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News from the Minnesota Association of Wheat |
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U.S. WHEAT GOES TO HAVANA Dickerson will present a similar wheat marketing seminar to the one he gave during a market development trip he made to China in April. It is currently estimated that
the seminar will be attended by around 20 officials from ALIMPORT, the Ministry of Food, and likely millers from the flour mills in Havana. There will be simultaneous translation of the presentation available.
"It's been almost 40 years since Cuba could purchase US wheat, so there's a lot to catch up on," Dickerson said. "We are establishing what, for any other country, would be normal market development
activities," Skalicky explained. "In addition to telling them about U.S. wheat, we want to learn from them about their issues concerning financing, logistics, infrastructure, and distribution." Last
year President Clinton announced an easing of export restrictions to Cuba. There is a major catch, however. The sanctions, which are stipulated by law, do not allow products to be sold to the Cuban government; the five
flour mills in Cuba are owned by the government. Ergo, no U.S. wheat can be sold into Cuba. "Our competitors have benefited far too long from the embargo," declared Chris Shaffer, chairman of USW.
"Other countries modify their wheat sales programs to take advantage of U.S. sanctions and reap higher prices in the sanctioned countries because of the reduced competition. Hopefully, Congress will act and the
American wheat farmer can begin to look forward to some benefits from a market that's just 90 miles away." Cuba imports up to a million tons of wheat a year from European countries and, to a lesser extent, from
Canada and Argentina, at double the freight costs that it would take to bring wheat from the U.S. Gulf. Humanitarian donations of flour to Cuba have been facilitated by U.S. Wheat Associates and wheat
states. In December 1998, 20 tons of wheat flour milled in the Caribbean from wheat donated by U.S. farmers was shipped to the Catholic Church's charity Caritas, and a similar humanitarian shipment was shipped earlier
in that year.
JAPAN GRAIN-IMPORTS OF CANADA SOYBEANS SEEN RISING Soybean imports from Canada have risen sharply this year due to their higher levels of
protein than U.S. soybeans, he said. But some traders said the rush to buy Canadian soybeans would soon lead to tight supplies. "The rise in soybean imports from Canada will likely be limited as the
country is not a major soybean producer," said one trader.
CLINTON SHOWS SUPPORT FOR RUSSIAN ECONOMY
Russia, which applied in 1993 to enter
the WTO, recently said it was ready to intensify efforts to join the organization. Clinton said on Sunday he would back Russian efforts to unblock loans from the International Monetary Fund. He also Russia should
capitalize on high oil prices to build for the future. "Russia has entered a phase where what it needs most is outside investment, not aid," he said. "I hope Russia will create a more diversified
economy." At a joint news conference on Sunday evening, Clinton said that despite the differences on anti-missile defenses, he was impressed with Putin and his economic team.
WHEAT LEAF RUST AND BYDV DETECTIONS Greg Endres, Area Extension Specialist at Carrington, and Tom
Olson, Stutsman Co. Agent, found wheat leaf rust in a commercial field of winter wheat in Stutsman Co. on June 1. They found only a trace amount, just a few pustules. So leaf rust has found its way to ND now, but
still in very low amounts. I and Matthew Gregoire did not detect leaf rust in a number of winter wheat fields in Sargent Co. on May 31. However, we did see quite a bit of Barley yellow dwarf (BYDV)
infection. Most of the winter wheat fields showed scattered infections, with the typical bright yellowing of the leaves, from the tip downward, and some stunting as well. We found a few English grain aphids
and greenbugs, but really had to hunt for them, so populations of grain aphids were still very low. I suspect that the winter wheat was infected last fall, when aphids were still active. These infected plants
could be sources of infection for nearby spring wheats this year. We did see some scattered symptomatic plants (about 1 in 100-200 plants) in nearby spring wheat fields. The detection of BYDV but low
populations of aphids indicates a "wait and see"approach for now, but also the need for careful and frequent monitoring for cereal aphids. Aphid populations are very low now, but rapid increases in
populations could mean a high risk of BYDV, especially in late planted grains. By Marcia McMullen
2000 SESSION - FINAL REPORT Despite the problems associated with the current
tri-partisan system of government in Minnesota, agriculture has fared well during the past two years. House Republicans and Senate Democrats responded to the needs of agriculture as best they could at a state
level. It should be noted that one of the reasons ag fared well is that House Republicans took an active role in soliciting input from commodity groups. A second reason is that Senate Democrats and House
Republicans set aside much of the usual partisanship when it came to ag issues. Below is a comprehensive summary of all of the ag-related provisions that passed in various bills during the 2000 legislative
session. As always, there are items below that may not be of interest to your particular group, but it is designed to give the complete picture of impacts to agriculture. I. MAJOR FUNDING BILLS
A. TAX BILL. The legislature passed a tax bill that reduces personal income taxes by an average of 2.8%, provides a $640 million sales tax rebate just like last year's program, provides a $4
per acre rebate for farmers in the northern half of the state, but does not contain any permanent property tax reductions because the Governor's license tab fee reduction took the money otherwise available for permanent
property tax cuts. The following ag-related provisions were adopted in the final bill: AG PROPERTY. The rate of the education agricultural credit increased from 54 percent to 70 percent on ag
homestead property up to $600,000 in market value and from 50 percent to 63 percent on all other agricultural land. This resulted in an estimated 4-5% reduction in statewide agriculture property taxes for 2000.
