Bluestem Prairie

Farm Bill 2012: Walz farm listening session and Minnesota Farm Bill Forum open to public

Every five years (or sometimes longer), Congress writes a new Farm Bill, which deals not only with farming, but nutrition programs like food stamps, energy, rural development and conservation programs. Two upcoming events will give citizens a chance to share ideas and learn about the process of writing the bill.

While the USDA's share of the federal budget is only 4.3 percent, the public perceives direct payments to farmers as wasteful; but, in a recent Farmfest forum, some analysts saw little change coming to these programs because "significant number of ag committee members representing the south, such as Texas and Oklahoma" where direct payments are common for crops like cotton and rice. The severe drought Texas is currently suffering makes these committee members pause before asking farmers to adopt major changes in the way they finance their operations.  Another panelist suggested that the new bill will adopt risk management tools, such as crop insurance rather, than continuing direct payments.

Two meetings are coming up in August for people interested in the direction of farm policy. The first is on a farm and geared toward the concerns of farmers; the second focuses on conservation.

From Thom Petersen's August 15 Notes from the Farmers Union:

MFU invites members to attend a public farm bill listening session held by Rep. Tim Walz Friday August 19^th at Warren Krohn's farm near Nicollet from 9:00 to 10:30am.  This will be a general discussion on what farmers feel should be priorities heading into the next Federal Farm Bill. MFU President Doug Peterson will also attend . . .

MFU (I'm a member) is also involved in the Minnesota Farm Bill Forum on August 22 in West St. Paul. From the Izaak Walton League:

Minnesota’s conservation and agricultural leaders will join forces on August 22 to discuss how the 2012 U.S. Farm Bill can better conserve the state’s water, wildlife, and farmlands.

Sponsored by the Izaak Walton League of America – with collaborative event planning by the Freshwater Society, Minnesota Farmers Union, Minnesota Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the National Wildlife Federation – the August 22 forum is scheduled from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Dakota Lodge, 1200 Stassen Lane, West Saint Paul.  A major component of the event will be a panel of Minnesota agricultural producers discussing what federal farm programs mean to them and conservation on their land.

Featured speakers include representatives from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture; the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Brad Redlin from the Izaak Walton League of America, and Gary Botzek with the Minnesota Conservation Federation. Among the topics to be discussed:

• Minnesota farmers’ priorities for the 2012 Farm Bill;
• How the 2012 Farm Bill can help protect water quality and conserve farmlands; and
• Benefits to Minnesota’s wildlife through effective farm policy.

“Every five years, a massive piece of legislation called the Farm Bill determines how tens of billions of federal tax dollars will be spent to shape American agriculture. These sessions will help all Minnesotans – from anglers to farmers – better understand how the Farm Bill impacts our water, air, land and how we can better shape conservation and farm priorities,” said Gene Merriam, Freshwater Society.

The Izaak Walton League of America is spearheading events in five Midwest states – Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin – to discuss the needs and opportunities for the 2012 Farm Bill. The goal is to gain public input from all types of citizens on the effective role of the Farm Bill in supporting an agricultural system that achieves stewardship, prosperity, and fairness.

“That means federal farm policies should support agricultural practices that are good for farmers, good for the environment, and good for America,” said Brad Redlin, agricultural program director of the Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA).

The U.S. Farm Bill sets federal policy for agriculture, energy, conservation, nutrition, and rural development. The last bill, passed in 2008, was called the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 and carried a price tag of $288 billion. In today’s tough economic times, funding for the Farm Bill will be under increased scrutiny, which underscores the importance of public involvement at these initial stages, event organizers explained.

“Conservation Compliance can help ensure that where public money is invested, the public’s interests are protected by requiring basic levels of protections for soil, water, and wetlands. Compliance actions require no additional Farm Bill investment – in fact, they can result in saving federal dollars.” Redlin said.

For more information about the Izaak Walton League of America and the Farm Bill go to www.iwla.org/agconservation. More about Conservation Compliance is contained in IWLA issue briefs:

• The Conservation Compliance Covenant: Issue Brief I
• Conservation Compliance and Crop Insurance: Issue Brief II

The Minnesota Farm Bill Forum is free and open to the public.  To attend, please RSVP by visiting http://farmbill.eventbrite.com or by contacting Gwen Steel at (651) 649-1446.

Photo: Butterfly weed, a native prairie plant that often shows up as a bright spot in conservation programs.

Shucks, folks: former Rep. Ted Suss planning 2012 state legislative bid in southwest Minnesota

Many DFLers from across the state know that a trip to Farmfest offers a chance for a side trip to a great corn-fed fundraiser out at Ted Suss's place near Lucan (and a visit to the wonderful Brau Brothers brewery, too).

Depending on redistricting and 2012's political winds, they might be seeing more of him in St. Paul come 2013. PIM's Charley Shaw reports in Former legislator Ted Suss planning 2012 run:

Ted Suss, a former DFL legislator who served in the state House in the 1970s, plans to run for the Legislature again in 2012.

Suss, who lives on a farm near Lucan in southwestern Minnesota, plans to retire as superintendent of the Wabasso Public Schools at the end of the upcoming school year and will devote his time to campaigning.

Suss told PIM he hasn’t decided if he will run for the Senate or the House. He lives in District 21A which is currently represented by freshmen Republicans Rep. Chris Swedzinski of Ghent and Sen. Gary Dahms of Redwood Falls.

The results of redistricting will inform whether he runs for the House or Senate. . . .

Suss brings an impressive resume to the contest:

Suss served two terms in the House from 1975 to 1978 representing Scott and Carver counties south of the Twin Cities. Since leaving the Legislature, Suss’s work in education has often brought him back to the Capitol. In the late 1980s he was executive director of the State Board of Education and then he went to work for the Minnesota State Academies for the Deaf and Blind Schools in Faribault. He’s been a school superintendent for the last 12 years and has usually traveled to the Capitol at least once a year to talk with legislators about education issues.

Read Shaw's article to learn about how Suss hopes that expertise can help address problems created by shifting K-12 education payments in order to "fix" state budget deficits.

Photo: Al Kruse, Rep. Paul Thissen, Congressman Tim Walz and  former House Speaker Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher shuck fresh sweet corn for the 2010 Suss-Marti farm DFL fundraiser. It was totally tasty. via DFL SD 21 events page.

Free-ranging Senator Franken stops for a little piece of pie on the prairie

With the debt crisis bill passed, Minnesota's congressional delegation is out on recess--and Al Franken is using the time to visit Greater Minnesota.

