By Rep. Paul Anderson
The House Agriculture Committee held a hearing last week to try and get answers to the many questions farmers have about the governor’s executive order calling for restrictions on the use of a group of chemicals utilized in crop production. The chemicals are known as neonicotinoids and are thought to play a role in the increased mortality of bees and other pollinators. The executive order was released the same day as the results of an 18-month study by the Department of Agriculture recommending that action be taken.
Ag. Commissioner Dave Frederickson told the committee that the executive order was similar to the governor “setting the table with his recommendations” as we head into the next legislative session. Several of the initiatives proposed by Gov. Mark Dayton, such as improving pollinator habitat on state lands, can be implemented without further legislation. However, the more controversial ones, such as increased inspection and enforcement, along with the regulation of seed treatments, need legislative approval to move forward. Frederickson said his staff is working on language to introduce next year that would work toward those goals.
Another concerning aspect of the order was the statement that farmers would need to show an “imminent threat of significant crop loss” in order to continue using neonics. Frederickson appeared to soften that statement by saying “if farmers follow the label, they will be good to go.”
Several committee members have been receiving emails from members of the public calling the executive order “landmark legislation” and urging legislators to work with the governor and enact the order.
However, Gregg Regimbal, the person at the Department of Agriculture who oversees neonic regulation in Minnesota, says the order requiring verification of need merely restates and clarifies label restrictions that have been in place nationwide for the past few years.
So, just exactly what does this executive order accomplish? Is it really “bold language that nobody else in the nation is speaking to” or is it an order that demands little of farmers that they don’t already do? That’s the big questions, one that will only be answered as we head into election season and then get ready for next legislative session in January.
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The city of Melrose hosted an informational meeting last week to show support for those building owners who lost their property in the downtown fire Sept. 8. It was announced that the city council had approved the establishment of a fund to help those affected, and so far donations from the Initiative Foundation and Ag Star had totaled $30,000. Also at the meeting were several business owners from the city of Madelia, which is about 25 miles south of Mankato. That city, earlier this spring, also had a devastating fire on their main street. They talked about the tremendous support received from the surrounding area and about their businesses all coming together and deciding to re-build.
Two areas of caution were also discussed, with one being the high cost of demolition as rubble from fires is generally classified as “hazardous waste,” which makes it much more expensive to remove and dispose of. The other was the impact of property taxes when replacing an older building with a new one. One of the Madelia folks said that, because of the high cost of construction, the property taxes on his new building were projected to jump from $2,000 previously to around $20,000. That is where the state and local units of government need to step in and grant some form of tax abatement.
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