Legislative Session number- 81

Bill Name: SF3223

E Relating to agriculture ARTICLE 1 FARMER LENDER MEDIATIONRepealing the
expiration date of the farmer lender mediation programARTICLE 2 CERTIFICATIONS
AND INSPECTIONSRequiring the commissioner of agriculture in cooperation with the
department of trade and economic development (DTED), the university of Minnesota
and the board of animal health to establish a pilot program to certify
agricultural production methods and agricultural products grown or processed in
the state to assure the integrity of claims by participating businesses,
authorizing commissioner establishment of guidelines and requiring a report to
the legislature by a certain date; expanding the definition of wholesale produce
dealer to persons contracting with producers to grow, raise or provide produce
in the state and defining producer as a person producing or causing to be
produced produce in a quantity beyond family use to clarify the scope of
wholesale produce dealer regulations; requiring the commissioner of agriculture
to enter into agreements with local boards of health to delegate grocery or
convenience store retail food handlers licensing and inspection duties to the
boards upon board request; providing for uniformity in meat and poultry
inspection requirements ARTICLE 3 UPDATING FOOD STANDARDS Clarifying the
rulemaking authority of the commissioner of agriculture and updating certain
standards relating to pesticides, food and color additives, special dietary use,
fair packaging and labeling, food and drugs, fishery products, meat and poultry,
fresh fruits and vegetables and identity, quantity and fill of containers to
federal rules and regulations under the Minnesota food law ARTICLE 4 GRANT
PROGRAMSExpanding eligibility under the value added agricultural product
processing and marketing grant program to assistance with organizational
development, financing and managing new cooperatives and product, business and
marketing plans development and defining predesign of facilities for grant
eligibility purposes; authorizing grants under the shade tree disease control
program to replace trees lost to natural disasters ARTICLE 5 BOARD OF GRAIN
STANDARDS Modifying the meeting requirements and certain dockage determination
duties of the board of grain standards; eliminating the refund of the appeal
notice filing fee and a certain grain inspection and weighing fee payment
requirement relating to grain in transitARTICLE 6 EGG HANDLING
STANDARDSModifying certain requirements for the handling of eggs, lowering
certain temperature requirements ARTICLE 7 RURAL FINANCE AUTHORITYModifying
certain eligibility requirements and maximum loan amounts for certain rural
finance authority (RFA) loan programsARTICLE 8 LIVESTOCK DEALERS AND GRAIN
BUYERSIncreasing the amount of bond required for livestock dealers; clarifying
the status of certain grain buying transactions involving voluntary extension of
credit; modifying certain provisions under the grain storage act; defining open
storage; grain delivered to public grain warehouse operators to be considered
stored at the time of delivery without prior arrangements for contract,
shipment, consignment or cash sale; authorizing the holding of grain in open
storage or placement on a warehouse receipt, specifying certain warehouse
receipt issuance requirements; modifying the liability of warehouse
operatorsARTICLE 9 AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALSModifying certain provisions regulating
pesticides and fertilizers; expanding prohibited pesticide use to pesticides
endangering domestic animals; defining custom blend fertilizer and expanding the
definition of specialty fertilizer under the fertilizer, soil amendment and
plant amendment law; specifying certain separate labeling requirements for
custom blend specialty fertilizers, requiring certain information to be
furnished to customers on invoices or delivery tickets and exempting the
fertilizers from registration requirements under certain conditions and from
tonnage report requirements; clarifying the requirement for fertilizer
distributors to furnish purchasers with invoices or delivery tickets; imposing a
time limit for submission of requests to the commissioner of agriculture for
inspection relating to pesticide applications allegedly damaging crops or
vegetation ARTICLE 10 FEEDLOT PERMITTINGSubjecting animal feedlot permits issued
by the pollution control agency (PCA) or counties to the time deadline for
agency action(ra, ja)