SARL Members and Alumni News

Canada needs to seek renewed, expanded agricultural trade framework

There’s no doubt trade is critically important to the agricultural economy, particularly in places such as Manitoba where the productivity of farmers far exceeds the appetite of the resident population. As the province’s Minister of Agriculture Ralph Eichler pointed out Tuesday in his presentation to the Senate committee studying agricultural trade, two-thirds of the food products manufactured in Manitoba leave the province. Improved market access and fair trade rules are important. However, a recent discussion paper released by agricultural economists with the University of Guelph highlights just how complex achieving that has become in world vastly different from the one envisaged when the first big agricultural deal was negotiated under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1995.

North Dakotans soundly reject corporate farming measure

North Dakotans on Tuesday soundly rejected a law enacted last year that changed decades of family-farming rules in the state by allowing corporations to own and operate dairy and hog farms.  Some 75 percent of North Dakotans who went to the ballot box voted to repeal Senate Bill 2351. The law, signed into law in March 2015 by Republican Governor Jack Dalrymple, exempted dairy and swine production from the state's Depression-era corporate farming prohibition. The North Dakota Farmers Union and other groups that collected signatures to put the referendum on the ballot said family farmers cannot compete with large agricultural firms with no ties to the communities where they operate. Supporters of the bill argued that dairy and pork operations are on the decline in the state and cannot survive without corporations that can finance expensive equipment and compete regionally, according to the Yes for Dairies & Pork Producers website. This February, a U.S. district judge issued an injunction barring Nebraska officials from enforcing the state's ban on farmland ownership by corporations. The referendum was the only measure on the state's primary ballot, which was dominated by a Republican fight for the governor's office. In the Republican primary for governor, Doug Burgum defeated North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, results on the state's election website showed.

Cranberry growers eye ways to compete with Wisconsin, Quebec

 Faced with an influx of cranberries from Wisconsin and Quebec, agriculture officials have made a series of recommendations they hope will revitalize the 200-year-old Massachusetts cranberry industry and allow it to remain competitive.      In a report to lawmakers, the Massachusetts Cranberry Revitalization Task Force, created by the Legislature in 2015, identified possible areas of innovation in cranberry farming, such as making renewable energy options more viable for growers and doing more to conserve water. The report also highlights the need for funding for cranberry farmers to renovate their bogs to be able to grow "larger, higher-yield fruits" that have become a growing chunk of the cranberry market. "Cranberry growers in Massachusetts as a whole are not confronted by a single problem," the task force wrote in its report. "The external challenges, be they a lack of capital, production costs per barrel increasing while crop values decrease, less productive bogs and other issues, are onerous."

Massachusetts, which accounts for 31 percent of American cranberry acreage, trails only Wisconsin in terms of cranberry production in the United States. But in 2014, the task force said, Quebec eclipsed Massachusetts and produced about 500,000 more barrels of the tart fruit than the Bay State.

New Montana law puts a unique spin on crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small financial contributions from a large number of people. The most well-known types of crowdfunding are internet-based and typically involve a donation instead of an investment. The Montana Legislature, however, enacted a unique kind of Montana-based crowdfunding law. Under the new law, the company must complete an application available on the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance website and pay a fee before soliciting investors. All investors in the crowdfunding project must be Montana residents. A maximum of $1 million can be raised (federal securities registration is required above this amount). Investors can invest a maximum of $10,000, however, accredited investors can invest more.

Businesses interested in crowdfunding must register with the Montana Secretary of State. All investment monies must be deposited into a Montana-accredited financial institution. The business must have a specific plan and purpose. All important information about the venture must be disclosed to the investor. Individuals who have been in trouble with the law or regulatory agencies may not raise money under this exemption.