Buffer property tax relief heard in State Legislature

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The Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) has led efforts to correct the property tax inequity that exists for acres in compliance with Minnesota’s 2015 buffer law the last several legislative sessions. MCGA is again leading on this issue in 2025 and the effort has taken its next step in the State Legislature.

SF960/HF1680 aims to reduce the property taxes on acres in compliance with Minnesota’s buffer law. During the 2015 session the Minnesota legislature passed the buffer law, requiring a perennial vegetative buffer of 50 feet along Minnesota’s public waters and 16.5 feet along public ditches. Minnesota farmers invested time and money to implement buffers on their property, and by 2019 there was near universal compliance with the law. Today, the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) reports 99.8 percent compliance with the law statewide.

As farmers have become compliant with the law and taken acres out of production, farmers are still paying full ag land property tax rates on those acres as if they are still in production. Reducing property taxes on buffer acres will not provide significant property tax relief for farmers, but would begin to address the unfair situation many farmers who have complied with the law have been in for the last several years.

Today, the Senate Taxes Committee heard SF 960, sponsored by Aric Putnam (DFL-St. Cloud), amended the bill, and laid it over for possible inclusion in a tax bill later this year. The bill was amended to structure the property tax relief as a credit and use a portion of riparian aid protection funding that has distributed to counties, watershed districts, and BSWR to enforce the buffer law. The portion of aid protection funding redirected to the buffer property tax credit, would reduce the property taxes on compliant buffer acres by 40 percent.

Below: MCGA First Vice President Wes Beck testifies on Tuesday in support of addressing buffer property taxes in the State Senate Taxes Committee.

Tomorrow, the House Taxes Committee will consider HF 1680, sponsored by Greg Davids (R-Preston). The bill will likely be heard as introduced and is structured as property tax exemption that would reduce taxes on buffer complaint acres to zero. We anticipate the bill will be laid over for possible inclusion in a tax bill later this session.

Since the passage of the buffer law, MCGA has advocated for buffer property tax relief. We think this is the year to address the issue for these key reasons:

1. Since the State Legislature passed the buffer law, Minnesota has spent nearly $100 million between the general and Clean Water Fund to enforcement with the law, with funds going to counties, watershed districts, SWCDs and BWSR. This is a staggering sum of money. The good news is with 99.8 percent statewide compliance, a portion of these funds could be used to reduce the property taxes on buffer acres.
2. Last year, the state Legislature increased the fine for non-compliance with the buffer law up to $10,000. The excessive rate of this fine is a powerful incentive to maintain compliance and ongoing compliance aid at the same level is probably unnecessary. There are counties who have achieved 100 percent compliance with the law that are still receiving the full allocation of enforcement aid.
3. The unfairness that is currently status quo for acres in compliance with the buffer law will only get worse over time as land values continue to increase and property tax rates raise with land values.

MCGA appreciates the leadership of Senator Putnam and Representative Davids to move this issue forward and for their work to address this issue along with all the co-authors of the SF 960 and HF 1680.