIA TO REQUIRE GMO LABELING
WHY GLOBAL SET-ASIDE WON'T WORK, AND OTHER MAWG NOTES AS THE GROWING SEASON
MOVES INTO FULL GEAR By Ron Anderson, MAWG President I had a good visit with a northern MN producer recently on farm policy issues. He had the same
concerns that many of us do about farming today: Yield losses due to weather, low crop prices, high input prices, price differences in the U.S. for some inputs compared with Canada, and the need for better crop
insurance. One way to solve the price problem, he suggested, was to reduce wheat production by implementing a 10% global set-aside on the top five wheat-export regions of the world (U.S., Canada, European Union,
Australia, Argentina). It's an interesting but almost impossible proposal. I reasoned that it would be difficult to legislate, and even if it were put in place, wheat production increases in other areas of the world
would offset the set-aside amount. Remember too that the U.S. set-aside policy in the 1980s failed to serve as the answer to price stabilization. Getting changes accomplished in various policy arenas, as you would
imagine, requires a lot of persistence in telling our story and suggesting solutions. As the saying goes, "You gotta tell'em, tell'em what you told'em, then tell'em again." We've been communicating with
lawmakers for changes on all of these policy areas that concern Minnesota producers, and I'm pleased to say we're making progress. That's not just rhetoric. We really have made a difference in recent years in
influencing policy changes. Our yields as you know suffered in recent years because of scab and other production problems. However, we now have focused scab research initiatives in place, both on the state level and
national level. We also lobbied successfully in the 1990s for state and federal funding to help northwest MN producers endure the effects of weather-related crop disasters and the drop in price. The assistance has
helped many farmers in this region weather through the crop disasters and low prices. To help the farm profit picture this year, we have been lobbying on the state level to keep a measure for farm property tax relief
in place another year, and for an additional AMTA payment, similar to the federal assistance made the past two years. We also are lobbying for a counter-cyclical payment to be added to the current farm bill formula that
would be a more permanent fix to helping U.S. farmers weather steep declines in farm prices, like we've seen the past few years. The U.S. and Canada now have a joint review program in place for pesticide label
harmonization. We are working with our national affiliate, the National Association of Wheat Growers, to ensure that the review panel adheres to agreed-upon timetables for further development of the NAFTA Label, and the
ability of farmers to purchase chemicals across boundaries of the U.S. and Canada. I'm also pleased to say that a bill for crop insurance reform is now pending in Congress. The bill, which promises better coverage at
less cost, is in conference committee on Capitol Hill now and will be voted on later this spring. We're not going to solve all of our farm woes overnight, but we are making a difference. The MAWG appreciates hearing
from producers, members and nonmembers alike, and encourages you to maintain your interest in the farm policy development process. To that end, your membership support in the MAWG helps substantially, and is much
appreciated. One more thing before I sign off. The tractor cab is always a great place to do some thinking. At the end of the growing season, consider applying those ideas by participating in the MAWG's annual policy
resolutions development process. Each year around Halloween (an event which some might say, with tongue-in-cheek, is a perfect fit for farm policy) , wheat producers in the state gather to recommend farm policies for
the next year. These recommendations are then voted upon by the MAWG during its annual meeting in December, and then forwarded to the NAWG for national consideration. Please contact MAWG Executive Director David
Torgerson, 1-800-242-6118, if you have further questions or suggestions. I wish you a productive growing season, and hope to see you at the next MAWG event, Friday, July 14, at the Pebble Lake Golf Course in Fergus
Falls.
ORGANIC FARMING GAINS MOMENTUM AS FOOD SALES DRAW PROFITS Farmers are cultivating a $6 billion organic foods industry that has been growing 20 percent to 24 percent yearly over nine years. Farmers across the nation and in
Oklahoma are considering organic production as more Americans decide to plunk down extra cash for organically produced foods. Read more at 2000 SESSION - TWELFTH WEEK (April 17 - 23) The House and
Senate met for three days this week and recessed for Easter on Wednesday afternoon. There are only 10 legislative days left, and there is still no agreement on the tax bill. The Senate is sticking to the
Finance Department figure of $549 million for tax cuts, while the House has been insisting on $850 million. Part of the House argument is that Finance grossly understated the past 18 budget forecasts, by billions
of dollars, and therefore there is more money available than $549 million. The Governor stands by his agency at $549 million, but he wants to reduce license tab fees rather than cut taxes. With three parties
negotiating, there is little movement. FEEDLOTS. The bill to change the proposed feedlot rules (HF-3692, Kuisle and SF-3443, Sams) has been signed by the Governor after the Senate passed the conference
committee report on Monday. It does not fix everything in the rules but it does go a long way toward making the proposed rules more reasonable. The conference committee report was adopted by the House 72-58
and by the Senate 43-22, with our friends listed below. The following HOUSE REPUBLICANS voted for the feedlot bill: Abeler, Abrams, Anderson, B., Boudreau, Bradley, Broecker, Buesgens, Clark, J., Daggett, Davids,
Dehler, Dempsey, Dorman, Erickson, Finseth, Fuller, Gerlach, Goodno, Gunther, Haake, Hackbarth, Harder, Holsten, Howes, Holberg, Kielkucki, Knoblach, Krinkie, Kuisle, Larsen, P., Lindner, Mares, McElroy, Molnau, Mulder,
Ness, Nornes, Olson, Osskopp, Ozment, Paulsen, Pawlenty, Rifenberg, Rostberg, Seagren, Seifert, M., Smith, Stanek, Stang, Storm, Swenson, Sykora, Sviggum, Tingelstad, Van Dellen, Vandeveer, Westerberg, Westfall,
