Minnesota Farmers Union

 

Notes from the Minnesota Farmers Union Wednesday October 14, 2009

 

New Ag Chair Lincoln in town

 

MFU President Doug Peterson participated in a roundtable on Agricultural issues with the new Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AK), Sens. Franken and Klobuchar, and a few other ag leaders on Monday of this week.  Peterson questioned Sen. Lincoln on dairy and anti-trust issues.  Lincoln also spent a lot of time on pork, climate and issues with the sugar industry. 

 

Ag Aprops bill passes sent to President

 

The House and Senate have approved the conference report on HR 2997, the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. The bill is now headed to the President's desk for his signature. The conference agreement appropriates $121.2 billion--$264 million more than the current level, including $12.5 billion in emergency appropriations.  

Notable provisions:

-The bill includes $350 million in assistance to dairy farmers, of which $290 million will be used for direct payments and $60 million to purchase dairy products to reduce surpluses.  Recently Senator Boxer (D-CA), who feels that dividing the funds this way will benefit producers in the Northeast and Midwest and discriminate against Western dairies, has placed a hold on the bill in the Senate until she gets a chance to meet with Secretary Vilsack and voice her concerns. 

-The House version of the bill continued a ban on poultry imports from China established by the FY 2009 bill, citing food safety concerns.  This ban had prompted China to protest at the WTO and ban some U.S. chicken imports in retaliation.  However, the House-passed conference agreement allows Chinese poultry to be imported once USDA determines that the imports meet food safety standards equivalent to those in the U.S.

-The House version of the bill also removed funding for the National Animal Identification System.  However, the House-passed conference agreement reinstated $5.3 million for the system.  The conferees direct USDA to provide them with a detailed strategic plan for the program based on the listening sessions held around the country last year, and to make demonstrable progress in effectively implementing the system.

 

Ag bill also funds wolf program

 

MFU President Doug Peterson was pleased to see a federal program that reimburses Minnesota farmers for livestock lost to wolves receive $700,000 this coming year.  The funding for the Wolf Predation Program, which covers Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan was included in the Fiscal Year 2010 Agricultural Appropriations Act which was passed by the House of Representatives last week. MFU worked with Rep. Oberstar and his staff and met with him on the issue when MFU members were in DC last month.
"This is an important program for Minnesota," said Congressman Jim Oberstar.  "The gray wolf is an endangered species and is not subject to hunting and other means of control.  It is vitally important that farmers and other property owners are fairly compensated for damages caused by wolves." Minnesota's wolf population dropped to an all-time low of about 750 by the early 1960s, but since the Endangered Species Act was passed in the late 1970s, the number of gray wolves in Minnesota has grown to nearly 3,000.  "The Endangered Species Act is allowing Minnesota's wolf population to grow, but that success means that wolves are now present in areas where they have not lived for decades.  We need to ensure that a sound management and compensation program is in place to address the problems that arise when wolves move into agricultural areas." The Agricultural Appropriations Act will now be sent to the Senate for final approval and will then go to President Obama to be signed into law.

 

Franken to introduce COOL for dairy

 

Sen. Al Franken will soon introduce legislation to expand Country-of-origin-labeling (COOL) to include dairy products.  MFU has worked with the Senator and his staff on this legislation that is strongly supported by MFU policy.

 

Atkins to Google

 

Interesting issue MFU is working on, I thought I would pass along this press release from Rep. Joe Atkins:  "If you want to call your mom in Grand Rapids or your cousin in La Crescent, don't count on using the new Google Voice phone service - they'll simply drop your call. The new online phone service offered by Google is designed to make life easier for consumers, assigning one number for your work, home, and cell phones. But to avoid higher connection fees with rural phone services, Google is blocking calls to Greater Minnesota. According to Minnesota House Commerce and Labor Chair Joe Atkins, that does more than give Google an unfair advantage over other phone services; it may actually be against the law - in more ways than one. "If Google wants to be a phone service it ought to comply with the rules that apply to phone service providers, namely providing service to rural areas," Rep. Atkins said. "If they want to be viewed as an Internet service, then they ought to comply with net neutrality rules, which require the service to be accessible to all customers. Whichever way you cut it, it seems to me Google is out of line here."  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently announced it will open an investigation into the matter beginning next Thursday. The focus of the investigation will center on the issue of net neutrality and whether Google Voice is complying with federal Internet regulations guaranteeing equal access for all consumers. In a letter to Google Vice President Kent Walker last week, Rep. Atkins acknowledged the FCC's upcoming investigation and articulated his concern that Google may be ignoring the rights of rural consumers. "Google can't have it both ways," Atkins said in the letter. "States like Minnesota may not have jurisdiction on net neutrality, but we definitely have the power with respect to the blocking or failure to complete intrastate calls."  Chair Atkins has asked for an explanation from Google. To give Google a chance to respond, Atkins said he plans to hold off on taking further action on the matter until December 1st of this year. You can find out more about Google Voice at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4Q9MJdT5Ds ."

 

NFU seeking ED Director

 

National Farmers Union is seeking an education director.  You may find a job description and application details at http://nfu.org/about/job-opportunities.  The position will be open until November 1, and location in Washington, D.C. is preferred but not required. 