It's no secret the Frankens are pie lovers, so Bluestem isn't surprised to read about this stop in yesterday's Mankato Free Press article, Franken continues trip through Mankato area:

Al Franken’s wide-ranging tour of south-central Minnesota comes to Mankato today following stops Wednesday at Farmfest near Redwood Falls, Lyle’s Cafe in Winthrop and the New Ulm Medical Center.

The Farmfest stop is a traditional one for Minnesota’s elected officials, and the famous pie at Lyle’s explains the Winthrop stop.

Winthrop is just down Highway 15 from Bluestem's national headquarters in Hutchinson.

It's too bad my state representative Ron Shimanski couldn't enjoy some pie with Al at the restaurant just outside Minnesota House District 18A, but the Minnesota Independent reports that the Silver Lake apple grower was headed far farther south.

No wonder constituents like Gus Ziemer send letters with headlines like Party politics caused lawmakers to stray from their duty to the Hutchinson Leader. Heck of a party.

Franken's progress across the prairie demonstrates there's plenty to do in sunny Greater Minnesota and that Al talks fluent Minnesotan. The Marshall Independent reports in Franken talks agriculture at Farmfest:

With a debt ceiling deal reached in Washington, national legislators are coming back to Minnesota. U.S. Sen. Al Franken was present at Farmfest on Wednesday, speaking at the main forum tent and meeting with members of the public. However, questions from audience members at the forum tended to center more around topics like ethanol subsidies and the next Farm Bill.

Franken gave an update on his involvement with agriculture-related issues in Congress. Agriculture is a key part of Minnesota's economy and traditions, Franken said. "I know that in representing Minnesota, a large part of my job is representing you," he told audience members. . . .

The rest of the article is a fascinating read about Franken's fairly technical responses to the questions--but the discourse is pretty familiar stuff out here on the prairie. That gal in the bib-overalls may not have an Ivy League degree like the junior senator, but raise a point about federal farm policy, impossibly complex, and she'll sound like the expert she is. And has to have been to stay in an brutal business.

Franken fits in pretty well with the farmers.

His remarks at the farmshow parallel a column in the ECM chain, Sen. Franken fights for future of Minnesota farmers, which touches on renewable energy and railroad issues. Go check it out.

The West Central Tribune reports in Sen. Franken talks agriculture, debt vote at Farmfest stop:

. . .Dressed in khaki pants, a dark collared shirt and cowboy boots, Franken fit right in during his Wednesday afternoon radio interview with Lynn Ketelsen of the Linder Farm Market.

The Democratic senator, back in Minnesota while Congress is in recess for a month, said he was not pleased with how the negotiations went to keep the country from defaulting on its obligations. . . .

In addition to the radio interview in front of an audience under the Forum Tent at Farmfest, Franken spoke to the crowd there for about 15 minutes about various issues facing Minnesota farmers, including the 2012 Farm Bill that Franken said he hopes is actually completed in 2012.

Franken said that direct payments to farmers and agriculture research could “take a hit” in next year’s legislation. The current farm program includes “direct payments” to farmers that are paid each year on qualifying crops regardless of market conditions, and “countercyclical payments” that are paid only in years when market prices fall below a set level.

“It seems an emphasis is on a safety net program to make sure we keep farmers farming,” Franken said.

As a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Franken said he is working on legislation to capitalize on wind energy and give small farms and cooperatives the opportunity to own wind.

Franken also spent time Wednesday at the University of Minnesota tent at Farmfest and meeting his constituents on the grounds of the annual show. . . .

The focus shifted from ag to health care for the New Ulm stop, the Journal reports in Franken talks health care, debt ceiling:

Sen. Al Franken stopped by New Ulm on Wednesday for an update on the status of the New Ulm Medical Center's (NUMC) Heart of New Ulm program.

NUMC Administrator Toby Freier and Heart of New Ulm Community Coordinator Betsy Pieser led a brief presentation on the status of Heart of New Ulm before taking questions from Franken.

The main highlight was a Center of Health Care Innovation at Allina study showing a drop in New Ulm heart attacks and the HeartBeat Connections program that provides health coaching. . . .

. . .Franken said after the meeting that he thought Heart of New Ulm was overall moving in the right direction.

"It's unrealistic to for people to expect an incredible transformation this soon," said Franken, "But, as pointed out, it's doing a good job of bucking obesity trends nationally and in Minnesota."

Health Care

Franken said there needs to be a national push to approach health care like the Heart of New Ulm, which emphasized keeping people healthy as opposed to just treating illness.

Staff writer Josh Moniz covers Franken's reaction to the debt ceiling bill in depth. Definitely worth a read.

Though Franken established himself first as a comedian, it's clear from the coverage that he's growing comfortable in his relatively new senatorial skin, at ease with policy and the wide range of people on the prairie.  Doggone it, we like him.

Can't lose proposition: Governor Dayton opens Farmfest by touting farming to farmers

Circumstances kept me away from this year's  Farmfest. Fortunately, Greater Minnesota's newspapers were there as Governor Dayton kicked off the forums in the usually sweltering big tent at the Redwood County farm show.

Sounds like the governor preached the gospel of ag to the choir.

The Marshall Independent reports in Dayton opens Farmfest; Gov. Mark Dayton gives keynote address at Farmfest on Tuesday:

Following a tradition as old as the event, Gov. Mark Dayton opened the 2011 Farmfest forums on Tuesday in the sweltering forum tent.

"Where else can you be 20 degrees hotter inside than outside?" Dayton said.

Dayton told the audience he was the great-grandson of farmers who moved to Minnesota from New York state. He pointed out agriculture was the second largest economic sector in the state after manufacturing. In Minnesota there are about 360,000 farm jobs, or about one in five of all jobs. . . .

The West Central Tribune reports in Agriculture remains vital component for the state:

. . .The governor told the producers gathered that he wants his office and the state Department of Agriculture to be “attentive and responsive” to producers. He gave out his home phone number, 651-201-3469, and asked producers to call with concerns.

“I can’t give out Dave Fredrickson’s home phone number, but here’s mine,” Dayton said. “It’s just me and my two German shepherds, Mesabi and Wanamingo, but they don’t know how to answer the phone.”

Write your own joke. The New Ulm Journal hits a slightly different note in Dayton promotes farm exports:

Despite cattle, hog and corn prices nearing all-time highs, an air of caution about the future of agriculture pervaded the forum tent as Farmfest '11 began Tuesday.

