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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
GUEST COLUMN
FEDS ADDRESS LOW DAIRY PRICES
Notes From the Capitol
By State Rep. Paul Anderson
While attending the “Big Iron” farm show in Fargo Sept. 15, I had the opportunity to visit with Jonathon Coppess, the new administrator of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Washington, D.C.
I asked him what was being done on the federal level about low dairy prices. He replied that USDA has done all it can with the funds it has available to prop up dairy prices. A bill was recently introduced, he added, to give the agency more funding in an effort to provide additional relief for the nation’s dairy producers. (Milk prices which, just over a year ago, were around $20 per hundredweight are currently in the $12-to-$13 range).
Coppess said, “What we’ve seen happening with dairy prices in recent times is higher highs and lower lows. The volatility is increasing, and that is cause for concern.”
He also mentioned that USDA is currently taking applications for a committee that it hopes will give new insight into the current milk pricing situation. The committee will be called the “Dairy External Advisory Council,” and applications are being accepted until Sept. 28.
Just the mention of possible freezing temperatures in the extended weather forecast was enough to send grain prices dramatically higher last Tuesday. One model had temps in the 20s as far south as southern Iowa and central Illinois. Those forecasts have since been modified and the coldest readings have been moved farther north. It’s yet another example of how the prices farmers receive are affected by numerous outside influences, many of which are beyond their control.
District 13 Sen. Joe Gimse, R-Willmar, has announced a series of statewide meetings with small-business owners in order to hear first-hand about the challenges they are facing in light of the current economic downturn. I will be working with the senator on a couple of those gatherings slated for this area. Tentative plans call for meetings in Sauk Centre and Willmar on Sept. 30.
Many Americans listened to President Obama recently when he addressed a joint session of Congress concerning the health insurance debate. We also listened when he came to Minneapolis a few days later and spoke on the same topic. There seems to be general agreement that changes need to be made, but some are uncomfortable with the government assuming a bigger role in health care. It is an emotional debate, one that will affect all of us regardless of how it turns out. I’m not quite sure how we are going to tweak the current system, without cutting benefits, and still come up with the cost savings being promised.
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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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