$4 PER ACRE. The legislature passed the $4 per acre program for farmers in the following 31 counties: Aitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Carlton, Cass, Clay, Clearwater, Cook, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca,
Kanabec, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Pine, Polk, Red Lake, Roseau, St. Louis, Todd, Wadena, and Wilkin. Eligible land is
the farmed acres reported on Form 156EZ, but this year, growers need to report acreage that is or will be INSURED for the 2000 crop year. The insurance can be federal multiple peril crop and revenue insurance,
hail and wind crop insurance, or catastrophic crop insurance. The cap is still $5600, which equates to 1400 acres of land. Growers need to apply be August 15, 2000 and payment will be made before October 1,
2000. AG PROCESSING FACILITIES. Materials, supplies, and equipment used in the construction of an agricultural pork processing facility (at Dawson) and a pork and beef processing facility (at
Worthington) are exempt from sales tax. HOMESTEAD TREATMENT. Trustees, grandsons and granddaughters, and members of family farm corporations living on or off the farm are now eligible for
agricultural homestead treatment. POULTRY FEED. The sale, storage and use of poultry feed is exempt from sales tax if the poultry is raised for human consumption. ETHANOL CREDIT. The amount
of the federal small ethanol producer credit may be subtracted from state income tax. B. OMNIBUS FUNDING. The omnibus funding bill for 2000 contains appropriations for agriculture,
environment, crime prevention, state government finance, health and human services, and economic development. For agriculture, the bill contains: ¥ $300,000 for organizations participating in the Farm Wrap
network and an additional $250,000 to the commissioner of agriculture for grants to organizations participating in the Farm Wrap or rural help networks. ¥ $150,000 was appropriated to Minnesota State Colleges at
Central Lakes and Ridgewater for mental health counseling support to farm families through the farm business management program. ¥ $300,000 for drainage research projects and Lamberton and Waseca. ¥ $400,000 for
technical and professional services for wetland replacements. ¥ $494,000 for expansion of the state meat inspection program. ¥ $200,000 for an agro forestry grant to produce and market short rotation woody crops,
along with language creating the loan program. ¥ $150,000 to develop farm business planning software. ¥ $150,000 for the Farm Advocates program. ¥ $170,000 to expand the Minnesota Grown label program
¥ $245,000 to the Board of Animal Health to control psuedorabies. ¥ Approximately $4 million was added to the base funding for ethanol plants to make up for shortfalls in last year's funding.
