Greetings from Western North Dakota,
I hope you all are completing this year’s harvest. For us this was a rather disappointing year. As with most drought crops, there were a few highlights, but overall our area was a disaster. Our early season crops were, on average, the worst we’ve seen since 2008.
All of that points out the need for a solid, viable crop insurance program. This has been our number one priority in the 2018 Farm Bill discussion. Vice President Jeff Mertz has been active on the domestic policy committee with the National Association of Wheat Growers. I have been involved on the Environmental and Renewable Resources Committee. We each have had several committee conference calls and attended the fall meetings at NAWG. There seems to be optimism among committee members that we will get a 2018 Farm Bill done on time. In September, Jeff Mertz, Ed Kessel, and I visited many of the offices of committee members in an effort to represent the interests of North Dakota wheat and barley growers. It is good to note we continue to have excellent support from both our North Dakota senators and congressman.
We will be holding our Annual Meeting in Grand Forks at the Prairie Grains Conference and look forward to your participation. We want this organization to remain grassroots. Your involvement is key to attaining that goal.
The board recently voted to sign on to a lawsuit on proposition 65 in California. It is time to make our voice known. It amazes me that good science is being thrown out the window. Our products being sold in California could be labeled with a cancer warning. We think that is ridiculous.
May you have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Thank you and God bless.
Sincerely,
John Weinand, President
North Dakota Grain Growers Association
