In this Edition
MCPR Board Update
- January Board Meeting
- MCPR Scholarship Raffle
Capitol Corner - Federal
- Biden's Superior Visit Highlights Twin Ports Infrastructure
- Trump Says He Should be Held Responsible if the Bipartisan Border Security Deal Fails: 'Please Blame it on Me'
Industry Related News
- MN Corn - Panel Covers Nitrogen and Water Quality
- State Ag Departments Issue Policy Priorities
- Innovation in the Insecticide Industry: What to Expect from Crop Protection Manufacturers in 2024
- Farmers: How to Actually get Paid for Carbon
- From Paper to Precision: How Farmers Improve Their Operations by Using Technology and Software in the Field
- 2024 Ag Economy: What's Causing Rural Bankers To Be Pessimistic
Partner News / Announcements
- AFREC Research Roundup: 2023 Nutrient Management Findings
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January Board Meeting
The MCPR Board of Directors met on January 25, 2024, at Heartland Ag Systems in Hutchinson. The meeting was well attended.
The board elected Justin Schroeder to be Treasurer to fill the vacancy created by Tim Woelfel’s retirement. The board also made appointments to the advisory board. In addition, there were a couple of changes to board positions, with Travis Brekken vacating his position as the District 1 Director due to a change in employment from a retailer to an associate member. Ashley Runholt was appointed to fill the remainder of the term as the District 1 Director, and Scott Barns was appointed to fill the At-Large seat that was held by Ashley.
MCPR Officers for 2024:
- Chair, Rick Walker, West Central Ag Services
- Vice Chair, Arnie Sinclair, Heartland Ag Systems
- Secretary, Brian Meyer, Central Region Coop
- Treasurer, Justin Schroeder, Central Counties Coop
Please join us in welcoming the advisory board members.
- Travis Brekken, Crystal Valley Coop
- Roderick Hedner, FreightZap Inc.
- Jeff Moon, Corteva
- Joe Faugstad, Helena Agri-Enterprises (New)
- Mark Milenski, Ag Plus Co-op (New)
- Robby Vander Veen, Bayer (New)
Executive Director Helgen updated the board on the financial position and operational activities. It was noted that the 2024 membership renewal efforts are going strong, with most of the members having already paid their 2024 dues. Membership appears to be holding steady at around 320 paid members. Thank you for your ongoing support of MCPR! The board reviewed the short course, which had 964 individuals registered and a strong showing of sponsors and exhibitors.
The board discussed MCPR’s legislative advocacy strategy and the need for members to become more active in directly engaging with legislators. The board appointed Ashley Runholt, Cottonwood Co-op, to be the legislative committee chair. If you are interested in joining the legislative committee, please contact MCPR Executive Director Lee Helgen at lee@mcpr-cca.org.
During the upcoming session, the board expects to see proposals related to fertilizer fees, efforts to address nitrates in groundwater, and a related effort to fund drinking water projects in SE MN. The board also discussed potential action to address PFAS, pesticides, and neonicotinoids. The board is planning a Day on the Hill for February 28 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Space is limited, but if you have a strong interest in attending, please contact Lee Helgen at lee@mcpr-cca.org.
Adam Herges from Mosaic joined the board meeting to discuss some potential next steps with the 4R certification program and a proposal for MCPR to sponsor a survey of Ag Retails to gather additional data related to environmental goals and nutrient loss reduction efforts. The survey approach would build on similar efforts in Iowa and Illinois. The board was supportive of this proposal and asked for some additional details and budget information for further consideration at the next board meeting.
The board briefly discussed the value of the Certified Crop Advisors and the efforts by the MCCA board to retain current CCAs and recruit new people to become CCAs.
Guests from the Farmers Union, Stu Lourey and Ariel Kagen, engaged the board in a discussion around a number of topics, including climate-smart markets, climate-smart ag practices, carbon markets, supply chain programs related to greenhouse gas emissions, and the green fertilizer pilot project.
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MCPR Board Meeting at Heartland Ag Systems
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MCPR Board Members and MFU Guests Stu Lourey and Ariel Kagen
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MCPR Scholarship Raffle
Thanks to all who bought a raffle ticket to support our scholarship program. We generated $4681!
Congratulations to the winner of the $1500 Scheels gift card, Dan Full, Kibble Equipment!
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Biden's Superior Visit Highlights Twin Ports Infrastructure
SUPERIOR — A presidential announcement may be the worst-kept secret in the Twin Ports after a Minnesota congressman who voted against the funding bill let the secret out.
That doesn’t make it any less historic.
After all, the federal government would pay more than $1.32 billion to bridge the Twin Port cities of Duluth and Superior. It’s the single largest grant the federal government has ever awarded, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
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President Joe Biden leaves Air Force One on Thursday, Jan. 25, at Duluth International Airport. Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group.
