Milk transportation weight

A bill to permanently exempt milk haulers from certain truck weight restrictions, limits and prohibitions received House approval.

Passed 132-0 March 6, it would remove a July 1, 2007, sunset in current law. It now awaits action by the full Senate.

Federal law requires dairy haulers to completely empty a milk tank on a farm before they can remove the hose to the truck, said Rep. Al Juhnke (DFL-Willmar), who sponsors HF1219 with Sen. Betsy Wergin (R-Princeton).

“Because of federal food law, we are seeing larger and larger bulk tanks out there, and larger and larger herds, and consequently under spring road restrictions, because of the way they have to do this, they are overweight,” Juhnke said. “They have two options at this point: ignore federal food laws, unhook and go out with the right weight and risk losing their federal license or, more likely, what they’re doing today or would do if we didn’t do this bill, would be to run illegally.”

“Not being able to unhook means you either blow that day’s profit or put it on the truck,” said Rep. Al Doty (DFL-Royalton).

Juhnke sponsored a bill a few years ago that allowed milk haulers to fill up at the point of production, and if they were overweight, they would be required to take the most direct route to a 10-ton route.

The bill does not permit a vehicle to exceed a weight restriction of 5 tons per axle by more than 2 tons per axle.

“This is not an overweight bill, it’s about spring road restrictions, and when they lower the weight for a few weeks,” said Bruce Kleven, representing the Minnesota Association of Cooperatives. “The rest of the year, there’s no issue and the guys are running legally.” He said North Dakota and Wisconsin haulers can run heavier truck weights all year.