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FIELD TALK

FIELD TALK PODCAST

AgriGrowth advocates for Minnesota's food and agriculture sector. With activity in Washington and St. Paul ramping up in January, AgriGrowth Executive Director Tamara Nelson joined the Linder Farm Network's Linda Brekke to talk about AgriGrowth's priority issues.

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LFN VIDEO

The deadline to apply for a Minnesota Corn Innovation Grant is approaching. The program helps support farmers who are conducting on-farm research on corn production. Find out more about the Innovation Grant program in this week's LFN video.

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Farm News

December 14, 2022

SLOPPY WEATHER WEEK
A large, slow-moving storm system is bringing some much needed moisture to the region this week. As much of 8 inches of snow has fallen over parts of Central Minnesota with more expected Thursday and Friday. Much of western, west central and southern Minnesota received rain, with between half an inch and an inch reported in many areas. More snow is expected statewide Thursday and Friday with colder weather forecast for next week.

LEGISLATIVE SESSION NEARS
The 2023 Minnesota Legislative session begins January 3 with Democrats controlling the House, Senate and the governor's office.

Starbuck farmer and lawmaker Paul Anderson will be the Republican lead on the House agriculture committee. Anderson says with a state budget surplus exceeding $17 billion, he's hoping for a strong ag budget. Listen

State Senator Torrey Westrom of Elbow Lake has chaired the Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Finance and Policy committee. He says now is the time to think big, especially in terms of tax relief given the massive surplus. Listen

FARM BILL A FOCUS
When Congress reconvenes in January, crafting a new 2023 Farm Bill will be a priority issue for many ag groups, including the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation, according to President Dan Glessing, who farms near Waverly. Listen

The farm bill will be a major point of discussion at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual convention January 6-11 in Puerto Rico.

KLOBUCHAR ON FARM BILL
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar serves on the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. She's been through the process of writing a farm bill before and says her goal is to keep what's working and improve upon areas that need changing. Sen. Klobuchar says areas such as crop insurance, commodity titles and dairy provisions need to be protected. She also would like to see more done in the area of animal disease protection and response. Listen

FARM BILL RESEARCH HEARING
U.S. Senator Tina Smith was part of a 2023 Farm Bill hearing on research and education funding. The Farm Bill includes funding for USDA in-house research as well as making dollars available for universities and other organizations. Sen. Smith says research into advanced biofuels holds great potential for agriculture and the environment. Listen

SOY CRUSH GROWTH
University of Minnesota Grain Marketing Specialist Ed Usset has been researching the expansion of soy crushing across the U.S. and how that additional capacity could impact markets. Usset says there have been 16 new crush plants or planned major expansions announced across the Corn Belt in the past several years, including new plants in North Dakota and South Dakota. Usset says that if realized, that expansion would grow the nation's processing capacity by about 25%. In order to meet the demand, estimates have shown an additional 11 million acres of soybean would be necessary in the next 3-4 years. Usset says that many additional soybean acres would strongly impact other grain markets. Listen

CATTLE INDUSTRY UPDATES
The Minnesota Cattle Industry Convention was held in Willmar this past weekend with Mark Pankonin of Lamberton elected President of the Minnesota State Cattlemen's Association (MSCA). Pankonin operates a cattle finishing lot as well as a cow-calf operation. Pankonin is looking forward to the year ahead as president. Listen

Pankonin succeeds Grant Breitkreitz as MSCA president. Breitkreitz is optimistic about the state of the cattle industry and the MSCA. Listen

FARM BILL IMPORTANT TO CATTLE INDUSTRY
National Cattlemen's Beef Association President Don Schiefelbein from Kimball, Minnesota says the 2023 Farm Bill is an important issue for cattle producers. He says of particular interest is the Livestock Risk Protection, which helps cattle producers ride some wild market swings. Listen

CHINA OIL DEMAND COULD AFFECT GAS PRICES
Gas prices across Minnesota have been on the decline for the past several months. Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy expects Minnesota's average to fall below $3 a gallon. However, prices may stabilize or climb if China emerges from COVID lockdowns and their economy ramps up. Increased oil demand from China would likely be felt in the U.S. as well. Listen