In this Edition
Save the Dates
- MCPR Annual Golf Outing - August 7th, 2024
- CPM Short Course and MCPR Trade Show - December 10-12, 2024
Executive Director's Report
- MCPR Update – Transition & New Address
- 2024 CPM Short Course and MCPR Trade Show – Update
Capitol Corner- State
- Sen. Nicole Mitchell Removed from Committees, Caucus Meetings
- MCPR Legislative Update
Capitol Corner - Federal
- Chairwoman Stabenow Says Members Are Committed To Getting A Farm Bill Finished
- House and Senate Announce Farm Bill Proposals - Path to New Legislation Still Remains Unclear
Industry Related News
- Planting Pace Ahead Of Normal In Minnesota
- What Does The Future of Ag Retail Look Like?
- CropLife's Buying Intentions Survey: Here's What Ag Retailers Plan to Purchase in 2024
- Minnesota’s Actions Foreshadow Potential Farm Regulations for Iowa
- Ramstad: State Demographer Drops a Sweeping Report on Minnesotans' Migration Patterns
- 5 Tips for Avoiding Nitrogen Injury, Loss
- New Tool Enhances P and K Management
- Innovative Herbicide Formulations, Novel Trait Technology Among Leading Ways to Fight Weed Resistance
- Infrastructure Woes to Watch: Potholes Plague Global Ag Trade
- 5 reasons artificial intelligence makes farmers nervous
- MN Corn: Sustainability Report highlights efforts
Partner News/Announcements
- Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis: Webinar
- The MDA Advises Following Acetochlor BMPs to Tackle Detections in Surface Waters
- EPA Issues Updated Herbicide Strategy
- Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) Testing Calendar
- ARA Retailer of the Year – Nominations Now Open!
- Go Wolves ! Timberwolves sweep Suns, advance in NBA Playoffs after wild Game 4 finish
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MCPR Annual Golf Outing - August 7th, 2024
The 2024 MCPR Annual Golf outing will be held Wednesday, August 7th at The Wilds Golf Club, located in Prior Lake, MN.
Registration and lunch at the The Wilds Golf Club will begin at 10 AM. After lunch the shot gun start will take place at 11 AM. Dinner and awards will conclude the days event.
More information and registration information will be available soon! Keep an eye on your inbox.
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CPM Short Course and MCPR Trade Show - December 10-12, 2024
MCPR staff, Board of Directors and the University of Minnesota are already planning the 2024 CPM Short Course and MCPR Trade Show, that will be held December 10-12, 2024 at the Minneapolis Hilton hotel.
Be sure to mark your calendars!
Further information regarding programming and registration will hit your inbox late summer/early fall.
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Executive Director's
Report
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MCPR Update – Transition & New Address
The MCRP Board approved a transition in association management services at the February 2024 board meeting. Our new association management company is Ag Management Solution (AMS), based in Mankato, MN. This change will allow MCPR to provide better services to its members and offers the potential for greater strategic alignment with other agriculture associations that AMS supports, including MN Soybean Growers Association, MN Biodiesel Council, and MN Association of Wheat Growers. The MCPR staff are working to ensure that we have a seamless transition. We want to thank the staff team at Association Services Company (ASC) for the dedicated support of MCPR.
MCPR New Address – Please update your records!
Minnesota Crop Production Retailers
1020 Innovation Lane
Mankato, MN 56001
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2024 CPM Short Course and MCPR Trade Show – Update
We are excited about our 2024 CPM Short Course and MCPR Trade Show, which will be held December 10-12, 2024, at the Minneapolis Hilton. The event planning committee is working on selecting speakers and developing program content for the event. Based on the strong attendance number from 2023, we look forward to a successful 2024 event. To better inform the planning committee on what topics and speakers might be of interest, the planning team and U of MN staff developed a survey questionnaire and sent it to our list of past attendees.
It was great to see that over 240 individuals responded to the survey. Respondents provided great suggestions on topics of interest and potential speakers for the planning committee to review. We see interest in topics like artificial intelligence in agriculture, leadership, organizational culture, opportunities to learn about new programs and policies and suggestions for potential breakout sessions and workshops. (Thank you to those who took the time to respond to the survey.)
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Sen. Nicole Mitchell Removed from Committees, Caucus Meetings
KSTP: The DFL state senator who was arrested and charged last week with burglarizing her stepmother’s home has now been removed from her Senate committee assignments and caucus meetings.
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MCPR Legislative Update
The legislative session is now in the final push to get the various supplemental budget bills heard and referred to the conference committees to reconcile differences with the Senate bills and make their way to final passage. The legislature must adjourn by May 20, 2024.
