By Rep. Paul Anderson
If all goes as planned, the ROPS rebate program (tractor rollover protection) will be rolled out by the Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture during the first week of July. Look for news on the program to appear right after the July Fourth holiday. This is a new initiative for Minnesota, although several other states already have such programs in place. Legislation I authored during this past session allocated funding for MDA to start the program, which helps farmers with the financial cost of adding roll bar protection to older tractors.
In addition to public funding of $250,000 from the state, several agricultural companies stepped up with donations to help the program become established. Land O'Lakes, the CHS Foundation, Cargill, and ADM all pledged money that the Dept. of Ag. will collect and utilize to implement the program. In total, these four companies donated over $32,000.
Andrea Vaubel, assistant commissioner of agriculture, told me that they want to get information out to interested parties as soon as possible. She said, “People are already contacting the Department asking how to apply for the program.”
When the program becomes operational, a hotline will be available to call, in addition to a web site. At first, going on-line will take you to the New York State web site, as they will be assisting with the application process. It’s hoped a revamped web site will be up and running by this fall.
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With this being Dairy Month, Commissioner of Agriculture Dave Frederickson announced last week a list of the top dairy farms in Minnesota in regard to somatic cell count. In all, 136 operations throughout the state were honored by being named to the list. Of that total, 36 were from Stearns County. Those named will receive a certificate signed by the commissioner.
Somatic cell count is a key indicator of milk quality and of herd health. Lower numbers mean the milk is better for cheese production and also has a longer shelf life when sold as bottled milk. In most cases, processors pay a premium for milk with low somatic cell counts.
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Nothing new to report regarding a possible special session of the Legislature. It’s too bad the tax bill was vetoed because it contained provisions that would have helped many residents. Folks say we should do things in a more bipartisan way. Well, that tax bill was done in such a fashion as over 90 percent of all House and Senate members, Republicans and Democrats, voted in favor of the bill. Disagreement with the governor over additional spending and transit in the metro area are still holding up any agreement to come back and re-pass the tax bill in addition to the bonding bill. Several cities, including Morris, have major infrastructure projects waiting for state dollars that are being held up in the bonding bill.
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