Dear Neighbor,
The emergence of highly pathogenetic avian flu is raising concerns in Minnesota, with five confirmed cases in our state. Before we get into more of those details, I want to share a reminder that poultry remains safe for human consumption.
Minnesota suffered a 2015 outbreak of avian flu that was devastating to the agricultural community. The Legislature responded by providing significant resources to help manage the emergency and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) instituted numerous biosecurity measures geared toward slowing the spread of avian flu if another outbreak came to Minnesota.
The hope is these biosecurity measures have put us in a much better place to mitigate the impacts of avian flu this year compared with 2015. We continue to monitor this issue in St. Paul and are working with stakeholders to make sure we minimize the impacts of this outbreak.
The Board of Animal Health has set up a website with resources on this matter and I encourage you to visit it to learn more about ways to prevent outbreaks. Also, the University of Minnesota Extension will conduct a free public webinar on this subject 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday), providing information on:
- Basics of avian influenza (including high and low pathogenicity)
- Who is the MN Board of Animal Health and their role in an outbreak
- Steps to take if you suspect HPAI in your flock
- What you can do to protect your flock now and into the future
Registration is required for the webinar and you can click here for more. I also today recorded a quick video with BAH Executive Director Dr. Beth Thompson today and you can click here to hear that discussion.
In other news, we are reaching the end of the first fiscal quarter of the year, which means Minnesota employers are now seeing increases on their unemployment insurance rates become reality after House Democrats stopped preventative legislation from reaching enactment. And there still is no real progress to report on this issue in the House.
This tax increase easily could have been resolved before it hit the books. More than one month ago, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill by a veto-proof margin that would put this issue to rest. The House just needed to pass that Senate bill and send it to the governor for enactment. Instead, House Democrats prevented the bill from even coming up for a vote and now a completely unnecessary tax increase has taken place at a time the state has a surplus of around $10 billion.
This is a serious issue and employers could face state and federal penalties if they do not comply with the state’s new unemployment insurance tax rates. Given the consequences at hand, it was bad advice some Democrats offered by suggesting to employers that they “wait and see” on UI tax relief instead of following their prescribed payment schedule. That potentially could make a bad situation worse so it is better to stay on top of things.
On a final note, we’re still waiting for an anticipated conference committee to assemble to prepare a package of drought relief for farmers for final passage. The House already approved its version of this bill (with $10.1 million in relief) and now we are watching for the Senate to follow suit, which could happen as soon as this afternoon. Stay tuned for more on this issue as things develop.
Sincerely,
Paul