In a keynote address, Gov. Mark Dayton said he hopes to promote farm exports by leading a trade delegation to South Korea next month and a later visit to China.

Dayton said he will work on streamlining agriculture environmental regulation to make farm expansion easier. . . .

That last note might renew tensions in rural Minnesota that flaired in the "Hog Wars" in the 1990s. Both agriculture and environmental activistics of all stripes should monitor proposals carefully.

AgriNews/Post Bulletin ag reporter Janet Kubat notes in Dayton says farming is important to economy:

. . .It’s tradition that the governor comes to Farmfest, said Kent Thiesse, Farmfest forum coordinator.

Dayton gave a 15-minute speech and answered questions, wiping his brow with a blue folded handkerchief a couple times because of the heat and humidity. . . .

Following his speech, Dayton took a couple of questions from the audience, joking that Thiesse could handle the hard ones and he'd answer the easy ones. He was asked about the budget, beginning farmers, renewable fuels and the state’s regulatory climate.

Dayton plans to travel to Korea and China to promote ag exports to those nations, each paper reports.

Photos: First Lady Mingo Dayton won't take your call, but the governor might (above); Governor Dayton at the Minnesota Farmers Union booth with MFU membership director Bruce Miller (below, photo byGlen Stubbe, Star Tribune)

Guest post: Nolan Lenzen takes LSP's beginning farmer message to D.C.

Adapted from a post at Take Action Minnesota's website; republished with permission of TAM.

by Anna Cioffi

In mid-June, central Minnesota farmer and LSP member Nolan Lenzen was in Washington, D.C., carrying a simple, but critical, message: agriculture is a growing and vibrant sector of our nation’s economy, and it provides many opportunities for young producers such as himself. Yet farming is also one of the most difficult occupations to enter. Limited access to markets, hyper land price inflation, high input costs, and a lack of sufficient support networks are just a few barriers new agricultural entrepreneurs face. It doesn’t need to be this way.

Lenzen, a graduate of LSP’s Farm Beginnings program, joined beginning farmers from across the country in a fly-in to meet with agricultural policymakers in Congress and to discuss ways to expand and improve a comprehensive beginning farmer and rancher initiative that breaks down barriers to entry and gives real support to small and mid-scale producers across the country.

As was recently described in a Land Stewardship Letter profile and podcast featuring Lenzen, he started out as a conventional dairy farmer, but soon found himself on a speeding treadmill of mounting debt, an unsustainable workload and dwindling market opportunities. A few years ago, Lenzen transitioned into a grass-based organic system, finding it better for his bottom line, his cows, his family and the environment. Alternative systems like grass-based organic dairying have been a good fit for many young dairy farmers like Lenzen, but these innovative producers continue to face barriers in accessing federal programs designed to assist them with getting started.

If we want to encourage a new generation to pursue a career in agriculture, and to thus create vibrant rural communities, we must design public policy that responds to the unique needs of beginning farmers and ranchers.

Now is the time to begin discussing how good public policy can support the next generation of farmers. Policy makers are already beginning to debate the 2012 Farm Bill, making this a prime opportunity to get the message across to Congress that it has an opportunity to expand and improve comprehensive beginning farmer and rancher initiatives.

The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, a precedent-setting national initiative, is a big step in the right direction. Congress needs to continue to support and even expand BFRDP and programs like it in the next Farm Bill (click here for a fact sheet on BFRDP and here for a podcast describing the initiative). For more information on other policy initiatives that can help the next generation of farmers, contact LSP’s Policy Program at 612-722-6377.

Anna Cioffi

Anna Cioffi is a Policy Organizer with the Land Stewardship Project, one of TakeAction Minnesota’s 26 organizational members. 

Photo: The Lenzen family, via Land Stewartship Project.

KARE-11 to air "River Revival: Working Together to Save the Minnesota River" on June 12

I was born in Mankato, where the Blue Earth River meets the Minnesota at its bend. That's where the cabin that my maternal ancestors the Otts built in the 1850s now stands nearboth rivers in Mankato's Sibley Park. I think that watershed was my first love, and remains so.

Not that it's an easy love, because the Minnesota River can be difficult, flooding, muddying the waters, and dropping a load of dirt at her mouth. We all have our moments.

But I'm not alone in my riparian romance, as the coalition of groups that launched the site for a documentary, "Working Together to Save the Minnesota River" attests. The hour-long documentary (which I haven't seen) will be aired in a week on KARE-11 at 6 p.m.

Those who want to learn more about the river and efforts to clean up the old hag's image can join watch parties along the river and her companion streams. Via Citizens United for the River Environment's (CURE) Facebook event, here's a list:

River Revival: Working Together for a Clean Minnesota River
June 12th, 2011 at 6:00pm on KARE 11 TV

Gather together with friends up and down the river to watch and discuss this documentary which highlights the river's problems but also showcases the fact that citizens are doing something about it.

LOCATIONS:

Ortonville:
Headwaters Grill and Bar
17 2nd St NW, Ortonville, 320-839-2270
4:00-7:30
Hosts: Dale and Mary Homan, Duane Ninneman

Montevideo and Granite Falls:
5014 Highway 212 SW, Montevideo, 320-269-9055
5:30-7:30
Hosts: Patrick Moore and Butch Halterman, Steve Virnig

New Ulm:
Concordia Lanes and Kegel Klub
416 19th St N, New Ulm,507-354-2923
5:30-7:30
Hosts: Scott Sparlin, Jack Lauer
Call Scott at 507-276-2280
Free Refreshments will be served

Mankato:
Rounders Sports Bar and Grill
414 South Front Street, Mankato, 507-388-776
4:30-7:30
Hosts: Shannon Fisher
RSVP Scott Kudelka at 507-389-2304 or scott.kudelka@mnsu.edu

Red Wing
Jimmy's Pub 5th Floor Summit Room St. James Hotel
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Host: Mike McKay and the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance

There's even a location in the Cities for my urban hipster readers who might find it ironic to attend:

Bloomington:
MN Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center
3815 American Blvd, Minneapolis, 952-854-5900
5:00-7:30
Hosts: Lori Nelson and Shelly Miller
Call Shelly at 952-881-9055

Here's a montage of clips from the documentary, which closes with former Gov. Arne Carlson saying, "It should teach the current array of policy leaders, cut all this negative nonsense out and learn to work together."

The Youtube:

Photo: via The Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway.

