Co-ops: Governor’s Emergency Executive Order Needed this Stressful Harvest Season
VIEW EXECUTIVE ORDER
ST PAUL, Minn. (November 5, 2009) In a harvest season more stressful than most because of cool, wet weather keeping farmers out of the fields, Governor Tim Pawlenty granted some relief to Minnesota farmers by issuing an emergency executive order that waives hours-of-service restrictions on drivers transporting propane. Cooperative Network, the trade association for Minnesota and Wisconsin cooperative businesses, sought this relief for its member-cooperatives.
Cooperative Network’s farm supply, grain, and fuel cooperative members needed this exemption because of propane supply constraints, unusual weather conditions and extreme harvest delays. The governor’s executive order should significantly increase the availability of propane, the primary fuel used to dry grain, by suspending for 30 days the hours-of-service requirements for deliveries of propane, allowing farmers to finish their field work before winter sets in.
“We’re grateful for the governor’s order. It will minimize the potential of high crop losses for Minnesota farmers this uniquely difficult harvest season,” said Bill Oemichen, Cooperative Network president and CEO.
The executive order expires on December 5, 2009.
Cooperative Network serves more than 600 member-cooperatives, owned by more than 6.3 million Wisconsin and Minnesota residents, by providing government relations, education, marketing, and technical services for a wide variety of cooperatives including farm supply, health, dairy marketing, consumer, financial, livestock marketing, telecommunications, electric, housing, insurance, worker-owned cooperatives, and more. For more information about Cooperative Network, visit www.cooperativenetwork.coop.
|
