ST. PAUL, Minn., (AP)--A coalition of farm and rural groups Jan. 10 introduced a set of legislative priorities they said would encourage the growth of small livestock farms and help young farmers just starting out.

The proposals, forwarded by a number of Democratic-leaning organizations and DFL lawmakers, were a rebuke to recommendations last year from a task force convened by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Critics of that task force said its recommendations could populate the rural landscape with more large, corporate-owned livestock feedlots similar to those in Iowa.

That allowed Democrats to seize a traditionally Republican stance, arguing the Pawlenty group's proposals sabotage local control by letting the state make livestock yard site decisions, instead of township and county officials.

"If there's something people don't like, it's to have big government and big business run over them," said Rep. Lyle Koenen, DFL-Maynard, a dairy farmer. "I think it'd be really bad to have big government and big business team up to roll them."

The Democrat-backed proposals would explicitly uphold the right of townships and counties to zone and regulate development in their communities, including feedlots.

Republicans have argued that the lack of consistency in regulating large livestock yards make it difficult for the industry to thrive, especially in the face of competition from producers in other states with less regulation.

"I've always been a strong supporter of local control, but many townships are not interested in getting into livestock permitting and zoning decisions," said Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. "There'll need to be some uniformity throughout the state."

The new proposals were introduced by a number of groups, including the Minnesota Farmers Union, the Minnesota National Farmer's Organization and the Land Stewardship Project. Their proposals differed from Pawlenty's, they said, by aiming to increase the number of farmers in the state instead of the number of livestock.

The centerpiece of the proposal is a bill that would give beginning dairy farmers $1 per hundred weight of milk produced, with a $10,000 a year cap. Farmers would be eligible for the subsidy for five years.

"It's designed to get these farmers going, to get them over the hump and make it possible to flourish in the future," said Sen. Becky Lourey, DFL-Kerrick.

Supporters said they didn't yet know how much that would cost, but said legislative staff would have a fiscal note prepared by next week.

Any proposals with a steep price tag this session are likely to face difficulty thanks to the state's $700 million budget deficit, and Pawlenty's continuing vow to not support tax increases.

Davids said he hadn't seen the recommendations yet but likes the idea of providing incentives for young farmers. He said his committee would consider other tax incentives for dairy and livestock operations.

Other task force recommendations include strengthening the state law that limits corporate ownership of farms, and creating financial incentives for the development of production facilities that purchase livestock from independent farmers.

Date: 1/26/05

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