On May 1, 2024, the House of Representatives acted on several omnibus bills, including:
HF3911 House Omnibus Environment Bill (Bill passed 68 / 63)
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Jacob moves to amend. Amendment coded H3911A18 – Removes the prohibition on planting corn on state land. (Amendment was not adopted)
The Omnibus Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy Bill is expected to be up before the House of Representatives the week of May 6-10. Several amendments of interest are ready to be considered by the body.
HF4975 House Omnibus Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy Bill
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Anderson, P. H. moves to amend. Amendment coded H4975A7 / AFREC renewal for 10 years.
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Nelson, N. moves to amend. Amendment coded H4975A5 – Soil Health Grants - allows for equipment rentals.
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Nelson, N. moves to amend. Amendment coded H4975A6 - Soil Heath Grants – guidelines for the sale of used equipment purchased with Soil Health Grant funds.
The Senate Environment Policy Bill and Agriculture Policy Bill passed earlier. The Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy Omnibus budget bill and the Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy Finance Omnibus are pending action on the Senate Floor.
SF3631 Omnibus Environment Policy bill
SF3887 Environment, Climate, and Legacy omnibus budget bill
SF4225 Omnibus Agriculture Policy bill
SF4942 Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy Finance Omnibus
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Chairwoman Stabenow Says Members Are Committed To Getting A Farm Bill Finished
The Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Ag Committee says farmers need the certainty of a five-year farm bill.
Debbie Stabenow told reporters attending the National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Washington Watch that negotiations have been stalled. She hopes the framework she released Wednesday helps restart progress on negotiations. “We’re doing this within the context of three major goals: keeping farmers farming, keeping families fed, and keeping rural communities strong,” she says.
She says the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act would strengthen crop insurance for all farmers. “It’s important for small farmers, for specialty crops, as well as large farmers in this area,” she says. Senator Hoeven and I have talked a lot about this. I want to make sure we’ve got our small and medium-sized farmers, as well as our large farmers, being able to access it.”
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House and Senate Announce Farm Bill Proposals - Path to New Legislation Still Remains Unclear
Leaders of the House and the Senate Agriculture committees both announced plans to consider farm bill legislation. While the announcement marks a major milestone, the path to a new farm bill this year remains as uncertain as ever.
Early Wednesday morning, House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson released a title-by-title overview of what he says are bipartisan policies and priorities in a new farm bill. He expects the committee to mark up the bill on May 23, and hopes for unanimous support.
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Planting Pace Ahead Of Normal In Minnesota
The planting pace is ahead of normal in Minnesota.
USDA’s latest weekly crop report says with more than four days suitable for fieldwork across the state, corn planting advanced to 30 percent complete. That’s a week ahead of last year and four days faster than the five-year average.
Soybeans are 14 percent planted, nine days ahead of a year ago and five days ahead of the usual pace.
For small grains, spring wheat is 48 percent planted, 30 percent of the barley crop is in, and half the intended oat acres have been seeded.
Sugarbeet planting eclipsed 80 percent, and potatoes are 19 percent planted.
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What Does The Future of Ag Retail Look Like?
Ask Garrett Asmus about his role at the family owned and led Asmus Farm Supply, Inc. (AFS), and the third generation leader will say, “I’m a fireman. People come to me, and I help fix the problems.”
The can-do, solutions-oriented attitude is part of what’s shaping the up and coming wave of leaders of ag retail. Simultaneously, as farmer needs are evolving, technology is advancing, and business dynamics change, ag retail businesses and the leaders who are behind them are responding and trying to anticipate what will lead to their future success.
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CropLife's Buying Intentions Survey: Here's What Ag Retailers Plan to Purchase in 2024
Ten years ago now, members of the CropLife magazine staff had just returned from the annual Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) meeting. All of us had been asked by ARA attendees what we thought would be the most active crop input categories during the upcoming growing season — over and over again! Instead of making educated guesses, however, we decided the best way to answer these questions was to poll our readers for their views.
With that, the annual CropLife Buying Intentions Survey was born! And this effort is still going strong!
So, now that we’ve taken a brief glance backward at the beginning of this survey, let’s look ahead to what the 2024 growing season is expected to look like for ag retailers in terms of purchase plans. Overall, most crop inputs/equipment/services categories should have similar years as they did in 2023. There are a few standouts, however, in each segment.
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Minnesota’s Actions Foreshadow Potential Farm Regulations for Iowa
Environmental groups recently asked the federal government to intervene in northeast Iowa, where ag pollution is believed to have contaminated scads of private wells with unhealthy concentrations of nitrate.
Their petition mirrors one that sought the same help last year for southeast Minnesota, which has the same porous topography that makes its groundwater more prone to contamination from the surface.
