North Dakota

The fight over North Dakota's ban on corporate farming continues in federal court despite a June referendum in support of the 1932 law. The North Dakota Farmers Union, which spearheaded the successful referendum, asked for permission to intervene in the lawsuit, said the Fargo Forum.

U.S. corn plantings grew 10 percent in the past decade, driven by the commodity boom that began in 2006. Economist Gary Schnitkey says the expansion occurred mostly in the western Corn Belt, with North Dakota and South Dakota accounting for one-third of the increased U.S. acreage of 7.9 million acres.

A statewide referendum in North Dakota tomorrow will let voters decide whether to make an exception for hog and dairy farms from the state ban on corporate farming. It may not be the final word, however, since the state Farm Bureau filed suit in federal court early this month in hopes of overturning the 1932 law that bans corporate farms altogether.

The North Dakota Farmers Union "has funded almost all the campaign" to retain a ban on corporate farming in the state, says The Associated Press.

The largest farm group in North Dakota will decide next week whether to seek a statewide referendum against the so-called ham-and-cheese exemptions to a state law against corporate farming, says the Associated Press.

"There are 1,260 rural counties with fewer people working than seven years ago; 711 rural counties have more jobs than in November 2007," writes Bill Bishop at the Daily Yonder in looking at the recovery from the 2008-09 recession.

The Chevrolet division of General Motors purchased credits for a 40,000 ton reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from ranchland in the "prairie pothole" region of North Dakota.

In a series that opened on Sunday, the New York Times describes the oil rush in North Dakota and "its rapid transformation from a tight-knit agricultural society to semi-industrialized oil powerhouse."

U.S. growers will harvest a record 2.5 billion pounds of canola this season, thanks to above-average yields and near-record plantings, says USDA in its Oil Crops Outlook report.

Ag consultancy Doane says the first day of its crop tour found corn and soybeans in outstanding condition in western Illinois and eastern Iowa. "We believe it's the strongest corn crop we have observed in our long history of this crop tour," says its report. Doane says corn yields in western Illinois could be 10 bushels an acre higher than last year.

The hard red spring wheat tour of North Dakota concluded with a forecast of an average yield of 48 bushels an acre, a record high, said DTN. "Overall, scouts saw a wheat crop with record yield potential and little disease or pest pressure," said DTN. It said the crop was maturing later than usual. A cold and rainy spring delayed planting for weeks in the upper Midwest and northern Plains.

The biggest oil companies in North Dakota are putting money into the race for state agriculture commissioner, says Reuters. It's not an oddball choice - the agriculture commissioner, along with the governor and the attorney general, sits on the Industrial Commission, which oversees permits "and other issues critical to the oil industry, which hopes to drill 35,000 new wells within 15 years," says the story.

A bill proposed by Sens Pat Roberts of Kansas and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota would give futures customers more time to provide the funds to cover their margin requirements following a trade. A CFTC rule says the money must be deposited by the morning following a trade. Roberts and Heitkamp say the deadline should be the close of business on the day after a trade - easier for end users to satisfy.

The 2014 farm law ended the direct-payment subsidy and made crop insurance the major farm support. For most states, there is little difference in the state's share of the receipts.