In this Edition
Capitol Corner - Minnesota
- Response to EPA Nitrate Letter for Southeast Minnesota
- State Says it will Provide Clean Drinking Water in Southeast Minnesota, but Offers no New Curbs on Farm Pollution
- All DFL Appointed MN Supreme Court will Give Party a ‘Quad-fecta’
Capitol Corner - Federal
- Congress Votes to Avert a Shutdown and Keep the Government Funded into Early March
Industry Related News
- Despite Drought, Minnesota Corn Farmers Helped U.S. to Record 2023 Harvest
- Minnesota Finds Increased Health Risk from ‘Forever Chemicals’
- Nutrients Where Needed: How to Prep Your Soil Fertility for a Vertical System
- Most Uses of Controversial Pesticide are now Prohibited in Oregon
- John Deere Partners with SpaceX to Expand Rural Connectivity
Partner News / Announcements
- Certified Crop Advisors – Benefits to Employers
- Updated Minnesota Groundwater Protection Rule Map Now Available
- MDA Pesticide Management Plan - Available Resources
- Reminder: Pesticide Container Recycling Program
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Response to EPA Nitrate Letter for Southeast Minnesota
On November 3, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and Minnesota Department of Agriculture develop a coordinated and comprehensive work plan to reduce nitrate contamination of drinking water in eight southeastern Minnesota counties.
The eight counties included are Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Wabasha, and Winona.
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State Says it will Provide Clean Drinking Water in Southeast Minnesota, but Offers no New Curbs on Farm Pollution
State Rep. Rick Hansen, chair of the House environment committee, called the state's response "embarrassing" and said the EPA should reject it.
The state of Minnesota said it will spend the coming months providing clean drinking water to residents in southeastern Minnesota whose wells are contaminated with farm pollution.
In a work plan released this month, state regulators gave the EPA a timeline for providing the water treatment systems, but said existing programs will eventually reduce the nitrate pollution that's fouling the wells.
Margaret Wagner, a division manager with the Department of Agriculture, said it will take time to see results of programs designed to change farming practices to reduce fertilizer runoff.
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All DFL Appointed MN Supreme Court will Give Party a ‘Quad-fecta’
Gov. Tim Walz will get the chance to appoint two more members to the Minnesota Supreme Court in the next six months, which will mean four of the seven members will be his appointees. The other three were appointed by his predecessor.
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Congress Votes to Avert a Shutdown and Keep the Government Funded into Early March
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress sent President Joe Biden a short-term spending bill on Thursday that would avert a looming partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies into March.
The House approved the measure by a vote of 314-108, with opposition coming mostly from the more conservative members of the Republican conference. Shortly before the vote, the House Freedom Caucus announced it “strongly opposes” the measure because it would facilitate more spending than they support.
Nevertheless, about half of Republicans joined with Democrats in passing the third stopgap funding measure in recent months. The action came a few hours after the Senate had voted overwhelmingly to pass the bill by a vote of 77-18.
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Despite Drought, Minnesota Corn Farmers Helped U.S. to Record 2023 Harvest
Another wacky weather year failed to break corn-growers' collective stride in Minnesota, where farmers put 1.51 billion bushels in bins for a 4% increase from 2022.
Nationwide, 2023's harvest turned out to be a corn coronation, as the farmers saw a record harvest of 177.3 bushels per acre, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report released at the end of last week.
In Minnesota, a wet spring that delayed planting gave way to scorching sun in June and little water through the State Fair. According to a separate report from the USDA, by Jan. 1 of this year, roughly 30% of the state's topsoil remained "short" or "very short" of moisture.
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Minnesota Finds Increased Health Risk from ‘Forever Chemicals’
Perfluorinated chemicals have been widely used for decades in firefighting foam and many household items. They are widespread in the environment and in human bodies and do not break down in the environment.
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Nutrients Where Needed: How to Prep Your Soil Fertility for a Vertical System
In some vertical farming systems, such as no-till and strip-till, you will no longer mix nutrients deep into the soil profile with horizontal tillage. Much like you addressed soil density by removing layers, you’ll want to balance fertility throughout the rooting zone before transitioning to a vertical farming system.
Once you balance fertility and pH in the soil profile, and adjust to making small, more frequent applications of lime, you probably won’t need to mix fertilizer into the soil, says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie.
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Most Uses of Controversial Pesticide are now Prohibited in Oregon
Oregon’s Department of Agriculture began phasing out the use of chlorpyrifos in 2020. Now, the state will ban most of its uses this month — with some exceptions.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture has prohibited most uses and the sale of a controversial pesticide beginning this month with some exceptions. The announcement comes three years after the state began phasing out the use of the chemical.
