Minnesota Crop Production Retailers

News and Info

MCPR’s Antitrust Guidelines

FDA updated Q&A on “Food from Genetically Engineered Plants"
Click to read.

GMO Activist Recent Presentation in Europe
“Lecture to Oxford Farming Conference, 3 January 2013 by Mark Lynas - “I want to start with some apologies. For the record, here and upfront, I apologize for having spent several years ripping up GM crops. I am also sorry that I helped to start the anti-GM movement back in the mid 1990s, and that I thereby assisted in demonizing an important technological option which can be used to benefit the environment. As an environmentalist, and someone who believes that everyone in this world has a right to a healthy and nutritious diet of their choosing, I could not have chosen a more counter-productive path. I now regret it completely.”

George Rehm's Published Letter to the Editor in the 2-14-13 Agri-News Paper on GMO's.
Letter to the Editor

Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program
Pilot Project Areas

Mark Lynas, Environmentalist who Opposed GMOs, Admits he was Wrong.
Read the article.

Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program
Read the letter from Environmental groups written to MDA Commissioner Dave Fredrickson insisting on numerical nutrient criterion for nonpoint pollution sources as the MDA considers the final Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program for farmers. These groups are insisting that voluntary compliance measures are not enough. Warren Formo, Executive Director of the MN Ag Water Resource Center countered that, “program that includes these provisions will result in no sign-up, as farmers will not like it, which will result in pressure to make it regulatory."

MN Supreme Court Rejects Pesticide Trepass – a win for our industry!
Read MN Supreme Court Rejects Pesticide Trespass - By Jeff Peterson, Gray Plant Mooty

MDA Mails Approximately 300 Minnesota Pesticide License Dealers Inspection Requirements
Approximately 300 Minnesota Pesticide License Dealers have been mailed a letter recently containing an inspection requirement to submit to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture a current customer invoice showing sales of agricultural pesticides. This group of 300 licensed pesticide dealers includes approximately 70 new dealers who acquired licenses for the first time in the past year. Dealers’ sales invoices of agricultural pesticide must comply with the specification of Minnesota Law Statutes 18B.316 subd. 6., and 18E.03 subd. 4. B. MDA is in their 3rd year of the Agricultural Pesticide Dealer Sales Reporting and Fee Program and anticipate a high percent of dealer compliance with sales invoices.
Letter - Audit of Agricultural Pesticide Customer Invoice

Organic Foods no Safer than Conventionally Produced Ag Products
Read the review from the Annals of Internal Medicine Journal.

Setting the Record Straight - The Activists Have Been Stepping Up Their Attacks in the Media on Atrazine
Read the 2-page document distributed at the Commodity Classic, which is very well done and addresses all of the false claims that seem to be repeated by the activists.

Noxious Weed Law
Tony Cortilet, a Minnesota Department of Agriculture weed scientist, put together a Power Point presentation on the noxious weed law. It was originally designed for training County Agriculture Inspectors but is making the rounds at the U, townships, conservation and farm groups. The main message is to get information out about the species that are currently listed on the state noxious weed list. There were a few changes as of December, but some MCPR members probably supply herbicides and/or spraying services to various jurisdictions or land owners dealing with these weeds.
MN Noxious Weed Training Presentation

The Professional Nutrient Applicators of Wisconsin (PNAAW) Road Study
The Professional Nutrient Applicators of Wisconsin completed a four year, $630,000 road study to determine the impact of agricultural equipment on road surfaces. Study partners included AgCo, Case I.H., and Deere who provided tractors, tankers, pumps and other ag equipment, experienced drivers, and the technical expertise. Study partners included Houle, Husky, Firestone, Michelin, and Titan. Applicators from Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin were all part of this project. The study findings and conclusions are provided in two reports below.
PNAAW Road Study
Kevin Erb PNAAW Road Study Conclusions

Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Funding
MCPR signed with other agribusiness groups to state strong support for eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) funding in the fiscal year 2011 Continuing Resolution that would be used to implement EPA’s numeric nutrient criteria (NNC) for Florida. The letter states that ending the EPA’s funding for this initiative will also stop their push to move the NNC for the Mississippi River basin including Minnesota
Read the letter