That request prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to direct Minnesota to analyze the scope of the problem, provide clean drinking water to affected residents and develop longer-term plans to prevent the contamination.
It’s likely the EPA will give the same direction to Iowa, said Alicia Vasto, water program director for the Iowa Environmental Council, one of the groups that petitioned.
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Ramstad: State Demographer Drops a Sweeping Report on Minnesotans' Migration Patterns
Every business owner and executive in the state should read it.
While I spent the last two weeks stumbling around as an amateur demographer, the professionals at the State Demographic Center dropped a new report analyzing migration trends and patterns in Minnesota.
The 30-page document, which can be downloaded from the center's website, shows that movement in and out of Minnesota is less volatile than suggested by the alarming narrative of exodus that's taken hold with Minnesotans in recent years.
Every business owner and executive in Minnesota should read it. Know your state, your market. Susan Brower, the state demographer, told me last week she and her colleagues wrote it because so many people in Minnesota are talking about workforce and population trends these days.
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5 Tips for Avoiding Nitrogen Injury, Loss
The goal of nitrogen applications is to give your corn a yield boost, but what happens when you apply too much of a good thing? Mistakes made when applying nitrogen, such as placement and timing, can lead to injury in the form of burn. Most of the time, the plants will grow out of it. The other risk is losing nitrogen through volatilization, denitrification and leaching.
Dan Quinn, Purdue Extension corn specialist, says one of the most important things to do is keep an eye on corn after nitrogen applications to look for injuries, especially during emergence. He explains that assessing belowground plant condition should not be overlooked when looking for nitrogen injury symptoms.
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New Tool Enhances P and K Management
FRST provides phosphorus and potassium soil-test values, indicating where there is no expected yield increase from P or K.
A team of agricultural scientists, including researchers at Penn State, have launched a decision aid that provides an unbiased, science-based interpretation of soil-test phosphorus and potassium values for crop fertilization.
The Fertilizer Recommendation Support Tool, or FRST, represents a significant step in soil testing for phosphorus and potassium, according to the researchers. Using data from across the country, the tool is designed to enhance nutrient management with an eye toward potentially saving farmers millions of dollars while reducing excess nutrient losses to the environment.
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Innovative Herbicide Formulations, Novel Trait Technology Among Leading Ways to Fight Weed Resistance
The fight against weed resistance continues to ramp up as crop protection companies concentrate their R&D efforts toward developing new formulations to stay ahead of weeds that have become resistant to existing herbicides.
Corteva’s Vorceed Enlist with next generation corn rootworm (CRW) trait technology is one example. The solution gives farmers more flexibility in managing CRW pressure with three modes of action for above-ground insect protection, three modes of action for below-ground insect protection, and tolerance to four herbicide modes of action to better address weed resistance.
When applied to label instructions, Enlist achieves near-zero volatility and reduced potential for physical drift. A wide application window further enhances the use of Enlist in the mitigation of late season broadleaf weeds, notes Ron Geis, a Market Development Specialist with Corteva.
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Infrastructure Woes to Watch: Potholes Plague Global Ag Trade
It seems like the world trade routes are riddled with more potholes than a Minnesota highway come springtime. Getting goods and materials from point A to point B has been anything but smooth sailing, and it continues to be a serious thorn in the side of the U.S. agricultural economy.
Recently, at Farm Journal’s Top Producer Summit, attendees were briefed on one of the larger logistical potholes to appear. Eric Snodgrass, Nutrien’s principal atmospheric scientist, pointed the finger at a particularly strong El Niño pattern leading to one of the driest years on record in Panama—home to the modern-day engineering wonder known as the Panama Canal.
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5 Reasons Artificial Intelligence makes Farmers Nervous
AI is revolutionizing agriculture, but farmers want barriers such as education gaps and connectivity issues to be addressed.
The emergence of artificial intelligence onto farms brings with it trepidation and concern for many growers — with good reason. If the scientists and agri-tech investors who are driving innovation at the highest levels are correct, AI is poised to indelibly change the way farmers do their work. Here are five of those concerns:
- More education needed.
- Lack of connectivity.
- Change driven by outsiders.
- Data protection.
- Investment cost and risk.
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MN Corn: Sustainability Report Highlights Efforts
Check out the Minnesota Corn Sustainability Report to learn about ways Minnesota Corn supports People, Planet, Profit aspects of sustainable corn farming.
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Partner News/
Announcements
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Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis: Webinar
Regional Economic Conditions: Agriculture
Monday, May 13, 2024, 9:00–9:30 a.m. CT
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis surveys farm lenders across the Ninth District quarterly to check the pulse of agriculture in this heavily rural region.
