In this Edition
MCPR Update
- MCPR Annual Golf Outing Just Around The Corner
Capitol Corner - Federal
- Biden’s Out, Endorses Harris. Now what Happens?
- Republicans Grapple With Contrasting Goals At National Convention
- Biden Says Cooling Political Rhetoric Doesn’t Mean He’ll ‘Stop Telling The Truth’ About Trump
Industry Related News
- 5 Reasons Fertilizer Prices Are High Right Now
- Three Emerging Trends Driving Agricultural Drone Adoption
- Making Sense of Mineral’s Move to License AI Technology to Driscoll’s
- Minnesota Producers In Eight Counties Can Now Apply For Climate-smart Ag Funding
- Producing Hydrogen and Fertilizer at the Same Time
Partner News/Announcements
- ARA Conference and Expo Agenda Highlights
- U of MN Extension
- EPA Announces New, Earlier Protections from Pesticide Spray Drift
- USDA Seeks Biofuel Feedstocks Comments
Upcoming Webinars
- 3 Steps to Get the Most ROI on your Investment in Leadership Development
- AURI Connects: Webinar Wednesday
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MCPR Annual Golf Outing Just Around The Corner
Grab that set of clubs and swing on into the Minnesota Crop Production Retailers (MCPR) 2024 Annual Golf Outing Aug. 7 at The Wilds Golf Club in Prior Lake.
“The MCPR golf event is a great opportunity to connect with friends and colleagues,” said Lee Helgen, MCPR executive director. “We are excited to be at the beautiful Wilds Golf Club for this year’s event.”
MCPR will kick off the week with a board meeting Aug. 6 at the Wilds Golf Club.
“It serves as a venue to bring our members together and provide them with a mid-year update as far as what’s going on with MCPR, including legislative updates,” said Arnie Sinclair, vice chair of MCPR. “We continue to see the organization grow and it’s just a great gathering point for our members.”
Don’t consider yourself a pro golfer? No problem. Commonly referred to as Minnesota’s Crown Jewel, the Wilds stretches more than 7,000 yards with generously wide fairways for golfers of all skill levels.
Participants have the option to register as an individual golfer or as a foursome. Registration kicks off at 10 a.m. with lunch to follow. Shot gun start is at 11 a.m. followed by dinner and an awards ceremony at 4:30 p.m.
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Biden’s Out, Endorses Harris. Now what Happens?
Democratic National Convention due to start in just four weeks in Chicago
President Joe Biden’s announcement Sunday he won’t seek the nomination that he won this year in primaries and caucuses in every state, including where his name wasn’t on the ballot, puts the Democratic Party in uncharted territory just four weeks before delegates are due to hold their national convention in Chicago.
Biden threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris to take on Republican nominee Donald Trump, but that tweet alone does not settle anything.
Here’s a look at some of the questions that lie ahead, and things to watch along the way.
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Republicans Grapple With Contrasting Goals At National Convention
Lawmakers, delegates paused when asked how fighting and unity can coexist
MILWAUKEE — Fight and unify.
Those two seemingly contradictory messages, following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, have become the pillars of a transformed Republican National Convention.
As Trump, a bright white bandage covering his bullet-damaged right ear, stood in a red box just off the convention floor on Monday, delegates in the Fiserv Forum here erupted into a chant of “Fight! Fight! Fight!” They had done the same throughout the day’s afternoon session, when they formally nominated Trump as their presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate.
But top Trump campaign officials are attempting to pull off something even some GOP lawmakers and delegates said will be tricky by also attempting to cast the assassination attempt as a moment for national unity after more than a decade of bitter partisanship.
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Biden Says Cooling Political Rhetoric Doesn’t Mean He’ll ‘Stop Telling The Truth’ About Trump
LAS VEGAS (AP) — President Joe Biden returned to the campaign trail on Tuesday for the first time since the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, continuing his calls to calm the divisive rhetoric on both sides but also arguing that doing so “doesn’t mean we should stop telling the truth” about his Republican rival.
Addressing the NAACP convention in Las Vegas, Biden said curbing political violence in the country should mean combating all kinds of bloodshed — including reducing police brutality and banning weapons like the AR-style rifle used in the weekend attack on the former president.
“Our politics have become too heated,” Biden said.
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5 Reasons Fertilizer Prices Are High Right Now
If you've noticed an uptick in fertilizer prices, despite being out of the high-demand spring season, you're not alone. According to Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer at StoneX, prices are currently higher than normal across the board for fertilizers - a trend he attributes to multiple global factors.
"These products are all very world-driven," he says. "We don't always set the tone or the price - the rest of the world can do that."
Linville joined the Top Producer podcast to highlight five main reason for higher prices this summer.
- European Production
- High Costs in Brazil
- China's Restrictions
- Supply Shortage in Egypt
- Import Restrictions
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Three Emerging Trends Driving Agricultural Drone Adoption
In this column, I want to talk about one of the up-and-coming sectors in agriculture technology – drones. To be truthful, people in agriculture have been talking about drones for more than a decade now. However, three new developments promise to help the sector really move forward at a rapid pace over the next few months and years.
In early July, drone manufacturer Rantizo received approval of an amendment to Exemption No. 18929B. This allows the company’s service hub operators to now operate in three new ways – by swarming up to three drones over 55 pounds, without the requirement of a visual observer, and able to operate drones at night.