Bleg: If you enjoyed this post, please consider throwing some coin in Bluestem Prairie's tip jar during its early June bleg-o-thon. To learn more, read Bluestem Prairie preservation drive: help keep a different prairie voice publishing.

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.

Senator Julie Rosen withdraws as sponsor of ag-gag bill

On Thursday, April 28, Senator Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont) moved to strike her name as a co-author of S.F. 1118, the controversial "ag-gag" bill.

The New York Times's Mark Bittman introduced the phrase to the general public in a column and blog post opposing the law it described:

Minnesota’s “ag-gag” law — isn’t that a great name? — would seek to punish not only photographers and videographers but those who distribute their work...

Rosen represents all of Martin County and parts of Blue Earth, Waseca and Watonwan counties--a part of the state where livestock agriculture is very important. Nonetheless, Southern Minnesota newspaper editorial boards derided the proposed legislation, including the uber-conservative Fairmont Sentinel.

Bluestem noted the rejection in Not getting behind it: ag country daily newspapers reject anti-whistleblowing bill:

It's looking like the Agri-Growth Council's bill to criminalize videotaping and undercover operations at ag facilities has about as much following as a manure spreader in high August.

If the Fairmont Sentinel isn't the most politically conservative daily newspaper in the state, it's darned close. The editors reject the bill on the grounds that it's not going to stop animal rights activists--and that good farmers have nothing to fear from a free press:

 

Any activist worth his or her salt is going to ignore it. Their goal is to expose abuse. Some possible time in jail is a small price to pay for these folks. And those who actually produce videos of bad behavior on farms or in processing plants are going to generate a lot of public sympathy, including among juries and judges. After all, abusing animals is a serious crime in itself. If someone exposes it, their "offense" amounts to little more than trespassing or petty fraud. The animal abuse is far worse.

Finally, no reputable farm or business that treats its animals well has to worry about any of this. And, again, that is true for the vast majority.

Since Rosen has a full plate as senate author of the Vikings stadium bill, it's likely that the drumroll of scorn for SF1118 in the local media (and constituent contacts generated from it) led her to bail on Magnus, Hamilton and the Agri-Growth Council.

And with Daryn McBeth as Agri-Growth president and spokester, who can blame her?

Related posts: Consumers are stupid: Agri-Growth Council touts Babe in a Blender Restoration Act

More greater Minnesota newpapers trash ag whistleblowers bill

Photo: State Senator Julie Rosen.

 

More greater Minnesota newpapers trash ag whistleblowers bill

In a session filled with stupid, the Doug Magnus and Rod Hamilton anti-whistleblowers bill to protect ag producers, animal breeders and kennels of all sorts may be the epitome of bad intentions paved by dumb.

As one might expect, Steve Drazkowski added himself as sponsor when he heard about this one.

Dailies in Winona and Rochester have joined papers in New Ulm and Fairmont in opposing the bill. That's a fair swath of Southern Minnesota farm country.

Today's Winona Daily News nails it in Bill just a coverup of bad behavior:

A new bill introduced in St. Paul last week seems to be little more than a poorly disguised attempt at covering bad corporate behavior.

The law, introduced by Sen. Doug Magnus, R-Slayton, would make it illegal to take undercover video of farms, food production facilities or kennels.

But it wouldn’t stop there. Even possessing the undercover video would be a crime, regardless of who the footage belongs to.

Magnus must be very proud to stand up for inhumane treatment of animals and corporations which, even after getting caught, bristle at the notion of taking responsibility. . . .

The paper rightly points out that it's not just animal facilities that will be shielded from muck-rakers:

. . .This isn’t just some anti-PETA bill.

This same legislation wouldn’t just block video of animals being led to slaughter, it might also make it a crime to show workers mishandling food, endangering the safety and health of humans.

Furthermore, telling the public what can and can’t be recorded comes perilously close to regulating free speech and putting unnecessary restrictions on a free press, which might also come armed with cameras.

Let’s call this law what it is: A shield for acting irresponsibly and a bully tool to punish anyone who might even dare to expose deplorable behavior. . . .

Read the whole thing at the Winona Daily News.

And while the editors of the Post Bulletin confuse the bill with an anti-PETA measure, they too oppose it in Banning video cameras is a misguided bill, correctly noting that it would dampen other whistleblower protections in Minnesota.

Even the agribiz lobbyist in  charge of promoting this claptrap admits that the bill may be about a "conversation" rather than legislative relief :

At the end of the interview, McBeth suggested that even though he supports a bill that could make photographing farms a felony, the bill shouldn't necessarily be taken as something that anyone wants to be a law.

"Neither we nor the authors expect to pass these bills," McBeth said. "It was intended to start a conversation."

If McBeth wants "conversation," Bluestem recommends Craigslist --and on his own time, not that of the legislature.

Related post: Not getting behind it: ag country daily newspapers reject anti-whistleblowing bill

Image: Magnus and Hamilton bill probably not something to stand behind.

Not getting behind it: ag country daily newspapers reject anti-whistleblowing bill

It's looking like the Agri-Growth Council's bill to crimnalize videotaping and undercover operations at ag facilities has about as much following as a manure spreader in high August.

If the Fairmont Sentinel isn't the most politically conservative daily newspaper in the state, it's darned close. The editors reject the bill on the grounds that it's not going to stop animal rights activists--and that good farmers have nothing to fear from a free press:

Any activist worth his or her salt is going to ignore it. Their goal is to expose abuse. Some possible time in jail is a small price to pay for these folks. And those who actually produce videos of bad behavior on farms or in processing plants are going to generate a lot of public sympathy, including among juries and judges. After all, abusing animals is a serious crime in itself. If someone exposes it, their "offense" amounts to little more than trespassing or petty fraud. The animal abuse is far worse.

Finally, no reputable farm or business that treats its animals well has to worry about any of this. And, again, that is true for the vast majority.

The New Ulm Journal, more to the center, but still leaning right, writes in Don’t punish whistleblowers:

The idea of criminalizing the act of documention and reporting potentially criminal behavior makes little sense. Whistleblowers do the public a service by bringing the illegal, immoral or shameful to light. If we pass laws to protect animal facilities from this kind of scrutiny, who else might feel entitled to special protection?

We would imagine that ACORN, the community organizing group that was brought down by a couple of underground "journalists" with secret cameras, would love to be able to charge someone with a criminal act. Instead, they suffered the embarassment of some of their staff being videotaped while advising a man and woman posing as a pimp and a prostitute on how to set up a brothel in the neighborhood.

