News
Grain Indemnity Fund a focus in Minnesota House and Senate Ag Committees
The Minnesota Legislature is again considering an indemnity fund to protect farmers when grain elevators go bankrupt.
Democrat Aric Putnam chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Broadband, and Rural Development and says there can be a lot of casualties when an elevator goes down.
“And we haven’t put the resources into a space that will take care of people. So it’s a pretty basic protection to make sure that peoples’ entire livelihoods aren’t wiped out.”
House Agriculture Policy and Finance Committee Chair Samantha Vang tells Brownfield the Grain Advisory Task Force recently provided a report on the Grain Indemnity Fund.
“We have bipartisan support, so I think that is something that we will continue to look at in what we can do to make sure that grain producers are getting the support they need.”
Minnesota Farmers Union president Gary Wertish says it’s time Minnesota joins more than a dozen other states who have indemnity funds to ensure that farmers receive more than pennies on the dollar owed when grain elevators fail.
Samantha Vang interview:
Aric Putnam interview:
