MCGA holds annual Day on the Hill event

Last Tuesday, the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) hosted its annual Day on the Hill event at the State Capitol. Farmer-leaders visited with over 25 state legislators from both political parties along with Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Katrina Kessler, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen, and Minnesota Department of Revenue Commissioner Paul Marquart.

Farmer-leaders highlighted the organization’s 2025 state policy priorities, including:

• The buffer property tax exemption
• Biofuel infrastructure grant program funding
• Increased funding for the state’s sustainable aviation fuel tax credit
• The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Soil Health Financial Assistance Program; and
• Bipartisan legislation to increase environmental permitting efficiency

MCGA thanks state legislators, Lieutenant Governor Flanagan, and the state agency commissioners for their attention to issues affecting family corn farmers. Learn more about MCGA’s advocacy in St. Paul at mncorn.org/advocacy.

Below is a recap of the event.

Pushing a buffer property tax exemption

A key issue for which farmer-leaders advocated during the event was passage of a property tax exemption for buffer land. The state’s 2015 buffer law required farmers to remove land adjacent to public waters and public drainage systems from crop production and convert those acres to perennial vegetative buffers. But it did not compensate farmers for the significant resources they allocated to complying with the law or the revenue they lost by removing those acres from production.

A bipartisan bill that would create a buffer property tax exemption has been introduced in the State Senate and is awaiting introduction in the State House. SF960 is sponsored by Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Aric Putnam (DFL-St. Cloud) and co-authored by Sens. Rob Kupec (DFL-Moorhead), Bill Weber (R-Luverne), and Torrey Westrom (R-Elbow Lake). Its House companion will be sponsored by Rep. Greg Davids (R-Preston). MCGA urges passage of SF960 during the 2025 legislative session.

Biofuels legislation

Farmer-leaders also advocated for SF881, a bipartisan bill that would provide $6 million in 2026-27 for the state’s Biofuels Infrastructure Grant Program, which is run by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). The Senate bill is sponsored by Sen. Kupec and supported by Sens. Gene Dornink (R-Brownsdale), Heather Gustafson (DFL-Vadnais Heights), Putnam, and Westrom. Its House companion, HF882, is sponsored by Rep. Paul Anderson (R-Starbuck) and supported by Reps. Luke Frederick (DFL-Mankato), Bobbie Harder (R-Henderson), and Nathan Nelson (R-Hinkley).

Investing in the Biofuels Infrastructure Grant Program increases consumer choice, reduces emissions, and saves drivers money at the pump, farmer-leaders told lawmakers. It also helps support farmers and agricultural economies.

Farmer-leaders also advocated for SF1312, a bipartisan bill that would increase funding for the state’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) tax credit from $2.1 million to $10 million and extend the credit from 2027 to 2029. The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope) and supported by Sens. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis), John Jasinski (R-Faribault), Kupec, and Weber. Its House companion has yet to be introduced but will be sponsored by Rep. Davids and supported by Reps. Anderson and Erin Koegel (DFL-Spring Lake Park). MCGA supports the bill as part of its effort to spur the state’s burgeoning SAF industry, a move that could reduce emissions associated with air travel while supporting agricultural economies.

Sustainability and rural communities

Farmer-leaders also advocated for SF882, a bipartisan bill that would extend state funding for MDA’s Soil Health Financial Assistance Program. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Gustafson and supported by Sens. Dornink, Kupec, Judy Seeberger (DFL-Afton), and Weber. Its House companion, HF985, is sponsored by Rep. Nelson and supported by Reps. Anderson, Keith Allen (R-Kenyon), Frederick, Harder, Katie Jones (DFL-Minneapolis), Kristi Pursell (DFL-Northfield) and Samantha Vang (DFL-Brooklyn Center).

Farmer-leaders also advocated for HF8/SF570, a bipartisan bill that would increase environmental permitting efficiency. The bill is sponsored by State Sen. Grant Hauschild (DFL-Hermantown) and State Rep. Josh Heintzeman (R-Nisswa) and supported by dozens of other legislators.