In this Edition
Capitol Corner- State
Capitol Corner - Federal
- Biden Signs a Package of Spending Bills Passed by Congress Just Hours Before a Shutdown Deadline
- The Scoop Podcast: Ag Retailers’ Policy Priorities for 2024
Industry Related News
- Dairy Cattle Illness Traced to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus
- Will The Collapse Of The Baltimore Key Bridge Impact Agriculture?
- How To Gear Up For Carbon And Sustainability Programs
- Do You Have Soil Compaction and Density Changes That Impede Roots and Water? Here’s How to Find Out
- Russia-Ukraine Conflict Could be the Next Black Swan Impacting Grain Markets
- The 2024 Crop Disease and Insect Report: What to Expect From Pest Pressure This Year
- There's a New Way to Cash in on Your CI Score on the Farm, Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act
Partner News/Announcements
- 4/1/2024 - Happy April Fools Day!
- Red River Basin Lidar Data Now Available
- Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Response | 2022-2023 HPAI Background
|
|
Legislative Update
The 1st and 2nd committee deadlines were Friday, March 22. Legislative activities slowed down as members prepared for their Easter Holiday break.
Below are some of the legislative committee hearings and updates.
3/25/24 Senate Ag Committee
Women In Ag Day
|
|
Biden Signs a Package of Spending Bills Passed by Congress Just Hours Before a Shutdown Deadline
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday [3/23/24] signed a $460 billion package of spending bills approved by the Senate in time to avoid a shutdown of many key federal agencies. The legislation’s success gets lawmakers about halfway home in wrapping up their appropriations work for the 2024 budget year.
The measure contains six annual spending bills and had already passed the House. In signing it into law, Biden thanked leaders and negotiators from both parties in both chambers for their work, which the White House said will mean that agencies “may continue their normal operations.”
|
|
The Scoop Podcast: Ag Retailers’ Policy Priorities for 2024
The Hunter Carpenter and the Agricultural Retailers Association team just wrapped up organizing its 2024 fly-in bringing members from across to the country to Washington D.C. to unite their voice with law makers.
Carpenter says ARA remains focused on the issues most likely to impact the ag retailer’s bottom line.
By collaborating with its membership, ARA has identified this year’s public policy priorities that will steer its grassroots advocacy efforts. According to ARA those include:
- Reauthorizing the Farm Bill
- Protecting Modern Ag Technologies
- Relieving Transportation & Supply Chain Challenges
- Ensuring an All-of-the-Above Energy Approach
|
|
Dairy Cattle Illness Traced to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus
Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been confirmed as the mystery illness detected in dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas. Wild migratory birds are believed to be the source of the infection.
USDA says unpasteurized, clinical samples of milk from sick cattle collected from two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas tested positive for HPAI Monday, and additional testing is underway.
“Minnesota officials confirmed finding HPAI in goats last week.”
|
|
Will The Collapse Of The Baltimore Key Bridge Impact Agriculture?
Early Tuesday morning, a cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse. The Port of Baltimore later announced all vessel traffic in and out of the port is suspended indefinitely.
Mike Steenhoek, executive director at the Soy Transportation Coalition, joined the AgriTalk podcast shortly after to share what this devastating event could mean for shipping and the agriculture industry.
“[The Port of Baltimore] doesn't accommodate a lot in terms of agricultural exports,” he says. “Sugar would be No. 1, then soybeans No. 2, grain products including corn and wheat are No. 3 and then coffee and grocery items.”
|
|
How To Gear Up For Carbon And Sustainability Programs
Tim Hushon, sustainability and technology director at The Mill, details how sustainability factors into their ag retail business and how to partner with farmers on the technology adoption required.
|
|
Do You Have Soil Compaction and Density Changes That Impede Roots and Water? Here’s How to Find Out
Removing compaction and density layers before transitioning to a vertical system can add 15 bu. to 20 bu. per acre and might lower cost of production, according to Farm Journal Test Plot research.
|
|
Russia-Ukraine Conflict Could be the Next Black Swan Impacting Grain Markets
Anyone who has been watching grain markets for an extended period of time knows there are plenty of moving pieces affecting price movement. Since the start of 2024, it has been the same headlines leading market direction. Overall, it's a short list including short fund positioning, weather, economic reports and supply and demand fundamentals. Don’t get me wrong, there have been other headlines filling the gaps in news stories. However, nothing large enough has developed to break the current trend over the past couple of years. This has me believing the trade is in need of a Black Swan event.
|
|
The 2024 Crop Disease and Insect Report: What to Expect From Pest Pressure This Year
Predicting the insects and diseases that will impact crops is difficult every season. Climate changes and resistance increase the challenge.
Weather is a major factor that decides whether or not growers are going to be facing an insect and disease problem. And with the widely varied and climate altering conditions around the county, ag retailers will have their hands full helping their grower-customers decide the right tools to deal with a variety of infestations.
What to Expect
“It’s been a very light winter this year, above average temperatures,” David Reif, Northern Sales Agronomist for Vive Crop Protection, told CropLife Editor Eric Sfiligoj at 2024 Commodity Classic in March. “That tends to lead to higher insect pressure.”
|
|
There's a New Way to Cash in on Your CI Score on the Farm, Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act
As a farmer, Kelly Garret is extremely carbon conscious. He grows 7,000 acres of no-till crops and switched from applying synthetic fertilizer to using regenerative wastewater as plant food.
“I believe in being collaborative with Mother Nature, not in competition. And this is a collaborative effort,” says Garrett, who farms in west-central Iowa, near Arion.
There’s no doubt Garrett is a forward thinker. He says he was the first farmer in the U.S. to sell carbon credits. Now, he thinks there’s a new opportunity coming for farmers to possibly cash in on.
|
|
|
|
Partner News/
Announcements
|
|
4/1/2024 - Happy April Fools Day!
|
|
Red River Basin Lidar Data Now Available
The Red River Watershed Management Board (RRWMB) is announcing the availability of Quality Level (QL) 1 LiDAR data for the Red River Basin (RRB) of Minnesota. The RRWMB contracted with The Sanborn Mapping Company Inc. (Sanborn) out of Colorado in 2021 to acquire LiDAR information over 20,034 square miles in Northwest Minnesota. LiDAR data collection began in October 2021 and was completed in early November 2021. A map of the collection area is included on the next page. LiDAR data collected by Sanborn was processed and submitted to the International Water Institute (IWI) in Fargo, North Dakota, also contracted with the RRWMB, to conduct quality control.
|
|
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Response | 2022-2023 HPAI Background
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed several findings of the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild waterfowl in the Atlantic flyways in January 2022. On February 8, 2022 APHIS confirmed H5N1 HPAI in a commercial turkey flock in Dubois County, Indiana. Since then it has been confirmed in multiple states and flock types. The USDA updates the latest HPAI detections on its website.
The first cases of H5N1 in Minnesota were confirmed on March 25, 2022.
|
|
Follow MCPR on Social Media! |
|
Are you following MCPR on social media? Make sure you like and follow us so you don't miss out on events, what's happening with our members and the latest news impacting Minnesota’s agricultural retail sector!
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.
|
|
Minnesota Crop Production Retailers | P: 763.235.6466
www.mcpr-cca.org
601 Carlson Parkway, Ste 450, Minnetonka, MN 55305
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