Did O'Keefe's infamous sting operation make misleading edits? I believe so--but the same defense (and redress for targets via defamation law) exists for O'Keefe as for those in the animal welfare and animal rights movements.

At least something real is moo-ving in St. Paul: Dayton signs ag bill

With all the squabbling going on, it's good to know rural Minnesota doesn't have to wait for the cows to come home for an ag bill. Governor Dayton signed the Omnibus Agriculture Appropriations Bill today, which passed with support from both sides of the aisle.

Press release from the Governor's office:

Today, Governor Mark Dayton signed the Omnibus Agriculture Appropriations Bill (Senate File 1016/House File 1039) into law. The bill appropriates nearly $79 million for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Board of Animal Health and the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute over the next two years. The sum of the appropriations represents a 5% reduction to each of the three agencies’ operating budgets.

Governor Dayton was joined at a signing ceremony by Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson, Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Doug Magnus, House Agriculture Committee Chair Rod Hamilton, Senator Gary Kubly, and Representative Kent Eken. Kevin Paap, President of the Minnesota Farm Bureau and Doug Peterson, President of the Minnesota Farmers Union were also in attendance.

Signing the bill, Governor Dayton said, “This first appropriations bill is another example of excellent bi-partisan cooperation, for which I thank the Committee Chairs, Ranking Democrats, and Commissioner Frederickson. It is a model for how we can work together and compromise in order to reach a conclusion.

“I also commend Commissioner Frederickson and his staff for increasing the efficiency of the Department of Agriculture by merging two agency divisions. They have achieved a 5% operating budget reduction without any loss of services to Minnesota citizens.”

The bill adopts a number of recommendations from Governor Dayton’s budget proposal including:
- Implementing a 5% reduction to Minnesota Department of Agriculture agency operations;
- Paying out all remaining ethanol deficiency payments in the first year of the biennium at a total of $13.114 million;
- Providing funds to improve food safety through increased inspections of food retailers and manufacturers;
- Providing funds to protect farmers and fertilizer applicators by increasing inspections of anhydrous ammonia storage tanks; and
- Moving Minnesota forward into the next generation of the alternative fuels economy by allocating $5 million from the ethanol producer payment program (which is to be ended) to Next Gen Energy Grants and to grants and loans through the Agricultural Growth, Research and Infrastructure (AGRI) fund.

Photo: The First Swedish Independent Baptist Church of Collinwood, Meeker County, Minnesota.

Consumers are stupid: Agri-Growth Council touts Babe in a Blender Restoration Act

So far, the reaction against bills introduced in the Minnesota House and Senate that would impose increased penalties for trespassing and destroying property used for animal and crop agriculture, while imposing new penalities for video recording, audio taping and undercover investigations has focused mostly on cruelty to animals.

Missed in that? Cruelty to the free exchange of information in a marketplace.

The reactionary language pushed by the Agri-Growth Council--of dubious constitutionality when banning the instruments for expressing the rights of the free press--illustrates just how stupid corporate interests can be. At a time when a significant share of the consumer food market is clamoring to know about their food, the Agri-Growth Council seeks to impose a government-enforced ban on information. Maybe that's what that big party the Council threw for the RNC in 2008 that the journos loved so much was all about.

This is good business practice?  Asymmetric information about quality of the product tipped to the seller's advantage? Seriously?

Go ahead: tell the consumers you think they're stupid and so unable to discern the truth about images surrounding agricultural protection, that the only recourse for the horny-handed tillers of the soil and cagers of red-eyed hens is to turn to government to ban camcorders, audio tape and investigative researchers and reporters.

I'm sure that will do wonders for agri-business's image. What's next? A food libel bill like the one that brought Oprah to trial?

Here's a hint about markets, guys. Theorists going back to Adam Smith have thought that markets work really well when there's free-flow of information. Let consumers gain confidence that your operations don't involve practices they object to, and they'll buy your products.

I've looked over the bill's language, and frankly, I don't find the sections about imposing higher penalties for trespassing and destruction or tampering with facilities, crops or animals to be objectionable. Whether ideologically motivated or not, vandalizing farms is a problem, especially since fields and production facilities are often remote from law enforcement. That part of the bill could help address this very real problem in rural Minnesota.

But placing these facilties behind a wall of secrecy will only encourage distrust of food production in America. Stories of dead chickens fed to live ones and the notorious "babe in a blender" practice by hog farmers in the 1990s? You want them? Really? Or the case that the Strib notes has motivated this bill's introduction:

Late last year, an investigator sent by the Humane Society into a large turkey hatchery in Willmar captured video images of practices that included workers tossing sick, injured or surplus animals into grinding machines while still alive. A company spokesman said at the time that the video showed acceptable industry practices but acknowledged that some of its employees' actions appeared to violate the company's animal welfare policies.

Perhaps industry could change its practice to accommodate what the market demands. Hoodwinking your customers might not be the best solution to the problems that this and other videos document. (There's also the possibility that this bill could be considered the Michael Vick Shield Law, by providing cover for those engaging in dog and cock fighting).

While the actual practice of public relations pioneer Ivy Lee had a very dark side, he did spin a theoretical maxim that might be helpful for the Agri-Growth Council:

"Tell the truth, because sooner or later the public will find out anyway. And if the public doesn't like what you are doing, change your policies and bring them into line with what people want."

And if you can't take apocryphal advice from William S. Burroughs uncle, I don't know what to tell you.

Images: Rod Hamilton, author of the House version (above); A promotion for the Agri-Growth Council's big 2008 party (below).

Disclosure: I serve as the president of the McLeod County Farmers Union. The Minnesota Farmers Union has not taken a position on the Magnus and Hamilton bills.

"10x more awesome": facing loss of Badgercare, farmers to join workers' protests Saturday

The tractorade, a tool for agrarian protest developed by the American Agriculture Movement in 1979, is being revived in Wisconsin.

In ‘Tractorcade’ moves farmers into budget debate, the Wisconsin Farmers Union reports:

Farmers, many driving their tractors, will descend upon the Wisconsin Capitol Saturday to express concerns about the effects Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget repair bill and 2011-2013 biennium budget would have on rural Wisconsin.
 
The farmers will be part of the Farm Labor Tractorcade, hosted by Wisconsin Farmers Union and Family Farm Defenders. The rally on capitol square and at the capitol will include music and presentations by farmers speaking out against the governor’s proposals.
The event will start at noon.
 
