Dear Neighbor,
Thank you to all those who made Dairy Day at the Capitol such a success this Wednesday.
It was great to see so many people come to St. Paul to advocate for such an important cause. I really appreciate the sacrifices these folks made in leaving their operations behind in order to make the trek to St. Paul. It’s always nice to be able to put faces to names with names and hear what people have to say.
I also was happy to welcome Joe Gill of KASM-AM 1150 in Albany to the Capitol. He conducted a broadcast from my office and brought a number of legislators on the air with him to talk about ag/dairy subjects. Dairy is a huge part of our state’s economy and it was good we could spend so much time talking about it on the air.
The House Agriculture Policy Committee conducted a meeting on Dairy Day and it was well attended. One thing we talked about is how the dairy industry has changed over the years. I remember, as a kid, we would use buckets to collect milk from our 15 to 20 cows. Times have changed and, with very thin margins, dairy producers rely on volume to make ends meet. But, as I like to say, “big and small, we need ‘em all.”
Still, for all that has changed, dairy is not just a business, it is a way of life. We heard from people who showed real passion in describing how much being part of a family farm means to them. Burdensome estate taxes – along with rising property taxes – are huge concerns for people as they try to pass the farm along to the next generations and we need to address that problem.
As for legislation heard in that committee Wednesday, I moved out of my chairman’s seat to the other side of the testifier’s table in order to present a bill I have authored. It is designed to provide civil protection for people who open up their farms to host agri-tourism events, such as Breakfast on the Farm in Stearns County.
This protects property owners, but does not relieve them of responsibility in cases of willful neglect. Other testifiers brought up some good points and I thank them for their input. We can work on ironing out any wrinkles as we proceed at the next committee stop since it passed this one.
And, finally, I am pleased to have accepted an appointment from House Speaker Kurt Daudt to serve on the Minnesota Ag Education Leadership Council. I will pass along more about that group another time.
Sincerely,
Paul