 |
|
World Biofuels
Symposium
November 13-15, 2005
Beijing, China
2nd Annual Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit
December 13-15, 2005
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hosted by:
Candadian Renewable Fuels
Association
National Biodiesel
Conference & Expo 2006
February 5-8, 2006
San Diego, California
Organizer:
National Biodiesel Board
11th Annual
National Ethanol Conference: "Policy & Marketing"
February 20-22, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Sponsored by:
Renewable Fuels Association
22nd
Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo
June 20-23, 2006
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Join
our
Email Subscription List
Select your topics of interest for regular and timely updates -
control your subscriptions and unsubscribe anytime
Complete Listing of
Upcoming Events
Event
History
|
|
|
Posted on
May 6, 2003Ethanol payments, alien farm provision remain undecided Tuesday, May 6, 2003
By Janet Kubat Willette
Agri News staff writer
ST. PAUL -- The fate of ethanol producer payments, alien farmland ownership and Ag in the Classroom remain undecided.
The House and Senate passed their agriculture spending bills last week, but the varying versions require a conference committee to iron out differences. Conferees are expected to start meeting this week, but work isn't expected to progress until leadership agrees on how much money there is to spend.
"The good news is both the House and the Senate are willing to commit more resources to agriculture -- it's not a level that satisfies everyone -- but it's more resources than the governor had put is some of those programs," said Chris Radatz, director of Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation's governmental relations division.
The House bill contains 13 cents per gallon for ethanol producer payments; the Senate bill mandates payments at 16 cents per gallon. Both bills allow the plants to recapture all their funding over a longer period of time.
But three plants may not survive a 7-cent reduction from current law: Central Minnesota Ethanol Cooperative in Little Falls; Gopher State Ethanol in St. Paul and Minnesota Energy in Buffalo Lake.
"It definitely affects the other plants," said Thom Petersen, Minnesota Farmers Union government relations director.
The Senate bill also contains a provision to eliminate all funding for Gopher State Ethanol.
"We support full funding for all the ethanol plants," Radatz said.
Petersen hopes the conferees can reach agreement at 15 cents, a cut the plants said they can handle.
Conferees also need to determine whether or not there will be public support for Ag in the Classroom.
The Senate bills funds the program that has been a public-private partnership for years. The House bill doesn't contain funding and directs the Ag in the Classroom board of directors to find a new home for the program that is housed within the agriculture department, Radatz said.
The alien farmland ownership measure is awaiting a vote in the House and Senate. The two bills are different, with the House bill being fairly wide open and the Senate bill more restrictive, Petersen said.
However, a provision in the Senate omnibus finance bill allows people who have been farming illegally as non-resident aliens in Minnesota to be grandfathered in when the bill is enacted. The non-resident aliens would have five years from June 30 to become a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien. If they fail to comply, they would have to leave.
Petersen said MFU has continued to lobby against the alien farmland ownership bill because it doesn't prohibit foreign farmers from coming to the state for a few years to make money and then leaving.
"It's definitely an emotional issue," Petersen said, and it's the top issue among farmers he sees at feed mills and auctions.
Click here to see previously posted News items
in our Archive
|
|
|
|
