By Rep. Paul Anderson
Minnesota’s annual farm extravaganza, known as Farmfest, was held last week on the plains of southern Minnesota about ten miles south of Morton. Always held at this time of year, it usually gets hot during the show’s three-day run, especially in the afternoons. I’ve always marveled at salesmen who could sell winter items such as corn stoves while standing in the hot sun on a sweltering August day.
In addition to the acres and acres of equipment set up for farmers to check out, there is a steady stream of forums and panel discussions held during the event to keep us farm folks up to date. Especially in an election year such as this, those politicians running for statewide office always seem to head for Farmfest to shore up their chances with folks in the ag community. There were debates among U.S. Senate and House candidates, with the highlight being a debate among the major candidates with an eye on Minnesota’s governorship. The five running in the primary from the two major parties held their debate on Wednesday morning last week, and it drew a tent full of interested listeners.
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As many farmers probably already know, our state moved to a 20-percent blend of biodiesel this year. After an early hiccup because of issues with the availability of bio, any bulk fuel sold to farmers in Minnesota after June contains this 20-percent blend. I was part of a panel discussion at Farmfest that dealt with the history of biodiesel in Minnesota and what farmers should know about using the product going forward. I discussed how Minnesota first passed legislation in 2002 and moved to its first mandated blend of two percent biodiesel in 2005. Over the years that blend has been increased, first to 5 percent and then 10 percent. This past May, the final ramp-up to 20 percent took place.
The use of this higher blend of diesel fuel is for half the year, during our warmer months of April through September. During the rest of the year, the blend requirement drops back to 5 percent. I authored a bill this past session that dealt with two aspects of our biodiesel statute here in Minnesota. Because it tends to get cold here in the winter time, there is an exception to the blending requirement for number one diesel, which is used by many truckers and farmers in the winter to prevent jelling issues with regular diesel fuel. That exemption was set to expire next year, and this legislation made that exemption permanent.
The other part of the bill had to do with the actual blending of fuel. With a 5-percent blend from October through March, the folks who run the pipeline terminals told us that it would be difficult to make the switch back to 20 percent in a short time frame. To ensure that fuel being hauled out to petroleum retailers from their storage tanks was all at the higher blend on April 1, they would need to start ramping up their blend rate earlier. This legislation allowed for a two-week period when the blending could be ramped up to be at the full 20-percent rate by April 15. It was a good compromise on the part of all involved, and the bill passed both chambers and was signed into law by Gov. Dayton.
I was a bit surprised by one of the other panel members who commented that many farmers were not even aware of the move to B-20 in Minnesota. As mentioned earlier, any tanks filled since planting season this spring, and especially those filled after June, will have the higher blend in them. Farmers need to be aware of that when planning for their fall harvest. Housekeeping items mentioned include making sure storage tanks are clean, in addition to draining moisture from fuel systems. Also, if blending number one fuel with regular diesel, it should be done when temps are warm enough to ensure complete mixing.
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Our parade season for the summer has ended. We were in Garfield and Belgrade last weekend, with good crowds on hand despite the rather warm temps. The Douglas County Fair is scheduled for this weekend and runs Thursday through Sunday in Alexandria.
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