For years environment and farmworker advocacy groups lobbied the state to ban the use of chlorpyrifos. That’s because government health agencies have found it to cause neurological damage — especially in children and people who are regularly exposed, such as farm workers.
The chemical has been widely used in homes and on farms to control insects on a wide variety of ornamental plants and food and feed crops. In Oregon, it’s been used on Christmas trees, alfalfa and some crop seeds.
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John Deere Partners with SpaceX to Expand Rural Connectivity
A new agreement between John Deere and SpaceX will allow farmers facing rural connectivity challenges to fully utilize their precision agriculture technologies.
Mike Kool, John Deere’s senior product manager for connected fleet, says farmers will soon be able to get the Starlink network equipped to their machines. “This is going to be game changing for our customers that are in those areas,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of extensive research over the past few years and realize 30% of crop land within the U.S. is just not covered to a level that they need to be.”
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Partner News / Announcements
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Certified Crop Advisors – Benefits to Employers
The purpose of the CCA program is to protect the public, farmers and the agricultural industry as a whole. These programs are voluntary, professional certifications to Advisers – proving their commitment to their clients, their employers (you), and to the public welfare. Farmers can depend on that determination and commitment for true results in the field.
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Updated Minnesota Groundwater Protection Rule Map Now Available
St. Paul, MN: The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has issued an updated map that will help farmers across the state comply with the Groundwater Protection Rule. The rule restricts fall application of nitrogen fertilizer in areas vulnerable to groundwater contamination, and it outlines steps to reduce the severity of contamination in areas where nitrate is already elevated in public water supply wells.
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MDA Pesticide Management Plan - Available Resources
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has a variety of resources available for education and outreach related to pesticides and water quality. In addition to the resources listed below, MDA staff can help by giving talks, creating slides, and writing articles related to pesticides and water quality or monitoring data. Please feel free to contact the MDA with any requests or ideas for collaboration.
Best Management Practices (BMPs)
The MDA has, in coordination with University of Minnesota Extension and other partners, developed best management practices (BMPs) to prevent the degradation of Minnesota’s waters. There are both generic BMPs and pesticide-specific water quality BMPs available.
Videos
All videos are available through the MDA’s YouTube channel (@mnagriculture) including:
• Protecting Pollinators Series – Videos in this series were produced as part of a collaborative project funded by EPA. While the focus is on pollinators, recommendations related to pesticide application (e.g., minimizing drift) also help to protect water quality.
• SE MN Groundwater Series – Videos in this series were produced through the Root River Field to Stream Partnership. These videos offer great visuals explaining the geology and movement of groundwater and contaminants in SE MN.
Monitoring Data
Minnesota Department of Agriculture 2
Special Registration Reviews
The MDA performs special registration reviews on new pesticide active ingredients and currently registered pesticides that have significant new uses approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Brief two-page summary documents are prepared with each review highlighting the projected use of the pesticide in Minnesota, select label language, toxicity and exposure information, and details on its environmental fate. Summary documents are currently available for 43 active ingredients (www.mda.state.mn.us/chemicals/pesticides/regs/newreviews).
Pesticide Use & Sales Data
Waste Pesticide Collection & Disposal
The MDA’s resources related to waste pesticide collection and disposal are available at:
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Reminder: Pesticide Container Recycling Program
Whoever you use to recycle your containers, MCPR encourages members to evaluate your pesticide recycling vendor to ensure the firm is addressing two major issues:
- that the company has a system that tracks and documents the containers once they leave your facility and that the plastic is handled legally and safely including ultimate use restricted to end use products that tests have shown minimize any pesticide residue exposure to humans, and
- that the company adheres to all ANSI/ASABE S596 Standards: Recycling Plastic Containers from Pesticides and Pesticide-Related Products.
The Ag Container Recycling Council (ACRC) is the national organization that has organized and funds the ag pesticide container recycling program for the industry in the USA and has ensured MCPR that those systems and documents are in place for their vendor, G.Phillips and Sons, LLC.
GPS is the ACRC contractor for the 15 Midwest states as of January 1, 2017. This industry subsidized program provides free recycling of triple rinsed plastic packaging 55 gallons or smaller. Our container collection program takes the work and confusion out of properly recycling used plastic containers.
Leave the work to us. We have crews that will come to you and process your material on-site. In fact, we have tripled our fleet of mobile equipment to provide three times the customer service as before. You can count on consistent, convenient collection and recycling of your Ag Chemical plastic.
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Minnesota Crop Production Retailers | P: 763.235.6466
www.mcpr-cca.org
601 Carlson Parkway, Ste 450, Minnetonka, MN 55305
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