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Farm Bureau thanks governor

TO THE EDITOR:
Farm Bureau thanks legislators, the Governor and his administration for reaching agreement on the state budget for the next biennium and adjourning the 2003 legislative session. Without a doubt this was a very difficult session given the large state budget deficit that had to be addressed. Given the state budget constraints agriculture fared as well as we could have hoped to.
Farm Bureau members were key players in securing funding for the State Ethanol Producer Payment Program.
This programís funding for the next biennium is at 13 cents per gallon for all Minnesota ethanol plants ñ an increase of three cents per gallon over the Governorís proposal.
In addition, all plants will be eligible to recapture payments lost in the Governorís 2003 unallotment and the difference between the mandated payment of twenty cents per gallon and the payment of thirteen cents they will receive.
Farm Bureau worked closely with other agricultural organizations to obtain exemptions from the need for an Environmental Assessment Worksheet for construction of an animal feedlot of less than 1,000 animal units or expansion of an animal feedlot with a total capacity of less than 1,000 animal units. This change will improve the livestock feedlot permitting process without rolling back environmental regulations.
Farm Bureau also worked with other interested parties to successfully reinstate the grant program that county fairs primarily use for premiums.
The budget debate now shifts to the local level as local units of government work through spending reductions made by the legislature and determine the impact of these state reductions on their budgets. These reductions should give local citizens more control over how their money is spent locally. It will be critical for farmers to follow the budgeting process of their local governments and become active participants in that process.
Al Christopherson, president
Minnesota Farm Bureau

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