SDFB Leader Connection

& Legislative Newsletter

 March 3, 2008

 Upcoming events:

Agricultural Safety Awareness Week – March 2-8,
Water Quality Awareness Week – March 9-15
35^th Legislative Day – March 17
National Ag Day – March 20

 Legislators wrapped up the Main Run about 11:30 Friday night, after finalizing the general spending bill for the State.   They are scheduled to return to Pierre on Monday, March 17, for Veto Day.

 Eminent Domain

Here’s how the Associated Press reported on SB174, which Farm Bureau and most of the other agricultural groups supported.  Please note that this explanation of the bill does an injustice:

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A speedier procedure for railroads wishing to wrest private property by condemnation has been approved by the South Dakota House. The legislation would require a hearing and decision within 90 days of a railroad's request to use the eminent domain process. There currently is no such timetable. SB174 would help the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad gain property through condemnation for a new route into Wyoming. The firm wants to extend its rails to coal fields and then haul the coal across South Dakota and Minnesota to power plants. The project has a $6 billion price tag. 

A little history…  

In 1999, after DM&E announced plans to expand their rail line to the Powder River Basin coal fields in Wyoming, the state legislature adopted a law making it harder for railroads to even get to the eminent domain process in the first place.  Much of that law was declared unconstitutional, but the part that remains requires railroads to get preliminary approval from the Governor or the Transportation Commission before they can begin eminent domain proceedings.  Other entities with eminent domain authority do not need to go through that preliminary step. 

The purpose of SB174 was to set timelines for the hearing before the Governor or Transportation Commission. Without passage of SB174, the potential exists for a nonstop delay cycle, meaning those affected by the proposed rail project could have that unresolved issue pending for years.  One state representative cited an example involving her aunt in California.  Her aunt owns a walnut farm, but six years ago there was talk of building a freeway through her farm.  The aunt would like to sell her farm, which was valued at $6 million.  But because of the potential freeway project – which is still in limbo – the aunt cannot even sell her farm for half the value.

SB174 does not change the eminent domain process.  It does not take away due process or the appeals process.  It directs the preliminary hearing on a proposed railroad project to be held within 90 days.  It allows each side to dismiss one hearing examiner without cause; other hearing examiners may be dismissed if one of the parties can show the examiner is biased or prejudiced for or against the project.   

SB174:

 SB 174 maintains the two-step process, establishes timeframe of 90 days for decisions to be made. SB 174 also sets a process for recusal that is the same as the 1-26 administrative rule process.

 SB174 passed the Senate 20-13 and passed the House 54-16.

 Animal ID

In another attempt to prohibit even the opportunity for voluntary participation in the national animal identification system, members of the Appropriations Committee were asked to amend the state budget to remove all federal funding from the Animal Industry Board relating to the NAIS program.

            That amendment failed 1-17.

 Property Tax assessments:

HB1005, the ag land assessment bill, contains provisions for an Agricultural Land Assessment and Oversight Advisory Task Force.  The task force is to consist of eight legislators (four from the House and four from the Senate) and six from the general public, The public appointments are to include at least two with an agricultural background and at least two with a business background.  Appointments for the initial task force are to be made by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate no later than July 1, 2008.

            The task force is to work with the Department of Revenue in developing rules for administering the new law, and to make recommendations on the proper percentage of annual earning capacity to be used to determine the agricultural income value of ag land, as well as the proper capitalization rate to use to keep taxes revenue-neutral on a statewide basis.  The task force is directed to submit a report to the Legislature; it may also present draft legislation and policy recommendations to the Legislative Research Council Executive Board. 

 Term Limits:

There will be an item on this fall’s general election ballot to amend the State Constitution to repeal term limits for state legislators.  The following legislators cannot run for reelection this fall:

 Senators                                                       Representatives

Jerry Apa                                                       James Bradford

Brock L. Greenfield                                      Burt Elliott

Gil Koetzle                                                     Margaret V. Gillespie

Royal “Mac” McCracken                             Mary Glenski

Ed Olson                                                       Dale Hargens

Dan Sutton                                                   Phyllis Heineman

Al Koistinen

Gordon R. Pederson

Larry Rhoden

David Sigdestad

Donald D. Van Etten

Thomas Van Norman

Hal Wick

 Poll Results Back Farm Bureau Stance on Clean Water

The Western Business Roundtable recently released the results of a survey that shows strong public support for the stance AFBF and a coalition of other organizations has taken against proposed changes to the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The poll shows 63 percent of respondents oppose changes to the CWA. Of that 63 percent, 47 percent said they strongly oppose any change to the CWA if it would give the federal government veto power over state and local governments when it comes to land and water use decisions.