¥ The 2001 appropriation for the Dairy Producers Board is canceled. STATE CRP. $2.65 million was allocated for a short-term state CRP program. A farmer can enroll up to 160 acres of land in a
state program for up to three years. Agricultural land eligible for payment in fiscal year 2000 must have been in a county under presidential disaster declaration in either 1998 or 1999. At least five
percent of an individual's acreage set aside for payments under this program must be planted with short rotation woody crops or windbreaks. The annual payment under this program must be based on the soil rental
rates established under the federal conservation reserve program. An additional annual payment of $5 per acre may be paid for acreage maintenance. AG PETROLEUM TANKS. Farmers with
underground petroleum storage tanks larger than 1,100 gallons may have 90% of the cost of the removal reimbursed by the state. To be eligible, the tank must have been registered with the MPCA before January 1,
2000 and the reimbursement is capped at $7,500 per tank. CHILD LABOR. The penalties for violating child labor laws was increased ten-fold, from $50 to $500 in most cases. Agriculture
employers are still exempt to the extent they were before; this provision simply increases existing penalties. ALIEN LABOR CERTIFICATION. The Department of Economic Security shall have as a
goal to process completed applications for certification for permanent alien laborers within 60 days of receipt of the completed application. IMMIGRANT VERIFICATIONS. All applicants for food
assistance and other welfare benefits must be verified through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program (growers should be extra careful to verify workers with I-9 forms since illegal workers will be
easier to track at county welfare offices). AQUATIC FARMING LICENSE. The annual license fee for aquatic farmers was reduced from $275 to $70. C. BONDING BILL.
The bonding bill is passed in non-budget years and deals primarily with long-term capital investment projects, like civic centers, which are paid for over a period of years. The bill totals approximately
$640 million, and the ag provisions are: ¥ $1 million for the agricultural best management practices loan program for water quality and feedlot upgrades. ¥ $20 million to buy 15-year easements on up to 100,000 acres
in the Minnesota River Valley under the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The feds will match the state commitment at approximately 2.5 to 1.
¥ $300,000 for the construction of public or private ring dikes. ¥ $20 million for the MDA to sell bonds to provide low interest loans to farmers. ¥ $35 million for Phase II of the molecular and cellular biology
building at the U of M located on the east bank of the Minneapolis campus. ¥ $10 million to match the $10 million provided by Cargill to construct the plant genomics building on the St. Paul campus. ¥ $5.963 million
to construct a biocontainment facility in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. ¥ $1.75 million for Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) acquisitions.
¥ $1 million for the acquisition of native prairie bank easements. ¥ $1.15 million to construct a wean and finish facility for swine research at Waseca (the funds are to be shared with another project).
¥ $200,000 to establish and agro forestry loan program. ¥ $470,000 for improvements to Farm America (Minnesota's Agricultural Interpretive Center) at Wascea. GOVERNOR'S AUTHORITY. The bill also removes
the authority of the governor to control the sale of state bonds and certificates of indebtedness. When the legislature passes a bonding bill, current law means the bill only gives the governor the authority to
issue bonds for those projects. However, the governor may choose not to exercise this authority and actually issue the bonds. This bill removes the governor's control over the sale of bonds.
D. EDUCATION / U OF M FUNDING. This year all funding relating to K-12 education, higher education, and the University of Minnesota was rolled into one bill. The following provisions are of
interest to agriculture groups: RAPID RESPONSE FUND. In last year's higher education budget bill, $2 million was appropriated for ag research projects at the U of M in the Rapid Response Fund and an
additional $600,000 was added to the Fund this year. FARM BUSINESS MANAGEMENT. $250,000 was appropriated to farm business management instructors to help a greater number of farmers facing
financial hardship through the Farm Wrap and related programs. VO-AG. Secondary vocational agriculture programs for the coming school year were fully funded in the bill at $12 million. PESTICIDE NOTIFICATION. Schools must notify parents and employees when any toxic or restricted use pesticide is about to be applied on school grounds. The notification requirement does not
apply to general cleaning products. E. TRANSPORTATION FUNDING. This year's bill provides one of the largest state commitments to transportation funding for both roads and transit at $596
million. Of that, $177 million is for trunk highways outside the seven-county metropolitan area. Last year the Governor vetoed $10 million for outstate bridge repair and replacement; the legislature struck
back this year and appropriated $39 million for local bridges in the bill. II. AG POLICY BILL The Chairs of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees decided to pass an omnibus ag policy bill
this year. This bill does not contain any funding items, but instead contains policy language changes and is largely a collection of Minnesota Department of Agriculture bills. The following provisions are in
the ag policy bill: LLC BILL. A bill allowing farmers to form limited liability companies (LLC) finally passed after Senator Berg pressed the issue for eight years. Farmers forming LLCs must follow
the same restrictions as in the current corporate farm law. Every farm group except the Farmers Union was in favor and they sided with church groups and environmentalists against the bill. IDENTITY PRESERVE.
