Source: MSNBC Rochester, MN (KTTC)
Contact:  http://www.msnbc.com/local/KTTC/
Pubdate: Thu, 21 Jan 1999

STATE PROPOSAL FOR FARM AID

ROCHESTER, MN- Senate republicans have released their plans to save
Minnesota’s small to mid-sized farmers. It’s price tag is over 100-million
dollars. But GOP lawmakers say it’s the seed needed to revitalize a dying
farm economy.

“It’s time for the state to get back to work, especially in regard to the
farm economy,“ said Preston Senator Kenric Scheevel.

Senator Kenric Scheevel’s proposal targets both short and long term
problems on the farm.

“The proposal is roughly broke into four segments. Risk management. Tax
relief. Right to harvest, and feedlot management,“ explained Kenric.

The largest chunk of the 100-million dollar proposal centers on property
tax relief.

A one-time rebate would be offered to producers similar to last years
income tax credits. The permanent plan exempts farms from school levies and
referendums.

If accepted, the state could also pay up 50 percent of crop insurance in
any county struck by a natural disaster in the past two years. It would
also set aside 12 million dollars for feedlot technology and grants to help
farmers meet new environmental standards.

House Republicans say there is common ground between the Senate’s new
proposal and their 80 million dollar plan.

A controversial aspect of Scheevel’s bill would classify industrial hemp as
an agricultural based product.

Hemp is currently illegal in Minnesota. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake