Last fall, North Dakota state Rep. Dennis Johnson knew something would have to change when he heard and read about upstart Hunter Hanson — a recent high school graduate from the New Rockford area, with no training or experience in grain marketing — who had stiffed farmers and savvy grain elevators for millions of dollars in grain transactions.
The Bismarck Tribune reports that as of July 1, funding for the regulation of grain will be placed in the hands of the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, which will take over the program Aug. 1, according to Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring.