Last month in The lobbyists' manifesto; or, commodity groups writing bills with "unified agriculture agenda," Bluestem captured a glimpse of a meeting of ag lobbyists and commodity group representatives to hobble together an agenda:
Commodity Group Meeting. The executive directors and lobbyists of most of the state’s commodity groups met in Shakopee on Tuesday to continue the discussions on the possibility of putting together a unified agriculture agenda for 2015. Ideas include additional transportation funding, increased truck weights, regulatory and permitting reform, property tax reform, and up to $30 million to fund agriculture-specific programs such as the Farm Business Management program. The group has agreed to the above items in principle, and work on those issues will begin immediately.
That item was posted the January 21st, 2015 Legislative and Regulatory Update on the Prinsco website; Prinsco manufactures drainage tile.
In the January 2015 AgriGrowth Council Newsletter, a somewhat more detailed outline of that agenda emerges (see page 3 of the embedded copy of the newsletter below):
Agriculture Coalition Proposal
With the state looking at a proposed budget surplus of approximately $1.037 billion, several agriculture groups, including AgriGrowth, will be forwarding several proposals to the legislature asking for a variety of investments and policy initiatives. Items included in the package include:
• $30 million in agriculture productivity research
• $6 million for the Agriculture Rapid Response Fund
• $18 million in bonding for the University of Minnesota Animal Isolation Unit
• Investments in Rural Minnesota Roads and Bridges
• Investments in Agriculture Education (High School, FBM, MAELC)
• Review of MPCA Citizens’ Boards [sic] authority
• Review of DNR well permitting and water use
• Oppose state GMO Labeling and restrictions on GMO use
• Support House, Garage and One Acre on new school building levies
Some of these proposals are relatively controversial, like investing in ag research, the University of Minnesota Animal Isolation Unit, ag education and roads and bridges. Others, not so much.
On page 4, the "Review of MPCA Citizens’ Boards [sic] authority" is described:
Environmental Regulatory Reform
While other parts of the country are limited by water shortage and the need to import feed, Minnesota has plentiful opportunities with respect to both of these essential elements of a successful livestock operation. Unfortunately, new investment in this industry has been placed at risk due to recent actions by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Citizens’ Board. Beyond the costs and delays of these projects, the recent Citizens’ Board action raises real questions about Minnesota’s willingness to accommodate growth and new investment in the animal agriculture sector. AgriGrowth will be asking the legislature to review the Board’s responsibilities and powers to ensure that Minnesota can become an inviting location for responsible growth and investment in Minnesota’s agricultural sector to provide new economic opportunities for farmers, rural communities, and our entire state.
As Bluestem has been reporting for months now (google search here), the Citizens' Board has only once in its history asked that an Environmental Impact Statement be conducted on a large livestock operation, and yet one might think that the biblical Fifth Plague of Egypt had dropped every cow, calf and dairy steer in the entire state following that decision.
Nor does every AgriGrowth Council member share the notion that the Citizens' Board's power needs to be gutted. The Minnesota Farmers Union's policy supports current environmental review, as we noted in our post, Minnesota Farmers Union President Doug Peterson defends MPCA Citizens Board. Peterson pointed out in his testimony before the Senate Environment and Energy Finance Division Committee that the state's livestock industy is in fact quite robust.
And who runs the AgriGrowth Council? Here's the list of 2014 directors from the January 2015 newsletter (conveniently on the same page 3 of the embedded newsletter below):
2014 Board of Directors:
Executive Officers:
Chair: Steve Peterson, General Mills
Vice Chair: Pat Lunemann, Twin Eagle Dairy & Minnesota Milk Producers Association
Secretary: Jim Winter, Ecolab
Treasurer: Mark Jirik, Cargill, Inc.
Immediate Past Chair: Kristin Weeks
Duncanson, Duncanson GrowersDirectors:
Dr. Brian Buhr, University of Minnesota
Mark Davis, Davisco Foods International, Inc.
Randal J. Doyal, Al-Corn Clean Fuel
Commissioner David Frederickson,
Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture
Meg Freking, New Fashion Pork
Heidi Hawkins, Wells Fargo Bank
Rod Hebrink, AgStar Financial Services
Brian Ingulsrud, American Crystal Sugar
Kate Leavitt, SunOpta Grains and Foods Group
Darcy Pawlik, Syngenta Seeds, Inc.
Alan Poff, Schwan Food Company
Lexann Reischl, GNP Company
Tom Rosen, Rosen’s Diversified
Don Schiefelbein, Shiefelbein Farms
Joe Swedberg, Hormel Foods Corporation
Linda Tank, CHS Inc.
Dan Tjornehoj, Minnesota Veterinary Association
Tom Wegner, Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Don Wick, Red River Farm Network
Here's the newsletter:
January 2015 Agrigrowth Council
Painting: Joseph Mallord William Turner - The Fifth Plague of Egypt - Google Art Project.jpg. Turner's painting actually depicts a latter plague in the series that lead to freedom for the ancient Hebrews, but art historians assure us that the dead livestock in the painting is from the fifth plague. Hyperbole has power. Image via Wikipedia.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
Email subscribers can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
Comments