Dear Neighbor,
Before we get to official business, I want to congratulate the Sauk Centre volleyball team for recently winning the Class AA state championship. Congratulations to the players, coaches and all who were involved in making this season so successful!
In other news:
PPP/UI payments trickling through
The Minnesota Department of Revenue recently released data on processing returns for Paycheck Protection Program and Unemployment Insurance recipients. In total, Revenue has received nearly 540,000 returns and has processed 217,600 to date.
Revenue had to create a new program to process these returns and recently got that program up and running. Previously, they were processing these returns manually. They should now be able to process up to 50,000 per week.
I have received questions from people asking when they may receive their refunds. I am told it is hoped all returns will be processed by the end of the year. It is disappointing this relief has been delayed so long. It could have been distributed before people filed their taxes had the House majority placed more urgency on passing legislation necessary to distribute these dollars.
 House undergraduate internship programApplications are now being accepted for a House internship program, with a Dec. 3 deadline to apply. The program gives students an opportunity to use their knowledge and talents in a professional setting, while acquiring new skills and greater knowledge of the political process. Interns will be assigned to serve remotely in a member’s office or participating department. More information is available at this link. |
Fall Lender’s Forum
I recently attended a Fall Lender’s Forum at the MN West Community and Technical College in Willmar. The main take-away from the meeting was that planning cash-flows for next year is going to be difficult.
The price of fertilizer was a big topic of discussion, as the cost of nitrogen and other forms of fertilizer has been going up all fall and shows no sign of even stabilizing yet. Anhydrous ammonia, one of the main forms of nitrogen fertilizer, has seen its price go from around $700 per ton earlier this fall to over $1400 at latest glance.
“I am telling the farmers I work with to plan on a large increase in costs for next year,” said Farm Business Management instructor Zach Rada. “It’s hard to put a number on it because prices, especially for fertilizer, keep going up.”
On the topic of milk, Rada added that the cost of feed is putting a squeeze on dairy operations, especially for those producers who are buying feed. “Right now, those feed costs are high,” he said, “and that makes a big difference in the cost of production.”
Positive factors affecting the price of milk are cow numbers trending down nationally, as well as the number of pounds of milk produced per cow.
Until next time, have a good weekend and we’ll be in touch soon.
Sincerely,
Paul