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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
NEWS COLUMN
Notes from the Capitol
By State Rep. Paul Anderson
It was Dairy Day at the State Capitol Feb. 10. The Veterans’ and Ag Finance Committee held a hearing and received an update on the health of the industry in Minnesota. According to Pat Lunemann, a Todd County dairy producer and president of Minnesota Milk Producers, the industry is in a state of crisis. He told the committee, “We are seeing a perfect storm of events coming together that has resulted in a dramatic and swift drop in the price of milk.”
Some of the factors leading to the price decline include in increase in the production of milk, along with reduced consumption. The current state of the economy, with its rising dollar value and tighter credit requirements, is also causing exports to drop.
“In addition, our expenses are up dramatically,” added Lunemann. “Everything is out of whack.”
Producers use what’s called the “milk-feed ratio” to track the price relationship between one of the main inputs in the production of milk and the final product. Currently that ratio is 1.69 to 1, the lowest it’s been in the 25 years the ratio has been used.
On a more positive note, the committee heard testimony from Sadie Frericks, who, along with her husband, Glen, operates a dairy farm near Melrose. Sadie did an excellent job in relating her story about how she and her husband worked with a Dairy Profit Team and were able to purchase their 20-acre building site and milking location in 2007.
“I think I did cart-wheels all the way down to the barn to tell my husband the news when we found out that we could buy our farm,” she recalled.
The committee also heard from Curt Zimmerman, who grew up near Chokio and who now works for the Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture. Curt talked about the importance of the dairy industry to the state and how the Livestock Investment Grant Program was an excellent program last year. There were 576 applications for the grant money to help farmers upgrade their facilities, including 369 that came from dairy producers. Of that total, 38 were accepted and nearly one million dollars were awarded.
According to Zimmerman, 2008 marked the fourth straight year of increased milk production in Minnesota. Our state accounts for approximately 5 percent of the milk produced nationally, and ranks sixth, behind California, Wisconsin, New York, Idaho, and Pennsylvania.
Two bills relating to Green Acres, passed out of the Ag. Committee several weeks ago, are still in the process of being heard by other committees. They were heard in Finance and still await their day in the Tax Committee.
The Legislature will be conducting public hearings all across the state this week to take input on the budget situation in Minnesota. One such hearing will be held in St. Cloud, at the city hall, 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19. Willmar will have one of its own 6 p.m. Thursday at Kennedy Elementary School. Another session is slated for Alexandria at 4 p.m. the next day, Friday, at the city hall.
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Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his new office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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