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Pawlenty -- There is lots of good news in agriculture Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Agri News staff writer
ST. PAUL -- There's a lot of good news in agriculture these days, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said in delivering his annual State of the State of Agriculture address at the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council annual meeting on Nov. 8.
Farmers are receiving good prices, they are reinvesting in capital and they are modernizing equipment, Pawlenty said. There's also a national awakening surrounding biofuels and clean energy.
To the rest of the country, biofuels are pretty new, he said, but Minnesota agricultural leaders have been working in the biofuels arena for more than 10 years.
Biofuels are enhancing and revitalizing agriculture, while leaving commodities available for export.
Export markets are emerging around the world. India and China, two countries Minnesota has visited with trade delegations, have one-third of the world's population between them. The two have rapidly growing middle classes, which make them good markets for U.S. agricultural exports.
Many things may appear rosy, but challenges are also ongoing. Input costs are rising, climate changes may make the state's climate more unstable, consumer confidence has been shaken by recalls and there has been a push back by some on biofuels, Pawlenty said.
Biofuels have impacted commodity prices, but the idea that the nation can't have both food and biofuels is false, Pawlenty said.
He's heard the next generation Roundup will increase soybean yields by five bushels per acre. In five to 10 years, corn yields may routinely top 300 bushels per acre. There's also great hope for cellulosic ethanol.
A plant in Georgia received USDA funds to investigate using wood and pulp for cellulosic ethanol production. A plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa, may produce ethanol from corn cobs.
It's critical that the state's existing ethanol infrastructure be maintained as the industry takes advantage of new technology that improves efficiency and moves ethanol production beyond corn, he said.
Minnesota was the first state in the nation to adopt a 10 percent ethanol mandate. The Legislature approved raising that to a 20 percent mandate, but the federal Environmental Protection Agency has resisted the change, continually asking for more data, Pawlenty said. He hopes information from a University of Minnesota study that is in its final stages will convince the EPA to grant the needed waiver for E20 legislation to move forward.
Pawlenty also wants to continue to move E85 forward. He's concerned about the development of infrastructure and a market for E85 and sees E20 as an interim step.
E85 is not only an opportunity for value-added agriculture, but also for national security, economic security, rural economic development and the environment, he said.
Another area where progress needs to be made is livestock production, Pawlenty said. The livestock industry is faring better, he said, in response to changes recommended by his livestock task force that were adopted as law. He doesn't take a position as to size, but says that the state's livestock producers must be competitive.
Milk prices are higher and the state's milk production and number of cows are increasing. There's more work to be done, including passage of the Dairy Investment Tax Credit, but those are positive signs, Pawlenty said.
Agriculture has long been the backbone of rural Minnesota's economy, but there have to be other economic opportunities or people won't stay in rural areas, he said. His SEED Initiative, which is geared to microlending to entrepreneurs, is geared to job creation and growth in rural Minnesota. |
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