Bluestem Prairie

Ag commissioner Frederickson has signed a budget bill; now waits to learn if axe still falls

There's another budget story buried behind Senator Mike Parry's need to talk about his feelings. As demanding of the spotlight the Waseca Republican may be when to comes to acting out, the side drama is illustrative of the legislative majorities' unwillingness to share information (though emotion flows like water from a duck's back right now).

Forum papers' Don Davis's  Capitol Notebook includes this peepshow:

Shellito was far from the only commissioner who appeared wary about the legislative budget plans.

Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson has the only budget already approved, but faces a further cut if legislative budgets pass. He did not understand why if his budget already is law he would face further cuts.

“What more shall we do at the Department of Agriculture?” Frederickson asked. “What do you want me to do?”

Lanning’s response: “You are going to have to wait and see what comes out of this process.”

So, despite having a budget the legislature approved and the Governor signed, Commissioner Frederickson is supposed to "wait and see"? While the fiscal year is one thing, the growing season, with farm markets and other needs running across the summer, is another. A little common sense might be helpful, Representative Lanning.

Beating their pruning hooks into spears: combine demolition derbies

While most Americans know the passage from Isaiah about men of war forging their weapons into the implements of peace, fewer people know that the opposite formula is also found in the Good Book.

Joel 3:10 reverses the formula, and throughout rural Minnesota, old farm combines are being crafted into engines of destruction for upcoming county fairs. The drivers are studying war, or at least aggressive driving.

I first saw a combine demo derby in sylvan New Auburn, Minnesota, fortunate enough to be represented by both Collin Peterson and Laura Brod in the halls of Congress and the state House respectively. The lumbering behemoths were made for reaping, but that July night in 2004, the prairie air was heavy with the sound of crunchy metal. My boyfriend at the time, who collected vintage tractors, noted that none of the combatants had value in the rare farm machinery market.

Two years before while I was lit dropping in New Auburn, a man working in a garden cautioned me about going against divine plans. Indeed, he claimed that Earth had just experienced a near miss from a comet; God intended that as a warning for schools to quit teaching evolution. To judge by the devolution of farm equipment that night, New Auburn had little to worry about.

But for those who love a good crash, combine demo derbies are the ticket. So far, we know of several at local heats and county fairs, where the first place driver may received about a $1500 or so first prize:

Race and Crash Day, Milroy, June 27, 5:30 p.m.
Cannon Valley Fair, Cannon Falls, July 2, 7 p.m.
Big Stone County Fair, Madison, July 12, 2:30 p.m.
Sherburne County Fair, Elk River, July 19, following 1:30 p.m. demo derby
Meeker County Fair, Litchfield August 2, 2009, 1:00 p.m.
Murray County Fair, Slayton, August 12-15, date and time TBA
Wright County Fair, Howard Lake, August 12, 7:00 p.m.
Brown County Fair, New Ulm, August 14, 7:00 p.m.
Mower County Fair, Austin, August 15, 7:00 p.m.
Swift County Fair, Appleton, August 20, 2009, 7:00 p.m.

Below the fold, a video from last year's Brown County Fair derby, for those who need a taste of the action: