Action taken on Federal Orders

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a final decision in its proposal to amend the uniform pricing formulas in all 11 Federal Milk Marketing Orders. The final decision puts forth a package of amendments to update formulas and makes limited changes based on public comments. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Deputy Administrator Dana Coale said the next steps are the most important. “This is where the dairy farmers get an opportunity to vote on each Federal Order as it has been amended through this final decision. As soon as the final decision is published in the federal register, we will begin the referendum process.” Every eligible dairy farmer or dairy cooperative will receive a ballot for each order where they have no pool. Ballots must be returned by Dec. 31. AMS will be hosting three webinars this month.

Long list for potential ag secretary pick

Veteran Washington analyst Jim Wiesemeyer is describing Donald Trump’s win as the greatest political comeback in history. Trump won all of the battleground states and expanded his broad support in rural areas. The speculation now begins over who will get the nod for Trump’s new cabinet. Numerous names are part of that guesswork for the agriculture secretary including former ambassador to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture, Kip Tom. Tom is an Indiana farmer and co-chaired the “Farmers and Ranchers for Trump 47 Committee.” Other potential choices include Texas Agriculture Secretary Sid Miller, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, former House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway, former USDA Undersecretary Ted McKinney and former USDA Chief of Staff Ray Starling.

Divided government will change Minnesota legislative dynamics 

The control of the Minnesota House remains uncertain, but it could end up being a 67-67 tie. Rather than the current DFL trifecta, political analyst Blois Olson expects a different scenario for the next session. “I think the biggest issue is how you get a budget done with a tied House,” Olson said. “Governor (Tim) Walz is going to come back. I think his attitude, his experience on the national stage and how he chooses to work with the legislature is going to be one of the key components. He has not been as engaged with the legislature as other governors. He’s only got one veto in six years. As a former legislator, he thinks that the legislature should do their job and he should work with them. He’s probably going to have to dive in earlier with the split House.”

Petersen optimistic about 2025 session 

With the election behind us, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture is preparing for the 2025 legislative session. Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen is evaluating budget and policy priorities. “Some of the policies that we’ve looked at would really focus around animal disease.” High-path avian influenza and African swine fever are two animal health threats mentioned. There will be different dynamics at play for the upcoming legislative session. “With the tie in the (Minnesota) House, that’s not the end of the world for agriculture. Agriculture works together a lot of times in the legislature so I’m optimistic that we’re one of the bills that can get done.”

Klobuchar wants farm bill before end of year

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar will serve as the Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee in the next session of Congress. During a stop at the Minnesota Ag and Food Summit, Klobuchar said she’d prefer to complete the farm bill before the beginning of the new year. “I just think we’re going to be better off when we’re doing all the disaster relief for the southern states and we’re doing that with good reason. There’s going to be funding that’s spent on that if the farm bill gets jettisoned as kind of an orphan at the end of next year. With an extension, it might be harder for us to get some of the resources that we want.” In addition to the farm bill, the 45Z tax credit guidance, year-round E15, and flex-fuel vehicles are on the to-do list. When an immigration bill is heard, Klobuchar also emphasized the need to address ag labor issues.

Economic relief likely, farm bill not 

University of Missouri Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute Director Pat Westhoff is not optimistic that a new farm bill will be finished before the end of the year. “The fact that we haven’t been able to reach a compromise yet on the bill makes it difficult to imagine how we get the entire thing done during a short lame-duck session.” Westhoff believes there is more support for economic relief. “I do think the chance of some sort of economic assistance package is probably a bit higher,” Westhoff told Red River Farm Network. “Separate from a farm bill, a shorter-term bill that might actually provide some additional support to farmers might still be possible.”

Farm bill uncertainty 

With the election over, Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish wants the focus to return to the farm bill. “The top thing on everybody’s mind is the importance of getting a farm bill done, hopefully within this lame-duck session. I did talk to (Minnesota Senator) Amy Klobuchar this (Wednesday) morning and she’s very committed to doing it.” Wertish admits there’s no guarantee the legislation will be addressed before the end of the year. “There’s uncertainty with that, too, whether we’ll go forward, or they’ll decide they want to hold off and put it into the next session, which starts the whole process all over again.”

Farm bill may be punted to ’25 

Congress has a big to-do list during the lame-duck session. What does that mean for agriculture? “Honestly, I think the real question for people in agriculture is not whether or not we’ll do a farm bill in lame duck, but really whether we even do one in 2025,” said Jay Truitt, president/CEO, Policy Solutions LLC. “It may take a while; I can imagine a lot of stuff changing on the nutrition side of the equation now.” Truitt expects Congress to address disasters, like the drought and hurricanes, before the end of this term. Regarding President-Elect Trump’s cabinet, Truitt believes there will be a role for North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. “I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have something to do with the energy or commerce departments; he’s earned his place just from a policy knowledge standpoint.”

The latest data from Minnesota farm country 

An agricultural impact study will be released later this month, but AgriGrowth members got a preview during the Ag and Food Summit. Land O’Lakes Vice President of Government and Industry Relations Matt Wohlman said agriculture accounts for 8.5% of Minnesota’s economy and is responsible for 330,000 jobs. “Another key finding from the report is the economic contribution of crop production has overtaken livestock production in Minnesota and while both crop and livestock production are up, crop production is growing at nearly twice the rate over the last five years,” Wohlman said. “When it comes to job creation, more than 18,000 jobs were created by crop production in the last five years, that’s a 21% increase. For livestock, we’ve seen a loss of jobs, about 6,700 jobs, a decrease of about 5%.” The research found the average Minnesota farm has 390 acres. That’s only slightly larger than the 350-acre average 25 years ago. During that same time, the average market value of that farm has increased nearly 500%.

Don’t move the goal posts 

Wells Fargo Chief Agricultural Economist Michael Swanson compared Minnesota with other Midwestern states during his AgriGrowth presentation. Swanson said Minnesota would benefit if it leaned into specific segments of animal agriculture, especially the poultry and swine industries. To grow the livestock and poultry sectors, Swanson advocates for a consistent environmental regulatory framework. “Companies achieve a standard that was deemed acceptable five years ago and they’re told it’s no longer acceptable and they’re not really given a cost-benefit rationale for that, so I would say once goalposts are set, you’ve got to have a good reason to move the goalposts.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls for more testing 

Farm workers who have been exposed to avian influenza should be tested for the virus even if they don’t show symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is making that recommendation as USDA steps up its testing of milk for H5N1. This virus has been found in 450 dairy farms across 15 states.

Dairy Farmers of American announces plant closure

Dairy Farmers of America plans to idle its milk condensing plant in Goshen, Indiana, Jan. 2, 2025. In a statement, DFA said this decision was part of the company’s strategy to optimize its farmer/owners’ milk value and deliver returns on their investment.

Trivia challenge

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a resolution into law in 1941 making Thanksgiving an official holiday. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, what is the first compartment of a cow’s stomach called? We’ll have the answer in our next edition of the Dairy Star.

Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two sons, Tony and Sam, and five grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.