By Rep. Paul Anderson
Three weeks left in the session. There is still lots to do, namely getting all the finance bills back from conference committees, re-passing them on both the House and Senate floors, and then getting them to the governor for his signature ... or his veto.
If any budget packages are turned down by Gov. Mark Dayton, there is still time to come back and re-do whatever bill or bills he has vetoed and get them in the shape where he will sign them. I am still concerned about the environment bill since that’s the one that contains several modifications in the buffer language. The governor has said on several occasions that he will not accept any changes to current language. So, if those changes to the buffer law remain in the bill, the question becomes one of whether he would veto the entire bill because of that particular language.
We will soon find out.
An example of how that could affect other pieces of the bill pertains to a program to help schools pay for new buses powered by propane fuel. As part of the Volkswagen diesel settlement, Minnesota was awarded $47 million, and part of that total, $15 million, was set aside for the school bus program. So, if the environment bill is vetoed, changes will eventually need to be made and the entire bill will be opened up again for negotiation. That's concerning because the school bus propane provision is not supported by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, as they say this could jeopardize the entire settlement program.
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It’s not critical yet, but looking out the window this morning and seeing snow on the first day of May, is not what farmers wanted to observe. Our cold and wet spring has caused planting delays, not only here in Minnesota but across the entire Corn Belt. Agronomists tell us that if newly planted corn seeds absorb cold moisture shortly after they are put in the ground, it could adversely affect the germination of the seed. The last week of April is typically the biggest corn planting week of the year, but very little has been put in the ground, so far.
I had a field ready to go over the weekend in that the rocks had been picked (at least most of them) and the ground worked up. But with the forecast calling for continued cold temps and snow, the planter didn’t move. As I write this Monday morning, I'm looking at a picture my wife sent of the tractor and corn planter sitting in the field, surrounded by a white landscape. Pretty picture, but not what one wants to see on May Day!
The weather is supposed to improve, and temps should get back to normal by the end of the week. That means 60-plus degrees and sunshine. With those conditions, it won’t take long for the ground to dry out again and warm up. When that happens, the corn planters will be rolling in earnest all over the region. That means long days in the tractor as farmers play catch-up, trying to get as much crop planted as possible during this upcoming window of opportunity.
Please remind yourself about farm safety as you put in those long hours.
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