Agriculture Chair Proposes Improvements in Food and Bio Fuel Industries 

Senator Tim Flakoll, the chair of the North Dakota Senate Agriculture committee will be seeking improvements to co-products produced from the bio fuel industry.  The legislation will seek $3-5 million in state funding and will require a dollar for dollar match from external sources. Currently, the majority of end of process products are used for livestock feed and are sold on a per ton basis.   

Flakoll says that, “I will be seeking support for research that will focus on converting the end products into food or food ingredients for human consumption. Through successful work by our world class North Dakota researchers we will be able to sell commercially produced products for human consumption by the ounce or pound rather than by the ton for animal feed which will increase our profits here in North Dakota.” The types of end products envisioned by the proposal include: breakfast cereal, soup ingredients, corn flour, health bars or even micronutrient products.   

In recent years, American has seen a shift in the agriculture industry from crops raised for human consumption to higher profit crops such as corn used for the production of bio fuels. The result is large quantities of distillers dry grains (DDGS) being produced and available at the end of the ethanol production process.  Rather than having to transport a lower value product for animal consumption to the west coast or ship it overseas, North Dakota can use its great research talent to develop products that can be processed in North Dakota in a form ready for the dinner table for human consumption.   

Flakoll believes that “this will be an effort that will diversify our economy, increase profits for North Dakotans and help to stabilize the price of food at grocery stores across the county. In the past, we have seen a tug and pull between using corn for fuel or food.  With the successful outcomes from this proposal, we will not have to decide between one or the other.  Instead, we will have a process that can produce benefits to both industries in a holistic approach, without damaging the livestock industry.” 

“This proposal for value added processing will catapult two valuable industries to a higher level while adding diversity to our economy.  The production of ethanol will no longer be considered the final phase of corn usage. Rather, it will be viewed as an important step along the way” according to Flakoll. 
 

Facts:

  • It is estimated that in 2008 there will be one million tons of DDGS produced by ethanol plants in North Dakota.  Currently the state does not have adequate livestock numbers to use significant amounts of DDGS within the state, so the legislation would not harm the livestock industry.
 
  • In 2007, bio fuels consumed approximately 1/3 of America’s corn harvest and that percentage is expected to grow due to the large number of ethanol plants that are under construction or in the planning stage. 
 
  • The ethanol industry has raised income on farms and given increased optimism to our rural and state economies and the proposal will build on that success.
 
 

Contact Information 

Sponsor contact

Senator Tim Flakoll

Chair, North Dakota Senate Agriculture committee

701-367-5954

tflakoll@nd.gov 
 
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July 2, 2008

 

American made flag legislation to be introduced in North Dakota

Six North Dakota Legislators are teaming up to introduce legislation to require that all American flags that are sold in the state after July 4, 2010 be made in America. The proposed legislation is similar to a bill (HF 122) passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2007. There are other states that have flag legislation including Tennessee which as a state law that requires that any US flag bought with public money cannot be imported from another country.

U.S. law requires every American flag be labeled with its country of origin. Only the Flag Manufacturers Association of America “Certified Made in the U.S.A.” certification seal assures the standards and continued compliance as monitored by a professional association and its domestic members.   “Certified Made in the U.S.A.” certifies that an American flag has been made in the U.S. of materials that are domestic in origin and that all processes in every step of its manufacture were completed in U.S. facilities with U.S. labor.

Veteran and State Representative Mark Owens (R) of Grand Forks says that “as a veteran, I have participated in many funeral ceremonies honoring veterans. It goes against every fiber of my being to think that a flag draped over the coffin of a fellow veteran would be made in China or another foreign country.”

Senator Dick Dever (R) of Bismarck agrees and says that “Old Glory is our national symbol and I think it should be made in America.”

In 2000 Americans imported $747,800 in flags imported from other countries, mostly from Taiwan.  In 2001 that number spiked to $51.7 million with most imported flags coming from China.

For 2006, the most recent reporting year, there were $5.3 million in American flags that were imported from other countries, with the majority ($5 million) coming from China.

“I applaud this legislation, it is not about protectionism, it is about good old fashion American patriotism and if you were to select one item that should be “Made in America” it should be Old Glory” according  to Dave Kemnitz, President of the North Dakota AFL-CIO.

“Since the legislation does not go into effect until July 4, 2010 it will allow retailers time to clear out any inventory they may have that would not comply with the legislation” according to Rep. Donald Clark (R) of Fargo.

Bill sponsors are: Senator Dwight Cook (R) – Mandan, Senator Dick Dever (R)  – Bismarck, Senator Tim Flakoll (R) – Fargo, Representative Donald Clark (R)– Fargo, Representative Mark Owens (R) – Grand Forks, Representative Blair Thoreson (R) - Fargo

Contact:

Arial'>Senator Tim Flakoll   701-367-5954

NOTES:

Additional reference information can be found by viewing the website of the Flag Manufacturers Association of America at:   http://www.fmaa-usa.com/index.php

Paid for by: Friends of Flakoll, Clark, & Thoreson

Gib Bromenschenkel, Chairman