The Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee reviewed spending priorities in its Wednesday hearing. One provision would make Minnesota the first state to ban paraquat. Ranking Member Torrey Westrom said this chemistry is often used on cover crops and for desiccation of dry edible beans. “Especially to get a consistent drydown if it’s a fall that is not lending itself well to getting their beans dried,” said Westrom. “A rainy season, or cooler than normal, or a variety of things that can cause a couple of weeks’ delay, which can cost them an immense amount of yield and just the ability to get it harvested.” Ag Committee Chair Aric Putnam recognized that this is a complex problem. “This is not as simple as a ban or don’t ban kinda situation, but I do think that it’s fairly clear that the health consequences to paraquat can be absolutely severe.” The omnibus agriculture finance bill will now move to the Senate Finance Committee.
