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$100,000 bond posted by Anderson Seed, but that wasn't nearly enough to cover $2.6 million in losses within the state.
• The bill would narrow bond amounts into $50,000 increments, but not significantly raise the amounts.
• Matt McGovern, a Democratic candidate for the PUC, said the proposals from the two Republican commissioners don't do enough to help South Dakota farmers. He said South Dakota should investigate a voluntary insurance program that protects farmers in case of a bankruptcy.
• "As a farmer, I can buy crop insurance, but I can't insure against a crooked grain elevator operator," McGovern said in a statement. "Only the PUC can do that, and these proposals today are too little, too late."
• Nelson said the PUC is focusing on prevention of problems rather than collecting after the fact. He also said that more than 99.96 percent of delivered grain was paid for last year, and the commission shouldn't overregulate.
• Lowell Bottrell, a Fargo, N.D., attorney who has represented farmers in elevator cases, said bonds of $100,000 or $200,000 simply aren't large enough to cover losses.
• "You can have $4 million of claims in a hurry," he said.
• Bottrell said North Dakota has an indemnity fund to cover losses, but it applies only to growers who sell on futures contracts, not cash sellers. Bottrell said he'd like to see states in the region both increase bond amounts and create indemnity funds that are open to cash grain sellers.
• The commissioners' proposal Wednesday did not address the sharing of informa
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