The legislation AFBF and other groups are concerned about is H.R. 2421/S. 1870 sponsored by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.). This legislation would extend the reach of the federal government to virtually every wet area in the U.S., including ditches and low-lying areas in long-tilled fields.

 U.S. Beef Cow Numbers down Due to Drought, Higher Expenses  

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 12, 2008 - The effects of a severe drought in the Southeast and higher prices for land, feed and other inputs are chief reasons for a decline in U.S. beef cow numbers in 2007, according to American Farm Bureau Federation analysis of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) semi-annual report of the nation’s cattle inventory.

            There were 338,000 fewer beef cows in the U.S. at the end of 2007 than at the end of 2006, meaning herd liquidation has occurred in 10 of the last 12 years. A year earlier, the USDA reported a drop of 103,000 cows during 2006. The 2007 beef calf crop was the smallest in the U.S. in 56 years.

            “The USDA report is an indicator of U.S. beef production for the next two to three years,” AFBF Livestock Economist Jim Sartwelle said. “The decline in U.S. beef cow numbers is no great surprise given the extent of the drought in several southeastern states, increasing expenses and other developments in the beef processing sector. We can draw some fairly stark conclusions about the size, shape and location of the U.S. beef cow herd heading into an increasingly volatile era with ever-increasing costs of production.”

            Severe drought in the Southeast forced the liquidations of herds across the region. The states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia accounted for 54 percent of the nation’s beef cow herd reduction.  “Drought-forced liquidation is a tragedy no matter where it is, but given the tremendous strides southeastern cattle producers made to improve their herds in the past decade, it’s an especially bitter pill for them to swallow,” Sartwelle said.

            The beef industry also faces some sobering economic and structural realities, Sartwelle said. High feed and non-feed input costs, skyrocketing land values and slowly recovering beef export markets are all at play. Regarding excess capacity in the feeding and processing sectors, Sartwelle said those parts of the U.S. beef industry were built when total cattle and calf numbers exceeded 130 million head, dwarfing today’s 96.7 million head.  

            Overall, USDA reported a 207,000-head drop in heifers kept for beef cow replacement.  Of that total, nearly 150,000 head are older replacement heifers expected to calve during 2008. Sartwelle said a relatively strong market for feeder heifers through much of 2007 and the lack of forage in many areas are the chief reasons for these decreases.

            “We’re not going to have a big calf crop during 2008, and we’re not likely to build cow numbers significantly this year, either,” Sartwelle said. “We’re just not likely to exit 2008 with a larger herd than what we started this year with.”

            U.S. beef producers begin this year with 16 percent fewer beef cows than in 1978, Sartwelle said, but beef production per cow has increased by 30 percent during that time.  “Flat-to-declining inventories place greater emphasis than ever on the development and adoption of cost-effective reproductive, health, and nutritional practices and technologies for this sector to produce enough beef for our consumers here and abroad.”

            Meanwhile, U.S. dairy producers increased the number of milk cows that have calved by 1 percent or 9.2 million head. Heifers kept for milk cow replacement increased by 3 percent to 4.5 million head, and the inventory of replacement heifers expected to calve during 2008 increased by 91,000 head.

            “Our dairy producers incorporate marketplace realities in their female retention decisions, but I want to be clear that dairy producers will be exceptionally sensitive to feed prices down the road,” Sartwelle said.  

            The Agriculture Department’s Jan. 1, 2008, cattle report was released Feb. 1.

 NATIONAL AGRICULTURE DAY COMING SOON---Take a moment to mark your calendars—National Agriculture Day is Thursday, March 20, three weeks from today. Click here for information, including event ideas, fun facts and more.