Governor Mark Dayton announced his support today for a bill that was a top priority for the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) during the 2018 legislative session. The bipartisan legislation would provide farmers with a $50 per acre tax credit for farmland no longer in production due to the Minnesota Buffer Law, eliminating the financial penalty of continuing to impose property taxes at the highest rates on farm land that is converted to buffers.

In the release, Gov. Dayton asked legislative leaders to send him the bill as soon as possible for his signature. MCGA would like to thank Gov. Dayton for his support of the bill, in addition to Representative Paul Anderson (R-Starbuck) and Senator Bill Weber (R-Luverne) for authoring a bill that lessens the tax burden for farmers complying with the buffer law.

“We are grateful for the bipartisan support from Gov. Dayton and the Legislature for a bill that was a top priority for the state’s corn growers going into the legislative session,” MCGA President Kirby Hettver said. “Minnesota farmers deserve property tax relief for farm land no longer in production due to the buffer law, and today’s news bring us closer to that being a reality.”

The current bills (HF 4395/SF 3960) would provide farmers with a $50 property tax credit, each year, for farmland converted to buffers. Farmers who installed buffers prior to the passing of the buffer law would also be eligible for the credit.

Read the full statement from Gov. Dayton here.