 

Speakers Confirmed for convention

 

Among the speakers confirmed for the 68^th annual MFU convention Nov 21-22 in Mpls. are FSA State Director Linda Hennen, USDA Rural Development Director Colleen Landkamer, MN Ag Commissioner Gene Hugoson and NFU President Roger Johnson.  MFU is expecting a great turnout of delegates this year with an exciting VP race to replace the retiring Dennis Sjodin.  Profiles of the four candidates running will be in the next issue of Minnesota Agriculture which members should receive early next week.

 

Agenda announced, Gov. candidates to speak

 

MFU is today releasing the proposed agenda for the 68^th annual convention, the highlight will be the nominations for VP which will be on Saturday and the will be election on Sunday.  Checkout www.mfu.org for the agenda.  Candidates for Governor will be speaking at noon time on Saturday and MFU is pleased to already have commitments from several candidates from both parties including Rep. Paul Thissen, Sen. John Marty, Sen. Tom Bakk, Ramsey Co. Atty. Susan Gaertner, and Rep. Marty Seifert.

 

Policy Committee

 

MFU may need one more person on our resolutions-policy committee this year,  if you are interested please contact me.  Committee members meet November 7-8 in Mpls. to discuss proposed resolutions and then at the convention Nov. 20-22.  Committee members are compensated, meals, mileage and hotel for all meetings. 

 

Organic Conference Dates announced

 

Farmers, buyers and curious consumers are encouraged to save the date for the annual Minnesota Organic Conference. Scheduled January 15-16 in St. Cloud, the conference will feature sessions on topics ranging from growing organic foods and enterprise planning to human nutrition. Minnesota Department of Agriculture organizers expect 500 people to attend the event. Keynote speakers will be agricultural journalist Alan Guebert, whose "Farm and Food" opinion column is syndicated in more than 70 rural and farm publications, and Angie Tagtow, a registered dietician who helps audiences connect the dots between healthy soils, healthy foods, and healthy people. The conference will also offer more than 35 breakout sessions for crop, livestock, fruit and vegetable growers. A concurrent trade show will feature seed companies, machinery dealers, fertilizer suppliers, grain and dairy buyers, certifying agencies, and educational displays. Watch the conference web site www.mda.state.mn.us/food/organic for updated information about attending the conference or exhibiting at the trade show.

 

MDA Schedules Open-Lot tours

 

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is hosting three feedlot tours this month to highlight the state's Open Lot Agreement (OLA) program. The program was established in October 2000 to help livestock producers reduce and eliminate the amount of runoff pollution from feedlots in Minnesota. Producers with fewer than 300 animal units had the opportunity to sign an Open Lot Agreement, which committed them to seek cost-share assistance and make corrective measures in phases over a ten-year period. The tours are open to the public. Livestock producers, feedlot officers, county officials, and Soil and Water Conservation District representatives are encouraged to attend.

The tours are as scheduled:

Monday, October 19, 10:00 a.m.
Mike and Joan Gilles farm
29246 Hass Road, Houston, MN (Winona County)
Mike, Joan and their 10 children own and operate a 100 cow dairy.

Friday, October 23, 10:00 a.m.
Pat and Trudy Lingen farm
826 140th Ave
Hatfield, MN (Pipestone County)
The Lingens operate a dairy and crop farm within the city limits of Hatfield.

Tuesday, October 27, 10:00 a.m.
Nick and Kris Pooch
32372 CR 28
Farwell, MN (Pope County)
The Pooch family farms 1200 acres and raises 350 head of feeder cattle.

State and county feedlot experts will be on hand to discuss the Open Lot Agreement and producers' eligibility for a conditional waiver from possible enforcement if they are unable to meet the 2010 compliance deadline. I need to get to one of these.......

 

Atrazine to be studied

 

Atrazine has been a hot topic for may years at the state capitol and now the Obama administration is taking another look at atrazine.  Statement from Steve Owens, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS)  "Under this Administration, EPA is committed to ensuring the health and safety of all Americans. Administrator Jackson has made it a priority to examine how we manage and assess the risk of chemicals, including pesticides, and the Obama EPA will take a hard look at atrazine and other substances. This thorough review will rely on transparency and sound science, including independent scientific peer review. We will continue to closely track new scientific developments and will determine whether a change in our regulatory position is appropriate."   For more info checkout: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reregistration/atrazine/atrazine_update.htm

 

 

FSA Publishes Report on Foreign Holdings of U.S. Ag Land
 
USDA's Farm Service Agency released the latest report on foreign holdings of U.S. agricultural land. The publication contains statistics through Feb. 28, 2008, regarding the 20.9 million acres of U.S. agricultural land in which foreign persons hold an interest.
The publication reports that foreigners have an interest (partial or total ownership) in 1.6 percent of all privately held U.S. agricultural land and 0.92 percent of all land in the United States. This is a 1.4 million acre increase from 2007. According to the agency, people from these three countries collectively hold more than 6.7 million acres, or 31 percent of the foreign held acres in the U.S. Maine have the largest amount of foreign held U.S. agricultural land at 3.35 million acres, or 18.7 percent of the privately held agricultural land in the state. In Hawaii, 8.8 percent of private agricultural land is foreign held. The publication's findings are based on reports submitted in compliance with the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA). The law was created to establish a nationwide system for the collection of information pertaining to foreign ownership in U.S. agricultural land. The report, titled "Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land," is available on the FSA Website at www.fsa.usda.gov/

 

That is all for now as usual, questions, comments and complaints to me!

 

Thom Petersen, Director of Government Relations, MN Farmers Union