For North Dakota producers, ‘death by a thousand paper cuts’

BISMARCK — North Dakota is experiencing losses on nearly every commodity outside of beef and cattle and the state is working toward finding solutions to the ongoing loss of cropland value. At the same time, costs have increased at a faster rate than farmers are used to. North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring describes it as “death by a thousand paper cuts.”

“It’s not any one thing that’s taking farmers to their knees,” he said. “I needed to get a certain sensor in the fuel pump and that fall before COVID, we were coming out of a kind of a tough year and it was $1,700. I said, ‘Let’s just wait and put it in next spring.’ Well, next spring came around and it was $3,200. I mean, holy cow. And nothing changed. So, there just seems to be some opportunistic type of practices going on.”

Rules and regulations don’t seem to be helping. For Goehring, a look at certain regulations would be a good step. One example is the Regional Haze Rule adopted by the EPA in 1999, mandating that states develop and implement air quality protection plans to reduce the pollution that causes visibility impairment. North Dakota, with a clean coal emission in place and operating at 19 parts per million, was disadvantaged.

“You had air emission standards in Pennsylvania that were operating at 200. Then the memorandum came from the administration and EPA that you had to cut those emissions in half. How the heck do you cut 19 or 18 parts per million in half?” he said.

American culture has brought more hurdles, too.

Tom Campbell, USDA state director for Rural Development, notes the rise of GLP-1 drugs. People are eating less sugar, bread and starches, which could be hitting some key sectors regionally. Combined with rising expenses and fixed costs, it becomes a “double whammy.”

“You have to harvest everything, and hopefully we can get some big yields to offset some of the losses,” Campbell said, noting that weight-loss drugs may be “changing habits” among consumers.

“… I don’t know if it’s for sure or not, but we’re concerned about the future there, too.”

A bright spot for the region, but an unfortunate development for others, is drought in the Pacific Northwest. Low moisture levels there have added dollars to other markets.

“Unfortunately, somebody else’s disaster is our benefit. But, usually, that’s what it takes: somebody else’s problems to fix our problems,” Campbell said.

With prices, it’s a waiting game. High prices are generally thought to correct themselves with low demand. What can be controlled, Goehring believes, is the way rules and regulations are considered.

Measurable outcomes could give detailed accounts of the domino effect that takes place with either implementing regulations or taking them away.

“There has to be some measurable difference on a basis at which the public can derive some value from a rule or regulation that goes in place. Because every one of them is impacting our daily lives, whether it’s at home, on the road or in our businesses,” Goehring said.

Digital Content Producer and Sports Reporter at the Grand Forks Herald since December of 2020. Maxwell can be contacted at mmarko@gfherald.com.