701-566-9300Murphy’s Law Blog 2019 | #1
2019 kicks off the third year and second legislative session for this blog. And we have taken the liberty of starting the numbering with 1. During these four months the idea is to give you growers a brief look at what is happening in Bismarck. Right now we are in the first full week and […]hi
2019 kicks off the third year and second legislative session for this blog. And we have taken the liberty of starting the numbering with 1. During these four months the idea is to give you growers a brief look at what is happening in Bismarck. Right now we are in the first full week and on Friday I listened in on Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee as they heard Senate Bill (SB)...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2018 | #64
It is difficult to write about the work the NDSGA does for the long term while our producers face the immediacy of terrible harvest conditions and prices, but these are a few things that Scott and I have worked this week: We were honored by the ND Association of General Contractors when asked to be […]hi
It is difficult to write about the work the NDSGA does for the long term while our producers face the immediacy of terrible harvest conditions and prices, but these are a few things that Scott and I have worked this week: We were honored by the ND Association of General Contractors when asked to be the voice of Agriculture for the Tuesday media rollout (in both Fargo and Bismarck) of a...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2018 | #63
Corn was there in force. So were the Grain Growers, Canola, Stockmen, Sugar Beets, the North Dakota Association of Counties, the Township Officers Assoc, the Soy Transportation Coalition the Soybean Growers and others. Hosted by the North Dakota Soybean Council, it was called the Rural Transportation Summit with featured speakers such as Tom Sorel, the […]hi
Corn was there in force. So were the Grain Growers, Canola, Stockmen, Sugar Beets, the North Dakota Association of Counties, the Township Officers Assoc, the Soy Transportation Coalition the Soybean Growers and others. Hosted by the North Dakota Soybean Council, it was called the Rural Transportation Summit with featured speakers such as Tom Sorel, the director of ND Department of...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2018 | #62
Last week I covered the Energy Development and Transmission committee, then the Legislative Revenue Forecast followed by the Policy Summit hosted by the Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce. Here is the quick and dirty: EDTC heard some proposals about how to tax wind so that instead of all going to local governments as it […]hi
Last week I covered the Energy Development and Transmission committee, then the Legislative Revenue Forecast followed by the Policy Summit hosted by the Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce. Here is the quick and dirty:
EDTC heard some proposals about how to tax wind so that instead of all going to local governments as it does now, some of that tax will be given to the state. Because the...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2018 | #61
The newest employee of the North Dakota Soybean Council, Harrison Weber (way tall) and I (way short) trundled across the state on Monday, August 13th to make an appearance at the open house for the Dickinson Refinery Renewable Diesel Project which is being undertaken by Andeavor. This is the company that also bought and operates […]hi
The newest employee of the North Dakota Soybean Council, Harrison Weber (way tall) and I (way short) trundled across the state on Monday, August 13th to make an appearance at the open house for the Dickinson Refinery Renewable Diesel Project which is being undertaken by Andeavor. This is the company that also bought and operates the larger and older oil refinery in Mandan along the river. This...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2018 | #58
There was a recent meeting of the Water Topics Overview Committee in Bismarck that was comprised of 16 different presentations. Some observations include: Water use in the Bakken shale oil play is at an all-time high. Jon Patch, Director of Water Appropriations at the State Water Commission, typified the typical frac job in 2012 at […]hi
There was a recent meeting of the Water Topics Overview Committee in Bismarck that was comprised of 16 different presentations. Some observations include:
Water use in the Bakken shale oil play is at an all-time high. Jon Patch, Director of Water Appropriations at the State Water Commission, typified the typical frac job in 2012 at 12 acre feet and stated that with today’s increased...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2018 | #57
This is an update on the activities of the Interim Natural Resources committee whose activities, so as not to rehash, were last explained in blog #53. This meeting was mostly about the collaboration (and lack of) between the wind power industry, the Public Service Commission (PSC), the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and agricultural […]hi
This is an update on the activities of the Interim Natural Resources committee whose activities, so as not to rehash, were last explained in blog #53. This meeting was mostly about the collaboration (and lack of) between the wind power industry, the Public Service Commission (PSC), the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and agricultural interests. Also testifying on wind siting issues were...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2018 | #55
Public input is still being taken by the North Dakota Department of Health (DoH) on their Nutrient Management Plan, include at a meeting at the Fargodome on the first of May. There were people interested in municipal, livestock and general agricultural sources as well as septic system problems. We listened to reports from DoH officials […]hi
Public input is still being taken by the North Dakota Department of Health (DoH) on their Nutrient Management Plan, include at a meeting at the Fargodome on the first of May. There were people interested in municipal, livestock and general agricultural sources as well as septic system problems. We listened to reports from DoH officials on the status of the Plan and then broke into separate...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2018 | #54
Last week, I attended the third interim Agriculture Committee meeting. All four of their study topics for the 20 months between legislative sessions were included. First up was the State Soil Conservation Committee, a group which had been under scrutiny when cutting budgets last session. Bruce Schmidt is the new (6 months or so on […]hi
Last week, I attended the third interim Agriculture Committee meeting. All four of their study topics for the 20 months between legislative sessions were included. First up was the State Soil Conservation Committee, a group which had been under scrutiny when cutting budgets last session. Bruce Schmidt is the new (6 months or so on the job now) Program Coordinator, Watershed and Soil...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2018 | #53
This is a recap of the Natural Resources Interim committee of Thursday, March 29 in Bismarck. First on the agenda was testimony considering the efficacy of a new law from SB2286 last session which is about the Public Service Commission (PSC) taking control from local subdivisions of energy siting. That includes things like pipelines, transmission […]hi
This is a recap of the Natural Resources Interim committee of Thursday, March 29 in Bismarck. First on the agenda was testimony considering the efficacy of a new law from SB2286 last session which is about the Public Service Commission (PSC) taking control from local subdivisions of energy siting. That includes things like pipelines, transmission lines and wind farms. They testified that while...