MN Farm Groups Seek to Intervene in Water Litigation

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Minnesota Trout Unlimited, and the Minnesota Well Owners Organization are suing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Minnesota Department of Agriculture. They claim these state agencies have not done enough to protect ground and surface water in the Karst and Central Sands regions. A coalition of nine mainstream farm groups is seeking to intervene in this lawsuit to support MPCA and the agriculture department. Minnesota Pork Producers Association board member Maddie Hokanson says this issue is extremely important for farmers. “It impacts pig farms, it impacts poultry farms, it impacts crop farmers, it impacts dairy farms, it impacts everybody regardless of size and regardless of style of farming so we all came together and said we need to do something.” The other groups in the farm coalition represent the corn, soybean, wheat, dairy, beef, turkey, sugarbeet trade associations and Farm Bureau