701-566-9300There were a few topics discussed in this recent meeting, the first I will discuss was on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). You may recall that the complaint had to do with some flood insurance policy holders being surprised to find out when filing claims that their policies were no good. Some agents were also taken aback. It had to do with zoning requirements and filings that were less than transparent. The Department of Water Resources testified back then that they could possibly serve as a repository for filings that showed whether or a specific township, county or city qualified for the NFIP. And it appears as of this week’s meeting that could well be the case should a bill they discussed be presented and passed by the upcoming Legislative Session starting in January. The political subs testified with some possible tweaks and it looks good to move forward in my view.
Then the kerfuffle over foreign ownership of agricultural land was heard again. ND Farm Bureau Government Operations Spokesman Pete Hanibutt, shared info he gleaned from his national bureau which stated that our country owns 96.9% of our ag land. Of the remaining 3.1%, .9% was owned by Canada. There was no reported ownership by China, Russia, Cuba or Iran. These are the so called bad guys according to Pete, while the other 2% is owned by NATO types, or friends. He also broke down ND and the three states that border us and ownership was pretty much mirrored by all and close to the national picture presented above. Some committee members are concerned that, for one, foreign adversaries are not going to be transparent about them owning land, with one member stating that they often hide behind multiple shell companies. Another mentioned that this all stems from a bill as a result of the Fufeng situation in Grand Forks County several years ago.
The last was the report from State Board of Agricultural Research and Education Chair Sarah Lovas who apprised those present of the priority lists that they will be presenting to the Legislature. That is SBARE’s job and the organization was partly formed to avoid infighting during legislative sessions amongst those parties seeking favor. In my view as a past legislator on the Ag Committee and as a lobbyist, this organization does a nice job and is an important service.
Here is the number one choice in their three categories (there are many though and you can check them out here SBARE); For ND Agricultural Experiment Station, #1 is the Center for Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies. Three jobs would include an Ag policy analyst, a market/trade analyst and an economic impact/contributions specialist with a total price tag of $975,000. The first priority for Capital Improvements is to complete the Oakes Irrigation Research Site building for $620,000. And the number one wish for NDSU Extension Program Initiative is a Biofuels and Carbon Initiative for $325,000. These and others on the list are usual candidates for your organization’s support come session time.