Monday’s Star Tribune business feature on LSP’s Farm Beginnings program quoted Chris Blanchard, a southeast Minnesota farmer who regularly speaks to FB classes. Blanchard’s presentations on long-term business planning exemplify Farm Beginnings’ bottom line goal: don’t set wannabe farmers up for failure. More than one graduate has told me that Blanchard’s practical advice helped them avoid many a pitfall once they got down-and-dirty in the real world of farming. To get a flavor if how passionate Blanchard is about long-term planning and sustainable farming, check episode 59 of LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast.

All the speculating in farm country is over: President-elect Barack Obama has made official his nomination of Tom Vilsack as the next Secretary of Agriculture. LSP’s Policy Program Friday released an official statement on the proposed appointment: (more…)

How has atrazine, a weed killer so controversial that it can’t be used in the European Union and is verboten on 1.2 million acres of Wisconsin farmland, escaped stringent regulation in most of the U.S., including here in Minnesota? (more…)

By Elena Velkov, media center coordinator, Fresh Energy

Travelling through Southeast Asia for the last three weeks, I found myself at the home of extended family in the beautiful land of Singapore. Most immediately striking was its cleanliness (not a piece of garbage anywhere), closely followed by its beautifully-manicured greenery and tropical flowers. However, after moving beyond its physical beauty, I was quickly struck by its incredible transportation and urban planning. (more…)

With government cost-cutting all the rage, here’s four important letters D.C. decision- makers should keep in mind: EQIP. It stands for “Environmental Quality Incentives Program.” A benign sounding name, but as a report released today by the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment (CFFE) makes clear, it has evolved into a major subsidy for highly-polluting industrial livestock operations. It doesn’t have to be this way.

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This week’s update from lobbyist John Tuma:
“An economist is a man who states the obvious in terms of the incomprehensible.”
Alfred A. Knopf

Those that are not budget wonks need not read beyond this paragraph to understand the magnitude of the problem.  The November forecast was released yesterday and it predicts the largest state budget deficit in modern history.  If spending and revenue remain the same for the present biennium ending on June 30, 2009, the state will be in the red $426 million wiping away the razor thin reserves the state has in the bank at present.  Presently the state’s cash in the bank is only $155 million for the budget reserve and $417 million of excess revenue collections that were calculated last October.  The state’s economic forecasters predict that if our revenues and spending remain the same for the next fiscal budget starting in July 2009 and going through June of 2011, we will face a shortfall of $4.847 billion.  This budget deficit does not take into account inflation, which the state’s economists estimate would be around $650 million for the future biennium. On top of that, you could add another $650 million to restore the budget reserve to pre-2008 levels and $350 million to restore the cash flow account to historic levels as well.  If you include all that, the tab for a complete budget solution is just shy of $6.5 billion.  That is approximately 18 percent of our present biennial budget.

Now for you budget wonks.  First, what does the forecast mean for this biennium’s program funding? (more…)