Biden says his Investing in America agenda is mobilizing private sector investment in the United States, bringing back American manufacturing after decades of off-shoring, and creating new, good-paying jobs.
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Trump Says He Should be Held Responsible if the Bipartisan Border Security Deal Fails: 'Please Blame it on Me'
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday said he was willing to take responsibility for the potential demise of a bipartisan border deal that's being ironed out in the Senate.
During a campaign appearance in Las Vegas, Trump spoke out against congressional efforts to broker an immigration agreement amid the former president's sustained attacks against President Joe Biden on the explosive issue.
"It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed," Biden said in a statement. "And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law."
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MN Corn - Panel Covers Nitrogen and Water Quality
The MN Ag Expo session highlighted how state agencies and corn farmers are proactively responding to a recent EPA petition.
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State Ag Departments Issue Policy Priorities
Issues surrounding PFAS chemical contamination are becoming a significant concern for state agriculture departments around the country. PFAS is one of five policy priorities announced Monday by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.
The other four include the farm bill, food safety, labor reform and pesticide regulation.
In a policy statement on the PFAS issue, NASDA says, “Federal agencies should work with state departments of agriculture to keep agricultural operations productive and economically viable by offering financial support and providing access to federal programs, either currently existing or to be created in response to this emerging risk.”
When it comes to pesticide regulation, NASDA is concerned in part about EPA’s ongoing work to protect endangered species from pesticide usage. NASDA says it “implores the EPA to develop an ESA compliance strategy to ensure that growers can comply with EPA’s final work plan and state lead agencies can adequately enforce these strategies.”
Separately, Ted McKinney, CEO of NASDA and former USDA trade undersecretary, told Agri-Pulse this week that he is concerned that former Donald Trump's proposal to raise tariffs could hurt farmers. But, he added, ““He's got a good sense, a good gut sense on this kind of thing. And I think, in some way, shape or form, I think we'll get back into the trade business pending decisions on tariffs.”
When looking at trade priorities for 2024, McKinney says there are short- and long-term goals that need to be addressed. The first is using the World Trade Organization to make sure international rules are followed. He also said the U.S. needs to diversify its export markets for ag products, citing India as a country with significant potential.
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Innovation in the Insecticide Industry: What to Expect from Crop Protection Manufacturers in 2024
There are precious few constants when it comes to agriculture, and even within those constants the variations can be great. Retailers know their grower-customers need seed, fertilizer, and pesticides among others. Just about every grower faces some sort of insect pressure, but whether that pest is a perennial visitor or making its first appearance, growers need the right treatment solutions.
CropLife interviewed several insecticide providers to learn about their expectations for the coming season and how they help ag retailers and growers manage their insect spend.
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Farmers: How to Actually get Paid for Carbon
Where’s the carbon money at? Look to carbon intensity scores. Here’s what farmers need to know to get paid in 2024.
CARBON SOLUTION: “Today the U.S. Department of Energy says farmers are more than half of the problem, but our numbers show farmers are a huge part of the solution. Ag has an amazing story to tell of being sustainable and not only reducing our carbon footprint, but in many cases, being carbon negative,” says Mitchell Hora of Continuum Ag.
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From Paper to Precision: How Farmers Improve Their Operations by Using Technology and Software in the Field
Remember when you used only pencils and notebooks to share information? And you watched Walter Cronkite on the news. As we immerse ourselves in platforms like Twitter (or whatever it’s called these days) with endless information, that feels like a distant memory. After a farm management system update, we yearn for simpler times without software upgrades. It’s tempting, isn’t it? Thinking about when we only aligned the tractor with the fence post and relied on the foam marker to keep a straight line. Although, if we did that, we’d lose agriculture technologies’ proven results. Let’s consider several agriculture equipment and technology advancements and how they’ve optimized operations.
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2024 Ag Economy: What's Causing Rural Bankers To Be Pessimistic
Creighton University has released its January Rural Mainstreet Index – a survey of bank CEOs living in rural communities across a 10-state region.
This month’s survey marks the fifth-straight month where the index has been below the growth neutral mark.
Ernie Goss, PhD, Jack A. MacAllister Chair in regional economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business, shares the continued pessimism from the rural bankers surveyed can be attributed to a few different things.
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Partner News / Announcements
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AFREC Research Roundup: 2023 Nutrient Management Findings
This episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast is our 2023 AFREC research roundup. What is AFREC and how does it help our panelists conduct their research? What AFREC-funded projects are they currently working on? Have there been any interesting findings from the 2023 growing season? What have been our panelists’ favorite AFREC research projects and why? What would happen if AFREC were to go away?
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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
601 Carlson Parkway, Ste 450, Minnetonka, MN 55305
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