“There’s plenty in the bills which, if they’re passed, would really hurt farmers and rural communities,” said Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden, a Westby-area dairy farmer. “Our members have been telling us they want their voices heard, so we’re giving them the forum for the governor and Legislature to get the message that there are problems with the bills.”
 
The budget repair bill would threaten BadgerCare, on which more than 11,000 state farm-family members depend for health insurance coverage, and would nearly eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees. The biennial budget takes more than $800 million from public schools while allowing 0 percent levy increases without referendum -- which means small rural schools each would have to either increase farmers’ property taxes by hundreds of thousands of dollars or drastically cut programs. Shared revenue cuts to municipalities also would make it difficult for townships to offer services.
 
Organizers of Saturday’s event say those issues would greatly hurt family farmers and their rural communities. Just as important, efforts to cut public workers’ collective bargaining rights is an affront to the collective bargaining process, in which family farmers participate through cooperatives and pooling.

“Farmers need to stand behind workers and their freedom to collectively bargain,” said Family Farm Defenders vice president Joel Greeno, a Kendall-area dairy farmer. “All farmer cooperatives depend upon the same principle, so any attempt to take away that right needs to be challenged.  If you lower the bar for anyone, you ultimately lower it for everyone else. Just because farmers are going bankrupt due to unfair prices doesn’t mean workers should lose living wages, too. There is no way to repair the budget until we restore fairness to the whole economic system.”
 
“A lot of family farmers depend upon BadgerCare because they have no other insurance options,” said Tony Schultz, a member of WFU and FFD and an Athens-area community-supported agriculture farmer. “Many of our CSA customers also happen to be teachers, nurses, and other public workers so this backward proposal has a direct impact on our future livelihood.”
 
Von Ruden said the bills, which together would remove $1.25 billion from school and municipal aids, shouldn’t be a partisan issue.
 
“Many of these important programs were implemented by Tommy Thompson’s administration,” Von Ruden said. “He saw the importance of creating two-thirds state school funding and BadgerCare, which was backed by the Doyle administration. Gov. Walker keeps saying he’s giving schools and municipalities the tools to cut costs and somehow be able to operate better than they operate now. But the only tool we see the governor providing is a hammer to smash things.”
 
Farmers who take their tractors to the event will gather in a downtown Madison parking lot and drive their tractors to the capitol. Anyone interested in driving their tractor or providing a tractor for another farmer to drive should contact Greeno at (715) 463-7634.
 
Donations to help offset farmers’ expenses for taking their tractors to Madison are being accepted at http://www.razoo.com/story/Farmer-Labor-Tractorcade-Fund?1299566160.

There's even a Facebook page if you want to sign up. Boing-boing noted:

This has been a very weird event, by U.S. standards. We don't often have protest movements that sustain their momentum, at this level, over this long a period of time. Hell, one day is usually the maximum. So it's been interesting to me to see the Madison protests evolve. Up next, apparently, are theme protests. Next Saturday, March 12, starting at noon, it's farmer-labor day at the Wisconsin Capitol Building—with farmers from across the state set to bring a tractorcade of support to the protesters in Madison. Yes. A tractorcade. This just got 10x more awesome.

Farmer and labor alliances are nothing new for Midwest Unrest. North Dakota was home to the Non-Partisan League. In Minnesota, the Farmer-Labor  Federation, later the Farmer-Labor Association, united rural and urban citizens.

Photos: A flag-draped John Deere from the 1979 tractorcade (above); a Farmer-Labor Party campaign vehicle from 1925, via the MSHS (below).

Note: I'm active in the Minnesota Farmers Union.

Sustainable Farming Association chapter to meet in Clarks Grove on March 12

The Austin Herald reports in Local food focus of sustainable farming meeting:

After a three year study about land conservation and farming, Lansing Shepard and Paula Westmoreland are ready to share their findings with area farmers.

The Sustainable Farming Association holds its annual meeting March 12 in Clarks Grove and welcomes the two researchers.

Lansing has a background in writing and conservation, and Westmoreland is trained in permaculture — a farm design based on natural processes.

The public is welcome at 9 a.m. to listen to the findings. Together, the two researchers will present their findings from projects in the Blue Earth River basin, which were compiled into a recently published book: “This Perennial Land.” . . .

The calendar for the state's SFA notes that this is the South Central chapter's annual meeting and provides more details:

The meeting will start at 9 AM with registration followed by a short business meeting of the S. Central chapter that is open to the public. The rest of the morning will be devoted to the presentation by Lansing and Paula. A soup and bread lunch will precede the talk by Michael Cotter. The meeting will end with two sessions running at the same time. One of the two sessions will be devoted to information on government conservation programs lead by area conservationist, Jim Jirik. The other session, on marketing locally grown foods, will be led by S. Central Chapter member, Jill Louters, and a panel of other S. Central members.

This meeting is open to the public. Lunch is available for $5. The church where the meeting will be held can be found by traveling west from the I 35 exit for Clark Grove to 1st Ave. SE and going 2 blocks South on this street. For information call 507 256-4876.

 

Al picks Al: Franken hires Juhnke to handle agriculture

The turkeys in west central Minnesota thought they'd gotten rid of former state representative Al Juhnke, but he's back to serve agriculture, energy and environmental outreach in Minnesota.

From a press release via ECM Publishers, Sen. Franken hires former State Rep. Juhnke to handle agriculture, energy, environmental outreach in Minnesota:

U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)  announced today (Wednesday, March 2) that he has hired former State Representative and chairman of a key House agriculture committee, Al Juhnke, to handle agriculture, energy and environmental outreach for him in Minnesota.

“Al Juhnke understands how important agriculture, energy, and the environment are to creating jobs and spurring economic development in Minnesota,” Sen. Franken said.  “He has spent years working closely with key Minnesota groups, stakeholders, and communities on these issues and knows how important they are to our state’s economy and its future. We’re all lucky to have him back in a role where he’s serving the people of Minnesota.” 

Juhnke, who served 14 years in the State Legislature, chaired the House Agriculture & Veterans Affairs Finance Committee.  He will be stationed in his hometown of Willmar, but will travel throughout Minnesota on Sen. Franken’s behalf.  

During his time in the State Legislature, Juhnke was recognized for his work on bio-fuels and renewable energy, helping make Minnesota a national leader in those areas.

