March 21, 2013
We found that the state’s 13 agricultural commodity councils are largely self-governing entities, subject to minimal oversight by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. We make several recommendations to enhance transparency and strengthen accountability. For example, we recommend that the Legislature (1) require commodity councils to have a Web site on which they regularly post financial, election, meeting, and contact information; (2) amend statutes regarding board conflicts of interest; (3) consider increasing oversight of the councils; and (4) determine if it wants to place limits on the use of checkoff-fee revenue and amend statutes accordingly.