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Making Sense of Mineral’s Move to License AI Technology to Driscoll’s
In January 2023, Alphabet’s research and development initiative launched Mineral as an independent division focused on agricultural technology. Mineral, previously part of Alphabet’s moonshot factory, aims to develop innovative technologies to address global agricultural challenges. The transition signifies Mineral’s goal to integrate its technologies within leading agribusinesses for maximum impact, starting with Driscoll’s.
Mineral holds 87 patents covering various agricultural technologies, including crop yield analysis and plant detection. The details of its recent transaction with Driscoll’s remain undisclosed, but it is noted that this is an intellectual property-based deal without transferring personnel or customer bases. This approach raises questions about the long-term utility of these technical assets within non-technical organizations.
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Minnesota Producers In Eight Counties Can Now Apply For Climate-smart Ag Funding
Interest has been high in the Alliance to Advance Climate-Smart Agriculture program that is offering $100 an acre or $100 per animal unit to farmers implementing certain conservation practices.
PARKERS PRAIRIE, Minn. — Applications for a new USDA program that rewards producers for their conservation practices are expected to pour in from July 15 to Aug. 16 in eight counties in Minnesota.
Producers in East Otter Tail County and Wadena County heard about the opportunity to earn $100 per acre or $100 per animal unit if their applications are selected for enrollment in the Alliance to Advance Climate-Smart Agriculture program during an informational meeting on Thursday, July 11, at three separate East Otter Tail and Wadena Soil and Water Conservation District meetings.
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Producing Hydrogen and Fertilizer at the Same Time
A research team from the University Alliance Ruhr, Germany, has found a catalyst that can be used to convert ammonia into the energy carrier hydrogen and the fertilizer precursor nitrite. The production of hydrogen and the production of fertilizer have so far been separate chemical processes.
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Partner News/
Announcements
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ARA Conference and Expo Agenda Highlights
So much in agriculture is changing. Are you ready for ag retail's next frontier?
This year's agenda features subject matter experts on artificial intelligence (AI), carbon intensity scoring, biofuels, a policy outlook following the 2024 election, and more!
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U of MN Extension
AFREC Communications Update
Minnesota Crop News
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EPA Announces New, Earlier Protections from Pesticide Spray Drift
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new protections in place for farmworkers, their families, and the general public near where pesticides are applied.
EPA will now assess the potential for people to be exposed to a pesticide when it drifts away from where it is applied earlier in the agency’s review process. This applies to new active ingredient pesticide registrations and new use decisions.
According to the agency, this updated process is designed to protect people from pesticide spray drift 15 years sooner in the review process for new pesticides than has historically occurred.
Historically, EPA has only conducted a chemical specific assessment of the potential for people to be exposed to pesticide ‘spray drift’ during registration review, which happen every 15 years after a pesticide is approved to ensure that it can carry out its intended functions without creating unreasonable adverse effects to human health and the environment.
Starting now, the agency will also complete a chemical specific spray drift analysis during the initial registration process or the review process for new and amended uses of existing products. EPA will use chemical specific human health spray drift analyses to determine specific label instructions to protect against and reduce the occurrence of spray drift, such as droplet sizes and buffer distances, for each pesticide and use.
Additionally, if EPA identifies spray drift risks for people living or working nearby or non-target species, the agency will protect against those risks.
Find more information here.
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USDA Seeks Biofuel Feedstocks Comments
The U.S. Department of Agriculture seeks comment on procedures for the quantification, reporting, and verification of the effect of climate-smart farming practices on the greenhouse gas (GHG) net emissions estimates associated with the production of domestic ag commodities used as biofuel feedstocks.
ARA has had an initial call with members to help us better respond to the RFI and welcome any and all input for consideration in our comment process.
Member companies are encouraged to submit comments as well, detailing practices that have the potential to mitigate GHG emissions and/or sequester carbon, and quantification, reporting, and verification approaches for the GHG outcomes associated with domestic agricultural commodities used as biofuel feedstocks. For more information contact hunter@aradc.org.
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3 Steps to Get the Most ROI on your Investment in Leadership Development
- Tuesday, July 30th
- 12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m. CST
In this one-hour webinar, we’ll share three steps to improve your leadership development ROI. This session is perfect for business owners, senior leaders or members of the senior leadership team, human resources managers, and people leaders.
Click HERE to view a full description and to register for the leadership seminar. If you are not able to attend the seminar live, please register and we will send you a recording for you to view later.
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AURI Connects: Webinar Wednesday
Minnesota's value-added agricultural industry is well-equipped to adapt to a changing climate and the increased focus on climate resiliency and lowering carbon intensity. Are you interested in learning more about these opportunities? If so, you will not want to miss the kick-off webinar of this four-part series. The first webinar will set the stage for this engaging topic by featuring:
- A Climatologist's overview of climate change in Minnesota
- Industry experts highlighting the link between climate, the economy, and decision-making for value-added businesses
Join us and our sponsors, Bremer Bank and Avisen Legal, for Webinar Wednesday: Climate Change Opportunities for Value-Added Agricultural Businesses, Part 1 of a 4-part series, on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. CT.
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Does your organization or company have news or a press release that you would like to share with the MCPR’s membership? If so, please contact MCPR - lee@mcpr-cca.org.
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Minnesota Crop Production Retailers | P: 763.235.6466
www.mcpr-cca.org
1020 Innovation Lane, Mankato, MN 56001
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