Juhnke recently was recognized by the Minnesota Soybean Growers as their 2010 “Legislator of the Year” for his work during the last legislative session. Juhnke’s commitment to renewable energy is important to Sen. Franken as a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Known as @UncleAlJuhnke on twitter, Juhnke was known for his  Outstate News emails and a special affection for the turkey industry. Jennie-O, a division of Hormel, has its headquarters in his old district. Readers simply don't want to know how many turkeys live and die in the Willmar area.

Photos: Turkeys in a turkey barn (above); Al Juhnke (below).

Thumbs up, redux: Franken aide Charlie Poster to join Commissioner Frederickson at MDA

Back in November at the Minnesota Farmers Union annual convention, I captured this image of the "Three Amigos" of congressional agriculture staff in Minnesota: Dave Frederickson, then with Senator Klobuchar's office; Charlie Poster, with Senator Franken's office, and Matthew Wohlman, Congressman Walz's office. My friend Clara Sandburg, an administrative and farm intern at Dream of Wild Health, gave them the thumbs up.

Since then, Frederickson has become Governor Dayton's Commissioner of Agriculture, and Wohlman was appointed assistant commissioner.

Now word comes via Minnesota Farmers Union's Thom Petersen that Clara picked the trifecta.

Poster will be leaving Franken's office to join Frederickson and Wohlman in the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Congratulations to all three--and to Governor Dayton for assembling such great talent for Minnesota's farmers.

Photo: Left to right, front: Dave Frederickson, Charlie Poster and Matthew Wohlman at the MFU banquet in November. Behind them, Clara Sandberg gives them the thumbs up. What did she know and when did she know it? Photo by Sally Jo Sorensen.

Have your fill of sex offenders?; or, a modest proposal to the Minnesota House Committee on Public Safety

Out here on the wind-swept drifts of McLeod County, decorum appears to have restrained local news coverage of the case of Lester Prairie molester, Jason Leo Blashack; so much, in truth, that there has been none at all that Bluestem has been able to excavate from the archives of any local paper.

Thus, I learned tha the news that Jason Blashack stripped of law license after molesting 15-year-old from the website of the metropolitan weekly, the City Pages.

Perhaps the salacious details of the case restrained our chaste local editors. CP Staff writer Nick Pinto reports:

Blashack pleaded guilty last June to criminal sexual conduct. The charges stemmed from a February 2010 incident in which Blashack fondled the breast of a 15-year-old girl while the two were watching television, according to the complaint. The victim told investigators that "she froze, was scared, and didn't know what to do."

The girl told her mother immediately, but the mother opted not to report the incident to authorities. It wasn't until two months later that a mandated reporter contacted McLeod County Social Services about the incident.

The molester served 30 days in the hoosegow for the felony, and has had his legal license suspended for at least two years.

Perhaps McLeod County's editors had another reason to hold back on coverage: Blashack's own personal safety. After all, Lester Prairie isn't far from Glencoe, home base of the legislature's own crusader against deviants, Representative Glenn Gruenhagen. Indeed, a mere hop on Highway 212, then a jump on McLeod County 9 will get you to sunny Lester Prairie from Glencoe.

Earlier this week, Gruenhagen prescribed castration for sex offenders, as Bluestem noted in The cruelest cut of all: Glenn Gruenhagen recommends barnyard remedy for sex offenders. My colleagues at the City Pages take a more graphic reading of the freshman legislator's remarks in Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen excited about farmyard castration for sex offenders.

Thus, McLeod County media may only seek to protect Blashack from Gruenhagen's rapier, er, wit. From the City Pages:

With the costs of Minnesota's sex-offender treatment program spiking, one legislator wants to consider a solution grounded in our state's fine agricultural history: castration.

Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen introduced his preference for farmyard justice when staff from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program were at the Capitol Tuesday to introduce their program to the new members of the House Public Safety Committee.[link added by BSP]

The Pinto passage calls attention to the spiking costs for warehousing sex offenders; when that cost and Gruenhagen's castration solution are factored together, a novel and modest proposal for the growing problem of what to do with sex offenders becomes obvious.

Gruenhagen observed in committee: "It sure worked well on the farm, I'll tell you that."

Castrating a bull calf or shoat not only makes steers and barrows less rammy, but also makes their flesh less gamey. Given that the cost of feeding Minnesota's prison population is also an undue burden on the taxpayer (former state representative and Minority Leader Marty Seifert famously was moved to recommend taking away inmates' dessert and to offer only two meals a day on weekends), the answer is obvious.

Let's fix the offenders, fatten them up, butcher them, and feed them to the rest of the incarcerated community. Not only will the eunuchs, deprived of the joy of life, be jonesing for an swift end to their torment, but they will go to the knacker secure in the knowledge that they are finally paying back the community they harmed.

As a CBS News report noted in 2003:

"We have to make sure the rapists and murderers sacrifice like everyone else," said Minnesota state Rep. Marty Seifert, author of the state's "brunch" bill.

Admittedly, a full-grown man, not snipped before the age of 20, is said by the effete gourmands of Cambridge and Boston to be rather strong tasting like bull elk or bison, and so culinary skills of the prison food service will be tested to its fullest at first. However, the economies of the system will soon be clear to both law and order, so the police and courts will have incentive to pluck tender offenders before their beards fully set.

As I have no sons of my own to drop in the maw of the prison system-nor do I cavort with coercive gentlemen--I offer this proposal entirely as a disinterested citizen. Surely, the gentle people serving on the House public safety committee will recognise in this proposal that thoughtful problem-solving spirit which guided Glenn Gruenhagen's words earlier this week.

Reference: A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public.

Image: Castration, image via the CP.

The cruelest cut of all: Glenn Gruenhagen recommends barnyard remedy for sex offenders

This morning, the Minnesota House's Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee heard from Dennis Benson, director of the state's sex offender program.

House District 25A's Glenn Gruenhagen, already celebrated for his controversial opinions on alcoholism, "sodomy," multiculturalism, mixed gender classroom and welfare as a form of state-sponsored prostitution, piped up with another radical position, according to the MPR report Lawmakers take hard look at sex offender program:

But lawmakers reviewing the program during Tuesday's hearing questioned whether more could be done to protect the public.

"I am talking about chain gangs, where they do strong, physical labor. Which is one of the best medicines for deviant behavior," said Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, who added that the state should even consider castration.

"It sure worked on the farm."

Gruehagen did not cite studies that support his notion that chain gangs are "one of the best medicines for deviant behavior."