The MDA has the authority to establish a pilot program to certify entities such as the MN Crop Improvement Association to verify claims of identity-preserved grain. LIVESTOCK DEALERS. The
amount of livestock dealer bonds was increased from $5000 to $10,000 and "buffalo" was added to the list of livestock covered under livestock dealer bonds. VALUE-ADDED GRANTS. Expands the use of
value-added cooperative grants from the MDA to include assistance with organizational development, product development, development of business and marketing plans, site analysis, preliminary blueprints and schematics,
and completion of purchase agreements and other necessary legal documents. GRAIN BUYERS LAW. A provision in the omnibus ag policy bill contains language relating to condominium storage of grain and
license fees. ACCRA FUND. Another provision in the ag policy bill increases the reimbursement from the ACCRA fund for chemical spills. ANHYDROUS AMMONIA. Prohibits tampering with anhydrous
ammonia tanks and makes tampering a felony. Also, there is no cause of action against a person lawfully selling anhydrous ammonia. CUSTOM FERTILIZER. Fertilizer blended according to a customer's
specifications is exempt from registration if the invoice or ticket contains analysis and weight information. SEED TESTING. Changes the date from which native grass seed must have been tested before being
sold from nine months to fourteen months. MEAT INSPECTION. Updates the state meat inspection rules to add the phrase "poultry, poultry products" wherever the word "meat" is found in the statute.
RFA LOANS. Changes the requirements of RFA loans to beginning farmers by removing a restriction that a borrower may only receive $100,000 of lifetime assistance under the program and also increases the
amount that may be borrowed. GRAIN BUYERS. Makes technical changes and also changes grain on an un-marked elevator ticket to be considered "stored" rather than "sold." SEED POTATOES. For
crop year 2000 only, seed potatoes may be planted in Clearwater County without certification if they have passed field inspections and are free from ring rot. III. INDIVIDUAL AG BILLS
FEEDLOT BILL. One of the biggest successes in recent years was the passage of the bill to address the MPCA's proposed feedlot rules. Instead of listing all of the provisions here, a complete three-page
summary drafted by House research staff is attached at the end of this report which explains the provisions in the feedlot bill. WOLF MANAGEMENT. The compromise that was reached divides the
state into two zones. The Northeastern corner of the state is the wolf zone and a person could protect his livestock or property only a wolf is caught pursuing, attacking, or killing livestock. In the other
zone, a person could protect property and livestock at any time on their own land or can hire a licensed trapper within one mile of their property. No open season for five years after the wolf is removed from the
endangered species list. COOPERATIVE SECURITIES. Cooperatives are once again exempt from securities filings even if the cooperative is raising more than $1 million. This fixes a provision that was
adopted last year at the request of the Department of Commerce The bill also allows cooperative boards to issue cumulative dividends on stock, eliminates a restriction on promotion of the cooperative, and
eliminates a requirement that 10% of the capital stock be paid in before commencement of business. PRODUCER CONTRACTS. This is a compromise bill on producer contract rights which establishes minimum
standards of readability for contracts between agricultural producers and processors. All contracts must contain a cover sheet with an index to the contents of the contract and specific warnings of obligations and
material risks is required. The contract itself must be legible, understandable, and may include terms customarily used by producers and terms required by law, rule, or regulation. The bill also requires a 3-day
review period after the proposed contract is presented to the producer before the contract can be effective. Finally, a processor may ask the commissioner of agriculture to review and certify that language of a
proposed contract complies with these requirements. The bill also has a number of exemptions to the above requirements, including 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. FIBROWATT - BIOMASS MANDATE. Changes the NSP-Prairie Island agreement to allow burning of poultry
litter to qualify for the NSP mandate. Under the current mandate, NSP is required to purchase 125 megawatts of electricity from biomass sources, and the recent failure of the alfalfa project has left 75 of those
125 megawatts unfilled. The bill simply adds poultry litter to the list of acceptable biomass sources and Fibrowatt can fill up to 50 megawatts of this mandate. 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. ANNUAL REGISTRATION. Requires cooperatives to complete
a registration statement once every two years and 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.