Join regional economist Joe Mahon for a live webinar to discuss the latest survey results—gathered as spring planting was underway—on farm incomes, land values, and the impacts of increasing interest rates on farm finances.
Free and open to the public; please register in advance.
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The MDA Advises Following Acetochlor BMPs to Tackle Detections in Surface Waters
Acetochlor products like Tripleflex, SureStart, Warrant, and Harness are commonly used in Minnesota to control weeds in crops like corn, soybeans, and sugarbeets. As sales continue to increase, acetochlor is being detected at higher concentrations in many rivers in southcentral and southwestern Minnesota. If acetochlor levels exceed state water quality standards, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency may designate the waterbody as impaired, triggering the development of a response plan to promote responsible pesticide use and possibly impose use restrictions. Currently, only Silver Creek in Carver County is impaired by acetochlor.
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EPA Issues Updated Herbicide Strategy
On April 16, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated its Herbicide Strategy, which appears to address some of the concerns raised by SDABA and other stakeholders. The draft strategy, which EPA released for public comments in July 2023, describes whether, how much, and where mitigations may be needed to protect listed species from agricultural uses of conventional herbicides.
EPA plans to make a number of improvements to the draft based on this feedback, with the primary changes falling into three categories.
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Making the strategy easier to understand. Many commenters noted the complexity of the strategy to determine the amount of mitigation a label requires for a particular pesticide—up to nine points of mitigation. In response, EPA is simplifying its approach, such as by using four tiers—none, low, medium, high—to describe the amount of mitigation that may be needed for each herbicide.
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Increasing flexibility for growers to implement the mitigation measures in the strategy. EPA expects to expand its mitigation measures to include new measures such as erosion barriers, reservoir tillage, and soil carbon amendments. EPA is also working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other organizations to identify other measures to add to the mitigation menu that can reduce pesticide runoff and erosion.
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Reducing the amount of mitigation that may be needed when growers have already adopted voluntary practices to reduce pesticide runoff or where runoff potential is lower due to geography. EPA is also considering whether growers could meet any necessary mitigation requirements if they participate in agricultural conservation programs or work with qualified experts to design and implement mitigation measures.
In addition to these types of improvements, EPA is also working on other changes to the Herbicide Strategy and how it is implemented. For many listed species, the maps used in the draft strategy for determining where mitigation measures would apply are often too broad, covering areas not needed to conserve the species. EPA is working with FWS and others to develop a process for refining maps for hundreds of species. This process could then be used by applicants for registration actions and by others to produce draft maps for the agencies to consider. Through this work, EPA expects that the land area subject to the pesticide restrictions under the final strategy could shrink for many species.
The Agency expects to publish the final strategy in August 2024. The full update, along with additional details regarding the strategy, are available in the public docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0365 at www.regulations.gov, and on EPA’s website.
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Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) Testing Calendar
Exam Registration Dates
Register and pay for the exam(s) of your choice.
- June 20th to July 15th
- September 25th to October 21st
Available Exam Dates
Exams will be conducted during this time frame.
- July 24th to August 5th
- October 30th to November 11th
Exam Registration is only available during the dates listed above, and only for the next Available Exam Date. For example, if you want to take your exam in the July 24th to August 5th exam period, you would register in the June 19th to July 15th period.
Sign up for an exam or get information about specialty exams below:
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ARA Retailer of the Year – Nominations Now Open!
Industry-wide recognition in stewardship, leadership & customer engagement
Each year, the ARA Retailer of the Year Award honors an agricultural retailer for going above and beyond in environmental stewardship, community leadership, customer engagement and employee relations.
Nominations now open
The Retailer of the Year Award, sponsored by Bayer Crop Science and The Scoop, is awarded to an ARA member company or individual. Applications close Thursday, June 27.
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Go Wolves ! Timberwolves sweep Suns, advance in NBA Playoffs after wild Game 4 finish
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Timberwolves are moving on in the Western Conference Playoffs after a four-game sweep of the Phoenix Suns in a 122-116 victory Sunday night (4/28), with Anthony Edwards putting together a human highlight reel in the fourth quarter.
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Are you following MCPR on social media? Make sure you like and follow us so you don't miss out on events, what's happening with our members and the latest news impacting Minnesota’s agricultural retail sector!
Does your organization or company have news or a press release that you would like to share with the MCPR’s membership? If so, please contact MCPR - lee@mcpr-cca.org.
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Minnesota Crop Production Retailers | P: 763.235.6466
www.mcpr-cca.org
1020 Innovation Lane, Mankato, MN 56001
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