Westrom, Wilkin, Wolf, and Workman. The following HOUSE DEMOCRATS voted for the bill: Huntley, Jennings, Juhnke, Lieder, Opatz, Pelowski, Schumacher, Skoe, and Wenzel. The following SENATE DEMOCRATS voted for
the bill: Hanson, Janezich, Johnson, DE, Johnson, DH, Kelley RC, Kinkel, Langseth, Lourey, Metzen, Moe, Murphy, Piper, Pogemiller, Sams, Samuelson, Solosn, Stumpf, and Vickerman. The following SENATE REPUBLICANS voted
for the bill: Belanger, Day, Dille, Fishbach, Frederickson, Kierlin, Kiscaden, Klies, Knutson, Larson, Lesweski, Limmer, Neuville, Oliver, Olson, Ourada, Pariseau, Robertson, Robling, Runbeck, Scheevel, Stevens,
Terwilliger, and Ziegler. INDEPENDENTS Berg (Senate) and Reuter (House) also voted for the bill. If you do not see your legislator on the list above, that person did not vote for this important bill. If
you recognize a name it would be a good gesture to write or call that person to say thank-you for assisting the livestock industry. WOLF BILL. Last week the Senate was unable to get the conference
committee report on the wolf management bill passed. The first attempt failed 32-33, and then on Monday Senator Moe asked if someone would reconsider the vote. The motion to reconsider also failed
32-32. After that, Moe decided to effectively take this bill away from Senator Laidig because of all the games he has been playing with this important issue. Moe called up the game and fish fee increase bill
(HF-3046, Krentz), amended on the wolf management plan, and took the vote. Since most everyone supports the DNR funding increase, the bill passed 56-7. The irony is that Senator Krentz was Laidig's close pal
on this last year, and she even assumed the chief authorship of the bill for awhile. The House needs to concur in the Senate amendments to the fee increase bill or go to a conference committee. AG POLICY BILL.
The Senate also passed SF-3223 (Sams), the omnibus ag policy bill on Wednesday. This bill does not contain any funding items, but instead contains policy language changes. This bill is headed for
conference, because the House version contains the language allowing farmers to form limited liability companies and the Senate version does not. As in the past, just about every ag group in the state supports
LLCs except the Farmers Union. The DFL-controlled Senate has been getting pressure from the Union and various church-based groups to keep the LLC language out of this bill. FIBROWATT BILL. The bill
allowing poultry litter to qualify as biomass fuel was passed by the House 105-24 on Monday and the Senate 50-15 on Tuesday. There was overwhelming support for this initiative as evidenced by the wide vote
margins. Even the environmentalists has a hard time opposing this bill because it will help growers eliminate the need for stockpiling in many cases. Biomass fuel is more expensive, but that was the
agreement by NSP back in 1994 when they agreed to purchase 125 megawatts of biomass fuel in exchange for storing nuclear casks at Prairie Island. Fibrowatt can fill up to 50 megawatts of this mandate. And
that's not all: Fibrowatt has agreed to co-burn alfalfa pellets, which will help the MnVAP project, and is also interested in burning other agricultural by-products, such as dried beet pulp and oat hulls. The
Governor signed the bill this afternoon. The next step is to begin the approval process with the Public Utilities Commission and start the lengthy process of securing permits from the MPCA. PRODUCER CONTRACTS.
SF-3070 (Frederickson) and HF-3534 (Harder), a bill that makes three changes to the law governing agricultural production contracts, has been passed by the House and the Senate and may go to a conference
committee. The first change requires that a contract be readable and legible, much like insurance contracts are required to be. The second change requires the processor to disclose the risks associated with
the contract. The third change gives the farmer a three-day review period before it takes effect. The bill also has a number of exemptions to the above requirements. Contracts that are for a specific
amount of commodity, cash grain sales, futures contracts, producer-to-producer contracts, and contracts between a stock cooperative an its own members are exempt. The bill was also amended by the Senate to require
that only "material" risks need to be disclosed. The term "material" in contract law generally means the risk must be related to or relevant to the contract. The House will either accept the Senate
amendments or the bill will need to go to a conference committee. MTBE PROHIBITED. SF-2946 (Vickerman) and HF-3292 (Dorman) would prohibit the use of MTBE as an oxygenate in Minnesota. Under the
bill, gasoline sold after July 1, 2000 may not contain more than one-half of one percent of MTBE, and after July 1, 2005, no amount of MTBE may be sold in the state. Banning the use of MTBE as an oxygenate
strengthens the use of ethanol in Minnesota. The bill has been passed and is awaiting the Governor's signature. COOP REGISTRATION BILL. SF-2783 (Knutson) and HF-3066 (Seifert, J.), the Secretary of
State's bill regulating annual registrations of business corporations in the state has been signed by the Governor. This bill is of interest to cooperatives because it contains a provision that requires
cooperatives to complete a registration statement once every two years. There is also a provisions stating that the penalty for failing to file is dissolution of the cooperative, with a one year grace period for
automatic reinstatement. The penalty provision is consistent with the law relating to regular business corporations. ARTICLE NINE. The bill that would make Article 9 of Minnesota's Uniform
Commercial Code, HF-1394 (Pawlenty) and SF-1495 (Hottinger), has been signed by the Governor. For the past several years, a national group of attorneys has been working on a model Article 9 bill that they hope all
fifty states will adopt. For example, one of the changes in the bill goes to a state-wide central filing system instead of the current county system because so much commerce is done nationally and internationally
that a central filing system makes sense. One of the issues that will be addressed next year is the priority of current liens under chapter 514, which includes ag input liens available to farm suppliers, because
this bill may preempt the priority of those liens after July 1, 2001. |
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