By Amanda Bilek, Minnesota Corn Growers Association senior public policy director

The Minnesota Legislature starts a 10-day Easter/Passover break today and will be back in session on Monday, April 9. The last couple of weeks have been busy in St. Paul as lawmakers worked to meet policy committee deadlines before heading back to their districts for the break. Here is a quick recap of where things stand on Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) legislative priorities and other policies important to agriculture.

Enacting state tax reform and federal conformity

Not much to report here. House and Senate Tax Committees have been hearing various tax-related proposals and have been examining the details in Governor Dayton’s proposed supplemental budget. Activity in this area will pick up when the legislature returns from break. MCGA continues to work with lawmakers on crafting a proposal that would address property tax relief for ag lands that have been removed from production in order to comply with Minnesota’s Buffer Law. Once the legislature returns from break, the final six weeks of session will be dominated by finance and tax discussions.

Responding to water quality and environmental concerns

The proposed Nitrogen Fertilizer Rule from the MN Department of Agriculture (MDA) has been a hot topic of discussion in the House and Senate Agriculture Policy Committees. The agriculture policy committees in each body have completed work on their omnibus policy bills. HF 4133 has been re-referred to the House Taxes Committee and SF 3536 awaits further action in the Senate. Each of the ag policy bills include provisions that would prevent MDA from adopting the Nitrogen Fertilizer Rule unless the Rule is approved by law. MDA has stated that they are opposed to this provision, and if it remains in the omnibus bill, it is uncertain if Governor Dayton would sign the bill into law.

MCGA is still waiting for a response from Governor Dayton’s administration on the letter we sent on March 15 requesting an immediate release of the Rule, a longer public comment period and publication of detailed GIS maps. Once we receive the response we will post a Nitrogen Rule-specific blog with any additional details presented by MDA, while we continue to wait for the full Rule to be published.

Agriculture policy

In addition to the Nitrogen Fertilizer Rule provision, the omnibus agriculture policy bills also cover a variety of other topics. A few specific provisions that are of interest to corn farmers include:

• Strengthen data privacy and protection of farm data at the University of Minnesota – HF 2982/SF 2550
• Update agency regulations that would apply to aquatic farms producing shrimp and other saltwater aquatic life – HF 3472/SF 3111
• Lower minimum eligibility requirements (SF 3536 only) and make technical corrections to the Minnesota Bioincentive Program
• Reduce license fees for noncommercial pesticide applicators for state contractors – HF 3374/SF 3537
• Expand access to Beginning Farmer Tax Credits to spouses and family members of farmers
• Revise Rural Finance Authority provisions to increase loan rates for livestock farms and expand eligibility for disaster recovery loans.

Ensuring flexibility in potential ditch mowing restrictions

Shortly after the legislative session began, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MN DOT) issued a report detailing recommendations for mowing and haying the state trunk highway right-of-way. The report was the product of several stakeholder discussions and public listening sessions since the legislature adjourned last spring. The MN DOT report came out just a couple of weeks before the first committee deadline and despite the meetings in the interim, there was still disagreement about permitting requirements and the August 1 harvest date.

Representative Chris Swedzinski and Senator Gary Dahms introduced HF 4008 and SF 3569, respectively, which would extend the temporary moratorium on MN DOT enforcing permits to mow and hay in trunk highway ditches until April 30, 2019. The House and Senate bills advanced through the required committees and await action by the full House and Senate. MN DOT has testified in favor or extending the moratorium. Future work on the issue will be ongoing, even if the moratorium is extended.

When the Minnesota Legislature returns from break on April 9, we will be sure to keep you updated on MCGA policy priorities and other items important to Minnesota agriculture.

If you have a question about any of the above or any policy-related issued, please contact Amanda Bilek at abilek@mncorn.org.