The Glencoe-area lawmaker's remarks can be heard here, beginning at 47:57. At the 52:40 minute mark, he cities an anecdotal story related by a longtime employee in a sex offender program that he "happened to run into." She had told Gruenhagen that sex offender lived better than many people outside of the corrections system, with softcore porn and computers at their disposal.

Benson responded that Gruenhagen's source must have worked some time ago, as the offenders had not had access to computers or softcore porn since before he started working at the program in 2008. He added that a vocational work program was available for those who enrolled in treatment.

Gruenhagen asks about castration at the 56:19 point. After hearing the program's clinical director, Jannine Hebert explain of how chemical castration only addresses behavior in a few sex offenders, Gruenhagen disagreed,  making his comment about how "it sure worked on the farm."

There's a relish in his voice when he talks about castration (he lingers over the syllables in the word), and it's obvious he's not savoring chemical castration, but the process used on livestock.

One wonders just what sort of offenses committed by barnyard animals that method cured on the farm.

On Sunday, the Star Tribune reported:

. . .state officials have recommended supervised release for two violent sex offenders who are under indefinite commitment at a state treatment center in St. Peter. . .

Photo: Representative Glenn Gruenhagen, Glencoe, whose questions hit a new bottom in today's hearing.

The Star Tribune took a long look at the program in  Locked in Limbo: A 2009 look inside the Minnesota Sex Offender Program

Land Stewardship Project one-act, "Look Who's Knockin'." explores retiring farmers' choice

Via Agrinews, comes word of a new Land Stewardship Project one-act play exploring the moral dilemma many retiring farmers face: sell their land to the highest bidder, or take a lower price from young people trying to get a foothold in farming.

Heather Thorstensen writes in Land Stewardship Project play focuses on moral dilemma:

Land Stewardship Project wants to get people talking about how to help new farmers get started.

"We've heard from a lot of young people who want to farm," said LSP staff member Doug Nopar. . . .

. . .LSP hopes to raise awareness of this problem by producing a new play, Look Who's Knockin'.

It's the story of a retiring farm couple, Gerald and Nettie, who face a moral dilemma: Do they sell their land for top dollar to the largest farm in the county or do they begin transitioning it to a young couple who wants to start a dairy farm?

The retiring farmers weresoil conservation pioneers in the 1940s. They worry the large farm won't continue their conservation efforts but they also know the young couple can't offer as much money.

The 30-40 minute, one-act play will be performed at eight locations from Feb. 17 to April 10 in southeast Minnesota. It will be followed by an hour-long community discussion. Organizers are lining up a panel of a beginning farmer and a retiring farmer at each venue.

This isn't an abstract issue for greater Minnesota. The inability of young people to become farmers in their own right creates a ripple effect throughout our communities. Locally-based farmers buy their inputs locally, send their kids to local schools, participate in local civic life. When only a few people farm, fewer people populate the countryside, and political power is lost with the population.

Readers can check out the play and join the conversation at the following dates and places:

What: Look Who's Knockin', a one-act play and community discussion

How much: Tickets are $5
Where: 
Feb. 17, 1:30 p.m. at Borromeo Catholic Church, St. Charles
Feb. 17, 7 p.m. Assisi Heights Spirituality Center, Rochester
Feb. 20,  Meal at 5 p.m. then performance at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Chatfield
Feb. 25, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., for participants of MOSES conference, La Crosse, Wis.
March 3, 7 p.m. St. Paul's UCC/ELCA Church, Lewiston
March 17, 1:30 p.m. Cross of Christ Lutheran Church, Houston
March 19, 7:30 p.m. Jon Hassler Theatre, Plainview
April 8, 7:30 p.m. The Crossings at Carnegie, Zumbrota
April 10, 2 p.m. Masonic Temple, Theatre du Mississippi, Winona 
For more info or to reserve a seat: (507) 523-3366   dnopar@landstewardshipproject.org

Freshman senator Gary Dahms sours on raw milk bill

Last week, Brian Lambert's Daily Glean in Minnpost sipped from articles about the bill to allow more liberal sales of raw milk; three Republican state senators,  Gary Dahms (Redwood Falls), Sean Nienow (Cambridge), and Claire Robling (Jordan) sponsored the measure. (In the House, Sarah Anderson, Bob Barrett, Kurt Daudt, and Dean Urdahl support the lower chamber's version).

The New Ulm Journal reported yesterday that Dahms will remove his name from raw milk bill:

Sen. Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls, said Saturday that he will be withdrawing his name from the Minnesota Senate bill aimed at making it easier for consumer to purchase raw milk.

Dahms declined to comment on the reason he wanted his name removed or even the date it would be officially removed. . . .

The bill was introduced on January 27;  Dahms' name was stricken today. The article continues:

. . .The most prominent component of the move has been the legal battle with Minnesota dairy farmer Michael Hartmann. The state has alleged that raw milk sold from Hartmann's farm in Gibbon was responsible for the sickening of at least 15 people with E. coli, campylobacter and cryptosporidium. Hartmann is accused of selling the milk illegally at Twin Cities drop sites. The investigation into the case prompted the state's crackdown.

Also opposing the bill is Minnesota Milk Producers Association, which represents the state's dairy farmers who pasteurize their milk. The organization has come forward in opposition, arguing that there is many health risk associated with raw milk. . . .

Lambert had written his digest in more colorful language:

Quite honestly, I had never read the Food Poison Journal until today. But Drew Falkenstein’s story on Minnesota allowing raw milk sales caught my eye: ... the home state of Mik Hartmann, whose raw dairy products have been implicated in outbreaks that sickenend at least 15 people in the state, and who has been at the heart of a major legal battle — one that he lost — ever since. I hope Minnesotans don't get too comfortable just because they live in one of the states where outbreaks go to die.” Uh, waiter, can I change my order? Instead of the milk shake, I’ll have a scotch on the rocks.

Mark Steil at MPR adds: ... None of the bill's three co-sponsors could be reached to discuss the legislation. The bill will serve as a forum to debate the merits and risks of drinking raw milk. According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 1,700 illnesses and 2 deaths were traced to raw milk over the decade ending in 2008.”

Expanded raw milk sales are championed by groups like the Organic Consumers Association, while opposed by Minnesota public health and agriculture regulators, as well as the Minnesota Milk Producers Association.

What changed Dahms' mind so quickly?

Update: the Mankato Free Press editorial board weighs in on the raw milk issue here: Our View: Restricting raw milk the better plan.