ADULTERATED MILK PENALTIES. Conforms Minnesota law to federal law that amends penalties for a dairy producer who delivers a contaminated load of milk. DAIRY PROMOTION COUNCIL. Removes the
mandatory June 30 expiration date for memberships on the Dairy Research and Promotion Council and allows the Commissioner of Agriculture to establish a date other than June 30. MTBE PROHIBITED. Prohibits
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. WETLAND LAWS. This bill was brought by counties over issues of administration of the state's wetland
law. The reference to the federal farm program remained in the bill, but the Wetlands Heritage Advisory Committee was sunsetted and a DNR employee was added to the technical panel for decisions that affect public
waters. DISLOCATED WORKERS. Farmers are eligible for the state dislocated worker program if they have experienced a significant reduction in income due to inadequate crop and livestock prices. The
program provides new training to dislocated workers. UCC TRANSACTIONS. Article Nine of Minnesota's Uniform Commercial Code was recodified this year to make it uniform with other states. Article 9 is
the section of law that governs security interests of a bank when a loan is made and collateral is pledged. One of the changes in the bill goes to a state-wide central filing system instead of the current county
system and $4 million was appropriated in the omnibus funding bill to construct and maintain a central filing system. WORKERS COMPENSATION. The insurance assessment on worker's compensation wage loss
benefits was reduced from 30% to 20% which should result in savings for employers. MONARCH BUTTERFLY. A bill designating the monarch as the state butterfly which was the result of an elementary school
project passed this year. The concern on the agriculture side is the fact that claims have been made that bt corn kills monarchs but the author only wanted to honor the monarch and assured members that it would
not result in trouble for farmers. AQUACULTURE PROVISIONS. This bill made various changes to the aquatic farming regulations as they relate to inspections, licensing, and brood stock.
ADMINISTRATIVE RULE REVIEW. All state agency rules currently in place must be reviewed sometime in the next five years and legislative committees have oversight of state agency rules under this bill.
IV. BILLS NOT ADOPTED GMO BILLS. Three bills relating to regulation, labeling, and liability of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) did not receive hearings, although there were
informational hearings on the issue in the House and Senate Ag Committees. ANIMAL CRUELTY. A bill increasing penalties for animal cruelty was passed by the Senate but was not heard on the House
floor. The bill would have retained an exemption for "commonly accepted animal husbandry practices" and services "performed by a licensed veterinarian." FAMILY FARM PLATES. A bill that would have
established an agri-business investigative unit in the Attorney General's office which is paid for by the sale of special "support family farms" license plates was not adopted. EMPLOYMENT TAXES.
A effort to change the unemployment tax trigger of $20,000 in wages per quarter was dropped because the federal trigger is $20,000 and growers would have been paying into the federal fund anyway. LABOR BILL.
A Department of Labor bill that contained language changing the payment of migrant workers was not passed. TRUCK REGISTRATION. The Minnesota Trucking Association again proposed that all farm trucks
be registered in a database. Their argument is that the database is needed to mail all the farmers safety information, but the real reason is to track the trucks and develop safety ratings, just like the
over-the-road guys have. Farm groups teamed up with the fertilizer dealers and the grain elevators to defeat this bill. QUARTERLY REGISTRATION. A bill that would have changed the months of quarterly
registration of farm trucks to calendar months was not adopted. 30 DAY SCALE TICKETS. A bill eliminating the state patrol's ability to go into scale houses and look at overweight tickets was introduced in
the House but did not have a hearing or a Senate companion. Without any support in the Senate the effort was dropped. FENCE LAW. A bill allowing urban-sprawl neighbors to get out of paying their
share of fence costs by limiting the application of fence law to situations where the fence separates parcels of land that are both in agricultural use was killed in the Senate Ag Committee. EDUCATION LEVY.
A bill to exempt ag property from the general education levy was not adopted by either House. MDA HEADQUARTERS. An effort to relocate the principal offices of the Minnesota Department of Ag outside
the seven-county metro area was passed by both bodies but stripped out in a conference committee. MINIMUM WAGE. A bill to increase the minimum wage was introduced in the Senate again but did not have a
Senate floor vote or a House companion. UNICAMERAL. A bill to place the unicameral question on the ballot this fall did not get a floor vote in either body. Most legislators and the general public
did not care about this issue. Although the issue may be back, the timing associated with unicameral was the best this past year as the Speaker, the President of the Senate, and the Governor all supported the
idea. It may be many years before that kind of support comes together for unicameral. V. VETOED BILLS. AG INNOVATION. $500,00 in the bonding bill for the Ag Innovation Center in Olivia which
would have promoted agricultural innovation through technology was vetoed by the Governor. |
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